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| Lance and Robert eating in the airport in Brussels |
One Friday afternoon we happened across some very cheap tickets to Birmingham, England, and so we booked the tickets, a hotel, and a car and took off that very night for the UK with our friend Lance! Despite our lack of planning, this last-minute trip made for a very packed weekend.
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| making our way down to our little prop plane |
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| Lance on board! |
We landed at the very cheery Birmingham airport, made our way through border control and customs and picked up our rental car.
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| our first views of Birmingham |
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| Birmingham welcomes you in many languages! |
Of course...driving in the UK takes some getting used to, but Robert (being typical Robert!) was excited for the challenge. On top of adjusting to being on the other side of the road and everything complicated that comes with it, the car was a manual transmission...so Robert was shifting with his left hand! Still, we managed to make our way safely to our hotel without harming ourselves, the car, or anyone else.
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Robert driving...so confusing!
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Saturday morning we set off for nearby Kenilworth Castle, and we ended up spending most of the day listening to our free audio guides amid the ruins.
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| our first view of Kenilworth Castle |
The castle is OLD -- the first tower was built in the 1120s! Since then, it has been expanded, built up, destroyed, and rebuilt several times. It was home to some pretty important figures in British history throughout its centuries of use.
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beautiful blue skies over Kenilworth
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| Lance with his audio guide |
We were permitted to walk through much of the ruins, which made the experience all the more interesting.
We were even allowed into the upper levels of much of the complex!
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| Can you spot Robert? |
We spotted a few employees who were part of a historical reenactment, which was especially fun for the many kids who were visiting that day.
Of course the kitchen was my favorite part of the whole thing! It was pretty incredible to think about how much work it must have been to cook for all the inhabitants of the castle in huge cauldrons over smoky fires.
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| Robert, standing in the "stove" of the main kitchen. |
After finishing with our tour of Kenilworth, we headed over to enjoy some delicious fish and chips (you can't visit the UK without it, right?) in the nearby town of Coventry.
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| Robert polishing off his plate of fish and chips |
One of the more ancient settlements in Britain, Coventry is known for being the home of Lady Godiva and for surviving severe bombing during WWII, especially one particular attack known as the Coventry Blitz.
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| statue of Lady Godiva |
The bombing destroyed numerous buildings and took many lives, but possibly its most famous casualty was the Coventry Cathedral, a 14th century Gothic church which was left completely devastated by the bombing. The ruins are a popular place of pilgrimage and remembrance.
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| the cathedral ruins |
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| a group prayer service in the apse of the ruined cathedral |
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| a view back at the ruins |
After touring the cathedral, we walked around town a bit and then headed back to our hotel.
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| Lance found a seat! |
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| Anya found some flowers |
The next morning we checked out of our hotel, headed to church, and then from there to the Royal Airforce Museum in nearby Cosford.
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| almost there! |
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| our first glimpse of the many planes to come! |
Robert and Lance were were like little kids Anya in a candy store. There were planes! Everywhere! Outside and inside! I think Robert could have moved in.
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| reading about the history of the Royal Airforce |
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| inside one of the many buildings full of planes! |
Unfortunately our time there was short, as we had to return the rental car and get back to the airport for our flight back to Brussels.
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| so long, UK! |
