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I Went Some Places and Did Some Stuff


 I know, the title of this post intrigued all of you into reading. I just have a way with words, you know? I didn't mean to avoid writing and reading blogs for the past two weeks, but it kind of felt awesome. No offense. I really enjoyed my vacation, and the second half of it had no internet access. Yes, I scrambled to find a Starbucks wifi connection to check work emails, but I had zero desire to do anything blog-related. So I guess I don't really have an excuse for not blogging....I just didn't want to. Good thing I don't get paid for this gig, huh? Phew.

Anyway....onto the places and the stuff. I think the last post I wrote was when I was in Germany and dealing with all the nudists who didn't mind the cold....good times, good times. From Germany Tim and I headed back to the UK and stayed with some family in London overnight. I got to meet a ton of Tim's extended family that I had never met before, which was great. Since some of them are freakishly adorable babies and some hold positions above "anonymous web content writer", I've decided not to put their faces online. I never know what to do about that, honestly. Do you make people sign a waiver for a family photo? Can they sue you for unflattering angles or the fact that the camera may add 10 pounds?

Me and Tim's Mom

Me and grandparents along the Trent River

Anonymous cute relative. No face = legal.

From London we went up to Shrewsbury, the birthplace of Charles Darwin and the home of some truly delicious potatoes. We stayed with Tim's great-aunt who, at the ripe age of 92, still has a sharp wit and a funny sense of humor. It was definitely English countryside where we were, which was nice because there were fresh herbs in the garden, fresh new potatoes to dig up everyday for dinner and plenty of great country roads to run on.



Tim and the Darwin Statue

Cows from the kitchen window

Potatoes dug up from the garden


We saw stately homes, gardens and ruined castles, but the trip was really about seeing family. We made a few little trips to see my grandparents and then later just over the border to Wales. I was really excited to go because somehow I'd never been to Wales before. For the record, I wouldn't go out of your way to go there in the future. In summation: It rained. There were sheep. The end.


Conquering a Welsh Castle. No biggie.

Weston Park
The last night of the trip was back to London - and we managed to hit up the Tate Modern to see the current Edward Munch and Damien Hirst exhibits. Man, Hirst is seriously weird. Raw meat covered in live maggots and flies were a little much for a museum, methinks.

I'm really proud of everyone who made it this far in the post. Really, well done. Since one of the highpoints of my trip was eating as much chocolate as I possibly could, I figured I would send a little your way too. I'll send this bag of British chocolates to a random person who leaves a comment with the word "sweet" in it. Got it? Cool. I'll pick someone on Wednesday (25th of July) at midnight. Word.



I'm not kidding about how much chocolate I ate, either. I bought 12 massive bars (like, family-sized slabs) on the last day in Germany to take home. Even with the surplus of English candy I had, there was ONE sad little bar that managed to make it home to Georgia. I've heard of this thing called self control, but I'm just not sure I actually have any of it.

So- how's your holiday food/drinks self control? Or is having no self-control the point of vacation?
Normally at home I make an effort to at least include nutritious foods in my diet, but on holiday that concept is lost to me. One night my dinner was a massive plate of boiled new potatoes covered in butter, washed done by wine and followed by chocolate. 

Do you bring back souvenirs from new places?
Not really - unless you count the edible kinds that are gone in 24 hours. I do collect coins, so if I go somewhere where there is a currency I don't have I'll keep them and bring them home. 




Comments

  1. How sweet of you to think of your readers on your trip! ;)

    And that looks like a pretty cool trip too!

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  2. this post was SWEET! ;-)
    glad you enjoyed your time, welcome back to the states. Do you have the European Blues yet?
    *Susan

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  3. Fricken sweet vacation. I have no self control. The end. Seriously...I don't buy chips or chocolate because I eat it all.

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  4. Sweet! I bet that British chocolate is peanut and tree nut free as well! The only kind I can give to my food allergy son.

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  5. You're back to writing blog posts for me to read instead of doing more productive things. Sweet!!

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  6. I never do souvenirs either and people think that I'm weird!
    Sounds like an amazing trip. I always hon on vacation with the best of intentions health wise, but "sweets" always get in the way. Seriously, my hubby and i polished off a quarter sheet cake in 4 days!

