We were nominated by fellow blogger, ProjectRelish, for a seven-day photo challenge, so we will be posting one of our nature pictures every day for the next seven days.
For day 6, we chose a photo of a stately tree in Warwickshire, England (can a tree actually be stately?). Our friends in Europe are probably looking at the tree and thinking, “there’s nothing particularly interesting about that tree”, but for us, we don’t see trees like that, especially in Colorado. It was such a beautiful autumn day and the blue sky just seemed to wrap itself around the top of the tree. We found the English countryside to be absolutely beautiful and we’re really glad that we didn’t limit our visit to England to just London.
Stately Tree
Rules: Post one nature photo and nominate someone else for seven consecutive days.
Nominating Blue Luminance, who has a site with incredible photography of nature and Australia.
Here is a picture of the English countryside that we took from the top of Warwick Castle.
It isn’t surprising that the places of worship are some of the most spectacular sites to see when travelling. The Roman cathedrals, the Islamic mosques, the Buddhist and Hindu temples, just to name a few, are all inspiring works of architecture and display a treasure trove of art. We’ve enjoyed seeing many various cathedrals and temples at the places we’ve visited. Well almost.
The Cathedral of Granada – Cathedral of the IncarnationWestminster AbbeyNotre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France
This post is not going to be a catalog of all of the different cathedrals and temples that we’ve seen. In fact it is about the opposite. One of the things that starting to post about our travels has done is to review past photographs of the places that we’ve been to. Especially going back through the old photo albums since most of our lives were spent prior to the digital camera age. The good thing that has come from that is that we’re now scanning many of those older photographs and making them digital, which is really great. But, in reviewing those photographs where most of our travel was throughout the United States, we came to an epiphany.
Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Chennai, IndiaSt. Mary’s Church in Warwick, EnglandFraumunster Church in Zurich, Switzerland
We don’t take photographs of the cathedrals that are in our own country 🙁 We’ve been to pretty much every major city in the United States, whether to live or to visit, and we have virtually no pictures of any of the cathedrals that are in those great cities, and they have some great cathedrals. To be honest, we were kind of ashamed of ourselves. How could we make such a concerted effort when we’re abroad and take so little notice in our own backyard. We won’t call it a New Year’s resolution, but we will be sure that in the future, we don’t miss out on the beauty that these great cathedrals have to offer as we travel inside of the United States in the future.
Saint Thomas Church in Chennai, IndiaSeville Cathedral in Seville, SpainTemples at Mahabalipuram in India
We were fortunate enough that when we went to Stratford-upon-Avon, we joined the locals in celebrating the arrival of Santa Claus. It was truly a magical experience and the town of Stratford-upon-Avon was everything that we expected for a small English village. There is something special about walking the streets of a town so rich in history, thinking about all who have walked those same footsteps. The shops, pubs, and people were all extremely welcoming as the holiday spirit certainly filled the air.
Stratford-upon-AvonThe Gathering CrowdPunch and Judy Show
The town of Stratford-upon-Avon is a tourist destination due to the fact that it is the birthplace of William Shakespeare, but we were surrounded more by locals than tourists while we were there. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is located in Stratford where the plays of Shakespeare are still performed. The original charter for the town was granted in 1196, making it over 800 years old. Located in Warwickshire, England, nestled along the River Avon, it is truly a destination well worth visiting. Seeing the home where Shakespeare was born is a memory that will stay with you forever.
Swan TheatreShakespeare’s Birthplace
The most memorable part of the visit, however, was when everyone gathered in the center of town outside of the Town Hall on Sheep Street to wait for the arrival of Santa Claus. After it turned dark, the town officials came out onto the balcony to address the crowd. Then, to the excitement of the children and adults alike, Santa Claus appeared on the roof, waving to the crowd below. After seeing the arrival of Santa Claus, we went to one of the pubs where there were large punch dispensers with mulled wine to warm the belly as much as our hearts had been warmed.
Gathering Outside of the Town HallArrival of Santa Claus
The following day, we joined other holiday shoppers in the market that had been set up to sell a wide variety of crafts and products. We also visited the various shops that were all festively decorated for the holiday season. We purchased holiday decorations for family and friends as well as some for ourselves. We ended up buying another suitcase, just so we could bring home everything that we found while we were there. There were also plenty of restaurants with local fare to eat, such as the traditional fish and chips, bangers and mash, steak and ale pie, and bubble and squeak. Needless to say, besides the mulled wine, there were plenty of pints of ale to be found and we enjoyed several of them.
The Shops in Stratford-upon-AvonThe Market Place
This was truly one of the highlights of our visit to England. We had been in London prior to heading to Stratford-upon-Avon and it was almost as if we’d travelled back in time. I’m sure that it is beautiful during the summer, but if you get the chance to visit during the holiday season, we’d highly recommend it. Stratford-upon-Avon will stay in our hearts for many years to come.
