(ludlow day ten)
Another lazy morning in the country afforded us the luxury of warm showers, red pepper omlets and a nice cup of English tea with a dash of milk.
While Ben got Rae ready, Aunt Beckie let me drive to the post office! On the wrong side of the road! In a stick shift no less! Adjusting to having the gear shift on my left was more disconcerting than driving on the left side of the road.
We survived the adventure, picked up Ben and Rae and headed out to visit the Ralph Court Gardens which consists of twelve themed gardens ranging from Alice In Wonderland to parts of the world like Japan or African Safari.
We enjoyed strolling the gardens and discovering various statues and water features.
The girls loved all the chickens. Kay was too mesmerized to even look up for a picture.
Rae and Aunt Beckie explore Alice in Wonderlands Garden walking through the Cheshire Cat’s lane.
I got too close and got sprayed with a face full of water by the local green giant (a motion activated fountain) while these three giggled at my expense. Thankfully it was only a bit of water but I was surprised. I had misread the sign and didn’t realize I was getting closer to the water’s spray.
We had a nice lunch at the Ralph Court Gardens and decided to leave once the bees noticed our juice glasses and refused to find other entertainment.
The girls and I enjoyed a nice nap as we drove to Ludlow. We woke up just in time to take in a view of the next attraction we were to visit.
Here is the view of the remnants of a castle, behind the yellow house, in the middle of a lovely country town. This is a real castle, it was used for real castle things. We decided to forgo the fake castle visit since we could see a real one.
I had been naughty so I got put in the stocks first. 
This is the round Chapel. Still mostly left standing.
Kay seemed to enjoy having a castle to play in.
We managed to climb to the top and I realized that the stairways were far too narrow and steep for ladies in dresses to attempt, so I assume it was used by guards and servants only.
As you can see the town continues just past the castle. There isn’t much separation between where the ruins end and the town starts. It has been built around the ruins.
More views of the lovely and green English countryside. Aside from the castle, the green reminds me of the PNW. To be fair there are a lot less mountains. But the weather and greenery are similar.
It amazes me just how much of the castle remains standing.
Just before being kicked out, they rounded us up like cattle with large bells. Ben got a turn in the stocks. It was short lived on account of it being his birthday and all.
And just outside the castle entrance you look out into the town. If you can make out the tents you can see the market we walked through. We bought some fresh fruit, blueberries and plums, and enjoyed them as we explored the castle square. The market stands where the original 12th century market began.
Despite the rain in the morning, the afternoon cleared up and we had an enjoyable last day in the country.
We retired home for an early dinner and some ice cream cake in honor of Ben’s 32nd birthday. A friend of Aunt Beckie joined us for dinner and we were able to learn a bit about Norway.
And to continue our tradition, after the girls were put to bed, we popped out for a cider at the pub. Our trip is coming to an end. In hindsight doing two cities in a row was a bit much for our girls, but ending in the countryside was refreshing. We finally were able to rest up before the journey home.
Rachel is looking forward to heading home. She’s had as much adventure as she can stomach, and we’ve realized she’s a bit of a homebody. So tomorrow takes us to Copenhagen for one more day and then we fly home.
Hopefully this time we won’t forget any water, suncreen or iPads in our bags so we aren’t told our gate is closing not opening. I hope we’ve used up the misadventures possible on this trip and have an easy and uneventful trip home.
Mapped Out 