Boxing Day

The Next Couple of days during and after boxing day, family from both sides coming in to say hello. But of course we reckon just saying hello is quite boring, so we took them over a couple of day onto all the walks around us. Over three days we went on three separate walks across the Forest of Dean. On Boxing Day the family and I headed up to May Hill. The largest hill in Gloucester. With a total height of 999m, it is not classified as a mountain. For May Hill to be a mountain it needs to be a minimum of 1000m. Just missed out. Although it is just a Hill though, the scenery is quite astounding.

On the Second day of Family Gatherings, some of the family from Paul's side came along and we walked along to a place called Saint Anthony's Well. This area was surreal for winter. Whilst the Weiss family were telling me it would be freezing (Because it's Winter duh) there will be next to no leaves. But what we saw was something you could only see in the movies or in the rarest of autumns. 

All the pink leaves had fallen from the trees and made a beautiful environment. A lovely stroll through the countryside was exactly what I needed to get to know the family a little better. 

Third day Zoe's family came back around where we went for a little walk along a small mud track. Unfortunately though i did leave my SD card in my laptop so i couldnt take any photos, but it was a quick tour of all the areas where freeminers could mine in the forest. To celebrate boxing day for three days was cool and a very surreal experience from a tourists perspective.

CHRISTMASSSSS!

Today is the big day. Christmas time is here and joy is spread around the household. Up n early, the boys were going around waking us all up, excitement still in their eyes. We all congregated downstairs to open up all the gifts found in our stockings.  Chocolate, fake snow and more chocolate filled my stocking as the smile grew across my face. In the stocking was also my breakfast. A good ol little bowl of coco pops. So being me, i scoffed down the food like a fat kid on a cupcake. But of course the brits ate their food even faster and were waiting by the tree ready to power through the gifts. We put a cap on when everyone can open their gifts. At the turn of the hour 9am everyone was able to open their first gift. So 5 minutes before I set up the camera ready to record the festivities. Paper begun to fly everyone as the wrapping paper begun to be torn off the presents. Considering I'm only a visitor the Weiss family treated me very well this Christmas, giving me a variety of gifts from classic rugby balls to British coffee cups. To return the favor of the Christmas Spirit I had several gifts prepared for each member of the family.

But of course Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a traditional Roast Lunch though. After the gift opening Zoe and Paul jumped back into the Kitchen. Whilst the fam cooked continued to prepare the lunch, all the boys tried a puzzle in which you have to move a little ball through the maze...except the maze was 3D and very difficult. The maze was called perplexus epic, and at best us boys have only completed approximately half of the maze. This kept us occupied until other family members arrived to the house for the roast lunch.


 

At lunch I met some of Zoe's side of the family: Dylan, Anne, and Keable. The rest of Zoe's family is as outgoing as what she is. The lunch was full of conversations and cheeky banter followed by a beautiful roast turkey and pork.

As a little gift to the whole family, I gave one clip on koala to every member of the family. Although to me I saw it as a cheap knick knack, every member of the family thought it was a stroke of brilliance. It is always good to spread the Christmas Cheer.
Merry Christmas to all xo

Christmas Eve Celebrations

The hype is building up as the big day approaches towards the fat man sliding down the chimney. Food being prepared and delivered left right and center. The excitement from the boys is definitely building as santa prepares to jump in his sleigh. Sam showed me a website which tracked where Santa was travelling and when he is expected to arrive. This just made the boys even more excited. Although today was a bit of a indoor day, the excitement still never left.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

All year I waited for this night to come around. The night where I could finally see the new star wars film. The anticipation all led up this night. 5:15pm on a Wednesday the Weiss' and their family friends went to the nearby Mitcheldean Cinema, payed 1.5 Pounds and sat in the best seat we could find. THE MOVIE WAS SOOOOOO GOOD. Not going to spoil anything though but it is brilliant.

Windsor Castle

This is the tale of a small boy travelling through the high and low points of the United Kingdom; and today was definitely one of the highlights of the journey. Today the Weiss family and I traveled to the the largest castle in all the kingdoms. Windsor Castle.

Waking up at the crack of dawn we all quickly got ourselves together and jumped right into the car and begun our 2 and a 1/2 hour journey to the well acclaimed castle. After the very long trip to Windsor, the fam decided to go for a little discovery walk along River Thames and discover the area. As we were walking along the River Thames we encountered an overly excessive amount of the Queens Pets, more commonly known as the white swan. The sheer amount of swans was purely overwhelming to say the least.

Although the swans only had me excited, the big excitement for the day was in Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle is the largest populated castle in the world, so it took the majority of the day to search through. Unfortunately since the castle is of such high stature, photos were not permitted inside any parts of the castle. But I still got a few happy snaps on the outside, and lots of souvenirs for home.

Lydney Harbour

Monday morning came round for us and for the first time in weeks, we slept in. It was glorious waking up at 9am instead of 6:50. But of course I didn't come to the UK to sleep all day, so the crew went to  a not so common place called Lydney Harbor. Although we left in the thickest of fog, we reached Lydney with the most beautiful sky I have seen to date.

With many rocks to jump around on, sights to look at,  boats/yachts to admire,  and a glorious day to view, there was literally nothing that could ruin this fine view.

Grans 95th birthday

Today marked a big day for the Weiss family as they celebrated Granny Weiss' 95th birthday on Hayling island, south of London at inn on the beach. This was a very sweet get together as I met the extended for the first time. To see such a diverse family come together to celebrate a persons 95th is always a delight. When Gran arrived she went around greeting everyone with kisses on the cheeks...until she reached me.
"Who's this and who is he with?"
After I explained who I was and that I was staying with Paul, she turned into the sweetest lady.
"If you're one of the family, you're going to have to give Gran a kiss on the cheek."She was a little lucky though because she may have snuck in a little bit of lip.

Overall though it was good to meet the whole family from all across the UK to celebrate a healthy life.