Adventures in castles

Ooooooh, I have been on big adventures places where you may want to go. Friday night after I landed in London we went out and I had steak and Guinness and mushroom pie, which is exactly what you should eat when you've just landed in London. It looked better than this in person and was like a rich beef stew topped with an ample amount of puff pastry... we were in Brown's on Canary Wharf. Very hip and happening.

Saturday some friends got married near Lingfield, south of London. The gang all stayed in the Tudor Village at Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boelyn. S and I checked in Saturday mid-day before the wedding. That's him taking photos. A swan had a nest near where he's shooting there. She swam gracefully and slowly, but with her wings puffed out, straight toward him because he'd apparently gotten too close...

The ceremony was in a different castle -- Chiddingstone. He was the photographer and I the vocalist at the wedding. It was a great community celebrating a strong union... I forget how much singing is just natural self-expression for me. I learned Etta James' "At Last" for this ceremony and I have to admit even I thought, about halfway through, "This is going very well." I should do it far more often.

Sunday the gang had a full English breakfast and then headed out to the Hever Castle gardens. We rowed a 6-person boat on the lake and had cappuccinos and ice cream and wandered. Later we went to a perfect country pub, but I don't have photos of that...
Throughout the weekend, Stefan and I kept turning to each other saying, "We have a really good life." I am lucky he's shared his huge circle of friends with me. I hope big, sunny, friend-filled adventures like this for you, too. Click on any of the photos to see them larger.