Day Seventeen in England - "Ello mum"

Ello mum,

I think I’m going to start my email off like this from now on. I think it adds some proper British to my letters, don’t you think?

Anyway, today Tony got us up early to go to Arundel Castle. It was amazing, incredible, indescribably beautiful, and all of the above. Because of the type of ticket we bought, we were allowed to explore every part of the castle. The rooms and decorations were so elaborate and intricately designed. I loved that there were plaques on the wall, describing each room’s use and the history. We spent most of the day inside the castle walls (it was a very big castle), but once we couldn’t ignore our hunger any longer, we left. We had explored everything anyway, so we were content.

We met up with Tony and ate sandwiches in a little clearing where he had parked his van. He asked us how we liked the castle and said it was really almost like a fairy tale castle. Acting silly, he began to fabricate a story of

Princess Alixandria (Alix) and her friend, Princess Rachel Colleen. The two little princesses traveled far from their home to visit other kingdoms and visited their court jester, Uncle Tony, who made them laugh all day. The end. I

t was cute. Then, he bought us some ice cream, and sent us off to explore the town of Arundel. Alix and I went inside a few shops, and I bought something for aunt Jani. I’m sure she’ll be glad to know that. Alix also bought me a birthday present, even though I protested stubbornly. I’ll show you when I get home, but it’s a beautiful little cream colored heart shaped box that would go wonderfully with my room. Soon, the shops began to close, so we met up with Tony and began to drive away from the fairy tale town. We picked up Maggie from work and went to visit Tony’s son and his family. When we got to the house, we were greeted by a little girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. Her name was Claudia and she was the eldest of two. We met Harriet, Tony’s daughter-in-law, and Sophia, the younger daughter. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. Alix and I occupied our time by playing with the girls. They showed us their bikes, their rooms, and they put on a little puppet show for us. Sophia took Alix to her room because she wanted her to read a book and I played with Claudia. She reminded me of a little version of myself because she told me she had a boyfriend! I asked if she had kissed him, and she said yes! Definitely a younger version of me lol. Sophia would come in sporadically to give me a bracelet or necklace as presents. It was very thoughtful. Too soon, Tony came up and said it was almost time for us to leave, so before we left, Sophia and Claudia showed us their kitty, Tilly. Reluctantly, Claudia and Sophia hugged us good bye, and we drove home. Today was a very busy, fun day.

I love you mommy and I miss you!
<3>
Your Rae of Sunshine