A Warwickshire Winter

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A trip home is good at any time of the year - but especially during the holiday season. The only down side was that I had to leave Mike at home as he was working over Christmas. I found the cheapest flight from Vancouver to London Gatwick which left on December 17th. With a few tweaks and trades with my work schedule I managed to get the time off and then found a fairly cheap deal to come back on January 9th. All booked, all set and away I go.

I landed into Gatwick on the 18th and was greeted by the smiley face of Mr Bell. It was great to see him and even better, Alan was in between jobs which meant we had lots of time to catch up. As well as being in between jobs he was in between moving. Alan and Kat both had new jobs lined up to start on January 2nd - in Leamington Spa. Leamington Spa is in Warwickshire - known as Shakespeare county. William Shakespeare was born in the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon. Leamington Spa became well known for the healing properties of spa waters found in local springs. In 1814 the Royal Pump Rooms and Baths were opened beside the River Leam. Today the Pump Rooms are home to an art gallery and the town's museum.

We had five days down in Leamington before heading up to Scotland. Our time was filled with unpacking boxes and assembling beds on our first day. This ensured a good night's well needed sleep. Kat arrived with her Mum on the third day. They drove down from Cheshire with a car full of boxes and suitcases. That same day our friends Trev and Charlie drove up to see us. They were over in the UK from India where they are living now. We had a lovely afternoon wandering around Leamington and stopping for a spot of coffee. In the evening they came over to Alan and Kat's new flat with their friend Katy. We all enjoyed a few glasses of bubbly before walking into Leamington. Once there we gorged on yummy Thai food, drank too much wine and then hit the pub just to top it all off!!! It was great to see good friends and thanks for coming to visit.

The next day Alan, Kat and I decided to explore the area a little. We drove through Warwick to the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon. Stratford sits on the banks of the River Avon and is full of quaint buildings. We wandered down by the river and watched the ducks and swans swim amongst the barges. Next we made our way into the town and looked through some of the shops, buying any last minute Christmas pressies that were needed. Then it was time for a coffee break and we found a Costa Coffee situated in one of the cute buildings. On the way home I got dropped off in town and went to look around the museum and art gallery and then took the chance to do my own last minute Christmas shopping 😊

Then it was time to head up to Bonnie Scotland. On the way, we stopped at Kats Mum's house on the way. Kat was visiting with her family for Christmas. We all enjoyed a spot of lunch before Alan and I went on with our journey. The weather was pretty foggy the whole time we were in Warwickshire so no good photos really.

Until the next blog, Happy New Year.

Lots of love Mike and Charlotte xxx

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