Mumsy and Guvna take on Europe: A 2016 Europe Trip Report! updated 5/29/2017

[annegirl]

Sounds like you've got a great trip planned! The Cotswolds are Soooo beautiful -you will really enjoy this area. I know you are planning a visit to Stonehenge, have you considered the Avebury Stones? You can walk amongst them and touch them ...and be subject to their mysterious powers!

Love Bath also ....that's a town I could visit more than once. Check the Rugby schedule before you leave.

We have considered the Avebury stones. We still want to see Stonehenge but if we have time we might swing over to see those ones as well. Also, while we are in the Lake district I noticed a stone circle near where we will be exploring that we will try to stop and see.
I am so excited to see the Cotswolds in person!

 

[annegirl]

I just wanted to pop on and say that I will try to get on for a longer update next week! I have been neglecting this report!

 

[annegirl]

Our next day on the trip is our "rest day"
The only thing that could change this is if it is the only day we can tickets for Highclere Castle.
But hopefully this will be our day to just enjoy our cottage and the town we are staying in.

We plan on having a nice morning in our cottage. We can spend some time sleeping in, having breakfast on our patio, just enjoying being here.
We want to go out at some point during the day and walk a bit on the Chipping Campden section of the Cotswold Way.

The Cotswold Way is a 100 mile footpath that runs from Chipping Campden to Bath.
I would love to walk this whole thing someday. That would be amazing.
But for now we will just go and walk a few miles to enjoy the scenery and being able to really soak in the fact that we are in the Cotswolds!

We might even do this first thing in the morning right after breakfast and then go back to the cottage to hang out for a while before going back out to explore our town.

If we feel like it we might go out exploring some of the other towns close by.. but most likely we will just stay close to home. We plan on having a nice dinner in our cottage and then getting a good nights sleep for our last night in our cottage. ​

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like such a perfect day! A nice blend of relaxing/sightseeing. I can't wait to see the pictures you take!

 

[annegirl]

Sounds like such a perfect day! A nice blend of relaxing/sightseeing. I can't wait to see the pictures you take!

Yes. I am really looking forward to this day and really getting a chance to just relax and get to know our town.

 

[annegirl]

This weekend has been really busy!
We had so much fun Thursday and Friday visiting Salt Lake City's Comic Con.
We live about 30 minutes away so it was an easy drive each day.
Thursday we let the girls miss school and I took them with me and my mom for one very special reason.
AS I have mentioned, they have really got into Harry Potter. Especially Abi.
Two of her favorite characters in the books and films are Fred and George. And James and Oliver Phelps (that played them in the movie) were going to be there!
She had to meet them.

She dressed up as Hermione (putting the scarf around her waist instead of neck)

Then the exciting moment came- we met them!

We made some pygmy puffs that the girls gifted to them. They were so sweet about them and Oliver (George) named his Abigail. That made her very happy.
They were the sweetest guys and took a lot of time with us.
Later we went to their panel too so we had a lot of fun!

Friday my mom and I went back for the day just by ourselves.
We decided not to pay to meet anyone but just go to panels and walk around trying to see if we could catch a glimpse of some of the stars we wouldn't be able to see.

I ran into John Barrowman on the vendor floor which was a total surprise and amazing. I didn't make a big deal but just snapped a sneaky picture and then said hi as I walked by.
(He is in Doctor Who, Torchwood)

We caught a glimpse of Captain America himself, Chris Evans.

And we went to panels for:

Jenna Louise Coleman (Doctor Who), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings, Rudy, Goonies,etc), Sebastian Stan (Bucky on Captain America and the Mad Hatter on Once Upon a Time), and Dean O'Gorman from the Hobbit.
It was so much fun. They all did really good panels and kept us very entertained.
I love being able to go to these things!
I am such a fangirl. ​

 

[missangelalexis]

That's awesome, sounds like a fun 2 days! Abi must have been in heaven meeting her 2 favorite characters!

 

[annegirl]

That's awesome, sounds like a fun 2 days! Abi must have been in heaven meeting her 2 favorite characters!

It was SO much fun!

 

[Iamthequeen]

I'm jumping on board from Mo's PTR! Your trip sounds amazing so far! Too much to remember, but when my DD and I were in London a few years ago, I picked up a British copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Same story, just not Americanized. I loved reading the British version. When we go back, I plan to get the rest of the books.

I may have to borrow your itinerary for our next trip. Can't wait to read about the rest of the trip.

 

[annegirl]

I'm jumping on board from Mo's PTR! Your trip sounds amazing so far! Too much to remember, but when my DD and I were in London a few years ago, I picked up a British copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Same story, just not Americanized. I loved reading the British version. When we go back, I plan to get the rest of the books.

I may have to borrow your itinerary for our next trip. Can't wait to read about the rest of the trip.

Yay! Welcome! Glad you came over.
I have been debating getting a whole new set of Harry Potter books while there because I love their covers. But then I have a hard time justifying the cost when I already own them. But now that my daughter is really into the books as well... maybe it's worth it. I am pretty sure I will get at least the first one like you did. I would love to read the British version to see how it differs.

 

[annegirl]

I am so excited!
Today I got my passport in the mail. It is my very first passport. The last time I was in Canada and Mexico we didn't need passports for those countries yet. So it is really cool to finally have one.
Back to the trip report:
Our next day, Saturday, we will be leaving our cottage.
We are heading to Cardiff, Wales.
If we leave early enough we are going to try to stop for a little walk in Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean along the way.

