Friday, August 6, 2010

Our 2 hour hike and bye-bye England...Hello USA! Sniff sniff...


Our last day in Little Paxton began with a wonderful, 2 hour hike on footpaths through the lovely countryside. Of course, we had our normal bits of English rain but smiled along discovering different plants, flowers and wildlife.
Elise is quite the explorer and scientist...
also an expert at finding lady bugs!
Off we go!
We learned the hard way (Dani especially) not to let Stinging Nettle touch you and we also learned this leaf called Dock Leaf relieves the pain from the Nettle.
Yep, some rain...
Getting ready to feed the horses some crab apples we picked.



Video, let's see if it works!
PoppieChocolate, a fine reward for hiking so briskly in the rain!Poppies for Grand Mom!Almost at Buckden, our restaurant destination!Nope, mama can't resist a thatched roof!The Neish Wedding Spot-so beautiful.The George, an amazing lunch was had by all!The girls loved this nearby playground and even got Grand Mom in on the fun!
"3 Little Monkeys"
Wish we could return in September when all of these numerous blackberry bushes will be ripe!

Mrs. Neish and her mouthwatering black currant crumble-wish we could have taken some home in our suitcase! Thank you so much for taking such good care of us-we hope to see you at our home this winter when you visit!One final time driving on the left, Heathrow here we come!
One more adventure getting there but we did it! Here we are at the restaurant in our hotel.
At Heathrow enjoying breakfast at one of our familiar, new, favorite breakfast stops...The Giraffe. A great way to end the trip and get ready for our first flight which was almost 8 hours and then one more from Philly back to O-town. The girls did amazing-didn't sleep a wink but hung in there. Lots of books, drawing, suduko and Shreck 3 and some Bugs Bunny helped on the flight. Overall, the most AMAZING time! We all feel so grateful to all of our overseas friends for your wonderful hospitality-we are so lucky to have you in our lives.
Now, time to get ready for school in 9 days! Cheers!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Woburn Safari Park and Indian food...

Today was yet another amazing day which I'm afraid the blog can't do justice. We started in the drive through aspect of the park and got to see tons of animals roaming free. Rhinos, tigers, giraffes, black bears, ostriches and more! All of the excitement in the car and tons "ahs" was so cute.

Here we saw lemurs roaming free and even though there was a sign we did touch them. (video to follow once we return and have Dennis help!)
Yes, there was a sign!
Spider monkeys up close and personal...
Amazing playgrounds!



And to end the night, a wonderful meal at the local Indian restaurant! YUM! Thank you Neish family for such a great stay and visit! One more day left and then we have to come back to reality!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Punting on the Cam, attack swans and some good British style rain...

Today we arrive in the beautiful and I mean BEAUTIFUL university town of Cambridge.
We pick up some lunch "to go" because we have a "punting" vessel to catch...or simply hire.
Steve, our "punter" is making sure the vessel is sea worthy and confirms it is...
Quite the punter Steve...
Larger vessel to accommodate all 7 of us but Steve is good at this, it must be in his blood.
Team Fruhwirth is really enjoying the sights and lovely weather...at the moment!
"Oh look, such beautiful swans, maybe they would fancy some bits of bread?"
"OMG they are attacking us...make them leave!"
"Really, go away!!!" (Here is where I'd love to add the video clip I have but must wait to have Dennis do it when I return. It is great but a pretty large file and I can't get it to upload." Ugh.
Okay, the kids were kind of traumatized but I sort of like them...
Bye bye birdie...
Lunchtime! Great parking place on the river...
Hmm, was that a touch of rain????
Oh yeah, and obviously our neighbors are better prepared!

Back to a lunch shot-still working on this out of order stuff!
Yepper, it is in fact raining quite hard! Here is where my second video clip should go and hope to add that in one day-quite humorous.
BTW, Mary Lou is quite a resourceful woman...
Finally, we are off and very, very, very, did I say VERY soaked!
A good sport with a wet bottom.

Only hot chocolate and
lattes can help warm us up!
Dry again and back to the sights...

Future students getting a feel for the place...
Here we go again with technical issues!


Back to Little Paxton and some amazing Fish and Chips
Made to order...
Happy children and a great day!