This past weekend

Ok, So i'm just copying and pasting the email Josh wrote to family, and posting the pix.  sorry if things don't correspond.

[Note: As Saturday's activity involved both bikes and beer, Josh is writing this one...]

Hello everyone,

This past weekend, we finally went out for our first bike ride in the UK.  Our primary goal was to travel on the public bridle path we discovered on a previous hike and ride across the English countryside, hitting up Kedleston Hall (a proper English "estate home") along the way. 

I'm attaching a couple of pictures from the GPS software that shows the route we followed.  After getting through Markeaton Park, we went on the bridle path, which was amazingly beautiful.  It is just a narrow stretch of dirt that cuts right across a private farm, but because it has been used for hundreds of years, the public still has the right-of-way on this path.

a couple of weekends ago

Ok, I've been super lazy about posting pix of our adventures from this past weekend.  Why?  Because I wanted to show a lot more photos than what I had edited to email out to family, and I had editing photo sizes.  But Josh and I just got back from an awesome little pub.  I've got a couple of pints in me...feeling pretty relaxed and ready ready to catch up on my posting.  That, and we've got a big adventure ahead of us this weekend...can't get too far behind,

And actually, I'm just realizing that I'm a couple of weekend's behind.  I'll do a couple of posts.

So back on June 12, we drive a half an our or so to Ashby-de-la-Zouch to tour the castle ruins there.  It was amazing!  We spent quite a bit more time there than we expected, which was totally fine.  but also means that it was the only thing we did that day.

This castle is managed by the English Heritage group..and they put together a really great audio tour (that's what those things are that we're holding up to our ears in many of the photos).  The audio tour was quite cheeky, but gave the whole history of the castle.

They had signs in each room to show how the castle would have looked, etc.  and those are the photos that still need to be edited down.  but you know what, i don't feel like doing it. so i'm just posting pix that we sent out to family.

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle

BBC News

For a time, each morning, BBC news has a signer relaying the morning news.  They 'shrink' the main picture, and have a guy standing in front of the screen to the lower right, and he stands there and signs the full news line-up.  It's amazing!  I've ner been able to just watch sign language this long before!  makes me wonder if they don't have Closed-captioning.  I've not seen little notes about that on their tv.  so maybe not.  not sure.  interesting.

funny

http://www.thehighdefinite.com/2010/06/nothing-new-to-report/

wow!

People are here are already drunk, in anticipation of the World Cup match between England and USA.  Wow.  lots of loud singing going on outside our apartment...