Day 10: Orford Castle and the Ispwich Docks

On Thursday, Patricia's sister Carol had a half day off of work, so she agreed to drive us to Orford to see the castle. I was really excited about this because, it just so happens that one of my direct ancestors, Robert Le Blount (Blunt), was the Lord of Orford Castle. I though it was really awesome to be able to walk around the exact grounds where he lived so many hundreds of years ago.
We took the audio tour, and braved alot of really steep narrow steps - but it was very much worth it when we ended up on the roof with some absolutely amazing views of the village below and the surrounding countryside!

Orford Castle

After touring Orford Castle, we drove to Snape Maltings. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! Coming from Las Vegas, where temperatures were still in the hundreds and the sky is always blue, I really wasn't used to the daily rain. So, I was very appreciative of the warm weather and clear skies! We walked along the river, just enjoying the scenery and soaking in the sunshine. After a while, we found a cute little cafe and had lunch outside. I had the most yummiest goat cheese and red onion panini - it was so good. It also came with a small salad, and this is when I learned that the English have something against proper salad dressing.

I know it's annoyingly American, but I LOVE my ranch dressing. I am pretty sure that there is nothing that ranch doesn't taste fabulous on! But finding ranch in England is impossible. Finding ANY salad dressing is impossible. Instead, they have Salad Cream, which is quite possibly the worst invention ever. It tastes like light mayonnaise. Not good. Blech. I even brought home a bunch of packets for Brian to try, and he agreed with me.

Snape Maltings and the River Alde

After lunch, Carol needed to head back to work. Patricia and I weren't quite ready to go back to the house yet, so we had her drop us off by the docks in Ipswich. All the of the old mills, and warehouses next to the docks have been fixed up and converted into restaurants and nightclubs. It was really fun to just stroll around and see all the neat old buildings and the boats.

The Ipswich Docks