For the first post, I decided to put together a little "highlights reel" of our experience since moving here on our first anniversary (August 27, 2012). I just realized that puts us at the five month mark of living in England and my has the time flown by! Now that we've taken some time to settle into our new lives, we will be sure to post often about what we're up to. We've got some exciting travel planned for this year, and will be hosting some of our closest friends and family in the upcoming months. I'll brag about all of that here, and will hopefully inspire some of you to pack your bags and come share in this adventure with us!
Here's a peek into the last five months of our journey. Enjoy!
Spending our one year anniversary at the Denver ChopHouse, DIA. Super Romantic!
Welcome to Bristol!
We stayed in three hotels in Bristol, the best being The Berkeley Square Hotel off Park Street which is lined with great restaurants, bars, shops, and museums.
This famous work by Banksy is steps away from the hotel we stayed at (a controversial piece that some people obviously don't appreciate). Banksy got his start in Bristol and his work can be found all over the city.
After a red-eye flight and a few days of jet lag, the dogs spent every day playing at Brandon Hill park in Bristol which was conveniently located by our hotel. The public parks around England are absolutely beautiful and are dog friendly for the most part!
Let me take a moment to introduce our lovely bitches: Ruby and Lucy. They are very entertaining to us and get a lot of love from the camera, so I'm sure this is not the last you will see of them.
Ruby loved this little couch we had in the hotel and lounged on it every day. We're considering buying one for her.
When you live in a hotel for a few months you're bound to get a little stir crazy. During one of these moments, I decided it would be super hilarious to see what Lucy would look like with my hair. Sassy!
Justin took me to London for my 30th birthday which was absolutely amazing! This is an artsy photo Justin took of the London eye.
A view from the top of the Eye, overlooking the city as the sun was setting.
Justin also turned 30 this year. He was on a two-week business trip prior to his birthday so we decided to keep his celebration local. I surprised him by decking out the hotel room with cheesy birthday decor and other things I won't discuss here. Okay fine, I also surprised him with a delicious chocolate cake and a pile of nerdy gifts from Forbidden Planet.
Another cool Banksy at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, also right by our hotel!
I don't really like going to the zoo, but the Bristol Zoo is really unique and I'm glad we checked it out. The exhibits were unlike anything I've ever seen. They have a sizable nocturnal exhibit where this adorable cat lives. Totally r/aww material.
At the end of the nocturnal exhibit, you walk into a mock house which is infested with mice and rats. It gave me the creeps at first, but I think it's actually cool that the rodents get to roam in their "natural" habitat.
Last thing on the Bristol Zoo... we got up close and personal with fruit bats! The exhibit is netted in, but the bats roam freely with people inside the enclosure. Hey buddy!
Justin took me to the Ben Folds 5 reunion concert in Bristol. They're my favorite band and I was glad that being out here didn't mean that we had to miss their reunion tour. It was an amazing show!
We hopped over to Wales one afternoon and checked out Chepstow Castle. Wales had over 400 castles, of which over 100 are still standing. One down, another 100 or so to go!
And finally, we moved into a house in Bath! We live in a row home (neighbors on both sides), but have ample space and a little garden out back.
Had a great time checking out a Bath Rugby match!
The famous Weir in Bath (captured in this ridiculously cool photo... I'm sure you can guess who took this one).
I dominated this labyrinth in Bath. Those kids had nothing on me!
We also conquered this light labyrinth. Apparently we love our mazes!
The Bath Abbey is a gorgeous landmark in the center of Bath, and an example of the beautiful architecture we see daily.
It takes just under an hour to drive to Stonehenge from our home. Justin took this stunning photo at sunset.
We stopped by Salisbury Cathedral, a massive 750-year-old cathedral, on our way to Stonehenge. It is a beautiful example of early English architecture and houses one of the original copies of the Magna Carta. This is a neat photo Justin took inside the cathedral.
And last but not least, Christmastime in Bath. Here's our little living room all decked out for Christmas.
Bath attracts a lot of tourism throughout the year, and especially at Christmas.
The Bath Christmas Market attracts people from around the country seeking unique gifts for the holidays. I found a few things to send back to our families in Colorado, and also found a couple of things for us to enjoy.
This was the first time we spent Christmas away from our families, so we decided to keep our spirits high by checking out some of the fun holiday activities around town. One of my favorites was ice skating. Justin always puts his best face forward for the camera.
We did fit in some family time over Christmas thanks to Skype. We also managed to get a Christmas family photo! We're the small faces in the corner.
And now, I leave you with the gorgeous view the dogs and I see from our neighborhood park everyday. You can also see the train Justin takes to work.
And the view at night! Spectacular!
Much more to come.
-Christina
