Ginny and Michael's loop around southern England :)

Chris, me, Ginny, and Michael in front of Bodiam Castle.

 

I love fun visitors.  Seriously, it’s great to explore new places and catch up with friends at the same time.  Our latest visitors were a good friend Ginny who I met in optometry school and her fun husband Michael.  They were brave enough to leave their adorable 2-year old daughter Mila with family in Nebraska to go on an adults-only European adventure.  These two knew how to party when we were in school, and the combo of vacation and no Mila allowed them to amass some great stories by the time they arrived to spend a weekend with us.  Ginny and Michael had already been to Amsterdam, Belgium, and Paris and although they had some rough travels (overnight flight delay, missed train) they were incredibly positive about their experiences.  After so many guests, Chris and I have pinned down what makes great travelers:  Firstly, it’s a good attitude and not a ‘why me?’ self-pity party if things don’t go according to plan.  Traveling never goes exactly according to plan.  Being able to find the good in things helps to make trips enjoyable.  The second thing the best travelers have in common is the ability to balance flexibility with speaking up when they have an opinion.   There’s such a balance with this but either end of the spectrum – when you get someone who says ‘whatever you want to do’ all the time or someone who must have exactly their way (usually at the expense of their spouse or us!) makes it hard for everyone to get along.  Fortunately most of our guests have fallen somewhere in that happy middle, but that’s especially true of Ginny and Michael.  The first day I picked them up from the train station and we went into Cambridge for the afternoon.  I had a list of things to show them but after only five minutes they both admitted to being burned out from a tourist standpoint and wanted more than anything to sit by the river and enjoy a couple beers.  So we did!  From there we went to the lake for our triathlon club’s Friday lake swim (where Chris swam but I ended up sitting with them on the grass, drinking beer instead) and then home for dinner.  Maybe we all needed a relaxing day!

The River Cam, Cambridge.

 

The next morning the five of us (Bailey came with) set off bright and early.  Our first stop was Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world, somewhere we had never been.  Chris passed on the castle to walk around the cute surrounding town with Bailey, so Ginny, Michael, and I skipped the loooong line with our pre-booked tickets, got our free audio guides, and started wandering around the grounds.   I was quite impressed with Windsor, and as a bonus surprise, we saw the Queen!  She was getting ready to go to the Royal Ascot.  Walking through the impressive State Apartments, Ginny pointed out that much of the weaponry, art work, and artifacts on display were stolen by Great Britain throughout history. So true.   

St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle .

Windsor Castle.

From Windsor we drove a couple hours to Stonehenge to let Ginny and Michael wander around a bit on their own while Chris and I shared a beer and a sandwich on the surrounding fields.  It was such a gorgeous, relaxing day! 

Ginny and Michael at Stonehenge.

Chris and Bailey on a little walk near Stonehenge.

After an hour or so we got back in the car, heading south to the coast.  We arrived at the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs by early evening and spent another couple lazy hours wandering along the coast.  I absolutely loved everything about Seven Sisters.   We meant to go back to the sea town of Brighton for dinner but were exhausted by the evening and decided to instead get some (really delicious) mussels at a place just down the road from our hotel.   Good choice.  The food and drinks were great and I was able to get to bed early to try to get over a terrible cold. 

Seven Sisters Chalk Cliffs.

Seven Sisters Chalk Cliffs.

Seven Sisters Chalk Cliffs.

Seven Sisters Chalk Cliffs.

Seven Sisters Chalk Cliffs.

Breakfast was included at our hotel , and It was obvious from the other breakfast attendees that the four of us lowered the average age of the guests by a full 30 years!  Hahahaha.  After breakfast we got the car packed up and headed about an hour down the road to the storybook ruins of Bodiam Castle.  Ginny, Michael, and I built up our leg muscles as we climbed up and down the castle walls while Chris and Bailey stalked ducks around the castle’s moat.  We had some lunch there and spent our last hour together in the car chatting about life and the future.   We were a little sad to drop Ginny and Michael off at the London tube but we knew they'd enjoy their last few days of vacation in such a great city.   Chris and I said goodbye and drove the last hour back to Brampton to get ready for the week.

Ginny and Michael on top of Bodiam Castle.

 

One last photo of Bodiam Castle.

All in all it was a great weekend and we hope Ginny and Michael had as much fun as we did!