Good afternoon!

 

Sunday started out with a quick trip on the underground to King’s Cross rail station. We stood in line at the information counter and Jeff asked the attendant, “Can you tell me where platform nine and three-quarters is?” The poor English chap answered, “Go all the way down past platform eight, it’s on your left” without even breaking a smile. J Sure enough, at the end of platform eight, there’s a brick wall with a small sign that reads, “Platform 9 ¾”. There’s even half a trolley sticking out of the wall! We weren’t the only ones with Harry Potter fever – there were several other families with kids taking pictures too (check out the one of Max).

 

We toured the National History Museum yesterday afternoon. Max really thought the dinosaur exhibit was cool – there were about 20 complete dinosaur skeletons on display, including a T-Rex, several Iguanadons, a Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and a few of the little bird-like dinosaurs. The museum also had a life-size animatronic T-Rex – he looked around the room and growled, moving his shoulders, torso and tail, then opened his giant mouth and roared!

 

We walked to Kensington Gardens from the museum to see the Albert Memorial up close. The ernormous monument, commissioned by Queen Victoria in honor of her late husband, features a golden seated statue of Albert under an ornate gazebo, surrounded by several hundred sculpted figures. On each of the four corners, there are classical greek figures depicting each of the four major continents (Americas, Europe, Africa & Asia) and Prince Albert’s passions – engineering, commerce, finance and manufacturing. The monument was so beautiful – we spent some time walking around it and taking everything in.

 

We relaxed at the base of the monument in the park for a while afterward; Max chased the fluffy seed pods floating around in the breeze. There was something in the air – maybe pollen – that irritated our skin and we made our way back to the hotel pretty quickly. A quick shower and a dose of benadryl for Max stopped the itching and irritation, thank goodness.

 

We got up early this morning to take a train to Robertsbridge in East Sussex, about one hour southeast of London. Unlike Warwick, there were no taxis at the rail station to take us out to Bodiam Castle. Upon hearing our destination, an older man named John offered to drop us off in Bodiam on his way to pick up his grandson. He shared the history of the area with us and was eager to learn about our home in Texas during the 10 minute ride to Bodiam.

 

The three of us have agreed that Bodiam Castle was by far our favorite castle on the trip; as another tourist phrased it, Bodiam was the most “authentic.” Built in the late fourteenth century by a wealthy knight, the castle was constructed for both defense and hospitality. Unfortunately, during the English Civil War, the inside of the castle was torn down to prevent future use as a stronghold by the enemy. The outermosts walls and towers are still intact – we had fun climbing the spiralling staircases up to the towers and looking out over the grounds. Max thought the wide, deep moat surrounding the castle was especially cool (the moats at the Tower of London and Warwick have been drained).

 

Max was able to try on real metal armor in his size – a helmet, breastplate, shield and gauntlets – and we took pictures of our cute little knight wielding a sword and shield in the castle. He also shot a bow and arrow at the archery pitch on the castle grounds. The three of us walked through the remaining foundations inside the castle and tried to imagine what the chapel, main hall and state rooms would have looked like centuries ago – furnished, with glass windows and finished walls.

 

We ate pasta and sandwiches for lunch at the Castle Inn restaurant in Bodium before walking down the road to check out a historic railroad station. We were just in time to watch one of the steam engines arrive, then we walked back down to the bus stop next to the restaurant. We were planning on taking the bus to Hastings (about 10 miles away) and then taking the return train to London from there (there was no direct bus route from Bodiam to Robertsbridge). We were 20 minutes early, and about 100 feet away from the bus stop – you are not going to believe this – and the bus just flies by without stopping! The bus only runs every 2 hours, and we needed to get on a train back to the hotel. After exhausting the restaurant’s list of area taxi drivers, we finally found one that would take us back to Robertsbridge. We had good timing as well – we were just ten minutes early for the train to London from there.

 

The three of us made it back to the hotel around 6:00 p.m. and began packing and organizing for tomorrow’s travel day. As much fun as we have had over the past week, we are ready to go home. On the walk back to the hotel from dinner last night, we talked about seeing our dog, cat and bunny and sleeping in our own beds. Max will actually be extending his vacation for a few days to see his cousins and family in Dalhart, Texas – he is so excited!

 

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow as we journey back to the States. We have really enjoyed sharing our time here with you each night, and wish you could have been here with us. Take care of yourselves, and we will talk to you soon!

 

We love you all,

The Mosi (Brandi, Jeff and Max)