Meeting Helen. Even though I feel like we’ve known each other for years, in actuality, we’ve only been talking since February. (Read more about that in an earlier blog entry – Facebook to Friends.)
Helen has dubbed herself my Norfolk tour guide. Saturday was the best day! Take a look at some of the things we did:
- Blickling Hall – Mentioned in the Domesday Book, this estate is believed to have been the birthplace of Anne Boleyn, future wife of King Henry VIII.
- Norwich Printing Museum – What a happy accident discovering this tiny little print shop. The kindest gentlemen, a former printer, proudly told us all about the history of printing presses in England and demonstrated how to typeset. For a graphic design-minded person, this was all fascinating to me!
- Holt – Close to the coast with so many shops, this was a real highlight of the day! Honestly, I saved so much money by actually putting some things back instead of buying everything in site! Gin is to England what Bourbon is to Kentucky and, boy, did I get a taste of it at Adnam’s!
- Wells-next-the-Sea – This was basically like stopping at Pontypandy (Fireman Sam, anyone?). We had cider, we ate gelato, we walked the quay, we listened to sea shanties. This was a quintessential seaside town!
- Great Snoring – First stop on the Shelton tour. Here, we visited St. Mary the Virgin Church. Evidence of Shelton influence included a medieval brass of my grandmother and artifacts from Sir Ralph, my grandfather. The adjacent rectory was built by Sir Ralph and his family lived here until moving further south a few years later. Famously quoted by saying, “I can sleep without Snoring.” Remember – the puns are abundant with our family.
Alyventures 