It's amazing how messy our room can get within just a few days of vacation. Why is that??!
Charlie and I are sleeping on the mattress on the floor and Graham and Bob are on the bed in the same room. And who knew that Charlie actually grinds his teeth. YIKES!!! Anyhow...
Our last full day in the UK. Bob and I couldn't decide whether to take the boys back into London to do some sightseeing or the original plan was to visit Stonehenge. Instead after a restless night with both boys coughing, we opted to stay in town and visit the Roald Dahl museum, which was literally down the street from where we were staying. Funny enough, Graham was introduced to the writer this past term where he even went for the Fantastic Mr Fox play at a local theater here in Abu Dhabi.
But before we go, you have to fuel up on some chocolate!
Here is the museum, located in the little town of Great Missenden:
Graham being like a silly monkey, as per the monkey on the Cafe Twit signage:
Mmmm.... all the yummy pastries in the cafe!
But first, the museum. You could almost take a gnaw out of this chocolate door :-)
And here is the man himself - who knew Roald Dahl was also a fighter pilot. He is really tall at almost 6' 6" - that is as tall as almost 2 Oompa Loompas! Or perhaps even 2 Graham's :-D
Here is Roald Dahl's study. The museum basically moved everything from his little hut into this museum and placed everything in place as it was. There's some interesting things on his desk:
Like... spinal shavings???! Eeeewww...!!!
It's not a very large museum and there were lots of school kids around. Perhaps Charlie just needed some space on his own?
We love the stop-motion Fantastic Mr Fox movie. This is from the actual set. Too cool!
Graham sitting in Roald Dahl's replica chair. Instead of getting a new chair, Dahl hacked a hole in the back to help ease his back pain from a crash landing during WWII.
The lady that took our entry fee recommended a walk in the woods, where I thought she said we would see Roald Dahl's grave. Well, almost immediately we had lost our way as there were no signage that corresponded to our map in the leaflet. We did eventually turn around and found this narrow alleyway:
Time for a we-fie right before going under the railway line!
So far so good!
And then we get to this big field:
After a long while.... made it to the other side and into the woods!
Okay, some signage. Not too lost then, I guess:
Here's our map by the way. Notice the word "kissing gate" which after some research, was constructed to let people through - one at a time, and not livestock. Although I made sure the boys kissed me while I held the gate open :-)
Looks like someone is tired and taking a break (it's Graham):
Another large field to cross!
Hmm... shooting???!
This bird was flying above us like it was going to take Graham or Charlie with him! It's actually called a Red Kite - almost a smaller version of a buzzard:
I am so glad we didn't lose our map. It was our only way to get back to town! We did see a few people occasionally walking their dogs:
Sheep!
What a view:
Going downhill. Looks like we really need some walking sticks now.
It's the home stretch! I'm so glad Graham didn't take a tumble here!
Also glad it didn't rain on us. It would have made it even muddier:
Some cool carvings along the way:
It was actually quite a long walk in the end, especially not seeing Roald Dahl's hut or his grave! Right after Leo's appearance, Charlie threw a fit. He just stood still, didn't want to move and said "I'M TIRED!!!!". Poor thing... the things we drag our boys through. HA HA!
Everyone is a bit happier after some food in their belly:
And a good loooooong nap too!
Our last night and the boys and Izzy stay home while the adults head out for dinner. The restaurant is a 15th century inn, located just down the street. Perhaps people back then weren't so tall??!
Ben is giving us a cow anatomy lesson :-)
Lots of laughs on our last night:
By the way, one more lesson on British English. Pudding is a general word for dessert. Who knew!
Off to the airport the next day and the boys accumulate on more gifts. A zebra for Charlie, which he named "Zeny" (after a few other names before that):
Jump rope for Graham as he completed a term of skipping last month at school:
Oh, I love how the Brits put this one the roads at the airport as they do drive on the other side of the road:
Routine!
Thankfully the airline did not ban portable electronics on this flight (yet???):
Occasionally, Charlie still loves to color:
Back in Abu Dhabi and it is past midnight. Everyone is SO tired and of course, our luggage was one of the last ones coming out on the belt:
Thank goodness for the airport strollers:
Vacation over and loads of laundry. And that's with even doing some laundry while we were there!
Our little chick cookie tin had a few extra dents despite being wrapped in some clothing :-(
Charlie's chocolate football egg survived the trip though!
A few other discoveries while in the UK. Tick tock tea - smells so good! And Olbas oil... really soothes the boys' noses and throats. Life saver!
Charlie is already asking to go back to London. He really didn't want to leave. Already looking forward to our next vacation - we have a couple places in mind :-)
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