UK Travels

 So our adventure has taken us over to the United Kingdom via a 6.5 hour journey on the Stellaline ferry. The ferry was an amazing quality, even had a mini cinema where Lexi and I enjoyed watching the Avengers.
So yes the UK was next on our stop for about 2 weeks. We planned on hitting up London and some outlying cities for 1 week, then Wales for another week.

 

                 Leaving from the Hoek van Holland Port

Is this any way to greet a foreigner, by labeling them as the 'Others'??

London

In front of Big Ben with the London Eye in the background

Buckingham Palace

Enjoying some Fosters beer

When there are this many birds in one location, they are just begging to be chased. Or maybe I am just that immature... :)These photos were taken in St. James park.

Our London BF picture at King's Cross Station

Bath

                Visiting the Roman Baths in Bath, England

Liverpool 

Lexi has had a long time goal of going to a Liverpool soccer game and she jumped at the opportunity to go. I (Lexi) had a lot of fun going to the liverpool game, everyone was super helpful and friendly, and the atmosphere at the game was great. Also Liverpool won 1-0!

Have you ever seen Lexi show so much emotion? We have found the key!!
StonehengeWhile Lexi was living it up in Liverpool, I headed to Stonehenge with my friend Os I met in the hostel we were staying in.

                                           On the way to Stonehenge!!

Brighton

We were in Brighton for a couple nights. It is a funky seaside city, but overall it was a great place to visit.

Here we are lounging on the pier. Lexi is taking a nap while I am enjoying a good read.

Cambridge After Brighton we went to go visit one of Lexi's friends, Katie, who lives just outside on Cambridge. We visited Katie and her boyfriend Ross for two nights. We then went to tour around Cambridge for the day, most of the pictures are from our punting experience.

I was testing out the waterproof camera, and a lady sitting across from decided she wanted to put her hand in the water as well. Thankfully she did because I got this great shot. Pictured behind is the mathematical bridge and one of the oldest buildings in Cambridge.

                           Lexi, Katie and I with our punter, Tom in the back.

Ducks would continually follow our boat in hopes of getting some scraps of bread. Notice in the background not just the amazing beauty of the trees that drape over the river but also the deep red of the ivy on the buildings. Fall was a perfect time to visit this place.

Testing my hand at punting. I consider it a success only by the fact that I did not fall in.

       Enjoying dinner with the beautiful couple, Katie and Ross, before we head to Wales in the morning.

Wales

Next we were off to Wales to visit some of Lexi's relatives. In Lampeter, Wales we were most definitely off the beaton path of travelers and lived with Lexi's Aunt, Uncle and three cousins. Most of our week long stay just involved family life, and hanging around the home. It journey here could have not been more timely. We reached the half-way mark of our journey, and after coninutally being tourists for the last 1.5 months, it was such a blessing to be able to enjoy the normalcy of family life.


Pictured here is the beautiful Barker family. Pictured clockwise from Lexi: Christopher, Juliana, Sophia, Aunty Teresa, Uncle Greg.

One of our day trips we went to visit Aberystwyth. Included in the pictures are some castle ruins and the waterfront of the village.

The end result after Lexi gave Sophia a makeover with her eyes closed.

Another day trip we went to go see Dinefwr Park and Castle. Pictured above and below is in the Newton House. It has interactive displays throughout the residence helping to paint an idea of how life was lived during the different eras in this house. Below was a display of the servant life, complete with tools and attire. Pictured above was a display when the house was used as an army hospital.

After visiting the Newton house we went to go explore the castle ruins.

The view from the castle was stunning of the extensive meadows and grasslands.

Having a picnic in such an exquisite location.

Pictured here we are visiting some old Roman gold mines in the area. We went on the tour of the Victorian era mines.
Fun fact:Since 1928 many members of the Royal Family have worn wedding rings made from a nugget of pure Welsh gold, including Queen Elizabeth II and her mother, Princess Margaret, Prince Charles, Princess Diana and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

The Barkers were planning on having an epic Halloween party (weather permitting). In preparation for the party we fell a few tree for the bon fire. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate the remainder of the day, so the party was able to be moved to a different location indoors. Pictured below are our costumes. In the UK, Halloween is more of a dark holiday, so Lexi and I were pretty much the only 'good' characters of the evening, dressing up as Legalas and Gandalf the White.

If there was a basic highlight of our trip in Wales, cards would be involved in this summary, namely the game Egyptian Rat which is a modified version of War. We all played this game day in and day out, it was AWESOME!

A lovely stroll down a country road in Wales.