Bath Time

So, in case you haven't seen my last few Instagram posts we've been on a mini vacation. Brian suggested the trip a few weeks ago but I was convinced it wouldn't happen when we realized that, oh yeah, we're not in the States. Hotels here aren't as big and don't always accommodate a family of 5 (vs. a family of 4 or less) as easily as ones in the States can. But he made it happen. And off we went...to Bath. (Yay!!)

And as I'm typing this, I'm sitting in bed with the world's most achy muscles. Everything south of my jaw feels like putty. Painful, achy putty. ((What a visual.)) Word of advice: if you ever find yourself on this side of the pond, and in Bath, bring really good shoes. And prep for a good, solid month. Like, hop on a treadmill, put the incline all the way up, and walk on it until it doesn't hurt anymore. Lol

We were not prepared.

We have walked up and down those streets a lot. We parked the car when we got here and then didn't use it again. We walked. And then walked some more. And the icing on the cake was where we've been staying. It was kind of an "off-site" apartment for a B&B. But it was basement level. 

Those stairs terrified me. And after the 4th time we went up and down them, after walking around the entire city, I really thought my legs were just going to fall off. I was exhausted. So were the kids.

Poor Hayden was nodding off while we were ordering our lunch!!

But!! Exhaustion aside...because it has been well worth it, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat...

Our trip has been AMAZING!

We drove out and saw Stonehenge. It's kind of a drive (like 3+ hours) from where we live so we've always hesitated to do it on some random day. But since we were in the area, we figured why not.

Here's the thing about Stonehenge...in case you were wondering. It's cool. It is. You drive out to the site, get your tickets, and ride a tram out to the stones. And you stand there like 'oh wow!' And you take 500 pictures, from every angle, thinking 'I'm really seeing this...like right in front of me'. And that takes maybe 30 minutes. And then you're like 'Ok. Soooo.....Stonehenge.....big rocks......really old.'

The mystery is all gone because they tell you everything you could want to know while you're there (which is super cool). But once you've seen it, you've seen it. 

When we were done with looking & taking pictures, we boarded the tram to go back, and some Buddhist monks got on with us. One sat down next to Hayden. (Do you know where this is going yet?) Hayden sat there the whole ride back, just chatting him up. It was just about the cutest thing ever! (Just about as fabulous as seeing Stonehenge.)

The next day we decided to do the city of Bath in one day. One. (We're courageous like that.) There are no words for Bath. It's so beautiful. Just absolutely, breathtakingly, beautiful! Probably the most gorgeous place I've ever seen.

We've seen so much! There was a lot that we didn't get to see because there just wasn't enough time, but we still accomplished a lot in one day. 

The Pulteney Bridge

The Bath Abbey

The park in the middle of the Crescent

The Royal Victoria Park

The Circus

The Old Roman Bath House

When we weren't off walking around looking at everything we could, we were off walking and looking for food. =) We told the kids that we enforcing a strict rule of "step out of the box" while we were on this trip. We were going to eat something new at every restaurant. They did not take this well at all! Especially when we took them to a Nepalese place for dinner. Or when we had Thai but told them they couldn't have their normal dishes. But they suffered through (ha!) and actually enjoyed themselves.

And when we weren't off doing any of that?? Well...

Do you see Makenzie?? She's hiding behind the pillows that Kierstin is laying next to.

Kierstin didn't know she was there. She thought I was taking pictures of her being silly.

So yes, fabulous trip! And I am super sad to have to get back to the real world. The one where I have to do dishes and wash laundry and all that boring stuff. 

But! Now, I am off to bed. Because I am really tired and we still have more to do on the way back to the east side of the island. (Read that as: more walking. Send up prayers for me and my putty-filled legs.)

So much love my sweets! I hope your weekend is kicking off to a wonderful start! <3