England… return!
Friday 22nd April, 2011 (continued)
We're back in England
We continued South and ended up at Stoke-on-Trent for our overnight stay.
Our accommodation
Wedgwood Factory
We continued down the M6 from Stoke-on-Trent and headed for Oxford via the Wedgwood Factory. Unfortunately the actual factory didn’t open until 10.00am but we managed to get into the gift shop thanks to a lovely mature-aged employee who looked like she had worked there all her life.
She could quite easily have been our Grandma…
Oxford
Oxford was quite a challenge in a car due to there being people and buses everywhere and very little parking. There was a massive ‘park and ride’ on the outskirts of town which didn’t make sense to us on the way in, but did however, once we got into the thick of it.
Most of the buildings in the town belong to the University and its associated faculties. We managed to take a few wrong turns but drove right through the centre of it all. It’s an impressive old city…
Bracknell (Esti & Micky's)
We arrived at Esti and Michael’s to a very warm reception. We spent the afternoon chatting in the back garden (as it was 26deg) and then went for a walk in huge park near Windsor which was full of blue bells and a very colourful display of rhododendrons …stunning!
For dinner, we went to Reading where there is a restaurant strip which includes, among others, a Jamie Oliver Italian restaurant.
A nice way to end the day…
Sunday 24th April, 2011
Newbold College
Today we went for a drive around the local area and dropped into Newbold College – one of the local colleges where Esty and Micky’s kids go to school.
Windsor
We also went to Windsor and saw Windsor Castle. The Queen was in, according to the flag that was flying above the castle, but there was no invite for high tea. Disappointing really, considering we had come such a long way… We then walked to Eton College, which was just down the road, to see where Harry and Will had acquired their education. It wasn’t open, being Easter Sunday, but we had a good poke around.
For lunch we had fish and chips (complete with vinegar) on the banks of the Thames River with another few hundred Poms who were taking advantage of the glorious weather.
We finished the day chilling out with our wonderful hosts and had a beautiful home-cooked curry for dinner.
Thanks again Esti and Michael, it was great catching up and should you ever find yourself in our part of the world there is always a bed for you… anytime… 😘