Chris and I had a fantastic time abroad for 12 days. We were able to see friends, family, and new sites. The weather felt wonderful; a brisk 66 degrees and light mist everyday. Everyone kept apologizing for the weather and we just smiled and enjoyed it. I figured the best way to tell our tale would be with pictures and captions. Enjoy! (I will try my best to keep these in chronological order)
The first picture I took on our trip was of our teeny rental car that we had for the entire time. This "matchbox car" was so small that it barely fit all of our luggage. I joked that I could have probably thumped it and it would have fallen over. Chris enjoyed driving a manual car on the other side of the road. We only forgot that we weren't in an American car a few times when we walked to the opposite sides of the car.
We spent our first full day in England visiting old friends. We got to play with this sweet little girl on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. She was such a fun gal to play with and watch get into trouble. That evening, we also got to see our old friends, the Eggs. Later that evening, we ate at a Pizza Place and then watched a spectacular fireworks shows. It was probably one of the best that I have ever seen.
We didn't get a picture with the Eggs that night, but we did get a pic the next night when we celebrated Tasha's birthday at a Mexican restaurant?!?! It was kind of weird to eat Mexican food in England, but it was pretty tasty. It was called a Mexican Blanket (aka burrito) and for dessert we had Chocolate Nachos which were sopapillas with ice cream and whipped cream. Dessert was the best part!!
Sunday morning, we went to church with Chris' grandma and dad. We were a little late to the services due to us not getting our gps at the rental place and not having a clue where we were driving. It was difficult for me to wrap my head around the road systems in England. At least in Texas, there is almost always a very straight forward way of getting to places. In this part of England, we couldn't go the straight route because there was a river and there wasn't a bridge anywhere near us. Needless to say, we took the long route.
Here we are in front of Chris' grandmother's church, Ranworth, with his grandmother and dad.
Inside Ranworth Church
Chris' grandfather is buried right outside of the church. They were putting on a new headstone and flowers.
For lunch we went to a pub called the Fur and Feather Inn. I had Yorkshire pudding, the bread bowl in the picture, with a beef and mushroom stew. Add that with some "chips", veggies, and a pint and I was sold!
At the Fur and Feather Inn, Chris' dad insisted on getting our picture with this other picture in the background saying, "Nelson's Revenge".
After lunch, we went to see the boat that Chris' dad would be staying on for the duration of his trip. He intended us to go sailing on it, but everyday we planned to go it was raining too much.
You can see where I got to ride in the car and just how tiny it was.
We also got to visit, on Sunday, the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Norwich. We went to Midnight Mass there in 2009, but we didn't get to really tour the cathedral. It is gorgeous and pictures do not give it justice.
This is the North Sea from our little cottage. It was really neat to be that close to the ocean.
Since we drove a lot, I frequently took pictures of random things. This time it was of a windmill.
Chris took me all around his old stompin' grounds. We went to Mundesley where Chris lived in his youth before moving to Spain.
He took me to Cromer where we had aunthentic fish and chips. This was delicious. They charged us for ketchup, as I love ketchup on everything, but the malted vinegar on the fries was delicious.
We visited Blickling Hall, which is the site where Anne Boleyn was born and lived until she was around 5 years old.It was a gigantic hall with too many rooms to count. I loved the gardens and the artwork inside.
And you think Texas has problems...
I wasn't so sure about these chips "crisps", but they were fantastic. Walker's is equivalent to our Lay's chips. I wonder if I can find these in the States???
We visited Chris' mom and stepfather and she had laid out a delicious lunch for us.
The pork pie even had the Union Jack emblem on it.
Chris' mom arranged for us to see "Taming of the Shrew" at the Norwich Cathedral Cloisters
Even though it was cold and had been raining all day, the weather turned out nice and we had a wonderful time.
Chris had to have his beer.
Continue on to Part 2!!!
Looks like so much fun!!!!
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