wrong side of the road

This past weekend we went on our first road trip! Half the adventure was renting and driving a car on the wrong side of the road, which we've both been avoiding... We thought it would be even more interesting to rent a standard car just to add to the complexity of the adventure (in the name of cost savings ;) )... It definitely proved to be interesting! After one small fender bender to the new Alfa Romeo (thank goodness for insurance!) and a change of drivers, we were off! 

First stop, Windsor Castle:

The Queen was there (note the Royal Standard flying)! Not that she came down to say hi...

Unfortunately you can't take any pictures inside, but we got to tour some of the state rooms, and Queen Mary's dollhouse from when she was little. This wasn't just any dollhouse, but a minature house at a scale of 1:12 constructed by architects, with everything from minature wine bottles with real wine, minature artwork, tapestries, working lights, etc.  It was incredible!  Check it out: Queen Mary's Dolls' House  

We stopped for a quick bite in Windsor, where Carter made a friend.

Next stop, Bath and what a beautiful city! 

Pulteney Bridge, a bridge lined with shops on either side. Designed after Ponte Vecchio in Florence, quite a bit smaller, but still really quaint.

Bath Abbey on the left and the Roman Baths on the right. 

Inside Bath Abbey, where the first King of England was crowned. 

Inside the Roman Baths. You can't go in the water anymore after it was shut down in the 70's for health reasons. But they've built a new spa down the road that uses the natural hot spring (no kids allowed there though :( ) . 

The first in floor heating built by the Romans! Brick tiles stacked up to draw heat up from the heated ground (from the natural spring) to the tile floor above. 

A yummy lunch at the Pump House (part of the Roman Baths) where you can taste the natural spring water (not good !). Apparently this is a popular room in Jane Austin's novels where people would gather to socialize over the spring water :P. I think I need to brush up on my Austin novels as its been awhile. Since being back in London we read that Jane Austin lived in Bath and we could have seen her house! Another reason to go back...

Fun in the Abbey Church yard after some gelato! Pigeon chasing has become a favorite past time for the kids! 

 The Royal Crescent 

Last stop, Stonehenge: 

On our way to Stonehenge, we managed to make Averie's day after spotting a field of real 'Baa Baa's'! She couldn't believe her eyes!

Stonehenge was pretty impressive, given it's the oldest thing we've ever seen and the scale of the rocks. Although, after seeing it, I think they should recreate the missing pieces so that you can really see what it was as so much of it is missing. 

(Just in case you were wondering who drove in the end... ;) )