In Search of Robin Hood

Yesterday Oliver and I ventured East to Nottingham. It took a little over an hour to get there by train and Ollie LOVED the train ride. On the way there he sat in my lap and looked out the window at the passing countryside before falling asleep for the last 20 minutes. On the way home we kept busy by reading books. He is a super duper traveler.

Nottingham Castle

My hopes had been to see Nottingham and also walk through Sherwood Forest. Unfortunately, Sherwood Forest is about a 30-minute car ride North of Nottingham and by bus it would have taken an hour and a half to get there. So we stuck to the city. We visited Nottingham Castle. We didn't actually go in to the castle because it is very hard to get around inside with a stroller, but the ticket man was really nice and let us walk around the castle grounds for free.

Oliver meets Robin Hood

And that is where we found Robin Hood! Oliver was so excited to get out of the stroller and walk around the statue. Other people were taking photos of the statue too and I said I would get Oliver out of the way but they wanted him to be in their photos too. He was really hamming it up for them.

Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem Pub

Just outside the castle, nestled into the hillside, is the Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem Pub, reported to be the oldest Inn in England. It was established in 1189. We didn't venture in but just strolled around the outside.

Oliver Hood

After seeing the castle we walked some pedestrian shopping streets. I was amazed at how much Nottingham reminded me on Malmo, Sweden. The layouts of the cities are so similar, from the style and location of the train station to the pedestrian streets and public squares to the Subway restaurant just outside the train station. The similarities were uncanny. And as you can see, Robin Hood seemed to have followed us back to Birmingham! Oliver was so excited to show off his new hat to Dad when we got back.

Oliver enjoying the fountains

Brian's teaching group had dinner plans last night and at the last minute Ollie and I were invited along. We took a cab to the restaurant to meet everyone there only to find out that the restaurant didn't allow children past 5:00, and didn't allow young children at all. (It was about 7:30.) The waitress talked to the manager who allowed us to stay until 8:00 because we were part of a big group, but we had to leave right at 8 because having Oliver there would have put them in violation of their restaurant license. I had enough time to have a glass of water and a few appetizers and Ollie and I were out the door. We walked around the neighborhood of the restaurant and waited for Brian to finish eating. We found a great fountain that kept Oliver quite occupied. The fountains would go real low, then shoot real high, and Oliver would squeal and clap and stomp his feet. It was really fun to watch him. We've never encountered a restaurant that didn't allow children before, but I guess that is what happens in the fancier parts of town. I guess that means we'll have to stick to the ol' Mom and Pop sandwich shops from now on.

Today Oliver and I took a day off from being tourists and just hung out at the apartment.  We did walk to get a few groceries, but that was the extent of our outing.  We both enjoyed spending the day relaxing, reading books, and taking naps. This traveling business is wearing us out!

I've been adding photos to our gallery each day, so check them out here!