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  7. For me, trips to Europe always include way too many stops for something sweet. Well done for traveling the American way! :)

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  8. Oh how SWEET! :) Sounds like a great vaca! I'm a mix of things while traveling - I definitely will allow myself to "cheat" more than I would at home….but we actually travel a lot, so I would be in trouble if I did that all of the time! I like souvenirs - my fav is Christmas ornaments that I get to bring out each year when we decorate the tree and it's a trip down vacation-memory lane. And food treats - that goes without saying!

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  9. Sweet.
    Ive never been anywhere. Sheep sound super awesome. And rain...

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  10. So jealous! It's great to spend time with family and if it happens to be in Europe, sweet!

    I eat like it's my job on vacay. Even if it's a vacay at my parent's house. They have good food!

    I collect coffee mugs from every place I visit and then think of the trip when I have my morning coffee from that mug - I'm so cool.

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  11. This post would have been 1% better if there was a photo of some sweet sheep!

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  12. I have a sweet tooth and love chocolate!! Welcome back I was wondering what happened to you! Glad you had a great vacation!!

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  13. I tend not to indulge in sweets on vacation. Mostly big breakfasts. And we always get these sweet little charms for my daughter wherever we go. Sounds like a great trip!

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  14. I think your outfit while 'conquering the castle' was pretty sweet...just the right amount of POP color

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  15. Now I want to go on a two week blog vacation. Looks like an awesome trip!

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  16. It would be wrong NOT to eat that much chocolate on vacation. Sweet of youto think of us!

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  17. I definitely indulge in sweets on vacation. I ate gelato for more than a few lunches when I was in Italy with my family earlier this summer. I buy postcards from new (foreign) places I visit and hang them in my apartment

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  18. I rarely allow myself to buy candy because of my self control issues, but it sure would be sweet of you to send me some!

    Your pictures are great, and your trip sounds amazing!

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  19. A giveaway? Sweet. Can you even still use "sweet" that way or did it go away about a decade ago? Sigh.

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  20. The only souvenir I really keep is coins as well. I have plans to make a sweet little table with the coins and some resin, but probably what I will make is nothing. Or a mess.

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  21. That's a sweet giveaway! Looks like you had lots of fun on your trip! Glad you're back safe and ready to blog :-)

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  22. Sweet vacation! Very jealous, except of the maggot covered meat...that is just...ew. :D Glad to hear you had a blast!!!

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  23. That's sounds like a pretty awesome vacation! I'm a total sweet tooth, so you might as well just send that my way! And isn't it awesome taking a break from blogging. Supposedly a blog is suppose to be fun and no pressure, but it can really be a burden sometimes. I forgive you for taking a break :)

    Kiley @ DVF

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  24. I always try to work chocolate shops, bakeries, and excellent coffee into my vacations. For instance, last vacation to Seattle one of the "required" places to go was Theo's Chocolates, which is an amazing chocolate factory in Fremont. Best thing? They have samples of all of their different chocolates out in the store. It's like a sweet, chocolatey heaven.

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  25. Looks like you had a sweet vacation :) haha
    I've been to London once and it was a short trip. I'd love to explore the UK more. How fun to have so many family members there that you can travel to see! Glad you had a good trip!

    And PS-the meat covered in maggots...gross. How's that art?!

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  26. Sweet pictures!! Makes me wanna go on a trip! Loved reading this post!

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  27. I avoid self control in general. Case in point: Brownie bites from Corner Bakery? Satisfying my SWEET tooth while I sit at my desk typing this. I'll be vurping those up during my workout later.

    I try to find Christmas ornaments as souvenirs.

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  28. I'm so glad you had a great vacation! I am looking forward to my mini-vacation this weekend and I am definitely contemplating taking my laptop or going internet free? I mean I have my phone, but reading or blogging on my phone doesn't really work that great lol

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  29. SWEET trip! and i have absolutely no self control so i don’t buy cookies, candy, chips, crackers, etc. I will eat the entire bag/box in one sitting. and yes, I try and buy a christmas ornament on my trips. easy keepsake that reminds me (at least once a year) about how fabulous my travels are and how lucky I am. :)

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  30. You know what is not sweet? Rotting meat in a museum.

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  31. What is sweet? There are no calories on vacation!

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  32. Looks like you guys had a great time on the rest of your vacation. Thanks for including the picture of the cows!

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  33. It is the way to go when you are in vacations. You have to left your blog behind to have more time to enjoy them.

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