TR: Europe June 2-June 15 (seperate TR for Alton Towers )

[MummyAW]

As you probably know by my Alton Towers question, I went to England and France this summer. We drove around the very pretty British countryside before joining the Adventures by Disney tour called Cities of Knights and Lights. (BTW, this was me and my father's first trip to Europe and my mom's first trip to England and France)

 

I'll post a separate trip report for Alton Towers in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters and Donkeys forum after I talk about the Strattford/Warwick area.

 

DAY 1- Since we live somewhere in East Alabama, we had to depart from the Atlanta Airport. After 5 crowded hours in the Airport, we boarded a plane bound for Gatwick at 9:15 p.m. Atlanta time! This being my first night flight, I could hardly sleep. Ugh, it was miserable.

 

DAY 2- Finally, we land in the morning (British time) and it felt like a week since we touched the ground. Bombarded by jetlag, we got out and rented a car. After, my dad got lost a few times. We arrived in the town of Strattford-Upon-Avon, and stayed at the Menzies Welcombe, a British Mansion-looking hotel. The room was nice and there was a beautiful garden outside. We decided to explore downtown Strattford, and ate at a Rose and Crown. My mom is a huge Shakespeare fan, so we had to check out the statues in the middle of town.

[MummyAW]

DAY 3- We got up as early as possible, and had a great British breakfast. We then headed off to Warwick for Warwick Castle. The entrance was cool because it was the place where people would shoot arrows at you if you were trying to invade. They have a few cool walkthrough areas. In one you see real armor used in a real battle and lots of other authentic stuff. In another, a haunted house tells the story of the tragic murder of the castle's founder. There's also a cool trebuchet show where they launch it at the end. After seeing those three respectively, we saw the Birds of Prey show with a bald eagle, a vulture, and other birds. We then climbed to the top of one of the castle's highest points, Guy Tower. Counting the stairs to the top and to the bottom, the total number of stairs in the tower is about 500! The view is worth the stairs, however. That was followed by a quick lunch, and something I really wanted to do, the Dungeon. It's interesting thinking that in that dark, tiny spot, people were held prisoner. We then went into the Royal Hall, my favorite part of Warwick Castle. Lots of real historical things are in here, too, such as spears, QEI's handkerchief, the sanctuary, and the dining room. The last thing we saw was the Mound, the oldest part of Warwick Castle. It's very high so they could spot invaders, with a river to keep intruders from coming across. Because of this, the castle never fell. We also got a view of the wonderful British countryside. We headed back to Menzies, and had a great dinner in downtown Strattford.