Fall Break!

The end of October saw me and two colleagues on our way to England! Amy and Tracy (the 5th grade ELA teacher and the Primary teacher) planned this trip in September because we wanted to explore some of England while also going to see some shows.

We flew into Gatwick and then rented a car to drive out to the Cotswolds. We rented an Airbnb that was right next to Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. One day we went and explored the grounds of the Palace. We didn't go inside because admission is quite steep but the grounds themselves were beautiful. There was even a small train on the property that takes visitors from one part of the grounds to another! The train's name was "Winston" which fit in with the history of the house very well. The palace has been used in many different films as well such as Cinderella (2015) and for some scenes in Harry Potter so that was fun to try and find different film locations on the palace grounds.

Another day, we went to Oxford to see the city and meet up with one of the former teachers from ICSV. It was fun to walk around the town and see Oxford University. We went into the Bodleian Library as well which is another Harry Potter film site. The third full day we were in the area, we went to Bath. We went to the Roman Bath museum and it was a much larger museum than I thought. The main bathing area, where everyone always takes photos, is the first thing you see and is not actually that large. However, the rooms surrounding that area are much larger and show how the Romans were amazing architects for their time. I would definitely go back to Bath because I feel like there was a lot still to see and do there that we didn't have time to do. On our final day, we explored some of the Cotswolds and the towns there. They were so cute and charming! I wish we could have explored more of the towns. Alas, we had to get back to London to see a show!

We had two days in London and saw "Mary Poppins" and "The Play that Goes Wrong" which were both spectacular shows. Since Amy, Tracy, and I have been to London many times before, we had no need to see the sights but instead found bookshops and cafes where we could sit, read, and enjoy each other's company. It was a great fall break and much needed as well.