Wales...the place not the animal

I have set off on another day adventure...into Wales and the town of Cardiff.  I figured I lived in the San Diego version of it so I should go and visit the real thing.  They are both set on water....that is the only similarity though.  Two very different places.  The people of Wales have had a really rough past.  I felt like there was still a lot of underlying unsettled feelings there.  However now instead of fighting it out in battles like they did in the old days they take it out on the Rugby field.  It is apparently like a religion there.  I have to say I am intrigued and scared all in the same breath about possibly attending a rugby match.  We will just have to see how daring I get.  They have an amazing stadium which is right in the middle of town.  Apparently it's location is do to the fact that the ground below it is where the first wooden stadium for sport was built and they decided to stay with the same location.

City View of Cardiff from the top of the Castle

Not sure if it was just superstition or some weird law but none the less there is a massive stadium right in the center of town.  Also in the center of town near this very modern stadium is a castle that dates back to Roman times.  This is what I was talking about.  This city just has a very discombobulated feeling about it.  Don't get me wrong I really like it but as you are walking through you can feel all the different layers of history that they have been through.  There was even a time when there weren't really any Welsh people living here.  They didn't even view it as a Welsh town and a man named Owian Glyndwr (the equivalent to William

At the castle keep...proof I really am here :)

Wallace for the Scottish) acctually led a revolution that ended with burning down Cardiff.  Crazy that now it is the capital city.  The castle in the middle of the city goes right along with the layers of history that the city has.  Like I mentioned it started in Roman times and has been changed and added to with each different war or member of society that owned it.  There were still bits of the wall and most of the foundation that date back to 55AD.  It was rebuilt by the Normans in the 11th century and then upgraded into the Gothic Victorian style by the Bute family who used as there vacation home about 6 weeks out of the year.  Can you imagine the amount of cash this family had that this castle was a vacation home.  Also when they tired of it and decided to spend more time in their homeland of Scotland they gave it to the people of Cardiff.  Ya that's how rich they were....they didn't need to sell it to get another home like all us normal folk they just handed over the keys and walked away.  They cool part about that was that the people of Cardiff literally own it.  If you have an address in Cardiff you get a "key to the Castle" and can come in and out whenever. When I was there I saw tons of people just

High Street Cardiff

wandering in and out with picnic baskets to have a little lunch on the green or play in the grass with their kids.  It was pretty cool.
Outside the castle walls was a bustling city.  High Street was the place to be.  There were all sorts of little shops cafes and pubs.  Apparently when the city was first set up there were about 27 pubs and not many more people then there were pubs.  Priorities I guess....sounds like a pretty good ratio for them.  All along this street there also were a bunch of market stalls set up selling vintage wares and tasty treats.  It was such a fun alive street with tons of character.  The shop buildings were each so

Victorian Arcade

unique and had so much character.  I wish my photo had captured it a bit better.  The other cool thing that Cardiff had a ton of were the Victorian Arcades.  If you recall I discovered these for the first time in London so when I saw them here I knew what they were but I found out a bit more about them in Cardiff.  These beautiful buildings with gorgeous shops lining them were originally strips of farming land.  As Cardiff became a booming city due to the coal mines they had to start providing entertainment for the people of the city and the visitors so they started building on the farm land.  The town was full of these arcades....more then I have seen in any other town.  Most of them were straight but some were curvy since they were built over top of medieval streets.  It does still confuse me on first glance though when I see arcade in the title....I walk in initially thinking I will see Pac Man and Street Fighter but am brought back to reality by designer clothing and jewelry.  I do apologize if sometimes these blogs end up

Cardiff Bay

 sounding like a history lesson but I am kind of a nerd about this stuff and love learning about all the different places.  Cardiff is so very different from anything I am really familiar with I was just eating all of it up.  I had the best tour guide on my walking tour.  He was so knowledgeable and just linked everything together so well it was fascinating.  The only thing that he didn't describe well was the walking distance from the city center to the bay.  When I asked if it was walkable he said oh ya...it's not far at all.  Well he was wrong.  I am totally used to walking but this was really far.  It was one of those walks where you consider turning around multiple times but don't because you know that is must be right up around the corner.  When I finally arrived at the bay it was well worth it.  It is beautiful and just alive with people.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and everyone was out in their short sleeves enjoying a pint in the sun by the water.  I wish I would have had more time to do the same.  Unfortunately I feel like I just scraped the surface of this very historical and interesting town.  There were many more things I wanted to do and discover but just didn't have the time in my one day trip.  I really would like to go back and spend some more time in Wales.  I will leave you now with my stupid moment of the day though...when I arrived I started noticing that all signs were in 2 languages.  I was quite confused as to why and what other country was Wales being so generous to that they wanted to put the language up.  Oh yes...I am that much of an idiot.  I learned later from my wonderful tour guide that it is actually the Welsh language.  I suppose it is one of those things that I knew but just didn't really even connect together that it was a language that was still used.  Apparently it is alive and well.  In citys' you will mostly hear english but if you go out in the country a bit 60 to 70 percent of the people will all still be speaking Welsh.  If you aren't already feel free to have a good chuckle at my expense...I did.           

