I'm still working my way through an AMAZING number of photos, but I wanted to get some of these out there so the bride and groom as well as other people to see!



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Congrats again to the happy couple! There are tons more where these came from, stay tuned!

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This morning I woke up early and put myself through the PT session that we usually go through at the beginning of training, because I don't want to come back completely out of shape. I managed to do a fine job of it, except for being incapable of jumping rope in sneakers on carpet. I may as well have not brought my jump rope, cause I ended up having to do fake jump rope, lol!

I'll probably be feeling the walking lunges tomorrow, but the rest of it felt fine. My hip is surviving despite the fact that I went for a short jog around the castle (mostly uphill) on Wednesday, plus all the walking I've been doing. That is heartening. :)

Anyhow, we got out of the castle by 9:15 and hit the coffee shop and the train station in plenty of time. We got a nice seat and sat and watched the countryside go by for a couple of stations before it all sort of became the same. So I busted out my kindle and finished reading HP1. Which was fun to do on a train across Britain. :)

We arrived in Cardiff and went to the castle after a bit of debate and also another coffee.

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Now that I've been to Hogwarts and Torchwood HQ, I feel like I can leave England fulfilled. There are plenty of things left to do here, including spending way more time in London. However, I've had a fantastic time, and I'm excited to be packing up this lovely castle suite and driving back to London to fly to Brussels tomorrow. Oktoberfest, here we come!

Its a gorgeous fairy tale town, with a medieval wall surrounding the upper part, and loads of tiny little boutique stores, delicatessens, cheese shops, fruit shops and a big emphasis on local produce.

The castle is at the top of the hill, and we are staying in the self catering apartments inside the castle wall.

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Tomorrow, we're taking the train to Cardiff, because Mark doesn't want to deal with anymore narrow roads than we have to, and also I've never taken a train across Wales. I'm excited!

Although, I'm sad that Torchwood is obviously not filming right now. I'll find a way to entertain myself. Possibly by standing on the sidewalk in front of the Millennium Center. ;) And shopping. And visiting Cardiff Castle.

This morning I bailed on the morning workout, due to the fact that I was out of clean workout clothes (washed them, but they weren't dry yet) and also that I was exhausted. I didn't get to bed until almost 1 am last night, and so 930 seemed like a good time to get up, instead of 730.

Tomorrow I'm definitely working out though, because we've decided to stay in town all day. We have three days left in the country, one with nothing planned, one with a trip to Cardiff, and one where we have to drive to London before 5 pm to catch a flight to Brussels. We don't really care which day we go to Wales, so we decided to take a break from driving for a day and hang out tomorrow and see the castle and shop in town. I want a pair of gloves. And possibly a new pair of boots. ;)

Anyway, Mark is about DONE with the narrow windy roads of Jolly Old, so we're taking the long route to Cardiff on the Motorway. It will probably take a bit longer, but it'll be less stressful for him, and therefore less stressful for ME. ;)

Anyway, TODAY!

We went to HOGWARTS!!



Or, anyway, the interior corridors of Hogwarts. Which is good enough for me. ;)

(PS, that photo makes it look a bit like Myrtle has flooded the 2nd floor bathroom again, doesn't it? I assure you, it wasn't even wet. Weird.)

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So yeah, tomorrow, we are hanging in Ludlow. Nice chill day full of walking and castles and shopping and hopefully some good food. The Thai food we had tonight was spectacular.

Goodnight!

We arrived Saturday morning at around 11 AM, and had to wait a few hours before our room would be ready. So we went across the street to a quick restaurant, had breakfast, and then hopped the train to Kings Cross station.

And you knew that wouldn't end well. We had a ton of fun taking stupid photos once we FOUND the proper platform:

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We made it into Ludlow just before sunset, and the castle is phenomenal. We had dinner at a pub down the way that is built INTO the medieval arch in the town, and it was so so so good. I had pork tenderloin with black pudding and cider and dijon sauce. I couldn't even eat half of it, but we're in a self-catering apartment, so we have a fridge. Looking forward to having that tomorrow. YUM.

Anyway, enjoy the photos! Off to take a bath in my ridiculous CASTLE SUITE, and read a book of Welsh Mythology. I know, you're jealous. I can't help it. I'm a princess. PRINCESS!!

Goodnight everyone, although I know your evening has just begun. Tomorrow, we visit Gloucester Cathedral and I will climb Silbury Hill, to check that off my list of things to do before I die.

Hooray!

The first time we went to St Andrews, it was TERRIBLE. It was raining, windy, cold and miserable. I barely got any photos that came out, and we decided to hit it again on the way back. It was kind of cool to see it all empty and moody, but it was so beautiful without the wind whipping at our faces and the rain stinging our eyes.



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PS, FOUR hours until I go to the airport!!!

I know! Another graveyard! I swear I don't shoot these all the time on purpose, but they are a nice break from the normal tourist spots and they're always so nice and beautiful. This one in particular was calm and serene and had spectacular views of the Castle above.

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The castle sits high on the hill over Edinburgh, standing sentinel for several centuries.


Hee. I'm twelve.

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Right off the royal mile, St Giles Cathedral is calm and beautiful and full of lovely stained glass.



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Holyrood Palace is the Queens home while in Scotland.

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