Quick England rundown

As you may know, I’ve been in England visiting Brooke and David since May 21 (I left on May 20 and arrived the next day), and I’m going home tomorrow, June 2. The following are Facebook statuses that I’ve been posting quickly each day so as to not forget everything we’ve done. I do hope to go back and actually write about this trip, and these notes will help.

Day 1: Arrived, unpacked, napped, had fish and chips, and went to British Wal-Mart.

Day 2: Cereal while watching the BBC and NHK, waiting for the sleepyheads, lunch at Wagamama Japanese, stroll through Sheffield Town Center, drive around Peak District with stops for photos, steak and kidney pie at Red Lion Inn, quick grocery stop for supplies for picnicking in Wales!

Day 3: WALES! A walk through Conwy Castle, then a drive in and around Snowdonia. Absolutely beautiful! Quite a drive from Sheffield, but totally worth it.

Day 4: Relaxation galore. Felt a little sick so stayed in and rested and visited with David’s family. Had lovely snacks and sandwiches for lunch and Indian takeout for dinner.

Day 5: Whitby, a lovely seaside town with charming shops, great restaurants, and amazing, beautiful abbey ruins on a hillside. Saw train station used in Harry Potter on the way back!

Day 6: Another rest day. Ran errands and played with David’s telescope. Saw the surface of the moon, plus Saturn and two of its moons!

Day 7: Hardwick, home of Brooke’s hero, Bess, Countess of Shrewsbury; and Sherwood Forest.

Day 8: Shopping, eating, York Minster, and the train museum in York, then exploring the origins of the Pilgrims.

Day 9: Newstead Abbey, home of Lord Byron, with Emma, Jessica, and James, then amazing six-course dinner at The Old Vicarage, a Michelin Star restaurant.

Day 10: Picnic lunch at Roche Abbey with the Kenmores and Robertses. Ruins exploration and soccer-kicking a kickball around the lawn. Then, dinner with David’s parents. And I got birthday cards and presents!

Day 11: LONDON! Sherlock Holmes museum, Waiting for Godot with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, a photowalk around Trafalgar Square, and dinner in Chinatown.