Water runs through it....

Today my adventures led me to a tiny village in Somerset called Wells.  Wells is knows as the smallest city in England.  This tiny little city is full of history and grand buildings.  It also lives up to it's name of Wells with great amounts of water running through it from a natural spring.  When I hopped off the bus after my hour long ride to get there I was thrown straight into the market square that was alive with tons of stalls set up selling everything from vintage jewelry to seasoned bones labeled "spare body parts"  Nope that's not a joke....it was actually labeled "spare body parts".  I tried to get a photo but the stall owner kept standing right by it and I did't want to be that tourist.  I also was afraid he might try and explain it and I wasn't sure I wanted to know.  I had a bit of a wander around the market square then headed to the meeting point of my morning walking tour.  As we headed out the history of

Wells Cathedral

Wells began to unfold.  Our first stop was the Cathedral.  To arrive at it you must pass thorough penniless porch which is an archway created by the bishop for beggars to sit and ask for money.  Stepping out from under the pass through into Cathedral Green you can't help but be struck by this massive Cathedral.  It is so overwhelming but very beautiful.  The original building did not have the 2 top side towers....they were added later.  If you cover them up in the photo you can see what it looked like before which I think is much more beautiful but apparently they felt they needed the extra towers.  My favorite part about this cathedral was

Adam, Eve and the Apple

  the stories that it tells.  No really...it literally tells stories.  Not verbally obviously but through pictures.  If you look at the photo of the cathedral you can see that there are 3 levels.  At the top of the bottom level there are lots of openings.  Inside each of these openings is a picture describing a story in the bible.  If you start at the left of the Cathedral and work your way right carving by carving you would be basically reading the bible.  Because many people at this time couldn't read written word they would come and sit in front of the Cathedral for hours and "read" the bible.  Next time I think I don't have 5 minutes to sit down and read I will remember these people who would make hour long trips just to read the side of a cathedral.  One of my favorite carvings was the one you see in the photo.  It is Eve standing in front of Adam in the garden of Eden feeding him the apple with the snake watching just above their heads.  Pretty cool huh!  This Cathedral also contains the 2nd oldest working clock.  Just off the side of the Cathedral was a place called Vicars Close.  This is the oldest residential street still is use.  It originally housed priests of the church.  There is even a walkway leading straight from the front

Vicars Close

original building leading straight into the church so the priests did not have to be bothered by the debauchery of the world if they chose not to.  The big tall chimneys that you see in the photos were added a bit later when the boys choir was being housed here.  It was so that there was no smoke coming into the house to do any damage to the boys lovely singing voices.  I actually think these chimneys are what give this street it's real charm.  With out them it would look just like any other old village street.  The school that is connected to the cathedral that started in 900 is still going.  There were tons of kids running around in their uniforms.  The public bus in this town even does a special run to pick up all the kids and take them home....I know this because I was on that bus.  It wasn't as bad as you would imagine.  They were all quite well behaved for teenagers and every single one as they got off at their stop said Thank You to the bus driver.  Gotta love the manners!
As we left Vicars Close we walked around the corner and our guide had us stop in front of this skinny tall rock.  Random was my first thought but whatever....thought maybe it was a special landmark or something.  Our guide then asked for

Deal Sealed....lets shake on it.

 volunteers....ok,what is this rock gonna do that it needs volunteers for.  Now I know in the photo you can see the hole in the middle but we couldn't from where we were standing.  So, she gets her volunteers and the story goes like this.  Apparently back in the day farms would have rocks like this placed somewhere on them.  Say you have a few cows you are looking to sell and the farmer down the lane just happens to need them.  He comes on over and you guys make a deal on the sale of the cows.  Since this is a time before the common man was dealing in contracts but you wanted a little more security that the deal is final then just a statement....you use the rock.  Basically you and farmer down the lane stand on either side of the rock, stick your hands in the hole and shake on it through the center of the rock.  Deal Sealed...Cows sold!  I seriously want to know who came up with this.  Were there a bunch of farmers sitting around one

