England Rocks!

We left Almaty on June 23 and headed to England to visit Audra's grandmother and our dear friends, the Hymers.  Henry has never been, Lora went when she was 3 years old, and Adeline went when she was 9 months old.  It all began with a rental car drive from London to Falmouth (about 5 hours). That was a crash course in driving a stick shift on the left side of the road with the steering wheel on the right side of the car!  We survived, and had a great time looking at all the scenery on the way down.

Audra attempts to navigate the narrow, windy roads of Cornwall with her 92 year old grandmother in the passenger seat.  Yes, this is a two way road.  :)  Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen.  

Audra and her grandmother, Lora, at Pendennis castle.  Yes, Lora is named after her.  

Cliff walk in Falmouth.  

When the tide is out, Falmouth has amazing tide pools.  We went exploring!

 Eating Cornish Pasties!  A must have when you are in Cornwall!

 Enjoying the sunshine at Gyllngvase Beach.

 Swimming in the Atlantic. Look how clear this water is!

 You have to eat fish and chips, too!

 Swan Pool Beach on a gorgeous day.  I love this place.

Adeline enjoys the view.

Audra's great-grandparents (or maybe great-great?) used to live in this house.  Many family memories here.

Woodbury Farm - Audra's great-grandmother is from here.  It is now private, so we couldn't drive up to the house.  We had to stop at the gate.  :(

Boat ride up the River Fal from Falmouth to Truro.  Audra's mother spent her childhood on this river.

Cornish cream tea!  Scones, jam, and clotted cream.  Do not skimp on the clotted cream - a large scoop is the only way to eat it!  Mmmm….

On the way back to Falmouth on the boat, we had an amazing rainbow, and just as we took a picture, a seagull started following us. I think he was drafting off the boat!  The flag behind us is the Cornish flag.

Henry got baptized in Helston, Cornwall while we were there.  My grandmother was so excited to be able to attend one of her great-grandchild's baptism.  She was baptized, along with my 16-year old mother, in England during the 1960s.  It was an honor to be able to do it with her, and even have her speak at his baptism.  This is her beautiful garden where she has lived for over 55 years.

Audra has been to England throughout her life, and has never been to Stonehenge.  This time, we made it happen!  It was remarkable!

We left Falmouth and drove to Bury St. Edmund's to visit one of Audra's dearest friends, Teresa.  This is the Abbey Gate in the beautiful gardens of Bury.  

 With Teresa in the ruins of the Abbey.  It was destroyed by King Henry when he went on a rampage against the Catholic church.  So sad. 

 We took a town tour of Bury St. Edmunds and learned a lot.  The funniest part was when the proper British tour guide was telling us about King Henry's daughter, Mary.  She suddenly looked at the kids and whispered, "I'm sorry, but I am going to say a curse word that is not very nice.  They called her 'Bloody Mary'".  I was expecting something much worse than that!  I love how proper most British people are.  My kids now know that "Bloody" is a swear word in England.  So don't say it if you ever go there.  :)  Sorry, mom.  I just swore on the blog.

I love England.  Probably because I was raised by a British mother.  And I'm half English.  It's a beautiful country with so much history. It has always been one of my favorite places.  I'm glad I go to see more of it this time, and share it with my family.