Windsor Castle

We've just visited Windsor Castle. Although the Queen was in residence, she did not invite us in for tea.

We saw around the state rooms and watched the changing of the guards as well as looking through the St George's Cathedral. It was amazing to see the areas which had been restored after a fire. In some places they had simply turned the burnt floor boards over and resurfaced the other side.

The girls got to see the doll house which was made for Queen Mary. Although it was never to be a toy, the doll house has contributions from many different artists, furniture makers etc. It was to be a show case of all the best things in England, on a miniature scale. It even has running water!

Courtney liked the Cathedral most of all because of the area dedicated to the Knights of the Garter. Each Knight is permitted to select their coat of arms and above their seat they display their sword and 'colours'

First Day in London

London

We have arrived in London and the girls have already experienced a lot of the London Underground. We left the hire car at Heathrow Airport and caught the train into the city. From there we caught a 'black cab' to our apartment which is in a lovely part of town.

It was a beautiful day outside so we walked went for a coffee and then walked through the Kensington Gardens and into Hyde Park. We saw the Albert Memorial, Albert Hall and the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. It has been a bright and warm day in London and the gardens looked wonderful. The fountain was funny because there was a security guard preventing the children from playing in one section of the Diana Memorial. Obviously there had been a few too many kids slipping over in that particular part.

Just when the girls had given up on walking, Louise took us back on the tube to Westminter. It was amazing walking out of the tube station and realising your standing at the base of Big Ben. It really hits home that you have arrived in London.

We went on the London eye but as the sun was so bright and setting, it was at times a touch warm inside the glass room and a little uncomfortable. Still the views were pretty good and Dad and the girls are pretty excited to see all of the places we are going to visit up close over the next week.

The Winchester City Mill

It's been a lazy old day in Winchester. We has a sleep in and the wandered into town to look at a traditional working flour mill. The stream powers a water wheel which turns the gears which in turn move a big stone which grinds the corn into flour.

It's easy to see why Louise misses Winchester. It is a very pretty little town with crystal clear streams running right through the parks.

On the way home we did some window shopping and Brooke bought herself a finger ring which is a lizard, wrapping around her finger.

This evening we went toThe Wykeham Arms for dinner.

Walking the Streets of Winchester

We went to the Winchester Cathedral this afternoon. The catherdral has been in place in various forms since 648 AD.

There was a huge stain glass window which was made up of lots of pieces of broken glass. The pieces came from previous windows of the church, which were smashed during the English Civil War.

The author Jane Austin is buried within the cathedral but no one really knows why, because she only lived in Winchester for 8 weeks before she died and she was not famous when she died.

The crypt of the cathedral floods according to the rain and there is a statue in the crypt which aside from it being a monument - it also acts as a depth gauge. On the day we went the floor was only partially wet but we are told it gets as deep as his knees after heavy rain.

One of the memorials inside the cathedral honors a man who spent 6 years diving in the dark water under the cathedral, single handedly working to install concrete supports to the foundations of the cathedral.

Courtney really doesn't like all these churches. She is a little put off by the fact historical places if worship have become tourist attractions charging an entry fee and also because you have to step on peoples remains in order to walk around the church.

Afterwards, we wandered the streets of Winchester and CJ bought a new colorful backpack which she loves. Then we went to the pub - for the WiFi.

Winchester

Thecranegirls are currently in Winchester, staying in a three storey house - with no internet connection!

We're all taking a little break from the frantic tourist lifestyle and the girls have taken to playing Risk, a board game of army strategy. We're having a ball but at the same time wasting the beautiful sunny days that are outside.

Last night we went to the Bush Inn in Ovington for dinner.

We're here until Friday when we move into London for the last week. Then it will be back to madly trying to see and experience all we can as quick as we can.

Bath

Matchstick

Travelers

Versaille

Versaille pancake

Dads paris street

Longleat snake

Bath Abbey

The silence

CJ's threshold.

It's fair to say Courtney has reached her threshold of having her photo taken. Before the trip Dad told CJ that regardless, she had to have lots of photos of herself in the various places we went on this holiday.

She has, without hesitation, posed for hundreds of photos over the last fortnight. It's wearing thin...

Volvo S60 - Brilliant

Today Dad found out Volvo have invented a 'safety system' that parents have been crying out for for years.

The rear head rests in the S60 are spring loaded and when a button on the dash is pressed, they fling forward.

In the event a child is playing up in the back, the parent can deliver a gentle blow to the back of the head.

