Coventry

On Tuesday, we woke up early and took the train to Coventry in Warwickshire. We had been to Coventry twice before, but only to pick up much needed items at IKEA. This time we were planning on going to IKEA and doing the tourist things too. When we got to Coventry we returned some things at IKEA and then headed out again in the freezing cold to tour the town. We saw the Lady Godiva statue in the city center. If you aren't familiar with this story, the expression "peeping tom" and the chocolate company both have roots in this legend.

We visited St. Michael's Cathedral which was built between the late 14th and early 15th century. It was later bombed in 1940 and now stands as ruins. You can still climb the tower of the Cathedral and we did! 176 steps up a spiral staircase and I was dizzy at the top! The view was beautiful and it was so so cold. The new St. Michael's Cathedral that was built next to the ruins of the old cathedral was also impressive and beautiful. The history in this country is amazing.

We also visited the Coventry Transport Museum. Coventry used to be the center of the British car industry and the museum holds the largest collection of British-made road transport vehicles in the world. Admission was free so we decided to check it out. It was pretty neat, but nothing that we really loved. It was cool to see the old-school bikes and stuff.

After that we headed to IKEA for a late lunch and shopping! We finally have about everything we need for our flat. We spent some time decorating and cleaning this week and it is looking good. Some pics from Coventry:

St. Michael's Cathedral ruins

On the way up the tower.

View of Coventry from the top of the tower.

Ground view of the tower.

Road Trip

On Monday morning, we headed out on a road trip with Kevin, Leah, and Tatum. Destination: Bolsover Castle about two hours away. We stopped at a little pub for lunch in the town where Robin Hood and Maid Marion supposedly got married, right next to the Sherwood Forrest. That was fun! We had a jolly time on the way to the castle, but we arrived to a paper sign on the gate saying the castle was closed for the day. We later found out it was closed due to heavy snow. As disappointing as that was we decided to press on to nearby Hardwick Hall. We arrived on the grounds of the hall and popped our heads in the pub only to find out that the hall was also closed. We could visit the grounds, but we couldn't actually go in the hall. Another disappointment. We did have fun playing in the snow though.

After all of that, we headed home. Later, we met up at the Millers and made fajitas for dinner and watched Christmas Vacation. Still a fun day!

Leah and I at lunch.

So much snow!

Snowball explosion.

A picturesque day!