Leaving York

So it was a pretty action packed weekend in York - you can see more here and here. Looking through my photos, here are a few I missed in previous posts. I think that we all had an excellent time. Bluet and Ilona have continued to spend most of their spare time drawing at the kitchen table, as in York. And of course it was great to spend time with cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents. Now Ilona recognises everyone she saw (Gran Helen, Uncle Nick, Simon, Angela, Gus and Della) from our extensive collection of photographs really for the first time, so this was probably an important formative trip.

Here we all are on Sunday, enjoying the York Marathon

And then while Ilona and Gus napped, the big girls went on a walk where they ended up climbing York Castle

(NB this is still Ben writing this - for some reason the computer won't let me log Emily out)

What we did next in York

What we did next in York, was to go the seaside (Bridlington) which has not only a beach , but also some carnival rides and even a pirate ship that will take you for a 10 minute round trip out into the bay. We were joined by Gran Helen, who had arrived the evening before, and we ate some fish and chips (a first for Ilona, and possibly also for Bluet), and ice cream, which of course you have to do at the British seaside. Also it was sunny, not windy which is a bit inappropriate for a British seaside resort.




All aboard the pirate ship





Bluet loved the rocket ride. Ilona also went on the dodgems, but perhaps she is still a little small for that kind of excitement.

Canoe trips

Yesterday Bluet was playing with Lego, with her lego people having a picnic on the beach. A little later on I saw she had cleared them away and asked what had happened to her picnic, and she told me that they had finished and packed everything up into the canoe, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. This is because on the float trip in the summer when we were camping on the river, all the food was packed into Nana and Wayne's canoes at the end of each meal. Here is the lego picnic packed into the canoe.

Also we went and practised bike and scooter riding, and later Bluet took a photo of Ilona and printed it out.

The next day in York

We went for a drive to a nearby artificial lake, where we looked for kangaroos, and Simon chased the kids around a Castle, whilst we all fed grass to Shetland ponies. (This was also the first time I ever drove a car on British roads (aside from lessons when I was 17-18), which was pretty exciting on those winding country roads; actually I really enjoyed it). The weather was so nice, we finished the trip with ice cream and a run around the playground. Back at Simon and Angela's house more artworks were produced. I think Bluet learned a lot about drawing from Della because since we got back she has been drawing like crazy - in York she would only draw houses and flowers, then aeroplanes, but now it is houses and flowers and cats and owls and dragons and Mama and Bluet and Peppa and George and Granny and Grandpa pig (not Mummy and Daddy pig, as I mistakenly thought).

Although I know it looks like she is saying 'Dad, I want a pony', I'm pretty sure she isn't

Simon captured Bluet and Della in the castle

Looking for kangaroos

Ilona and Gus sharing toys

I was going to carry on and talk about Gran Helen arriving (later on this day) and then our trip to the seaside, but our internet is being very very slow with the photos, so I will try again tomorrow. Meanwhile today in Zurich we did some shopping for halloween and Ilona's birthday, ate some sushi, went to the supermarket, and all that jazz

Old York

Just over a week ago we went to York to stay with Simon, Angela, Della and Gus, and we were also able to see Uncle Nick, and Gran Helen came up from Cambridge. We packed a lot into a short trip, so here it is in bite-sized chunks. So here is our arrival and first day, which involved some time in the garden, some art, a visit to the allotment and a walk into town where we saw the old castle

I am always amazed that Bluet and Ilona know exactly what to do with an old fashioned phone, seeing as we don't have one at home

Some brass rubbing, quietly, in an old old church

Ilona tries on Nick's shoes. They are a bit big