Well, for the break we did not celebrate Thanksgiving since they don't do that in England, obviously! We may have a mini Thanksgiving later on, but it will depend since Brian has some trips for work coming up and Hannah's birthday is Monday.
So, as for our trip, we had a jolly good time with Brian's family, the girls and I got to see London and Norwich for the first time, and I picked up quite a few colloquialisms as you may notice throughout this entry(I was a bit fascinated with them, actually). I also got to taste quite a variety of traditional English food. The very first night we ate bangers and mash which is little sausages and mashed potatoes. Of course, there was the fish and chips (fried fish and french fries) of which I only had the chips since I am not a fish kind of girl. We also went to a "Carvery" or buffet where they cut the meat for you. I tried Yorkshire pudding and these things that looked like meatballs, but were made of suet or something like that. I also tried some of Charlotte's (Brian's cousin) mincemeat pie. I had crumpets for the first time, and I like them so well that I brought some home with me. My favorite thing was Cream Tea which is a meal that includes tea, a light sandwich, and a scone with butter, jam, and whipped cream on top. Mmmm! Everything was quite good!
The family was so very hospitable! Hannah and Genna really took to everyone quite well! Hannah really bonded with her Great Nanna whom she had never met before. On our tour of Norwich, they walked hand in hand the whole time! Uncle David cooked us a couple of wonderful English dinners. Auntie Loraine appeared to be in heaven having the girls around. She took great care to make sure we had a great time and helped Andrew show us around London and Sherringham. Andrew, bless his heart, was our 24 hour a day tour guide the whole holiday. His job didn't end when the girls and I went to bed either because he showed Brian around the local pubs after we turned in. Charlotte showed us the good shopping, played endless hide and seek with the girls (hiding in the same place every time, mind you), and took us to some delicious restaurants. Uncle Paul was a big hit too. He seemed to really enjoy Hannah and Genna's performances. The last day they actually cleared the living room for an all out dance recital. With Hannah in the lead, the girls did everything from creative moment dancing, to yoga, to sit ups, to singing their German songs. Uncle Paul was their biggest fan! We had such a great time with family that we hated to leave! We are so blessed to have them so close since the majority of our family is so very far away.
Sightseeing was an adventure and a feat in itself. There was just not enough time to do and see it all, but we sure gave it a good go. The first of the three full days we had to sightsee we spent in their home town, Norwich. We walked down into the city and went to tea at Norwich Castle. Then we took a tour of the museum. The girls loved the stuffed real animals, dressing up in togas, and riding the simulated chariot. We walked around Norwich a bit and saw shops, ancient buildings, and Norwich Cathedral. The next day we went to London on the train. We saw the house of parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. We were not able to go into them for one reason or another, but we got to see the beautiful architecture. We had a picnic at St. James park where the geese and pigeons surrounded us. We went to the Tate Britain museum in hopes of seeing my absolute favorite statue, The Kiss by Rodin, but it had been moved to Liverpool for the whole year. Isn't that a shame? We also went to Hamley's toy store (a 5-story toy wonderland near Piccadilly Circus) for the kids to play and have something fun for them to do since the rest wasn't geared toward them. It was a very long day, and they did well although Genna did throw a little wobbly occasionally. She was a bit crankier than her normal, more agreeable self, but she was way short on sleep. We ended the trip to London with dinner at an Indian restaurant that was delicious! The last full day in England was spent at Wroxam Barns (a country shopping village with a petting zoo) and on the coast of the North Sea in Sherringham. We had cream tea and did some shopping, and the girls and Brian went to a barn where they could pet and feed the animals. The last thing we did was go to the coast. It was pretty, but it was freezing cold with the wind and all so we didn't stay too long.
Well, that about sums it up! I am working on the pictures. They'll be up soon!
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