September 11, 2011… the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. Despite being in another country, we saw a lot of coverage the whole week prior about several things: the attacks in America, children of 9/11, conspiracy theories… I was surprised by how much coverage it got in the UK.

We went to the BX for brunch at Cinnabon, since we were out of milk (we needed their coffee…desperately). There was a minute of silence while we were eating. Some British people behind us continued talking throughout that minute of silence, which was both distracting and disrespectful, I thought. I wanted to say something so badly, to tell them to show some respect, but I didn’t. I just kept my head bowed, remembering those who were lost on that terrible day.

I thought it would be depressing to sit in the hotel room all day, so I planned some excursions for us. First up: Denver Mill.

Denver Mill is an old (still functioning) windmill in Downham Market, which is less than an hour from us. They sell their flours in the shop next to the tearoom they have.

For those who know me, I’m mildly obsessed with my Dutch heritage. I’ve done some extensive internet research on my family, and I’m in love with both windmills & tulips. 🙂

Ugh, I look goofy. But I was trying to take as many pictures of us as I could. I know people want to see us, not just the places we go!

We paid for the passes to go up into the windmill to see the different levels. It was pretty interesting! I’m sure it’s more interesting to see it yourself, not just see pictures, but here are a few:

Okay, how can you NOT love the English countryside? It’s just so quaint and beautiful!

Hi, Honey! 🙂

After touring the windmill, we had tea! I never really had much interest in tea before I came to England, but now I’m very open to trying new kinds! We had their “summer tea” out by the windmill. It was very good, and it was also very windy, so the windmill was definitely at work!

After finishing our tour of the Denver Mill grounds, we drove back toward home, which is where Weeting Castle is. We really didn’t know what we were going to see, since we drove by the sign all the time, but we never saw a castle! When we got there, we saw the church first.

It’s a very pretty old church… I still would love to go inside and look around. We did finally wander over to the castle though.

Well, the castle used to really only be a manor. And what’s left of it, sadly, is mostly just ruins. We saw other people here, walking around, or letting their dogs run about. So it seems like it’s mostly just a nice quiet spot for locals.

All in all, it was a good day with beautiful weather! The evening was sombre again, since most of BBC was covering September 11 events. Which is fine with me. I was not trying to forget the events of ten years ago by any means.

We went back to Bury St. Edmunds to see the Abbey Gardens on the 10th of September. We arrived around dinnertime, so we looked for a pub to eat at. We settled on one that had a beer garden (basically just an outdoor area of the pub), since it was a really nice day.

I’m still not sure that we picked the right table to sit at… The table next to us turned out to be a bit rowdy. There were two women in their 40s, and a guy & a girl who looked to be in their early 20s. The younger girl was the daughter of one of the older women. Anyways, they ended up starting a conversation with us, because they were making animal noises. Yes, animal noises. For those that know me, you know I couldn’t resist giving them on of my I-can’t-believe-we’re-sitting-next-to-this looks. So they asked us to join in. We politely declined.

The woman sitting nearest us was easily to drunkest, and she continued to chat with us as we ate our meal. She repeatedly told Andrew how much she loved his accent and how gorgeous he was. I had a hard time containing my laughter, since I could see that Andrew was a little embarrassed. The more this woman drank, the more clumsy she became, and the harder it was to understand her. Between the slurred words and the accent, we really didn’t know what she was talking about most of the time. For over 45 minutes, she had an unlit cigarette in her mouth, which she clearly thought she was smoking. It probably fell out of her mouth and onto the ground about four times (and she kept sticking it back in her mouth), and she tried (unsuccessfully) to light it at least three times. Andrew told me later that she was rubbing her foot on his leg too. Ew! She was wearing an inappropriately short skirt, which ended up exposing a butt cheek the one time she left the table. Good Lord…what a meal…

We laughed about the experience the whole walk to the Abbey Gardens. It was a fairly short walk, which is a good thing, because the gate only stays open until dusk.

In the summer of 1327, violent riots broke out, during which several monks were killed and the Abbey Gate was destroyed. The current gate was built during the 14th Century, alongside the old one, and still marks the entrance to the Cathedral and Abbey gardens today.

Here is the view from inside the gatehouse looking out on Angel Hill:

And here are the gorgeous gardens!

And here’s one of me! 🙂

After wandering through the main part of the gardens, we walked over to the Old English Rose Garden, which was funded by an American who was stationed here during WWII.

A monument that says: “For our soldiers and their families”

A bench that reads “Presented to the city of Bury St. Edmunds by the US Army AIr Forces” from 1945:

Then we wandered around the remains of the Abbey. There were quite a few signs posted for us to read what we were looking at, but unfortunately, there are just a few ruins left.

Here’s a view of the cathedral from where the ruins are:

Poor Andrew, he really hates posing for pictures…

We really enjoyed walking around the Abbey Gardens. It’s a really peaceful little place, and I’m sure we’ll go back to walk around again. I can’t wait to see what it looks like in spring! Here are a few more pictures of us: