Poppies at the Tower

This year marked the 100th anniversary since the British entered the first World War. So between July 7th and November 11th, ceramic poppies were placed at the Tower of London, there was a total of 888,246 placed and each poppy represents a fatality. We finally made it out the weekend before they were to be removed. Each poppy was sold for charity for about £25 each and they were all sold.  

 

It was such a beautiful display leading up to Remembrance day.

We could not have asked for better weather on this November morning.

 

This is one of my most favorite spots to visit in London, this bridge is so pretty and the view is amazing.

We arrived in the early morning but after about 2 hours it started to get really crowed so we headed for home and spent the rest of the day at the mall.

Brody was a little disappointed because he thought we coming to see puppies.

 

This installation of poppies was called "Red Swept Lands and Seas of Red and I think it was such a beautiful way to commemorate  all the fallen. It's just a number when you think over 888,000 people lost their lives but to actually see it in a physical form, that really puts it in prospective.

 

October 2014

October flew by this month, mainly because I started working again. I was lucky enough to get a job that sent me to Germany for a 5 days of training. And even though I wasn't feeling my best, I made the most of it and finally felt better towards the end of the week.

 

On Thursday night my class and I took a cab to Weisbaden, Germany for a nice dinner and drinks.

 

I had to take a picture of this Who Dat sign that I found in one of the shops.

 

 

The worst part about going was that we were in class every day until 5pm and that didn't give much time or daylight to do anything. But I did manage to get a couple photos of the area before the sun went down.

 

 

 

 

 

I met some really sweet women and we got along so well. A few rounds of Margaritas was we took the party to the streets ( literally)

 

Here's a photo of our awesome hotel.

Really couldn't make out what the theme the hotel was going for because every room was different. Here's a shot of the elevator, we swam with the fishes.

Our company paid for transportation, food, and hotel. It was great to be away for a bit and not worry about anybody but myself.

 

Soon after getting back it was Halloween, Brody was a ninja turtle this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This month I also hosted a couple of parties for our friends, John came over and made his famous pizza. He had a help from Bob, I think they must have about 15 pizzas in all different sizes and with different toppings. Everyone from our church group made it out unfortunately, it was last day with  Jon and his wife Deb, they were filling in for our missionaries that were back in the states. I can't wait to see them again.

 

Earlier in the month, I hosted a game night and cooked Jon's favorite banana bread.

 

I also made rice to go with...

 

 

Gumbo!

 

I love opening up our home to our friends and can't wait to do it again.

Warwick Castle

We have been wanting to go to Warwick Castle since we arrived last year and this past weekend we finally went. What a beautiful place, it's owned by the Tussauds group and they are doing a great job of restoring and running the castle. I was expecting this castle to be someplace in the middle no where far from any towns but that was not the case. We drove into the beautiful town of Warwick and one side of the castle is right by the town. There is a large wall around the property but once you step through the gates it opens up into a beautiful and unexpected gem right in town.

 

 

One side of the castle faces the River Avon. This castle has had several owners and has been attacked several times, and it was also damaged in a large fire in 1871.

Inside there are a few food vendors and you are allowed to bring in your food and some people brought blankets and had a picnic.

Brody wanted a picture of himself standing on the highest tower

 

It was a like dream come true for a little boy who loves castles, knights, and swords to be able to climb all over this place with no restrictions.

The countryside faces this side of the castle.

And here is the city of Warwick on the other side of the castle

 

 

 

A bridge that has been washed away and destroyed but still so charming.

 

Here's the main gate, when under an attack someone would stand from this position and attack intruders below.

The first thing we did at the castle was watch a show.

This is the Warwick trebuchet it's the largest catapult in the world. We watched as 7 or 8 men and women demonstrated how it worked and it took about 20 minutes for them to launch what looked like a fireball into the air.

 

 

After the show we were able to get up close and speak to the workers who explained how the catapult worked. In medieval times all sorts of things were put on the catapult usually they used pig fat to ignite the flames. And they also threw diseased animals at there enemies, anything they had on hand seemed to be launched,  it all sounded very disgusting.

 

 

There were wax figures used throughout to give you a since of what each room was used for. There was also audio in most of the rooms, these men were discussing a war.

 

 

Everything was so elegant except the toilets.

 

 

Upstairs we ran into Mike the Knight and we was kind enough to take a picture with Brody

 

 

This is the great hall and words just can't describe, it felt like I had stepped back in time. For a better idea of what this room looks like click here.

 

Back outside we headed for the rose garden. Unfortunately, there were not many roses left this late in the season.

 

I fell in love!! with the conservatory and peacock garden.

And yes there are peacocks on the property.

 

 

I could sit here all day and just enjoy the view. To give a better idea of the view check this out.

We also saw a birds of prey show and afterwards walked down to where the birds are kept to get a better view of them.

I would recommend Warwick Castle to anyone. The best part about our visit that we able to walk around all the grounds and actually touch and feel just about anything we wanted to. Nothing was off limits and the views were beautiful. They have events throughout the year, I would come back again and again if it were closer. Our family will always remember this visit and I hope that someday we will be able to return.

Here's picture of the town of Warwick, and just a couple of blocks from this street is the castle.