We got the kids up early and headed out to Highclere Castle. I couldn't get tickets online because they were sold out, but I read that if you got there right as they opened, there were usually same day tickets. The kids all slept for a while and the Zach was ready Harry Potter.
When we pulled up, I was dying. I loved it so much. I teared up. It was breathtaking - the castle, the grounds, everything. Breathtaking.
Because we were there so early (about 40 minutes before the first exhibit opened) there was almost no one there. It was awesome. The whole time I was here, I was thinking of my friend Carrie Olson. She turned me on to Downton Abbey and had a trip planned here, but needed to cancel. She would have loved it - absolutely loved it.
Even 30 minutes later, this picture would have been impossible! I was so, so lucky!! I'm just so glad we couldn't get online tickets - who knew?
We went around the back and into the kitchen and had croissants, doughnuts and a granola dish. It was fun to eat outside.
Again, there are no pictures inside. This was just before we walked in. It is exactly like the show! They used all of the real building's furnishings and paintings. It was crazy. The 8th Lord and Duchess of Carnarvon live there now. It's amazing.
There was also a fantastic King Tut exhibit in the basement. I had no idea that the 5th Lord of Carnarvon was the one (along with his partner Howard Carter) who discovered King Tut's tomb - after almost 20 years of searching. It was great.
This is a close up of the front door - kind of grim - and very cool.
Okay, there is no way to explain how awesome the grounds were. They are literally the dream of what you imagine perfect, English countryside to be. We were blown away.
After we left the grounds, we went to a pub that Greg had gone to a few years ago while he was in England. He had taken a picture of the pub, so he wouldn't forget. It was really fun.
It was built in the early 1600s. It was so neat inside.
The food was delicious.
There were some pretty low ceilings and areas!
The spring fields were beautiful.
As if the day wasn't awesome enough, we drove to Stonehenge! I loved it.
I only put this picture in because the sun was right in our eyes and Greg and the kids were dying - but especially Zach in this picture!
The kids are coordinating the tour guides to say the same thing at the same time, "There is no commentary for this number". They were really amused with that.
They had a stone at the visitor's center that you could attempt to pull...not so much!
This was a picture inside of the visitor's center - I thought it was amazing.
This was a really fun display of post cards from Stonehenge and the yellow parts are clips of what was written on the backs. It was really cool. We loved Stonehenge. Iconic.
We left Stonehenge and drove back into London. We hadn't made it to Notting Hill yet and it was on our list, so we found a really great rated restaurant there called Honest Burger.
We were right downstairs by the kitchen. It was a really cool place.
I didn't take a picture before I started eating, it was good!! The fries had rosemary on them...so yummy! After dinner, the kids wanted to go back and have one more "party" in the hotel room. We barely made it back in time to buy some treats (the store closed at 11). Luckily we snuck in and got our treats. Party time at the end of a very full and amazing day. (4.4 miles walked)
