england, part deux: dorset adventures

As mentioned in my last post, we spent Easter weekend in Dorset. It was beautiful! Rolling green hills, cute sheep and baby lambs dotted the hillside, views of the beach, historic towns, tea houses with amazing cream teas and country pubs with local cider. Picturesque, idyllic, lovely. 

 We stayed at the Manor Hotel, a beautiful old building with a view of the sea and a great little pub. We were able to put Westley to bed every night and use our phones as baby monitors and then head down to the pub for dinner. It was the perfect setup! 

The daffodils were out everywhere. It (deceivingly) looked like Spring.

 As lovely as our hotel was, I don't know if I ever, ever want to stay in one with a baby again. Maybe sleeping in another new spot threw him off, but Westley's sleep went from bad to worse. He just wouldn't sleep...and not only would he not sleep, he cried, a lot. Which was awesome because we were surrounded by other holidayers who I'm sure had been hoping to go on vacation and hear a baby cry All. Night. Long. I had also come down with a bad cold and was totally exhausted...it was a bad situation. Anyways, the point of this story is to explain the picture. At 4 am, my amazing husband took a poor and inconsolable little Wes for a drive, so that I could get some sleep. I didn't ask him to, but I was so grateful. They ended up sleeping in a running car in the parking lot for a few hours. This picture was that afternoon when the two of them passed out for a good 2.5 hour nap after all their nighttime excitement. 

View from the hotel. 

Beach by the hotel. 

Self portraits get a little harder when there's three of us! (on the beach by the hotel, but our big heads are blocking the view)

View from the road to the hotel...

Sheep! Baby sheep! Awwww. 

Abbotsbury was the closest town to where we stayed and was the quintessential English village. Tea houses, thatch cottages, and beautiful views. 

Westley was thrilled that the lambs didn't run away from him at the petting zoo. So much more fun than that cat that he lives with that disappears from sight the minute Wes makes a move. 

Fun in the freezing cold. 

I love pubs in England, and I especially love that you can bring babies in with you. This pub was in the middle of nowhere, note the tractor on the left of the pic (under the sign) - after a hard days work on the farm, the farmer stopped in for a pint. Then a couple other men from the area came in by themselves and they all sat at the bar and gossiped about the happenings in the area. Eavesdropping is so entertaining. 

Sad looking pub dog. So scruffy, old and dirty (but adorable in that ruffled kind of way). 

Lulworth Cove. Part of the reason we picked Dorset was because of it's gorgeous coastline known as the Jurassic Coast. I was so excited to see it, but what we didn't count on was the freezing winds...so it was a quick picture and then back in the car, or a stop for cream tea. Which by the way, I didn't get any pictures of, but are to die for. Scones, thick clotted cream, strawberry jam and tea or coffee. Umm, yum.  

View from one of the hills above Lulworth Cove. 

 On our way back we stopped at Arundel Castle, so that one day we can tell Westley that he's been to a castle, and of course no trip to England is complete without a picture of a castle. 

 Another picture of a castle. 

And a picture of a goat. 

Well this completes our tour of Dorset, hope you enjoyed our visit. I know I did, and I also learned a few valuable lessons: 1) There may be daffodils in March in England, but that doesn't make it picnic weather. If I visit England in March again I will be sure to pack a coat next time. 2) Avoid hotels with babies, a rental would have been much more relaxing. And 3) Cream teas are delightful. I'm sure it was the first of many memorable adventures to come as a family! 

XO