{Flashback}: Day 1/Day2

We love that we are slowly checking off our list on things to see. And this particular trip pretty much finalized everything we really want to see in the U.K. Now we have the rest of Europe to see!

But before I begin retelling our most recent trip, I must mention that this time around when we rented our car, we rented a manual car instead of an automatic like we had done for our trip to Scotland. Manual cars are not only way cheaper than automatics, but also more accessible. Automatics are harder to come around. We figured we, basically Tim, might as well sooner or later for all the above reasons.
Tim was GREAT! He only stalled 2x getting out of the parking spot. hahaha But after 5 minutes he was completely comfortable. I must say not having driven a manual in 5 years and now having to shift with the left hand is quite impressive! Tim said that driving an automatic, on the left hand side of the road, and knowing traffic laws from beforehand helped greatly. Well done, hubby!

So, first on our list this weekend; Stonehenge! When we first moved here locals were saying that the Stonehenge may disappoint us and that it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. I was actually really sad to hear that! But I very much appreciate the honesty. I'm glad people warned me about the Mona Lisa years ago.
But of course, we still wanted to see the Stonehenge despite contrary opinions. And I must say, that I highly disagree with everyone! I really liked it!

Above is the "Heel Stone". I learned before our arrival that when one stands within Stonehenge, facing north-east through the entrance towards the heel stone, one sees the sun rise above the stone at summer solstice. Cool.

After a pretty quick stop we kept on in our journey toward Bath, England. A major tourist attraction in Bath is The Roman Baths. Basically, it is a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing. You can see The Baths and the museum, but you obviously can't go in the water. We didn't see it. Instead we wanted to lesiurely enjoy the amazing 80 degree weather we were having for a whole week in the U.K. in another little English town like the other ones we have seen.

While eating icecream, as usual, on a huge lawn, we saw many huge hot air balloons fly away. And the sun felt oh so good on our skin as we watched.

That night we arrived in Newport, Wales. The location was pretty much central to Tintern Abbey and Cardiff, Wales.
The next morning we headed first to Tintern Abbey. Not only was this Abbey amazing, but we had it all to ourselves for awhile. Per chance we arrived right at opening. It was still a little cool and the sun was still rising. It was quiet. The Abbey was gorgeously surrounded by trees turning fall colors. We couldn't have asked for a better scenario.

And what did we do with all this perfectness? Play hide-and-seek, of course!!

Oh, I caught someone running from Daddy!

After a lovely morning we headed to Cardiff. It was another fun city where we did some Cardiff Castle viewing from the outside, sucessful shopping (I had to go all the way to Wales to find Yankee Candles! Red Berry and Cedar for Christmas!), and more ice-cream eating along the water front.

We saw some pretty interesting Welsh words during our trip. I'm so curious how the words are pronounced. They seem to have more constantants than vowels. Tim and I shared some great laughs trying. Try saying the word for litter...

When I told Marisa that we were getting down and seeing Mermaid Quay, she. was. elated. She totally thought we were going to see mermaids. Did you know she thanks Heavenly Father for mermaids in her prayers? Yes, she does. haha
At least, the icecream wasn't a disappointment.