Barbers in Freiburg

While there has been a good deal of hubbub surrounding a royal wedding, we took a trip across the pond to celebrate with our good friends Ashley and Jordan Newbury. This was our first international trip with wee baby Micah Fitzwilliam, who was 23 months old at the time. Travelling with a baby brought major challenges: airplane flights, sleep, colds, eating, and a host of other difficulties. We survived, barely, and had a fantastic time to boot. This was also our first time meeting our close friend Bec’s 2-year-old son Alexander, who quickly became best friends with Micah.

Micah has always loved buses.

Modern art installment.

Borough is a lovely place.

One of the best coffees I’ve ever had, worth the lineup.

Covent garden.

Quinn ate about half a loaf of sourdough that day.

Pastry for Micah.

Our first stop was 4 days in London, during which we visited the London Aquarium, Hamley’s toy shop, Covent Garden, and Borough Market, not to mention walking all over the city core. Quinn met his friend Katherine, living in London, for several pints at the Swiss Cottage, and the whole team caught a Manchester United match at a local pub. Unfortunately we lost a few of these photos!

Bristol was once a major port city.

Colourful!

A park square most famous for a major riot!

English streets are so interesting to look at.

Cabot tower, which we climbed.

England seems to lack playgrounds, but we found a couple good ones.

Best friends.

Micah’s first boat ride, he was thrilled.

Secret passage?

Park zipline, we spent a long time here.

From the top of Cabot tower.

The SS Great Britain, the largest vessel in the world when launched in 1834.

An unidentified ship, but with a lot of character!

Right in downtown Bristol, the canals add a lot to the city.

Bristol Cathedral, under restoration like Cathedrals always seem to be.

Inside Bristol Cathedral.

A morning birthday party for 2-year-old Alexander!

Together we took a train to Bristol, a lovely city in the southwest. Bristol is a harbor city with a penchant for graffiti, and Elise and I agree it would be a very pleasant place to live. Quinn took £1 rental bicycle rides all over town, and we ate a surprising number of delicious meals from craft beer pubs. The Cabot Tower provided a fantastic panoramic view of the city. Unfortunately the toddlers each caught a cold, and no one slept very well. Just in time for Alexander to turn 2! This was a highlight of our trip, hands down.

We drove across the Clifton Suspension Bridge to stay in the Forest of Dean. This ancient woodland was largely reserved for toyal hunting, before becoming a major iron-producing region. The forest was an important scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Finally, we finished our trip with Ashley and Jordan’s wedding, set in Clearwell Castle. It was an absolutely mesmerizing venue and an equally beautiful wedding. It was a real treat to dress up Micah in toddler formal wear and to drink and dance with bunch of friendly Welsh folk. I only have a few blurry pictures of this event, sadly. And too early, back to Canada!