Runcorn, Chester, & Wales

The final portion of my trip was spent with Crissy's family in Runcorn, England.

We stayed with her cute grandparents, who I like to claim as my own English grandparents.

 They were more than sweet. 

Giving us well-balanced meals and hot drinks before bed.

Such darling British people, through and through.

They had a spare bedroom we stayed in and even gave us this pet cat to keep us company.

It looks real, but it's not.

I swear.

It tricked me every single time I looked at it, but I touched it and it NEVER moved.

NEVER. For a whole week.

Her aunt and uncle were great as well, touring us all around the country.

Here are Mike & Linda:

They had us over for dinner and taught us the rules of cricket, which is a super fascinating game.

I'm proud to say that I could follow along if ever I found myself at a cricket match.

Her uncle showed us around using the handy Sat Nav (short for satellite navigation).

 Way better to say than GPS.

That Sat Nav guided us to all of the following places...

Parkgate. Famous for its ice cream.

 Literally people drive there just to sit on the benches, stare at the meadow (possibly with binoculars) and eat an ice cream cone.

 We got our cones from this place:

And trust me, it's award winning for a reason.

I ate A LOT of ice cream in Europe and this was one of the best.

I went with Mint Chocolate Chip, but only because they didn't have Honeycomb.

We also ventured to Chester, England. 

It was a really unique city.

I liked it a lot.

This super fancy clock was the entry to their main street of shops.

 We visited the horse racing track. Apparently that's big over there.

The track also doubles as a helicopter landing pad so we got to witness that.

 We walked along the river and crossed a couple of bridges.

I really should have posted about this closer to when it actually happened.

Apparently I'm losing my mind and can't remember the name of the river or the bridge.

A picture is worth 1,000 words, right?

 The Chester Cathedral was incredible. 

In England the difference between villages and towns is whether or not a cathedral is located within the perimeter.

Chester is a town.

 The entire town is surrounded by Roman Walls, dating back hundreds of years. 

You can walk around the whole city on the tops of the walls.

Such a beautifully historic place.

I was delighted to find this random statue of an elephant.

 The baby elephant is named Janya according to the plaque and is a gift from the Chester Zoo to symbolize the good relationship between the zoo & the city.

 The final place I visited in the United Kingdom is Wales.

Small, but beautiful.
We stopped in a town called Llangollen.

 I had a honeycomb ice cream cone of course.

The sign said "Wales' finest"

 I couldn't resist.

 The red dragon is EVERYwhere.

Super patriotic they are in Wales.

 

Please note the small sign that says: Farm to Fork

Nice town. Really.

After wandering through there for a while, it was time for our ride through the aqueduct.

 Jones the Boat took us out for an hour.

It was over 1,000 feet tall on the aqueduct.

 And extremely narrow.

Our boat captain took care of business though.

Only a couple bumps along the way.

 And what a treat to see some wildlife in the water with us.

 Wales is definitely worth a visit.