Hello Monday is where I share what we've been doing and greet the new week with a fresh perspective. Monday is a new beginning, right?!  

Hello Fall Festival!  Hello apples on a string!

Hello sweet kids in cute costumes.

Hello Heathrow Airport.  



Thanks for bringing this guy back to us!

Hello American goodies!  We welcome you!

Hello new phone.  We are going to be spending lots of time together!



Hello half-term.  We're looking forward to lazy pj days!
Hello sun, we're so glad to see you again!

Want to join me by leaving your own hellos in the comments section?

A mom from the kid's school and I have gone on an excursion each year, scoping out interesting places near us.

She suggested the Abinger Hammer Clock and seeing as it is in close proximity to so many other gems in Surrey I was anxious to see it.



The man strikes the bell every hour with his hammer.  The clock was built in 1909 to commemorate the blacksmithing industry in the village.

After admiring the clock and hearing it chime we drove over to the neighboring town of Gomshall.



It is situated on the Tillingbourne River that powers the Gomshall Mill, once a corn mill.
 It's now an adorable and quaint restaurant that I must go back to!



The wheel is in the middle of the building behind glass, but you can sit at one of the quaint tables and watch it move.



Pubs can be such beautiful buildings and this one ranks right up there as one of the most beautiful ones I've seen.  I definitely want to come back for dinner!



Look at these sweet little nooks!!



I can just imagine curling up with the one you love or a group of friends and chatting all night!!

Next we made our way to the beautiful town of Shere.

St James Church in Shere.





You might know that Shere is a well known filming location.



With all these charming little buildings and gorgeous church it's easy to understand why.



I'm such a fan of the movie, The Holiday.  It was my whole motivation for my first visit to Shere last year.

Wouldn't you know that as we entered Shere we learned that filming was going on.  They were shooting a series based on the Professor Branestawm books, a 13 book series written by the English writer Norman Hunter.



The policeman on the bike road into a small bridge and flew into the water several times while we were there.  It was fascinating to watch.

On my last visit to Shere I had seen and fallen in love with the quaint, little Dabbling Duck Tea Room. 

The touches of decor inside and out are very thoughtful.



And they've been told they have the best sausage roll ever.



I didn't try the sausage roll myself as I was more interested in the butternut squash soup.......


and cream tea served on the cutest wooden duck serving trays!



It was all shere deliciousness (<---- did="" like="" p="" that="" you="">
And just look at how quaint it is on the inside!



So quaint, so charming and so beautiful!  I definitely want to return!

Have you visited Shere?  Come for a visit and I'll take you!

I've been bouncing around with ways to share what we've been up to and I think I've settled on Hello Monday.  Lisa Leonard, has been writing beautiful Hello Monday posts for quite sometime.  I've always loved them and decided I wanted to follow suit.  Here goes!!

Hello Monday is where I share what we've been doing and greet the new week with a fresh perspective. Monday is a new beginning, right?!  Want to join me by leaving your own hellos in the comments section?

Hello cows!!  Our school trip to your farm was so fun and educational.  

Hello Conkers.  For my American friends, that's a chestnut.  Don't ya just love the word "conker?"
I think that's what we need to call it in America!


Hello unplanned, unorganized trip to Portsmouth.  Even though it was last minute, we still enjoyed some of what you have to offer.  We'll be back!

Spinnaker Tower

Historic Dockyard


Hello beautiful pumpkins.  You sure make this season orangy bright.


Hello Abinger Hammer Clock.  I love coming across these unusual finds.  The man strikes the bell every hour.

Hello sweet town of Shere.  You are lovely!  (I'll be sharing more soon, I promise)


Hello Dabbling Duck.  You are one quaint tearoom with your cute duck serving boards!


Hello film crew, shooting Professor Branestawm, coming out at Christmas.



Hello 4 day school week.  The kids are looking forward to half-term next week.

Hello Heathrow Airport.  We'll be happy to have our family of 5 back together again.

Hello new IPhone 6.  I look forward to seeing you next week (when hubby brings you back from America).

Hello Fall Festival.  Don't you love a Fall Festival?


What are you saying Hello to this week?

Only an hours train ride southwest of Prague, you won't be disappointed with this idyllic setting.  Karlstejn Castle is perched above the town with the same name. 

Walk across the Berounka River and into town. 

Lined with shops, restaurants and quaint homes the main street through Karlstejn allows for a slow wander up the hill to the castle.











A large Gothic Castle founded in 1348 by Charles IV, it served as a place of safekeeping for his many treasures.  It is one of the most famous and frequently visited castles in Czech Republic.











On this particular trip we didn't go inside, but if you're going to hike all that way I suggest you do.


However, you won't be disappointed just taking in the view.


This is just one of the many beautiful castles that dot the Czech landscape.

Have you ever thought of Czech Republic being full of so many beautiful castles?