Thecranegirls love it ! :)

http://youtu.be/pLZKSOErJBc

Blenheim Palace

This morning the girls went to Blenheim Palace, the home to the Duke and Duchess of Malborough. It is a wonderful old building which has been in the Spencer-Churchill family for hundreds of years. Outside there is a beautiful garden, fountains and a man made lake with waterfalls.

The palace is also the place where Sir Winston Churchill (the current Duke is Churchill's godson) was born in 1874. There was a section dedicated to Churchill and his life.

Exploring Oxford

We arrived in Oxford early in the afternoonnd after negotiating with an angry parking ticket machine, we made it to the Ashmolean museum.

There was heaps of Egyptian, Greek and Chinese artifacts. There was also some more modern history including a number of Stradivarius violins, including the Messiah which is famous partly because it is in such good condition, leading some people to doubt it was hundreds of years old. This violin was donated to the Ashmolean on the condition it was never played again.

Then we walked over to Christ Church College, one of the most well known colleges which form Oxford University. The college is a beautiful old building and the large dining hall is now more famous as being Hogwarts Hall from the Harry Porter movies.

The girls also stood on the steps where Professor McGonagall welcomed new students to Hogwarts School of Magic and we saw the courtyard where Harry learnt to fly on a broom and play quidditch.

Afterwards we wandered the streets of Oxford, getting a feel for the university town. The girls walked through Radcliffe's Camera

Stourhead

This morning we visited Stourhead, a beautiful old manor house which was previously owned by one of the banking families. The grounds are huge with beautiful gardens. As we explored the gardens, thecranegirls finally got to experience how bitterly cold the weather can be in the United Kingdom.

It's fair to say thecranegirls have given this old building and gardens thing a decent go - but it's not growing on them (or Dad).

Stonehenge

This afternoon we visited Stongehenge. It was freezing cold and we're not sure we have it justice doing our quick lap and dashing back to the car.

And We Backed Light

Longleat Safari Park

The Maze

Telephone Box

Longleat

Roman Baths, Bath

Clara Oswin's house

The Doctor's companion, Clara Oswin lives in this house - in the show.

Sushi Lunch

For lunch we went to a sushi place where the food comes past on a conveyor belt and you choose small portions as you like.

Safe to say we've found a new favorite of Courtney's.

Cardiff

The Doctor Who Experience

Today we went to the Doctor Who experience in Cardiff. It started with an interactive show and then you could wander around and see all the old costumes, TARDIS consoles and characters.

Cardiff

oday we travelled from Belfast to Cardiff. Basically the whole reason for coming to Cardiff is to see the Doctor Who Experience. We are booked in for the big show tomorrow so today we spent the afternoon wandering the streets looking at places where Doctor Who episodes had been filmed. For lunch we stopped at Eddie's cafe, the place where the episode Impossible Astronaut was filmed (in part).

Tonight we had dinner at Jamie's Italian, one of the restaurants owned by Jamie Oliver. It was some really lovely Italian cooking.

Cardiff Penthouse

Titanic Exhibition

Today we went to the Titanic Exhibition in Belfast. It was a really modern museum with heaps of cool interactive exhibits.

Afterwards we walked along the Titanic trail which ended at the dry dock where the Titanic was launched from. We got go down right into the bottom if the dock and see the second last place the Titanic settled.

View from the girls window

Thecranegirls are currently staying at Rayanne House in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

 

Courtney's Birthday

Today is Courtney's 14th birthday. Although she is missing her family and friends very much, she knows show lucky she is to be spending her birthday in two different countries.

Today we sorted of "wasted" a day away in Paris. After a week of getting up early, waking and rushing we decided on having a little sleep in. There is along way to go yet and we don't want to get burnt out. 

We packed the suitcases up and Dad and the girls went to the Le Comptior Cafe down stairs and had fish and chips while Louise ducked out for a last minute look at the shops (the rest of us had retired our feet)

But the resting didn't last long and soon we were walking with the suitcases to the train station (where the escalator was broken) to catch the two trains to the airport. 

We flew Easyjet from Paris to Belfast which took about 75 minutes - once they'd changed a wheel on the plane. 

When we arrived at our accommodation there was a huge bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates for the birthday lady, delivered all the way from Mum in Australia.

Rayanne House, the guest house we are staying in is beautiful. Courtney thinks it is jury like the house in a book she is reading at the moment. The girls have their own room with huge beds. 

M&M World London

Volvo S60 Parental Control

Stonehenge