Palace Entrance

night sipping ale and said guys we should shake hands through a big hole in a rock when we make a deal.  I think the better explanation was some cheeky guy thought it would be a funny joke to do it once and it just kinda stuck.  Anyway, regardless of how it happened there it is...the deal sealing rock!
The final stop on the walking tour was the Princes Palace.  Oh ya, this one is legit...fortress wall around the entrance, full moat and drawbridge.  Don't forget about the huge swan...no palace is complete with out a huge swan.  Ok there is a reason for the swan...it's not just a cheesy decoration.  It was actually designed

Almshouse

for the Queens diamond jubilee last year and was a part of the celebration.  It's quite pretty up close but it does make the palace look a bit theme park-ish.  Anyway, aside from the swan it was quite pretty.  The interesting tid-bit of this palace is that there are real swans that live in the moat.  Now these swans have to eat right...how they get their food is the funny bit.  There is a small bell with a rope near the base of the fortress wall.  The swans just pull this rope to ring the bell and the gate keeper will bring out food for them.  Now that's what I call service.  Guess you gotta be a swan and live in a moat to get waited on.
The last thing I visited on my Wells adventure was the oldest almshouse in Somerset.  It is such a lovely building.  Looked just like a cute little cottage I would love to live in.  This little house was all the way at the other end of the town so I walked through town to get there.  Remember how I mentioned before that there is water from the natural spring flowing in this town well when I said flowing through town I meant it literally.  There are little channels along the road between where cars drive and the side walk.  Now this can make it a bit tricky since it would be quite easy to take a slight step towards the road off the sidewalk and Splash!  there goes your shoes into the water and you are stuck with soggy socks for the rest of the day.  I was quite cautious since soggy socks are something I despise.  I also feel lucky that my brother was not there with me because I feel as though the sibling instincts would have gotten the better of him (or me truth be told) and one of us would have ended up with out feet in the channel.  As I rode the bus home through the countryside I was grateful for this lovely day in this tiny village.          

Little towns, Stone circles and Church

I've been walking and walking and walking....for miles and mile and miles it seems!  This town and all the surrounding areas are just so much fun to explore.  All I do is walk till my feet get tired then find a coffee shop or pub to rest in then walk some more.  Around every corner is a new surprise.  Even if it's a street I have already walked down I usually can find something new about it.  I have given myself the luxury of taking one bus tour, mostly because I couldn't get to the areas by foot and it was tricky via public transport but, we will get to that later.  I really do much prefer just walking.  You get such a better feel and grasp on the town you are in that way.  I went on the town walking tour to re-associate my self with town.  They are always fun because the leaders are people who have lived in Bath for most of their lives and have all sorts of fun little tidbits to

Castle Comb

tell us.  Through this tour I also learned about this event called museums at night that was going on which was basically what the title said...museums open at night.  I was able to hear ghost stories about Bath at one museum and see the garden behind it filled with a hot air ballon and other activities that would have been going on back in the early days of the park.  Around the time the great Jane Austen would have been visiting the garden since she lived directly across the street in house number 4.  She was not a fan of the music that was usually played and would plan her trips into the garden to avoid it.  In case you were wondering....now you know.

Weavers Cottages...Castle Comb

Speaking of life in the past lets talk about the bus tour I took.  I did a full day tour that took me back into the Cotswolds.  The first stop was the lovely town of Castle Comb.  This tiny village is basically one street with a market stone in the middle, a church to the left and an inn on the right. As we walked through the center of town to get to the weavers cottages by the stream we passed a bunch of horses tied up in the center of town.  It was a bit like stepping back in time.  The only thing that made you realize you were in modern times were the motor cars and scaffolding around a building that was being redone.  I was so in love

The George Inn...Lacock

with the weavers cottages.  They were right along the stream so they had easy access for dipping the wool in it.  They had so much character.  Each one had a unique different door way....my favorite was artfully decorated with twigs.  Although this town is now fully modern and each place owed by very wealthy people it still maintains the character of the past.  The next town on the tour was a bit bigger but still had all the same charm and beauty.  Lacock has tons of history dating back to the early 1200's.  Yes,  that isn't a typo I said 1200's.  I still sometimes am just shocked that I am standing in the same spot as someone else did hundreds of years before me.  It is also hard to believe that many of the building are still mostly original.  There have been some reinforcements added for safety but the bones are still original.  One of the historic buildings here is the George Inn.  I popped inside to have a pint of the traditional Scrumpy Cider and have a look at the dog wheel.  Ok...explanation on the dog wheel or turnspit as it was also known.  Well it is pretty much what the title implies.  It is a wheel similar to a hamster wheel but sized up for a dog.  It's attached to the side of the fireplace by the rod that goes through the middle of

