Our big adventures

The specific reason to go to Salisbury is to see Stonehenge. It was a nice town with some good food and very friendly people. But we probably won’t find a reason to go back - it’s about a two hour train ride from either Bristol or London. Pros: Tuesday and Saturday farmer’s market, walkable, good food and pubs. Tinga was our favorite, and we wish there was one in Bristol. Cons: Out of the way, roads are narrow and busses drive really fast (watch out!), all shops close around 5:30 with restaurants open later, Stonehenge was about a 20 min drive, limited hotel options Lodging: Milford Hall Salisbury (an IHG)

We came to Salisbury yesterday with the intention of going to Stonehenge today. Arriving in town we found a great farmer’s market. Check out the pic of the olives! Today, Bub took the 2 hour trek each way to go to Stonehenge with us. It’s fun to spend some extra time with him. It’s truly impossible to understand how Stonehenge was built - moving these massive stones hundreds of miles, no real tools, and then how they actually were constructed. It’s just 🤯. Salisbury also had some great pubs and we found a new favorite restaurant called Tinga. Too bad it’s only here. Tomorrow we head to London.

We're going to try to publish our own reviews and notes about the places we visit, starting with Bath. Just a 15 minute train ride from Bristol, this is a charming town that we'll definitely visit again. There is a surprise around nearly every corner! Pros: Extremely walkable; easy train access from London or Bristol; great food; natural mineral spring spas; great shopping (if you have room for anything in your bag, which we don't) Cons: The town doesn't open until about 9-10 am; stores close at 5:30 pm; restaurants start closing around 8 pm Lodging: The Gainsborough Bath Spa (really nice, centrally located, great service, guests have spa access) As we take the train from Bath to Salisbury, we're passing hillside upon hillside filled with sheep. It's gorgeous.

Today we took a 15-minute train ride from Bristol to Bath. Bath is famous for its Roman baths, Georgian architecture and UNESCO World Heritage status - and it does not disappoint! We began the day with a 10 am brunch at The Pump House which included a live pianist playing “Happy Birthday” for Nate (it’s on Nov 11) and a fountain with hot spring water to taste. Spoiler: Hot Springs, Ark., water tastes better. Then we moved on to tour the Roman bath house, which has been there for 2,000 years and has coins from before Christ was born 🤯 Next, we went to the Thermae Bath Spa for most of the day. Bub’s body hurt from all the playing in that game yesterday, and this is just what the doctor ordered. Oh, and we couldn’t use our phones in there but I snuck a photo! We hung out in the rain on the rooftop mineral bath, in the saunas, and the indoor mineral bath. Then it was on to dinner at Brasserie Beau (how could we not?)! We had a traditional Sunday roast, which was pretty good, and Carlie ha...

Nate and I arrived this morning to LHR then took the train to Bristol. We grabbed lunch and then headed to the first University of the West of England football game of the year. Brayden played six different positions - started at center, left and right guard, D end and jack (both ends), and kick off return. The Bullets won 62-0 with a running clock. Shout out to everyone watching in the States! We heard from Mimi and Pa the announcers were calling Bub’s name quite a bit. And he got recognized by his coach as the O lineman of the game. It’s really a different experience, but it was so much fun to watch these guys come together to play (and dominate) a game they love. Tomorrow we’re headed to Bath.

We’re headed to the UK! Left home at noon, smooth sailing through XNA and to Chicago. Got sent to the American Airlines Flagship Lounge at ORD (that was my first time, and it’s way better than the regular lounge) but only had 20 mins there. Got a notification our flight was boarding, came to the gate, business class was boarding. Great! Then people were getting off the plane…. Whaaaat? They said it’s an air traffic control issue and hopefully it won’t be long. Before she could turn off the microphone she said, “Ok! Time to board. 😂” A woman standing beside me had the best attitude and just looked at me and said, “If you don’t bend you break!” Yes, ma’am. Love that attitude. So here we go - boarding the plane. Also, here’s a link to Bub’s game that starts at 9 am Central tomorrow. https://m.youtube.com/live/2LOfHUUZWC0?feature=share&fbclid=Iwc3NjcANo10lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHrXr3riUME8vFLeJ3VVk0R10kQRlScqu_E7Lgt2TOLHUkcmxJefPDwSpH7FB_aem_f8-1dbWAE9DODli9CWCD4A

 I loved writing this blog years ago, and while we’ve had so many great adventures since then, this moment in time calls for the blog to be re-established. So here we go! Starting tomorrow (Friday, Oct 24) I’ll post here about our grand European trip . Big shout out to Bub for deciding to get his Master’s degree in England , which inspired all of this. I imagine these posts will be mostly short with some photos, but we’ll see. More to come! In the meantime, here are some photos of our first trip across the pond - which included my 50th BD trip to Paris and the Moulin Rouge!