Cheerio, Mates!

Greetings Friends from Jolly Old England!

Hubby and I have been here over a week and what a week it's been!  After a very long journey, including a connecting flight through Washington, DC, we arrived at Manchester airport in the west of England.  Getting through customs was a breeze, especially when I mentioned we'd be travelling to Scotland to visit family later in our trip.  The border guy practically was talking me into applying for dual citizenship since my Grandparents were from here.  Um... no thank you!

We have been staying at the Doubletree in Chester for the past 11 days and without sounding like a total complainer, I am happy to be moving on in our journey today.  Our hotel has been lovely, but the breakfast has become a tad repetitive and predictable (and much different than I'd eat at home) and being sick all last week... well... let's just say that for the first time EVER travelling, I contemplated packing up and flying home early.  I was M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E!!

I don't sleep on moving vehicles.  Heck, I barely sleep in my own bed!  Because of that fact, the overnight flight to the UK almost did me in.  By Saturday afternoon after arriving, I started to get that tickle in my throat that caused me pause (and a quick trip to the Boots drug store for Halls).  By Monday a full-blown cold had hit.

Enough of the whining though!  Sickness aside, Hubby and I were able to get in a little sightseeing around the quaint town of Chester.  At any given moment walking the cobblestone streets of this ancient town (it goes back to the post-Christ days when the Romans came here), I expect to see a Charles Dickens character pop out of the doorway of one of the shops along the main streets.

Wandering the crowded streets of Saturday shoppers, we came across the coolest thing at this little wine shop.  

At this "wine bar" you buy a card with "X" amount on it... and then you step up to whichever wine from around the world you want to sample.  You can get just a taste, half a glass or a full glass, depending on how much you want to spend off your card.  It was pretty cool, although Hubby and I didn't find many of the wines that we enjoyed.  We truly are California wine lovers!  (Excuse how rough I look in this photo... that is what no sleep for over 24 hours looks like!!)

Hubby and I stopped along the street at a little cafe so he could enjoy his first ever, traditional "English Tea". Oooh... what a good choice we made in stopping in to the "Tea Press Cafe".  First off, we stopped here because of how cool the place was.  Here is a little history of the place:

Hubby and Belle inside the cafe "chamber" - Isn't it cool?

Hubby's first "English Tea"...
 and it was the best I've ever had!

On Sunday we went back to downtown Chester and walked the walls around the city.  We passed the oldest racetrack in the UK, and walked along the River Dee where we listened to local musicians play for pounds.  

The River Dee

The Roman Amphitheater

Our second weekend in town, although I still wasn't feeling great, we managed to get downtown for a couple more meals and a trip to the most amazing patissiere ever!  Okay... so the weight I thought I'd lose in England didn't quite happen as planned.  Oh well.  There's always Scotland!  Stay tuned...