King Johns Hunting Lodge

the flame to roast food.  The dog would run in the wheel to turn the meat so it cooked evenly.  Now if the dog wasn't running quick enough or would stop a lot they would put coals under the wheel to inspire the dog to pick up the pace.  Now I just want you all to picture sitting by the fire awaiting your meal being cooked by a dog running in a hamster wheel over top of hot coals.  Apparently there were few health and safety codes or animal rights during that time period.  I know this story seems a bit farfetched but it's real...look it up.  There was even a breed of dog called the Turnspit bred especially for this job.  The next building on my little walk was the oldest in the town and is said to be where King John stayed when he would come hunting in the area.  800 years ago when this was a part of the royal forest he would stay in this house.  I am pretty sure the tea room/ garden might have been a bit different but still quite amazing to think about these kings and other members of the royal party sitting around enjoying some ale after a long days hunt just inside these buildings.  Now this town is filled with all sorts of little hidden gems like the blind room which is where drunks would be thrown at night and locked in.  In the morning they

Lacock Abby

would wake up in this windowless, pitch-black room most likely with a hang over and think they had gone blind....alas this is where the term "Blind Drunk" comes from.  This town also is the filming location for the original (and best) version of Pride and Prejudice.  I kept hoping Colin Firth would come walking around the corner but I alas Mr Darcy was no where to be seen. Cranford (another BBC production which you should see if you enjoy period pieces) was also filmed there along with parts of Harry Potter and also War Horse.  Because of all the filming that gets done here the film companies have paid to have all power lines put underground so it gives it even more of that old time feel.  The Abby there also is quite beautiful.  I didn't have the time to go inside but for me it was

Avebury and the Stone circles

enough just to see it from the outside.  I loved that there were sheep just freely grazing on the grounds.  The last stop on the tour was the town of Avebury and it's mysterious stone circles.  You may remember that last year I visited Stonehenge.  Well, this is the spot that the stones for parts of Stonehenge were carried from.  Some of these stones are apparently on ley lines also which I am not sure about my thoughts on however I do know that when I was holding a copper rod it was steady in my had till I moved it up the line and then it started to swing about.  Definitely interesting but not sure exactly what I think was behind

Bath Abby

   it....jury is still out in my mind.   The little town surrounding the stones is also quite lovely with it's huge manor house, beautiful church, thatched roof cottages and haunted inn.  All in all the tour was well worth is and I got to see so many things that I would not have been able to with out it.
Now I will leave you with probably the best thing that I experienced last week.  This experience was encouraged, though I didn't know it at the time, by a conversation with a friends dad.  He basically asked me "Sara, what do you do about church and community while you are traveling?"  Of course there was more to the conversation then that one question but it has stuck with me and has really made me want to search that out while I am on this adventure.  It is a part of my life at home why wouldn't it be on my travels.  Upon my arrival in Bath I did a bit of research, listened to some sermons on line and chose somewhere to go.  My choice was Bath Abby.  I can't even put into words how it made me feel.  It was just beautiful.  I was overcome sitting in the pews, singing " This is the air I breath..." then walking to the front of this glorious building and taking communion.  I am so grateful for the conversation I had that planted the seed to explore this as I travel.  I am looking forward to seeing where it takes me and how it adds to my travels this time.        

The beginning in Bath....

The night before I left my mom gave me a little card and inside was a delicate little bracelet with the word Truth engraved on it.  Her note said "Travel safely in truth and celebrate every blessed day you are given."  Those words worked there way into my soul and have helped me find a bit more clarity as to what this next set of travels are for.  Travel in Truth is the motto this time.  The first round everything happened so quickly and was so new and different from anything I had ever experienced before.  This time I and returning to quite a few spots I have been before and feel like I am really truly digging into these places and changing my life...possibly working to create a new start to my life over here.  That is all a part of finding the truth of who I am and who I want to be in this next stage of my life.  Of course there will be new spots to explore to but I am very excited about revisiting

View from my room...doesn't get much better! 

