On day two we enjoyed a traditional English breakfast at our hotel in Winchester, the original capital of England. It was a cool drizzly morning. We walked the quaint streets, shopping at an outdoor antique and crafts market then toured the Winchester Cathedral, one of the largest cathedrals in England. After some tea and coffee to warm up we grabbed a pasty for the road and drove to Stonehenge. Now, I'm not sure what most people experience while at Stonehenge, but I don't think our time there was what I'd imagined. The worst weather on our trip was during the 20 minute window we tried to get a look at these ancient rocks. I say tried because freezing rain was blowing sideways right in the direction of our faces when looking toward the rocks. Chelsey has a hilarious video of me, rocks in the background and wind whipping my face, as she asks what I think of it. I say, "It's miserable!!" Someday it would be wonderful to see it again on a sunny day, sheep grazing in the background, but that wouldn't be very British now would it? The weather was shit, but it made for one of my favorite memories.
That evening Peter surprised Chelsey with a stay at the Three-Ways House Hotel, Home of the Pudding Club. Chelsey taught me how to make traditional English pudding some years back (an obsession for her, and really just an excuse to eat a bowl of custard!) Until then I thought pudding was the stuff Americans mix with vanilla wafers and bananas. "Pudding" in England is a word used for any dessert, but also can describe a cake-like, spongy dessert that is drizzled with creamy custard! Not only does the pudding club offer puddings of all kinds on their dinner menu, but they have pudding themed rooms! Chelsey and Richard ordered "spotted dick" and Peter and I both got the coconut pudding smothered in blackberry sauce and custard. The following morning over breakfast, I got to try black pudding (blood sausage.) It was amazing!
