We stayed another night in Stratford. I got sick in the night but pushed forward. We went into Shakespeare's childhood home and learned about his life. There were lots of people milling about and even a class of children getting a tour of the Bard's life. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were grateful for the warmth.
After our walking tour of Stratford we headed out to the South toward Bath.
It was a three hour drive and I was not feeling well the whole time. I was sure glad when we made it to The Ayrlington, our B&B. The Ayrlington was a really cute boutique B&B with antique furnishings and really cute rooms. I was happy to get into the bath and take a nap while Rick went out exploring the area. Brach and Kenni went off on their own exploring the city as well. They walked A LOT to see the sights, and ended up stopping on the Pulteney Bridge for some awesome (so it was reported) pizza and salad.
Rick let me sleep for an hour (which was wonderful) and brought me back some potatoes and meat. I couldnt eat too much but it felt good to get a little something in me.
Afterwards, Rick took me on a little drive to see a little of the city. We drove up to The Crescent and around the streets of Bath. It was nice:)
The next morning we drove southeast toward Stonehenge. It was cold and cloudy but the phenom was cool to see. For some reason I thought we could get right into and around the stones but it was sectioned off and we could only walk around it. At one point we got fairly close to take a few pictures.
Next we drove to the temple located in Lingfield. I still was not feeling well but did ok during our sealing session. Thankfully, the temple rents clothing so we did not have to bring all of our temple clothes. At the end of the session we got the chance to go into the sealing room. Rick and I didn't stay long. I was really just wanting to get to the hotel to lay down again😔
After the temple we checked in at the Lingfield Marriott just a few miles from the temple. This Marriott is attached to a horse racing venue. Our rooms looked right over the track.
Brach and Kendra took the car for an evening of exploring the area. It is super beautiful in this part of England. I feel funny saying that because every area seems so beautiful but the county of Kent is known as the "garden of England" so that explains what I mean. I love the little country roads here. Brach and Kendra had a nice time and ended up having dinner out and about.
Once again, Rick just hung out with me in the room. He brought me up some soup and veggies from the hotel restaurant and that helped me to feel a little better.
The next morning I woke up feeling A LOT better and was able to eat some breakfast.
As we were leaving the hotel we learned that there was going to be a horserace that day. We decided to stay and watch. We tried to get back into our rooms but couldn't so we were bummed about that because our rooms were literally above the race track.
Toby, the attendant at the desk told Rick that he would happily comp us into the race!
We had a couple of hours to use up before the first race started so we drove fifteen minutes over to Hever Castle, Ann Bolyn's childhood home. We took a tour of the castle and walked around the grounds for just a few minutes. I wish we had more time to see the gardens because they were very beautiful!
When we got back to the Marriott Toby not only got us in for free but he also showed us around the horse racing area and taught us a little bit of what goes on during the race and how to read the program. None of us had ever been to a race before so it was SUPER FUN!
We were able to catch most of the first race (while Rick was parking the car) and then Toby took us down to the parade ring where each of the horses are paraded around for everyone to see. This gives people a chance to decide which horse they want to bet on. (No betting for us)😉
We absolutely LOVED watching the horses on the parade ring. They were so beautiful and looked so strong! Some were massive and others were normal size. It was interesting to see that it's not necessarily the horse with the longest legs that wins.
I tell you that it was SO EXCITING to hear the thunder of the horses hooves as they came barreling past us going full speed. Just exhilarating! We watched two parades and two full races. Honestly I could have stayed for another couple of hours experiencing my first hours race!
We turned the car without any issues and caught the shuttle back to the airport. With the help of a nice gentleman who was on the shuttle with us we were able to find the tube transport quite easily. We got our tickets and loaded on to the tube and rode in the forty five minutes to the Earl's Court Stop. Our hotel was just a short walk from the tube station.
We were able to stay at the Hotel George which is where we stayed many years ago on our first trip to London. I liked it very much the first time we came because of the great location. Many of London's iconic attractions are just a stop or two away when riding the tube. Our room was very small but we were happy to stay in a nice place in the city. I think it was probably the most expensive lodging on our whole trip but being in the city does cost more!
After getting settled we found a pub just down the street from our hotel and we got some more yummy pub food! I had a chicken sandwich and Rick got the fish and chips:)
Here we are hitching a ride on the tube!
What a fun evening we had! We went over to Victoria Station and walked out right in to the Apollo Theatre where we spent the evening watching Wicked. It was a great time with beautiful singing and great acting. One thing that was interesting was the patrons drinking their alcohol from glass stemware. They actually had actual glass! I thought that was pretty interesting. You don't see that in the states anywhere that I can think of. We always have plasticware in our theaters.
Our driver stopped at Peggy Porchen's, a fun boutique style bakery. Of course we had to get some of those lovely cupcakes!
And it was just the cutest shop!
We also stopped at this old pub. this apparently is a place the royals have liked to come to.
We DID get into the Tower of London for a couple of hours (while the cabbie waited) and had a really enjoyable experience listening to this guy (a beefeater) tell us lots of history about the tower. He was really fun to listen to and made our history lesson enjoyable.
Hear we are with the White Castle behind us.
Many Royals (mostly of the Stuarts rein) lived in this castle including Henry VIII and his wives.
Just outside of the castle was where Ann Bolynn was killed.
A member of The Queens Guard protecting the crown jewels.
Which by the way were incredible to see!
No photos allowed, though.
The traitors gate.
An overview of the tower of London and it's surroundings,
We got a nice picture with the Tower Bridge in the distance.
Rick and Big Ben
Westminster Abbey
We waited here awhile for Brach who was jogging towards us.
And it was freezing!
It was yummy!
What a wonderful time we had in England with the Boman's. We feel very blessed to have been able to spend a whole week with them exploring some sights of England. They were able to get off on their flight and Rick and I got checked in to take our next flight over to Ireland.
Of course, I got the Margarita!
Rick's was loaded with stuff!
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