   
 the old also.   So with all that said lets get into the adventure.... My travels were relatively uneventful this year which was perfectly fine with me.  Everything went smoothly.  I had a great seat on the plane with extra leg room and no weirdos sitting next to me.  The flight was much shorter flying from Tennessee which had it's pluses and minuses.  I was happy to be on a plane for a shorter amount of time but It made it difficult to stick to my sleep program so I could function when I arrived in London at 8am.  I did sneak in a cat nap between the dinner and breakfast service on the plane and I am pretty sure I was sleeping on the shoulder of the guy next to me...oops...he didn't see to mind though.  Once I arrived customs was a breeze...no 80's mullet man giving me the 3rd degree.  I am traveling much lighter this year so luggage was easy too.  Since I booked all my train travel online ahead of time I gave my self time for there to be issues, since there wasn't I was stuck at Paddington train station for 3 hours waiting.  I was perfectly ok with it when I was checking the train boards and looked up to see Jude Law standing across from me.  I definitely got a look,

Prior Park

     smile, and a re-look after from him....Not a bad way to start my time in London.  Hopefully that is a sign for whats to come.  I finally got on the train and headed to Bath where Michelle and Talia were there to pick me up and take me to my home for the next 3 weeks.  They showed me to my room and I looked out the window to see the beautiful view you see in the photo.  My heart was filled with such joy to be back in this beautiful country.  The first couple of days were just settling in.  We took a walk in Prior Park which is basically 5 steps from there back door and is so beautiful. The bridge you see in the photos is one of only 4 designed in

Talia walking the trails

this specific style.  The whole park is full of gorgeous garden trails and hidden little benches and secret surprise buildings.  The whole park and huge Mansion up on the hill was owned by one of the richest and most influential men in Bath, Ralph Allen.  It is crazy to think that this whole vast park and huge Mansion belonged to one man....oh to live back in those times.  I really do think I was born in the wrong era sometimes.  When I look out over these green hills and gardens I feel like I should be dressed in my big gorgeous dress that I can't put on by my self holding a lace parasol over my shoulder with one hand and the other arm draped gently through the arm of a dapper gentleman who is of course courting me.  I know...only in my dreams...but what a dream it is.
It has been so much fun exploring this park next door with the kiddos these last few days that I have been watching them.  Michelle and Ryan have been able to enjoy some lovely time together on this annual retreat they attend while I get to have loads of fun at home with Nathan and Talia who are two of the greatest children.  We have walked on trails, splashed in puddles by the bridge and found a beautiful family

Just Splashing!

of swans that had just had their babies.  They are so cute and fluffy.  They go out for their morning and afternoon swim and it is just precious.  We watched them just waddling their way down the bank into the pond and all of them just basically tumbled down more then walked.  All in all it is just a gorgeous place to live and be able to explore.
I have had one other adventure here this first week aside from watching the kiddos.  Let me tell you it was one I that made me feel quite young again.  I drove a car here in Bath...AHHHHH....quite scary.  I was going to need to drive the children to school while I was watching them since there are not any convenient bus stops around this area so Michelle put me behind the wheel for some practice.  I was thinking this can't be that bad...just focus on keeping myself on the opposite side of the road....boy was I wrong.  I felt like a 16 year old in drivers ed class again.  The roads are not built for real sized cars...matchbox ones would work better.  I was constantly feeling like I was going to scrape the car on either the big rock wall on one side or the row of cars parked on the other.  Then because the roads are so tiny and cars are parked on the side it really makes

This is a 2 way traffic road

 a 2 way street feel like it should be one way and there really is only room for one car.  The big problem with this is what if there happens to be two way traffic....well....one of you has to find a spot between all the parked cars to pull over and let the other one pass.  If there isn't a convenient one in front of you guess what....you have to reverse till you find one.  I was slightly over whelmed by all this getting started.  Michelle was wonderfully patient with me and she only grabbed the wheel once.  It really is trickier then you think it's going to be.  Anyway, by the end of the drive I was settling in and getting the hang of it.  It ended up that my practice was not needed since both kids ended up feeling a bit poorly so we all stayed home but at least I get to check it off my list that I have driven in England on the other side of the road and the other side of the car!
As of yesterday I have finished working and will now just get to explore and play.  Michelle and Ryan are letting me stay with them for 2 more weeks so I can get the full Bath experience that I didn't get last time.  I am so looking forward to it!

Going away again....

