Roads Not Made For Cars!

Last Monday Mick was doing the night shift so we took the kids to the swimming pool in the morning so he could have a nap in the arvo before work. We went to the swim centre in Bridgwater and it was really really fun. I like swimming but I hate getting in my bathers, getting changed again, having wet hair and dressing the kids while I'm freezing & wet!! However, it was so worth it! This pool was great, unlike the one in Taunton where we went before. The change rooms were the best I've seen - they were all just little individual locker type things that you go in, and therefore no male and female separate areas.... which was good because Mick could help me dress the kids... and they were even clean and tidy!!!  The pool was great too - kinda like the aquatic centre in Hobart I guess. 

Leilani and Emily both learnt how to float by themselves in their floaties - it was so funny just watching Emily float around by herself saying 'don't touch me'!!! And Lani learnt to swim and tread water all by herself. All very basic stuff I know, but we have never put our kids in floaties before, we always just let them splash around in the kids pools or hold them. So we were very excited. *Update on Lani's swimming lesson last week - She still wasn't too keen on the whole thing, but she did everything they asked her and swam across the whole pool by herself and even laid on her back and jumped in without being caught! She absolutely loves the whole swimming thing - but just hates being in there with strangers I think. She still looked sad for most of it... just hope she might smile some time soon!! 

Anyway, after the swimming we headed back to Taunton via Nether Stowey, a small village up in the hills. (I think they call them mountains here though!!!!! lol) There really aren't many hills around here so it was nice to be up high for a change!

This is a church in Nether Stowey.

And I finally got to take some photos of all the HEDGES!! The roads are just lined with them, the paddocks are divided by them and they are basically just everywhere!! It will be so nice to see them when they are green! 

I love these signs.... they just look so..... real! Check out the names of the villages.... they really are a crack up!! 

This is typical scenery driving from one village to another.... looks very much like autumn, but believe me Spring IS on it's way! The misty kind of look is very typical also, especially when its sunny.... you kinda get a hazy misty thing happening!!

The roads are just SO tight. You have to pull over so a car can pass you ALL the time. We even had to pull over when a motor bike was coming.... most roads fit one car and that's it.... clearly they weren't made for cars!!

Walking to the Shops

I am really enjoying living in the town centre. We are about a 5 minute walk away to 2 supermarkets.... both in different directions, so we walk most times. It does mean however that you have to only buy what you can carry... which is sometimes hard!! My grocery shopping habits have changed completely, at home I would only go to the supermarket once or twice a fortnight and one of these would be quite a big shop. Here I go every 2 or 3 days and just buy what I need for a few days. Every now and again we drive and go to one of the bigger stores which are about 3 minute drive away, this is when I buy more general stuff and stock up on shampoo and soap etc. I'm finding the supermarkets kinda annoying in  a way and I think most of them are the reason why so many other shops have had to close down. They just about have everything, but there's never a lot of choice, and I like choice! Anyway, just some pictures of the girls on our way to Morrisons, which is over the river.  It has been cold again this past week, and I think you notice it more after having a week of sunshine!

Plymouth

My first impression of Plymouth was that it felt just like a good old fisherman's town. Mainly because we were heading down to the docks and it smelt like fish! But it definitely had that kind of feel. It was nice to be by the water again, I kinda miss that - although it was a lot colder down here and you could feel the sea breeze quite strong. 

Plymouth is quite a big place though... I think it's actually called a city, and it's definitely  no longer the tiny port from which Drake, Raleigh, the Pilgrim Fathers, Cook and Darwin all set sail on pioneering voyages. Bet it didn't look like this in the 1500's!!

This old church ruin was in the middle of the street - acting as a roundabout! How interesting is that!!? Not sure of the details here, but a lot of the town has been rebuilt after wartime bombing, so maybe it has something to do with that??

We stopped in at TOYS R US on the way home... which was quite exciting for everyone...

Emily fell in love with Iggle Piggle... she was so cute to watch!

We drove past one of the famous Australian Walkabout Pubs, but didn't get to go in... maybe some other time we will stop by and have lunch with some Aussies! 

The most interesting thing about Plymouth was the houses.... they were kinda unbelievable in a way.  I don't think the photos really do it justice but anyway! 

So these first 2 photos look like pretty standard English homes...

... but when you get on top of the hill and are able to look across at all the roof tops - this is what you see:

And they go on for miles and miles like this. We have seen lots of terraced houses here, all in rows, and all looking the same, but nothing like this - these just really shocked us! Just look at them all!!

We really only saw 1/10th of what we would have liked to in Plymouth, but we have realised that you just can't see everything in one day. Mick will continue to visit Plymouth once a fortnight for work, but I'm not sure if I will ever make it back... there's just so much to see here -  I love it!

National Marine Aquarium

Saturday took us for a drive to Plymouth... which is on the coast - about a 2 hour drive away. Mick has been here twice already because he has to come down once a fortnight for work. So we thought we would all go and check this place out. We decided to go to the National Marine Aquarium. It was quite fun!

We got to see 2 divers in the tank feeding all the fishies!

There were 3 big sharks in the Mediterranean Sea tank, we liked Bruce the best...

And Finding Nemo was exciting! Dory was there too, but she came out blurry (no flash allowed, so taking pictures in the low light was a bit hard).

The glow in dark room totally cracked the girls up.

But my favourite was the big Turtle, reminded me of swimming with them in Hawaii!!!  (Where we definitely didn't touch them!)

The aquarium was pretty cool, with 3 huge tanks and lots of different viewing rooms. We all enjoyed it, and felt pretty special standing next to the Tasmanian sea horses!

Hestercombe Gardens

On Friday the girls and I visited Hestercombe Gardens, which is about a 5 minute drive out the back of Taunton. Hestercombe is made up of three different gardens from 3 centuries (1750-1908). Obviously it's very early spring here, so a lot of the flowers aren't quite out, but it was still beautiful and very very peaceful. I think it would be great to visit here once a month and watch the garden grow and change. It has lots of different walking routes so you would see something different each time, and the kids loved this little, simple play area!

Hestercombe House is an administration centre for the Devon and Somerset fire and rescue centre, so it's not open to the public but sets the scene for the gardens perfectly. 

I love this wall! And want one in my garden, when we have one again - and who knows when that will be!! So Dad... start collecting those rocks buddy!

Which way do I go?

Emily was feeling very photogenic this day.... Lani not so much, hence all the photos of child number 2!

I love the look of this garden... all sorts of things coming up everywhere! 

Counting the steps! Emily is getting very good at counting now, probably because she has a great teacher!

I could spend hours looking at this house... imagining what might have gone on here a few hundred years ago. If only I could go back in time!

After our big walk around the gardens we enjoyed a treat in the cafe. 

Lani couldn't stop laughing at all the icing sugar on Emily's face.... it was pretty funny, cause look at HER face!!

Who does this remind you of?? Yes - Grandad!!

If you want to read about the history of Hestercombe house and gardens check out their website here. It's really quite interesting.