Mom and Dad’s visit Part 2: July 13-15, 2012

For our second and final weekend with Mom and Dad, we rented a car so to help facilitate some bigger day trips.

On the Friday night, we had a relaxing evening and finally made it to a country pub halfway between Basingstoke and Newbury called The Star Inn (John and I have been eyeing up for a few months).  Mom and Dad finally got to try “sticky toffee pudding” which they loved!  I can also recommend their banoffee cheesecake!

The next morning we set off early for Stratford-Upon-Avon to see “The Tempest.”

The River Avon:

We all enjoyed the experience of seeing a Shakespeare play in his hometown itself, but I don’t think it was a favourite play for any of us.

We enjoyed exploring the town before and after the play, seeing Shakespeare’s birthplace and also Anne Hathaway’s cottage:

(Which now makes me question if the current actress Anne Hathaway uses a stage name?)

The town had some quirky shops as well:

We decided to stop in Oxford for dinner on the way home.  A coworker from Oxford kindly recommended some restaurants, and we had a lovely thai meal.  Oxford University was beautiful– although it would have been enjoyed more had we not arrived in the middle of a torrential downpour!!

The next day, with a better weather forecast, we headed south for Brighton, a seaside town about a 2 hour drive away.  After a fish-and-chip lunch, we headed to the famous Brighton pier.

It was bigger than I expected, housing 2 arcades, many amusement park rides and food stands.

 

Only pure class on the pier:

 

Enjoying the free deck chairs:

 

While the weather was “better” than the day before’s, it was still cold and windy and a bit miserable.  I think I understand now why a beautiful beach needs an amusement park pier.

 

No swimming for us.

Amanda