Spring Break

B determined to play in the ocean in St. Ives. It was drizzling, windy and chilly, but she "went to the ocean."
DA and L navigating the stairs on side of the cliff in Tinagel to get down from King Arthur's castle. It was very foggy at the time.

(photo of kids in "Merlin's cave' in Tinagel. It was low tide, so we could climb down there. It is filled with the ocean during high tide)



We had a very busy and relaxing spring break. The kids get off 2 weeks from school, so most families take time to go back to the States. It was too soon for us. If I took B back now, she would NEVER get back on a plane again. One family brought us back some A1 sauce, so we are excited to get that - our version of souvenirs has changed somewhat, don't you think.
I'll give you a recap of our spring break travels:
Canterbury to see Cathedral and town. Interesting Roman museum there from when the Romans occupied the area. B's favorite site, Gap Kids!
Dover Castle and WWII tunnels - the tunnels are so interesting. They have only been off the "secret" list for 20 years and some have only opened up in the last few years, so fairly new thing to tour. If you like WWII history, you would enjoy walking through them. Overlooks the English Channel.
London Zoo - good, but not as good as Ft. Worth or San Diego Zoos. we had gone into town to visit Madam Taussad's, but there were about 2000 people in line, so we thought we'd do that another day. Wax statues aren't worth a 4 hour wait when you live here. Although I tried to figure out the bus system to ride around to the Zoo entrance, I failed miserably. waited 20 min for bus, rode for 2 stops, got off a wrong place, still had to walk for 30 min. in the cold, cold wind. Then walked through the zoo. afterwards the nearest tube stop is "very close" but really about 25 min. walk. B was so tired, but I didn't have enough cash to pay a taxi, so L carried her on his back forever. what a sweet brother! One bright spot - hot chocolate at Starbucks and a quick visit to The Gap Kids to try on clothes. I've (unfortunately) trained her early.
STOMP show - kids loved it. now they are banging on everything. Funny - hearing a tic tac box being rattled for 20 minutes at home isn't the same as paying to see it on stage. How do they make it sound like music? Obviously a talent we don't have.
DA and I took short morning out by ourselves to buy an English antique piece of furniture about 30 miles away that I had seen while out with a friend. Traffic was horrible since it was Good Friday/holiday weekend and took 1.5 hours to drive there only for the store to be closed when we arrived! major bummer.
Windsor Castle - there on Easter Sunday - the Queen was in residence that day and we saw some of the royal kids playing outside with their dogs. L's comment "just another castle where someone lived along time ago and died and they did something great. Can we go now?"
getting a little jaded on the castles don't you think?
Legoland - loved it in San Diego and liked it in Windsor. L is a little older now, so he has basically outgrown it. Still had fun though. the miniature London in Legos is very cool. They had DA's work building made out of Legos about 10 feet tall. The driving school had kids driving the cars on the left side of road. Now the kids know how weird it feels. One boy (obviously American) kept telling B she was on the wrong side of the road while driving on the left. She kept yelling back at him. NO I'M NOT!
Company to visit - DA's cousin and family on their way to Africa for medical mission trip at Village of Hope in Ghana. The Oprah episode about that place was on while they were here, so I was able to show the kids where they were going. They are still in Ghana as I write, hope they are having a good, productive trip.
Cornwall area of England. Otherwise known as "THE WEST". It is the western most point of the country and a sea faring land. there are some beautiful views, but it was foggy, so we didn't get the full effect. B and L knew we were staying at the beach, but didn't realize how cold it would be. B was determined to play in the sand, so she was shivering in her swim suit with blue lips, digging in the sand, but she did it. Determination is her middle name! St. Ives is a beautiful town. If you ever have time to visit there, you will enjoy it.
While in Cornwall, we visited Wells (very quaint little town and beautiful Cathedral); Land's End (great cliffs and views); Glastonbury (where King Arthur supposedly buried and some say Jesus visited as a child - I dont think his travels were posted on a blog!); Tinagel (where King Arthur supposedly lived) fun to walk down into Merlin's cave when tide is low and up on the cliffs to the castle ruins - Must be very able bodied to climb all the steps; Penzance (very pretty Mount St. Micheal island there - cousin to French place with same name); Boscastle - famous for recent flood that washed the whole town away and all the cars into the ocean in 2004, but it has beautiful views too. DA stopped in to a shop by the ocean to buy a "cream tea" as they are famous in Cornwall. Ended up being 2 bisquits, tea and butter. I told him it was clotted cream, but he said tasted like butter. He wasnt too impressed with their "famous cream tea": and lastly, St. Ives. I enjoyed St. Ives and Tinagel the most. Land's End is pretty, but we thought a town would be there, instead just a cheesy boardwalk area. But you go for the views of the cliffs and Atlantic ocean and it is spectacular.
One highlight (NOT) of the trip is that one little girl threw up right beside me on the bus on 2nd day. The roads are VERY curvy (they call them "scenic") in that part of country and she got car sick. I felt so sorry for her, but at least she missed me! I thought my kids were going to get sick just seeing all that happen right beside them. Fortunately they persevered.
We can officially mark Cornwall off the list. Been there, done that.