Good food, good company- a wonderful break

We had an amazing five day trip to England this last weekend. I'd like to do an amazing job on this post but it is a bit unlikely since we're falling apart here now (John and Sam are both sick with a horrible cold and I think I've got it coming on too) so I'll leave it as an extended slideshow. Suffice it to say- we had an awesome time in England and with our friends Ben and Kelly (and their super dog, Otto (see below)). We were treated to all sorts of delicious treats and loved reposing in Ben and Kelly's gorgeous home. As many of you know, John is a prolific bather and their tub was truly amazing- huge! Above all, it was so great to be with friends, and to introduce them (who knew us when I was pregnant) to Sam. We enjoyed going to their church, meeting their friends, and seeing their life in England (since we've only known them overseas).

Otto was such a gentle giant with Sam. By the second day, he'd walk by Sam playing on the floor, lick him across the forehead and while Sam worked on steadying himself, walked on by. It was fun to see Sam interact with a dog. Plus he's so fun in the park and on walks and really well-trained. Oh at the bottom of this entry I'll add a video of Otto trying to retrieve rocks in the ocean- he's such a cool dog.

Okay so here goes with the rest of the pics...

Sam was my favorite piece of luggage. We flew a budget carrier from Marrakech to London Gatwick so we had a longish carride to the airport in Morocco. Sam did pretty well with all legs of the trip but there was a fair bit of crying in the car and some fussing on the plane. Not horrible though at all and mostly he was a trooper.

I'm not even going to try to rearrange the order of these pics- so here goes nothing. This is a lovely walk in Chichester between Ben and Kelly's house and downtown.
Ben showed us the way into town and his office the first day. It was fun to see the home office of their NGO since we saw their project in Aceh. Chichester is a beautiful and charming city. I didn't expect to like the place so much. I thought we were just going to visit friends, so that was a pleasant surprise. There are farmer's market booths in the background of this picture (they had loads of tasters!)
Sam got to wear his fall jacket since it was significantly chillier there. We love the little bear ears.
John and I got all sorts of treats our first day out. It was so fun to wander around town and look in all the shop windows. And Sam was great- just slept on my back and looked around. John's eating a pasty in this picture (we only knew them from the Hogwart's express)

This is the inside of Chichester Cathedral. It was so beautiful, and my favorite part was that the church is still used to worship God (doesn't always seem the case with the cathedrals in Europe).
St. Richard of Chichester, friend of the homeless, is known for this prayer :Thanks be to you, our Lord Jesus Christ,for all the benefits which you have given us,for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us.Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,may we know you more clearly,love you more dearly,and follow you more nearly,day by day.Amen. which I recognized from Godspell. It was a really worshipful visit for me. And the art was lovely- this 14th century stained-glass window
And this more recent Marc Chagall window were two gems
John found these crying cherubs a bit humorous
After that we went to the park and Sam took his first ride on a swing. He really enjoyed it, which delighted me too.
Here's Ben again holding Sam who he and John dressed (not quite according to instructions).
Ben and Kelly shared one of their favorite meals with us- takeout Indian. It was so delicious- we hadn't had Indian food since Malaysia and boy was it good. It was especially special for us to eat it with them because of the many longing references to curry made by both of them in Aceh (it was, for example, the first thing they ate when they got back from Indo).
Sam sporting Ben's super cool shades.
This picture is from one of the two car boot sales we went to. Instead of yardsales, Brits do a weekly sale out of the trunks of their car all over. Those of you who know John, know that he was in his element.
Kelly joined in too, having perfectly timed her roast, yorkshire pudding, veggies, etc to allow for 40 minutes out- what a chef! Here everyone is holding their purchases. John and I got books and toys for Sam along with a few presents and decorations. Kelly got a super cute icing sugar jar, and Ben doesn't really do carboot sales so he's just holding Otto.
We went for a long walk in the country on Monday. It was a bit cooler than the other days and the scenary was gorgeous. I was struck by how farms, houses, and forests are all interspersed. Ben, John, and Otto played on the haybales.
Kelly, Sam, and I watched that bit.
Then Sam got a break from his carrier while we watched Otto chase pheasants.
So thanks to Ben and Kelly for hosting us- hopefully we'll get them down here before we leave!

The promised wonder dog video