2010 Farnborough International Airshow (by Brian)

About a month ago I had the opportunity to experience one of the largest air shows in the world, the 2010 Farnborough International Airshow. Even though some of the favorites weren’t flying on the public day (i.e. the F-22, F-35, and 787 Dreamliner), there was still an amazing array of both military and commercial aircraft.

Here are just a few of my favorites. As you can tell, it was a bit of a cloudy day, but I was still able to capture a few great shots.

The new (and huge!) Airbus A380 soars over a Northrop Grumman Global Hawk UAV

The always-intimidating Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules takes a steep dive for landing!

The Lockheed Martin M-PNVS watches over the crowd from the front of the Boeing AH-64 Apache Helicopter

A Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon puts on the brakes!

The Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter shows off its low-altitude maneuverability

The RAF Spitfire was the UK's main fighter in WWII

The Boeing F-18 Hornet takes off!

The show ended with a wonderful demonstration by the Red Arrows (UK's version of the Blue Angels)

 You can see more of my favorites by clicking here… Enjoy!

Visiting the "Heart of England" - The Cotswolds

This past weekend Brian and I ventured into a part of England we hadn't been before with my cousin Katherine who is visiting.  The Cotswolds is a beautiful hilly area of England that some call "Heart of England" because it is centrally located in the country. 

We started the adventure in Stratfod-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare.  The "town" was more like a city though, and it was very touristy so we didn't stay here long.  We then headed further down the Romantic Road route to the smaller village of Chipping Campden, where we stopped for afternoon tea.  (We stopped for afternoon tea every day of the trip as usual!) 

Afterwards, we headed to Cirencester where we were staying.  That town was one of our favorites because it was a good size with a lot of really cute shops and definitely one of the top 3 pubs we have ever been to!  We all shared an amazing starter that included proper BBQ ribs (we even made a HUGE British faux paus and ate them with our hands!  *gasp*).  Then Brian and Katherine shared an amazing lamb dish that they both couldn't get enough of.  We ended with a blueberry creme brulee.  The highlight of the night was that I drank my first pint ever!  Even though I still don't like ales, I discovered on this trip that I actually really like ciders.  I'm so excited that I can now go into a pub and order a proper drink with Brian!  =)

The next day, we continued exploring around the area to different towns and made a stop at Sudeley Castle to see the gardens and a great Henry VIII and Wives exhibition.  On our last day, we stopped in a town called Bourton-on-the-Water that had beautiful waterways where we ate lunch and fed the ducks and visited this great Model Village which was 1/9 the size of the actual town.  Of all the towns we saw, I think this one was my favorite.  We ended the trip by making a quick stop at Oxford.  (As a note, I think I prefer Cambridge...  Cambridge seems more like a college town to me.)

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the Cotswolds and would definitely go back.  =)