A Visiting We Went

Hi all!  Been a month since my last post! Holy cow...I'm sorry.

What have we been up to, Mr. K and I, you ask?

Lots!

But, I'll try to get you caught up.

We went to Exeter, UK over Thanksgiving weekend to visit friends. It was so much fun. We took the Eurostar to London, where we changed at St. Pancras and took a taxi to Waterloo to take the South West Train Line all the way to Exeter Central.  A nice 6 hour journey and very very relaxing. Much more so to us than an airplane. Plus, who can resist trains!

London was all ready for Christmas

 However, while in London, we went to Costa for some delicious hot chocolate.

 I got the Honeycomb Hot Chocolate and Mr. K got the Black Forest Hot Chocolate. We thought the cups were too cute.

By the time we got to Exeter that Thursday evening, it had grown dark outside. Our friend, the lovely and fabulous Mrs. M took us to her house, but not before I snapped a shot of this lovely mall all decked out.

Love it! It was a real treat to see this.

 We shared a wonderful dinner with their family and had a very very nice sleep on actual pillows (not the square flat things they say are pillows in France). Again, we felt spoiled, but in a glorious way.

The next day, Mrs. M took us all over Exeter, showing us its beauty. Here are some of the best shots of this cute town.

This is a shot from a street near where they live. So British with the row houses, but it also reminds me a little of Boston

A bit of a castle wall

This is a modern art piece that has poetry written backwards
on it yet in the reflection you can read it.

The main street in town, complete with a brass band playing Christmas carols. It was great!

The courthouse dating from 80 AD. I'd say that's pretty old. 

Courthouse interior

Ah, there she is, the elusive Mrs. M! I got a shot of her and Mr K inside the courthouse.

This is one of my favorite buildings. It looks like it came right out of an Austen novel. A bit crooked but that's because I was trying to take the shot before a HUGE truck stopped in front.

An art museum. Love the brickwork!

After a morning of walking around, we stopped into a place called Ruby for some burgers and jalapeno poppers. Delish!

Look at the snowflakes!!!

I like snowflakes.  This one's for Mrs. M though. Happy snowflake, my friend!

 We were then led over to the Exe river where there is a nice path to walk along. Under the bridges, there were tons of colorful pieces of work. Apparently the schools give them free reign under the bridges and the artwork is amazing!  Real talent.

Nod to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Sometimes I feel like this too...

Look at that beautiful profile! That's done with spray paint, my friends. Gorgeous!

 We continued our walk and came to this site:

I think this shot sums up the river walk: Swans, water, buildings and bridge.

 I've never heard the loud flapping of swans on water before that day. What an cool sound!  They don't just land like ducks. They actually run across the top of the water for both landing and taking off.

Another little bridge. This time it has duckies underneath.

We continued walking along this path and passed some neat antique and boutique shops which were in old bomb shelters.

Then, the weather began to get misty, so we popped into a pub to warm up a bit before heading out again.  Good thing we did, too! It poured about two minutes later (and mind you, we did not have umbrellas with us) so we just lingered over a pint and watched the rain on the river. Good ale, good view and most importantly, good company.

Thank you Mrs. M for the photo!!!

 The rain stopped and we continued on, up the hill (Mr. K liked this one) and up to the castle wall.

A view down to the river.

 Part of the walk you get to walk on the wall, which is neat.

The wall, but we didn't walk on this part.

We walked to the main square of Exeter, but not before we saw the alleys that inspired J.K. Rowling's Diagon Alley.  I thought they were quite nice.

This looks like it could come straight from the movie (I've not read the books so I don't know)

 This is the alley that inspired the author.

Frontview:

Backview:

 This was a side alley I saw and was so taken by the flags, I had to take a picture.

After the slight detour, we made our way to the Cathedral Market.

Christmas Market in front of the Cathedral. Very nice.

 Back side.

Of course, no market is complete without an old grungy Santa.

Or two....This one, at least, looks happier.

And thus ended our tour with our fantastic friend.

(I think I may have fallen in love with Exeter.)

It's late here, so I'll have to postpone the Movember Meeting, Thanksgiving, and the Day the Camera Died to the next post. Besides, you're probably pictured out by now.

Until next time,
Bisous!