Salisbury

No, it's not where salisbury steak originated. (I think that's a good thing?) It's one of the oldest cities in the UK - the Normans established a city there in the 11th century. When we stepped off the train, the city greeted us with mysterious fog. Sure felt medieval!

Facade of Salisbury Cathedral and me with my cool kid backpack

Salisbury is best known for its Gothic-style, Salisbury Cathedral, built in 1220 by a Catholic bishop. Lucky for us, the foggy morning turned into a lovely day, so we could embrace the town's charm.

Salisbury Cathedral along the Avon River

Cathedral's cloister

Brandon channeling his inner artist - John Constable painted this exact scene!

The inside reminded me of Westminster Abbey with its mosaic ceiling and carved choir stalls.

Ceiling mosaics

Choir stalls looking down the nave of the church

It has the tallest spire (point on top of the bell tower) in western Europe, and we saw the Guinness Book of World Records certificate to prove it! Brandon booked us a 120-minute tour climbing to the top of tower (332 winding steps!) and learning about architecture of the cathedral. It was so beautiful! 

Listening intently to the architecture lesson

View through the tip top of the spire

View from the spire window overlooking the body of the church

Cute little Salisbury

Salisbury is a quaint little English town with nice markets and pubs. We enjoyed a late lunch by a roaring fire, sipping on the locally-brewed, Badger Ale. EVERYTHING closed at five-o'clock on the dot, so we hopped the train back to London after a pick-me-up Earl Grey at a place called the Boston Tea Party – what an odd name for a place in the UK! It was a great little day trip. We definitely need to take more of those!

A Country Walk

A couple weeks ago, Brandon and I were craving some outdoor/green space. We hopped on a train to a little town 20 minutes outside London, Gerrards Cross. And we brought this face who rode her first regional rail!

Across from the train station was a public walking trail that stretched for miles. We picked a brilliant, autumn day – sunny skies, crisp breeze and 60 degrees. 

We planned a 9-mile walk that would end in a neighboring town and conveniently passed a pub around lunchtime. She waited patiently for us to finish our steak and ale pies.

We made friends of all sizes…

And took in the beautiful scenery. And began to understand why people live in the suburbs and commute into London every day.

St. Anne's church - just like elementary school :)

We had a fabulous time. This is my favorite photo of our little adventure:

We found the trail in a guidebook for country walks outside London. We can't wait to try the next one!

Madrid

Hello friends! Sorry for the delay in the Madrid recap. We've been experiencing some technical difficulties with the home computer. It's from 2008, and it just can't hang any more. We're saving up for a fancy new one as a Christmas gift to each other. 

Anyway, Viva España! We were only there for 2 days, but I successfully convinced Brandon that both Spain and Airbnb are awesome. Actually the cured ham, wine and rooftop apartment convinced him, but I'll take the win!

We went on a walking tour of the city to learn more about Madrid's history. Compared to my last tours in England, Germany and The Netherlands, seeing a European city unaffected by World War II bombing was quite different. No ugly post-war buildings hurriedly constructed amid centuries-old ones, many narrow, cobblestoned streets, and so many palm trees. That last part had nothing to do with WWII, but it was so fun! It felt tropical too, as it was sunny and 80 degrees. :)

We lunched at Fatigas del Querer ("Labors of Love") and had amazing cured jamon, chorizo, Spanish omelette and sangria. Then, because I made a poor attempt at speaking Spanish to our waiter, he kept bringing me free wine! And gave Brandon brandy! The wine cost the equivalent of $2, so it wasn't that big of a deal, but it was the friendliest city we've visited since Mexico and Belize. 

Took this for my niece, Isabel!

One of our favorite parts of the weekend was seeing a flamenco show. It was intense, passionate, and wonderful. I couldn't stop tapping my feet, the music and rhythms were so contagious. I can't wait to go again when we visit Seville in February, the birthplace of flamenco!

View from our flat

Parque del Retiro

Fontana de Neptune

If you haven't figured it out, the last couple photos are Brandon's artsy creations. He woke up to see the sunset both days! Crazy boy. But he takes a damn good photo!

We ended the trip by visiting the world's oldest restaurant, Botín. It's the longest-running restaurant without interruption of service or name change - since 1725. There's a Guinness world-record plaque on the facade of the building. Famous artist Francisco Goya worked here as a dishwasher before he started painting! Not to mention it had the best gazpacho I've ever had! 

They had their name on everything - even the curtains!

Really cool old Dutch tilework around the place. We walked through the kitchen to get to our table! Right where Goya worked!

You can sort of see the plaque above the entrance stating the credentials.

Adiós España, hasta February! Te amo!