Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Arendelle Castle! (Er....Arundel Castle)

On Thursday night, we met up with Stefanie's family for dinner at the Lion and Lobster. It was so great to see Stef's parents, aunt, and sister! We had a delicious meal and got to show them a bit of the city. 


Vegetarian Starter Platter

Stefanie's Crispy Tofu and Bok Choy!


Friday morning, we took the train into Brighton to meet up with the Millers. We were pretty happy to find breakfast at the train station. 



We all took the train out to Arundel Castle. It's the family home of the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk and has been in their family for centuries. Nicole's professor, Robert Hutchinson, recently wrote a book about the Dukes of Norfolk who were very involved in Henry VIII and Elizabeth I's courts.

We started off in the gardens, before seeing the family chapel. Then we toured the keep, which was a thousand years old, and the castle itself. We also ate lunch in the cute cafe within the palace and played around in the gift shop.

There were no pictures allowed inside the castle. We were astonished to see modern books and water bottles in some of the bedrooms. A guide informed us that the Duke and Duchesses were having guests that evening who would be staying in the rooms that are open to the public during the day.

We also found out that the Duke and Duchess have two sons about our age and the elder son stands to inherit the castle. #ifyourereadingthisweresingle #nicolejustwantstogetherhandsonthefamilyarchives

Speaking of archives, we found the death warrant of Thomas Howard, the fourth Duke of Norfolk. It was crazy to see Elizabeth I's actual signature in front of us. Nicole cried.

We also saw Mary Queen of Scots' rosary beads. It was even funnier because we were making jokes about The Darkness earlier in the gardens! #reign

We keep seeing these acorn things everywhere. #gophoenix

Stefanie tried to make this her throne.

It was rainy but we persevered
(with matching umbrellas, of course)!
#theoriginaltreehugger 
Nicole taking a selfie with Samantha
taking a selfie with a tree
Why was there a hut that looked like The Darkness
lived in it? We don't know. #reign 

"Welcome to the Home of the Duke and Duchess of
Norfolk and their Family" 0.0




#titanicmoment #kingoftheworld





Stefanie's Lunch
Nicole's lunch!
I think she's ready to go into battle with Bash #reign
The Miller girls are both ready for battle! 














*Thanks to Dr. Miller for some of the awesome photos! :)

2 comments:

  1. Best blog post yet. I feel like I was there!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you very much for taking Nicole along, she had a wonderful time!

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