Coventry and Warwick Castle

The next day, we went to Coventry to see the cathedral. The original cathedral had been bombed in 1940 and they have very carefully incorporated the ruins into the entrance to the new modern cathedral. We were so lucky that Mary was available to give us a tour. She was so knowledgeable and we learnt so much about the history of the ancient cathedral and about the design for the new one. We were especially impressed with the church's emphasis on reconciliation and peace.

 We discovered a cafe in the church and had a delicious high tea for lunch!

 After lunch we noticed a display of Japanese embroidery being put up to coincide with remembering the bombings in Japan in WW2. They were amazing.

 In the afternoon we went to Warwick Castle. It was very crowded but was interesting, though not as good as some others we have visited.

 We also wandered around the town of Warwick too.

Birmingham quilt show

On Friday, Penny and I headed to the quilt show at the NEC in Birmingham. We had a wonderful day though we were tired at the end of it. My phone battery ran out so I only have a few photos. It was very special to catch up with Judy Newman and her daughter Emma, Lynette Anderson and Janet Clare did a small demonstration at the Moda stand. Great to bump into Gail Pan and to see so many lovely stalls.

It was very special to see Kaffe Fassett busy with his tapestry.

There were many lovely quilts but I only managed to capture a few. Lovely to see Wendy William's quilt on a stall.

We loved this wattle one and the gorgeous fairy village below.

I only managed to get a picture of one lovely stall from France.

One of our favourite quilts was the antique one with a Red house. It was on display on the Quilting group's stall and is part of their collection. Will try and get a picture of it from somewhere.

Alsace wine region

On Tuesday, 30th July, we enjoyed a quieter day.We explored Colmar a little more, visiting the cathedral, the Collegiale St Martin and the Dominican church.

On Wednesday we took a bus tour around some of the wine towns in the region. There was beautiful scenery . We stopped at Riquwihr and had lunch there.

Thursday, 1st August was a transfer day. We caught a bus to Basel and then the plane to Manchester. Sadly Manchester had had flooding on a runway and our plane didn't have enough fuel to circle so we ended up in Liverpool. We sat on the plane till it refueled etc and then arrived at Manchester hours later than expected. We then had to get the car and head to Birmingham. Thankfully, our lovely friends. Penny and John, brought us dinner at 9.30pm to our lovely apartment in Meriden.

Strasbourg

On Monday, 29th July, we took the train to Strasbourg. W enjoyed seeing the amazing cathedral and especially its clock. Bruce climbed the tower too for a great view.

We really enjoyed the Petite France part of Strasbourg, The day was perfect for photos.

We also enjoyed morning tea and lunch there and a bit of shopping. We were very excited to see Hema again. It was our favourite shop in Brugges last year. This only a small one but it was fun to check it out.

Colmar

We stayed in Colmar for 5 nights in a comfortable apartment. It was a bit noisy and hot at night but as we were right in the old town, perhaps that was to be expected. Colmar is a gorgeous place and the food is very good too!