Jes and Carolyn’s Quick Change

 Hello Friends!

Another day another adventure, but this time I got to take a slower morning on the balcony with cuddles from Tiny before starting our day. Jes and I decided at the last minute that we'd dress to theme at the  outdoor movie tonight, so we started off the day perusing the local charity shop. I found two dresses and a skirt all for under $20!

After a successful shopping trip we then headed back to Mount Orgueil Castle in Gorey to explore the castle grounds. We found probably the largest hydrangea bush I've ever seen at the entrance, so of course I had to a take a picture! I think my favorite thing about English culture is all the perfectly manicured lawns and gardens. 

Jes and I had lots of fun playing with the various weaponry stations around the castle. 

There was a Tudor falconer there for the summer with his hawk Sovereign. Apparently the methods for falconry haven't changed in over 800 years! The best falconers back in the day were from Belgium, and the most coveted falcons were the Gryfalcons from Iceland. Also, there was a whole class system associated with the birds. Higher classes could have better birds, and if you were caught multiple times with a bird that you weren't allowed to own you'd lose your left arm, or if you dared steal a bird that wasn't yours you'd be killed. 

The audience was relatively shy, so Jes volunteered me to be the assistant for the rabbit dummy exercise. It was so much fun! I really wanted to go up anyways, but didn't want to take the opportunity away from any kids. I pulled the rabbit dummy and Sovereign attacked from above. I'd like to give a special thanks to Baby Cat for preparing me for this moment. Who knew hours of playing with feathers on a string would pay off when I had to do the exact same in front of an audient with a rabbit hide lol! 

Walking around reminded me a lot of when Jes and I took our trip to Duart Castle a few years ago. The castle itself was a labyrinth and we got lost a few times. It also wasn't very fancy and more of a fortress; there were lots of prison cells, an entire section dedicated to witch hunting, lots of archery/musket windows, and towers for catapults. 

The views were great, and we had great fun taking pictures around the castle. 

We had quite a laugh at the stocks, and it took all my effort to play dead for the photo! 

Before we knew it, our time was up and we had to rush home to change for tea and run out the door. I got a spot of lipstick on my dress and tried to wash it out which of course left a big water stain which I tried to dry out the window on our drive to Longueville Manor. The Ami doesn't have automatic windos so I was trying to hold the window open whilst sitting up as tall as possible so the wind would hit the middle of my dress. It looked quite silly, but gave us a good laugh!

Also, I had no idea how fancy the hotel was, it was recently awarded a Michelin key and is one of the top hotels in Britain. You should have seen us arriving in the Ami; Jes wanted to park in a super tight spot next to the Rolls-Royce, but I was taking no chances dinging that car! Tea was delicious, we had sandwiches, scones, and lots of pastries. Even though we sat there for three hours, I was too stuffed to finish dessert and took the rest home. Did you know at afternoon tea here you can have as many pots of tea as you want? I was so happy, I tried their Longueville blend that tasted quite similar to an English Breakfast and then switched to a rooibos for the scones. We also had jam, Jersey butter, and clotted cream with the scones which was delicious! I really wish we had better clotted cream options at home, America does not realize what they're missing out on eating their scones plain with no cream or jam! Maybe I should revolutionize the market there. 

We then took a wander around the manor grounds and had lots of fun posing for photos again. The manor even had their own greenhouse for herbs and produce. For instance the strawberry jam we were served was made from strawberries in their garden and it was delicious! 

The theme for the day was enjoying a space for a little too long, realizing we're late for our next appointment, and then rushing home to change and head out the door. So of course, it felt like deja vu when we ran home to change into our Grease outfits and head out the door within minutes. We walked rather briskly to the park, but it was quite fun to hear all the people who immediately identified us by our outfits and commented. I'd say we nailed it!

The weather was perfect and the crowd jovial as we sang and danced along. I had completely forgotten quite a few scenes from the movie and just how impressive the dance scenes were! We certainly lost the art of dancing over the years, I can't imagine how much more fun school dances would have been if everyone could jive. 

 Turns out today was quite busy and a tremendous success. We walked home laughing with very happy hearts! Can't wait to share tomorrow's adventure!

Much love, 

Carolyn