Storms & Stonehenge

It's me again - and this time, I don't have a whole host of pictures but perhaps I have a bit more story than usual. *shrugs* We decided to use Friday as another chill day and so while my sister went into work, Ryan and I - who can't ever sleep in, ha-ha - actually slept until around 8:00 and then after breakfast we wandered around town a bit.

Ryan went to the Blackbird Barber Shop to get a quick trim courtesy of a UK Barber and while he was in the shop, I perused Marks & Spencer (M&S) and grabbed a couple shirt and a coronation tin filled with shortbread! Ryan's Mom met up with us to look around in a couple shops and then - the promised storms arrived and down came the rain! Thankfully we had umbrellas and the rain didn't last too long - and it also wasn't too far a walk back to Lindsey's.

 

 

Since the rain slacked off some while we were walking back, we popped into the St. Edmundsbury Abbey to peek at the glorious stained glass and vaulted ceilings! They were preparing for a coronation service and placing tons of fresh flowers everywhere within the cathedral - it smelled amazing! I also loved that along one side of the Abbey, they offered up prayers that could be offered up for the soon to be crowned King!

After chilling at the house again for a bit - we decided to drive over to nearby Ickworth House to take a quick tour (the other spot we wanted to see was already closed for the day, at a little before three). It looked like another storm was trying to roll in and so we raced up the walkway to the house in an effort to make it under cover before the rain arrived... and y'all, we barely got into the house before there was a clap of thunder, all the lights went off and the fire alarm began wailing!

We were all herded outside where it was pouring buckets and everyone tried to huddle under the portico, even though the docents at the house wanted us to be elsewhere in case there was an actual fire. No one was really budging, everyone just clutched their umbrellas overhead to block the rain - which was blowing in from all sides - and waited. Happily, within about five minutes, the alarms were turned off and we were able to head back into the house!

 

The house itself is gigantic, with a central rotunda and huge wings spreading off to each side of the rotunda - suffice it to say, it's a massive house! The tour consisted of rooms that make up the rotunda and portions of the wings, but part of the house is also a gift shop and café, while another portion of the house is a hotel with thirty-eight rooms! Beyond tours of the house, there are 1800 acres of grounds to explore, afternoon tea and the list goes on and on...

 

After our tour, we headed back to the house for a little while and planned to have dinner at Sakura, a Japanese restaurant near Lindsey's house. Ryan, my sister and I decided to poke around some shops ahead of dinner to grab some last minute souvenirs but first of all - a lot of places were already closed for the day and second of all - yet another storm was rolling in! This time with thunder that would shatter your ear drums (okay - that's slightly dramatic) - my sister swore it never stormed like this! We arrived at dinner a little wet, but the meal was so tasty and I discovered I very much like Bubble Fruit Tea with Fruit Pearls! 

Saturday dawned sunny in Bury and we set out for the drive to Stonehenge.. and the closer we got, the rainier it became. We trudged onward and hoped that maybe after having a quick breakfast bite and checking out the indoor exhibition, the rain might slack off some or even go away - but it didn't. We finally decided we might as well just bundle up and make a go at riding the bus out the the actual site of the henge - and so away we went! 

Once we arrived at the henge, we had to walk through the very wet field because they had cannons set up for a salute to King Charles (this was coronation day, after all). We'd only been at the henge for about five minutes before I was completely soaked from the knees down and just couldn't stand it any longer - I announced my plans to head back and away I went, with my sister in tow. 

Here's where I'll tell you that because of some miscommunications - we lost my MIL for about thirty minutes. When I tell you I was panicking a wee bit... I'm not even kidding. And if I'm being honest, there was also a small part of me that thought to myself "she's gotten too close to the stones and been thrown back in time..." I know - I have watched too much Outlander. We finally found her in the gift shop and decided to forego the Cotswolds, grab lunch in Salisbury and head toward our AirBnB. 

Also - please note that Lindsey (who has now been to Stonehenge multiple times) took advantage of the free data her UK wireless company provided all weekend (no doubt so people would stream the coronation) and streamed the coronation throughout the morning, ha-ha!  

We had a late lunch at a pub in Salisbury and then drove about an hour toward Oxford and our AirBnB and heavens, what a disappointment that was! We arrived and the location itself was so cold; there was no heat on in the place and we all ended up sitting around in our coats! What's more, we noticed small black bugs in the kitchen and bathroom... and the whole place smelled like cigarette smoke! Thankfully after about an hour, with a search on booking.com and communications with AirBnB - we were able to get a refund and head to a new hotel in Oxford!

The new hotel was perfect - we were able to be warm and nothing stunk, ha-ha! After the adventures of the late afternoon, we decided that we'd just have dinner at the hotel and get a good night's sleep so we could explore Oxford in the morning! To our surprise, the restaurant in the hotel was named for and originally helmed by a Michelin starred chef - so the meal turned out to be an absolutely delicious one! We were all glad to have a nice, warm and non-stinky place to stay and called it a night praying that our last day wouldn't be marred by rain!