It looks like a really cool place and we have seen it in many shows.
Another stop along the way, if we have time, would be to see the ruins of Tintagel Abbey

Even though I really want to do both of these, we may have to skip them if we don't have time.
We have to get to Cardiff by early afternoon for our appointment to tour the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff.

We are big Doctor Who fans so we are hoping this will be cool.
I have read some reviews that were fantastic and others that were not so good... so I wasn't sure about it. But we decided we had to at least try it to know.
While in the Cardiff area we are going to take a drive to Dunraven Bay/ Southerndown Beach where some Doctor Who was filmed.
And it's just so pretty.

After this we will be returning our rental car in Cardiff and taking a train for a couple of hours to London.

I had a hotel recommended to me that we will be staying at the next three nights. It is the Phoenix Hotel in Westminster.

I made a HUGE error when booking this hotel originally. It was just over a year from our trip and when I booked it I must have accidentally hit 2015. So then on what would have been our first night at the hotel I got the email saying they were excited to see us. I freaked out and immediately got in contact with them letting them know that I meant to have our reservation for 2016. They were so nice about it. They had to charge us for the first night because by the time I got the message it was already the next morning for them. But they still could have charged me for the other nights as well. Instead they said that while they had to charge me for the night we missed, they would take the other paid amount and put it toward our reservation for 2016. So then we just had to pay for one more night. Basically we paid for four nights stay when we will only be staying three nights but it could have been so much worse. I still feel sick to my stomach when I think of my mistake and I immediately checked all of my other reservations to make sure they were correct. Luckily they were. It has made me really paranoid though so now I pretty much check everything a trillion times.

We are hoping that this night after we check in and get some dinner that we will be able to go to a show at the Globe Theater. I am watching their website closely so that I will know if anything is announced for our dates.

​

 

[Iamthequeen]

Yay! Welcome! Glad you came over.
I have been debating getting a whole new set of Harry Potter books while there because I love their covers. But then I have a hard time justifying the cost when I already own them. But now that my daughter is really into the books as well... maybe it's worth it. I am pretty sure I will get at least the first one like you did. I would love to read the British version to see how it differs.

The only difference is in some of the words used. Although the US versions have some "English" terminology, it was interesting to read it in the Queen's English.

My next trip to England, I will also be going to Wales. My great grandfather was born in Wales and I want to see the ancestral home. My grandmother was born and raised in London, and I still have family that live outside the city..

 

[GAN]

I'm a little surprised that they wouldn't accomodate you fully ...I suppose if they were fully booked and turning people away, then I understand. But like you said, it could have been worse ...don't even think about it again. You've got a great trip planned!

I hope you love the Globe! It was definitely a highlight on our trip -we saw Julius Caesar ...it was AMAZING!

 

[annegirl]

I'm a little surprised that they wouldn't accomodate you fully ...I suppose if they were fully booked and turning people away, then I understand. But like you said, it could have been worse ...don't even think about it again. You've got a great trip planned!

I hope you love the Globe! It was definitely a highlight on our trip -we saw Julius Caesar ...it was AMAZING!

I am assuming it was because they kept the room open for the night and no one showed up. I don't know if they were fully booked or not but it was a weekend night so they might have been.
Thanks! I really hope we can get a globe show in too. I think it would be so amazing. Julius Caesar must have been so cool to see there!

The only difference is in some of the words used. Although the US versions have some "English" terminology, it was interesting to read it in the Queen's English.

My next trip to England, I will also be going to Wales. My great grandfather was born in Wales and I want to see the ancestral home. My grandmother was born and raised in London, and I still have family that live outside the city..

That's what I figured- just a few different words. I really love the covers they have.
That's so cool! Some of my ancestors are also from Wales but it's a little further back than that. That is really cool that you still have family there.

 

[GAN]

I am assuming it was because they kept the room open for the night and no one showed up.

Sorry -I misunderstood. I thought you caught it the day of or before ...of course there is a 6-9 hour time difference to contend with. That I can understand.

 

[annegirl]

Sorry -I misunderstood. I thought you caught it the day of or before ...of course there is a 6-9 hour time difference to contend with. That I can understand.

Oh yeah, they sent me the email the afternoon we were to arrive. I didn't see it until late in the evening of that day for us so it was early morning already for them.

 

[missangelalexis]

What a nerve wracking situation with the hotel! Glad it all worked out though.

 

[annegirl]

What a nerve wracking situation with the hotel! Glad it all worked out though.

Thanks! Me too. We are out a bit of money but at least not all of it!

 

[annegirl]

I will try to be back with an update soon but for now I will just share something big that has been happening the past few weeks.
Our daughter's school tested Maddy for Kindergarten and first grade after I talked to her teacher and the principal. The teacher talked to me about what they were learning in school being letter sounds with only a few sight words and Maddy is reading at about a second grade reading level. So they tested her at both end year grade levels and then the school psychologist sat in her room and observed her as well.
A few weeks ago they called me in for a meeting and said that she would be in the top 4% of first graders if we moved her to first grade. They asked if we wanted her to move up a grade. I said yes but I wanted to leave it up to her.
It took her a while to decide because she loves her class and has made lots of friends but she decided that she did want to go to first grade. Probably mostly because her sister reminded her that she would then have two recesses.
So they put in the paperwork to the district and just this week finally got it back.
So, today Maddy had her first day of first grade.

​

 

[GAN]

Too cute! I'd go with the two recesses as well -she's already making good life decisions!