Day 1 & 2 in England

Day 1

For those of you who didn't know, this year I am spending Christmas break in Europe.  My Dad's sister lives here and I am staying with them in England and then helping them with their four kids on their trip to France.  I started traveling on Monday the 17th and finally reached England Tuesday the 18th very early in the morning.  Most of my first day I was out of it because I was completely knackered (a British term for extremely exhausted) since I only got 2 hrs of sleep on the plane.  My Uncle told me the best way to beat jet lag and jump into the time zone (England is 7hrs ahead of where I live) would be to stay awake the whole day without taking any naps and then go to bed at a normal time for England.  From what I do remember I went to the grocery store with my Aunt, helped her wrap presents, went through a walk through town, walked to pick my cousins up from school, and then went to my 9 year old cousin's Christmas play "The Late Wiseman."  By the time the play rolled around I was dozing off like the guy in my Rel 333 class (Hayley would appreciate that reference).  I finally made to 8:30 pm when my 9 year old cousin waited by my bedside to tuck me in bed.  Here are a few pictures from Day 1:

The neighborhood I am staying in- it reminds me of Privet drive from Harry Potter.

My roommate Lauren made this paper doll of herself (she is so crafty and talented so you should check out her blog here) and she sent it with me so she could "go" to Europe too.  

On my walk through the town I came upon the "St. Nicholas" church (fitting for Christmas time) 

London Road running through the town

Day 2

Luckily I slept straight through the night (which is apparently a rare thing to do in a very different time zone) I was awoken around 7:45 am by the sound of a the pitter-patter of my 3 year old cousin's feet outside my door and the repeated sound of her music box.  She repeatedly wound it up until I came out of my room. After sending the kids off to school, My Aunt, her friend, and I headed off to Tombridge and Tumbridge Wells to do some shopping.  I got a lovely British jumper (a British term for a sweater) and quite a load of chocolate (which my roommates requested I bring back for them.)  The rest of the afternoon I mainly spent entertaining and playing with my little cousins. I didn't really take too many pictures today so here-

 My cousin and her friend in their school uniforms- again this reminded me of Harry Potter. (To protect their identities I made them Harry and Ginny lol)

Lauren eating some classic English Cadbury chocolate

My first lot of European chocolate- I will try to restrain myself from buying too much more, but I might not be able to- the stuff is dang addicting!