I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by.  It has been 6 weeks since I returned from Tennessee but feels like just a blink.  The time went so quickly because it was filled with so much.  I felt like every day was a puzzle of different items to fit together so that I could squeeze in as much as possible before heading out again.  Between scanning, jumping, packing, booking travel, and seeing friends there weren't too many spare moments in-between.  I did still make time for my new obsession, pure bar, although it usually had to be at 6am.  By the way if you guys haven't tried out Pure bar classes you should.  I have never had a harder work out in my life.  I like to think that I am a pretty fit person and these work outs had me shaking every single class.  Anyway, everyone should try at least one class.  You will be in the best kind of pain.  Ok back to the other parts of life....One of the main reasons I came

Welcome Baby Wyatt

back was to be there to welcome a new little man into the world.  My wonderful friend Priscilla was due to have her second child and had asked me to be a part of the whole deal...in the room and everything.  I felt so honored that she would want me a part of this special moment for her and her family I had to make sure I was there.  I had never even been at the hospital while a baby was being born let alone be in the room so this was a whole new experience.  Now her last experience was quite long and drawn out so we thought there would be plenty of time for this one.  When I walked out the hospital door to go and pick up her mom at the airport we thought there would be a

Happy Easter!!!

few hours before baby would come....Baby had other ideas.  In the 45min I was gone Baby Wyatt was born.  Priscilla's mom and I missed the moment by 4 minutes but still made it in the room to hold this new little blessing within minutes of him entering the world.  I can't even put into words what a special moment this was.  There is nothing like it.  I feel so lucky to have been a part of all aspects that went along with this birth like watching his older brother meet him for the first time and just fall in love with him.  I believe his first comment was..."I hold baby Wyatt".   I also got to spend a very lovely easter day with the Woodall family just soaking in all the love and snuggles I could knowing in the back of my mind I would be leaving very soon and be missing all of this so much.

Lunch at the Cordiano Winery

Living with and spending time with all my closest friends has been another huge blessing in this chapter of my life.  It has been so great to get to be a part of so many amazing families.  Getting to just live life with them has been super fun.  I feel like I have become so much closer to the people in my community through this experience.  It has been so great.  I am so grateful to have so many people around me who were willing to share a part of their house and world with me.  It has been so special getting to just share in all the daily routines  from early morning work out classes, to park outings, and family dinners...it has all been so great.  I just feel like I am so lucky to have so many wonderful families in my life.  So many times it can be tricky for people in different life stages to maintain a strong friendship but I think that we have found a way to make it work.  We have all been able to meet each other where we are at in life.   We give each other some grace and understanding when we are going through parts of life we each might not be able to fully grasp because we aren't living it.  Just because you aren't in the thick of it doesn't mean you

Greyson and the ladies...Beach Day!

 can't listen and be supportive.  I know that I would much rather have the people who have known me for years helping me through something in my life or sharing in an amazing moment then someone I have hardly known but happens to be in my stage.   I have never understood when people say I just don't relate to them anymore...they are married, or they have kids.  I may not have a husband or children but that doesn't mean I can't find a way to still connect to the people whom I love the most in this world who do have these things.  Yes it might take a bit more work and our time together will probably look different then it did before but it is much more important to keep those friends then start completely over.  I think that this realization is

Me and my Mary girl

what made leaving this time a bit tougher.  These amazing people are the ones I want to share in all my life moments but this can't happen when I am across the world...at least not physically.  As my time got closer and closer to leave I just wanted to be around everyone all the time.  The last trip came up so quick and I didn't have time to think about the leaving bit but this one I have had much more time to realize what I was leaving.  I never seconded guessed leaving...I have known that it was the right choice all along I just know that there are a lot of parts of my life at home that I will miss greatly.
The other bit that was different about leaving this time was even though I left San Diego in mid april I was still in the states for a few weeks.  I headed back to Clarksville to help out with the adorable twins and sweet redhead!  Having that stop over made the transition a little easier.  Everyone was still just a phone call away and only a few hours different...not almost half a day apart.  Plus I was getting to spend time with a friend and see those precious kiddos again.  I also was able to do a couple of jump rope clinics in Clarksville which was super

Just makes my heart smile!

fun.  I always find so much joy teaching and jumping.
So as my time in the US drew to a close I really just couldn't fully wrap my mind around how I was feeling.  I love that I am lucky enough to be able to take this adventure and am beyond excited about all the new things I am going to experience but, I am a bit more emotional about the things I am leaving behind.  Not sad and wanting to stay but just acknowledging that I have something amazing and great at home to visit whenever I come back.
So with all that said.....I am boarding a plan and headed across the pond.  Let this new adventure begin....I hope you all are ready to come along because you will be with me every step of the way!