On the fourth day we went to church in Scotland-a tiny branch made up almost entirely of converts. They were so humble and welcoming and we were very glad we went. We then drove the 6 hours down to eastern England, stayed at the King's Head Hotel (also centuries old..originally a tavern and inn for weary carriage travelers) in Dereham, and visited with Adam's grandparents. Adam is half English, his mom is English and he was born in England and spent his first year or so there before his family moved to the states. He hadn't seen his grandparents in nearly 10 years when they last visited the states, so he was in heaven spending time with them again. Granny made us a traditional English meal of roast, 2 different kinds of potatoes, 2 different veggie dishes, Yorkshire puddings, and English Trifle for dessert.
Full of delicious, we took on the next leg of our journey to Stratford, which is part of the Cotswolds-a large area which is said to be made up of the "old england way of life". There were tiny villages and points of interest commemorating Shakespeare as he apparently was born or lived in the Cotswolds, more castles, and thatched cottages. We stayed in a renovated castle hotel called Studley Castle (which Adam assumed was named after him) which made for some prime picture taking. We drove a little ways the next day to a community called The Great Tew. My mom wanted to visit the estate there since she came from the Tew family line and wanted to see where her ancestors had come from. Unfortunately the manor must have been under renovation because we could not get in to see it. The surrounding community was just what you would want to see if you were interested in quaint English living.
That evening we drove down to the outskirts of London, dropped off our car and took the train into London where our hotel was. THIS part was an adventure to be sure. We got to the Kingsway Hotel to check in and hit the sack, just to find out that only one of our rooms was available, while the other was holding a man from out of the country who had apparently contracted the swine flu and could not leave the hotel. They checked us in to their "sister hotel" down the street for the night, so Adam and I took that one so mom and dad could settle in sooner. Much to our good luck, chivalry pays off and we got the better room! Mom and dad's was not only tiny but was equipped with a trailer-sized bathroom that could only fit one person at a time at mom's size, and none at all at dad's. So, with the combo of the trailer bathroom and swine infested room, we decided to move across the street to the old reliable Day's Inn. Life was much better after that. We spent the next 4 days seeing all the typical London sites, shopping, relaxing, eating English chocolate, and dreading the 18-hour return trip. We even got a special treat when dad bought tickets for us all to see Les Miserables!! Boy oh boy were we in heaven (even Adam, who had never seen a Broadway production before!)
All in all it was an amazing vacation, more than I ever could have expected. Adam and I were so sad to leave the peaceful, beautiful country setting (although we loved London, we decided we could never live there!) that we've decided we'd attempt to set up one of his internships in Great Britain! Here's some pictures for your enjoyment. If you hunger and thirst for more, check out my facebook!
Ediburgh Castle
A typical home out in the country
Studley Castle hotel
Adam and I with Granny and Grandpa
