A Brief Trip to Waddesdon Manor

My neighbor has been telling us for months that we should go to Waddesdon Manor near Aylesbury.  It's only about 20 minutes from our house, and she's raved about the Woodland Playground and the beautiful grounds.  The house has been used in films like The Queen (with Helen Mirren).  We finally chose Waddesdon today over everywhere else we could go, because they were hosting a Christmas Food Market.  

Yum.  Ok, we're in. 

 The girls and I in front of the manor. They were sold out of tickets into the house for the day, but it wasn't really in our plan for the day anyway, so no big.

 There was a bright yellow caution sign in the doorway, I took it out. :)

Me in front of the manor. :) 

 Cool espalier vines. 

Meridian on the back side of the house

 Cambria and some cool trees

 The view from this side put me in mind of a horror movie scene...  

Mince pies and mulled wine are for sale everywhere here this time of year.  Yum. 

Instead of hot chocolate, Cambria chose ice cream.  She wanted a Calippo, but they were out, so she got a Cornetto.  I know my U.S. friends don't know the difference between those and a Magnum!!  LOL  Neither did we until this year!  (FYI, they are similar to a Push-Up, a Drumstick and a Dove Bar, respectively)  Oh, the learning curve!!

 So remember I said my neighbors really liked this place?  Ha, we ran into them there!  

The kids played in the Woodland Playground area for awhile while we adults had a chat. 

Once we made it to the Christmas Food Market, one of our first stops was a sweets shop.  Cambria got a solid chocolate kitten, Meridian got a puppy.  I had fun teasing them about the way they treat animals, later as they ate them.  Meridian went straight from the ears to the snout! *shudder*

 I thought this was cool, an espresso shop out the back of a VW van.  :) 

I'm realizing I didn't take many pictures inside the market - whoops.  My hands were busy sampling and buying!

 This was a trip... the pathways were often gravel, but they were partially iced over.  It made an interesting crunchy sound as you walked on it.

Scott and Cambria check out the birds in the aviary

Meridian (with Scott's hat) looking at the aviary

When the fog rolled back in and we lost the sun, it got even colder.  Stinging toes, stinging fingers.  I see why people perish in this weather.  We headed back to the car. 

 Cambria shows off her cupcake.  I was going to do a "loot" photo, but they wanted to eat their cupcakes in the car. 

Meridian's cupcake got a little squished in the bag, but it was still very good.  Chocolate with a Flake on top.

Here's most of our loot: Sausages, Steak & Stilton Pie,  4 cheeses, Munchy Seeds (roasted seed mix, yum!), Garlic Pachadi, chocolate animals, Turkish Delight, Chocolate covered Ginger, 3 kinds of fish cakes and Caramel Vodka!

Ginger Cheddar, Traditional Apple Smoked Cheddar, Lymn Bank Strongest, Oxford Blue

This is what happens when I say, yeah, go ahead and get some sausages.  They had a special.  :) 

 Dinner tonight... it was REALLY good. 

Caramel Vodka.  Nuf said. 

So we had a very nice, very cold day.  I'm looking forward to touring the inside of the manor house, but the grounds alone are spectacular.   It's a National Trust Property, so we can go for free anytime.  Unless they have a food market with samples.  Then it's very expensive.  :)