We're home now and this is my second day back at work. Arriving late on Saturday we were pretty tired puppies. Our flight had been changed so the new seats were at the very back of the plane for the long trip and we had been changed to middle seating instead of the side. Our inflight system for the movies/music was not working and so it made for a very long flight. But a safe trip with nothing worse than Jim picking up a cold somewhere along the way.
Sunday was spent catching up with laundry, mail, shopping, putting away, etc. The usual stuff. And then back to work for both of us. I'm so glad that I took my ipad and was able to at least keep up with the work email from afar, as I had deleted all the junk stuff and just had important stuff in my inbox. Saved me a lot of time weeding through it all.
Everyone asked about the trip and if it was fun. So my qualified answer was "mostly", because it was not a truly relaxing trip with the driving aspect. And of course, the initial hassle about the car switch meant that we lost about a day and it threw off our plans. We didn't see half of what we intended to see, no go to half of the towns we intended to visit. We didn't get to see Salisbury or the great cathedral there. Owlpen manor was closed, Sudley castle was closed. We had windy, cold, rainy weather for about 4 days. And I was always worried about possibly having to pay for damage to the car which we didn't cause. So all of those things led to much more worry and upset on my part.
The Cotswolds were lovely, but we would never do it the same way again. We would pick a central location and go out from there each day. We would travel to surrounding towns back and forth via public bus (not tour bus). We would take smaller suitcases and find somewhere to do laundry. Hauling two big suitcases and two carry-ons, plus our small over the shoulder bags was just too much to wrestle with, especially moving every night.
But on the positive side: we met lovely people along the way. The English people were friendly, helpful, smiling, and cheerful. We saw lots of great stuff in London: The British Museum, the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, The Greenwich Observatory, the Maritime Museum. We saw cathedrals and small churches, gardens, quaint villages, marvelous pubs, rolling hills and beautiful vistas. We spent 24/7 together and didn't fuss or fight. We ate wonderfully well every day.
So defintely a qualified "yes" to whether the trip was wonderful. Not a relaxing vacation but an interesting one.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Last full day in London, and it was great
Took off early this morning after breakfast, took the tube to Tower Gate and, believe it or not, we were the first in line to enter the Tower of London. The first! That's never happened becore. So, of course, we walked straight to the Crown Jewels, and it was like going to DisneyWorld when no one is there. There were lots of ropes and stiles, and rooms to pass through with videos for the crowds to watch while they inch forward--and we just passed through and into the rooms with the jewels. Very, very much money tied up in all this stuff. Honking big diamonds, emeralds, rubies, gold, gold, and more gold. Gold cups,ewers, basins, plates, spoons, christening basins. You name it, they did it In gold. I kept thinking about how much it was worth.
So we walked around the Tower grounds, went to the armory exhibit and saw swords, armor, vans, cannons, chopping blocks, maces, etc. All the various and sundry things man has invented to help kill one another..
We left, after a spot of tea, and took the tube and then the light rail out to Greenwich to the Royal Observatory and Naval Museum. Jim got to stand on the prime meridian, and he got to see the clock exhibit and the chronometer which was invented to finally solve the puzzle of longitude. He was happy.
Back to the city again, and walked around and ate supper at a little Thai restaurant, which had very good food.
Our plane tomorrow leaves at 2 so we will leave for the airport about 11:00. That means that we won't have time to do much in the morning, so it's a leisurely morning and a walk to Russell Square Park.
Found out that my oldest cousin died early this morning, so now I'm thinking that there's probably no way I can get to the funeral without some serious and expensive changes in plans. And, I'm expected back at work--I've been following my work email and just keeping the important stuff and it's a lot! So I'm sad.
So we walked around the Tower grounds, went to the armory exhibit and saw swords, armor, vans, cannons, chopping blocks, maces, etc. All the various and sundry things man has invented to help kill one another..
We left, after a spot of tea, and took the tube and then the light rail out to Greenwich to the Royal Observatory and Naval Museum. Jim got to stand on the prime meridian, and he got to see the clock exhibit and the chronometer which was invented to finally solve the puzzle of longitude. He was happy.
Back to the city again, and walked around and ate supper at a little Thai restaurant, which had very good food.
Our plane tomorrow leaves at 2 so we will leave for the airport about 11:00. That means that we won't have time to do much in the morning, so it's a leisurely morning and a walk to Russell Square Park.
Found out that my oldest cousin died early this morning, so now I'm thinking that there's probably no way I can get to the funeral without some serious and expensive changes in plans. And, I'm expected back at work--I've been following my work email and just keeping the important stuff and it's a lot! So I'm sad.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Question: How many times can you go by he Aldi's in Swindon?
Left Bourton on the Wsger this morning about 8:20 and drove to Swindon, which was about 39 miles away. This took us about an hour and then we proceeded to get lost in Swindon. We passed the same Aldi's grocery four times, asked directions three times, got escorted by a nice lady one time (who also didn't know which way to go). The problem was that the street was shut down for a few blocks as a pedestrian mall and you couldn't get there from here...
We finally found our way, and it took an hour. Then we tried to tell them that we hadn't done any of the dents and nicks, and the agent found a paper under the cover in the boot which vindicated us and had a list of all the damage. Whew! Bus back to London, quick grab of a late lunch, and off to the British Museum for a couple of hours. Then off to the nearest pub for a pint and supper. The pub was really great, lots of young locals, great decor--big carved fireplace and carvings on the ceiling. Beer was twice what it was in the countryside, but what the hey. Tomorrow is the London Tower and then the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, where my husband is determined to have his picure taken standing on the prime meridian.
We finally found our way, and it took an hour. Then we tried to tell them that we hadn't done any of the dents and nicks, and the agent found a paper under the cover in the boot which vindicated us and had a list of all the damage. Whew! Bus back to London, quick grab of a late lunch, and off to the British Museum for a couple of hours. Then off to the nearest pub for a pint and supper. The pub was really great, lots of young locals, great decor--big carved fireplace and carvings on the ceiling. Beer was twice what it was in the countryside, but what the hey. Tomorrow is the London Tower and then the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, where my husband is determined to have his picure taken standing on the prime meridian.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
If it's Wednesday, it must be Bourton on the Water
Left the farm this morning after another big English breakfast and my tummy is still quite upset and touchy. Drove to Hidecote Manor Gardens (pronounced Hit Cot), and spent about three hours walking around the extensive, elaborate gardens, all through with walkways and arranged into different "rooms", each with a different theme. Had to stop for a creme tea, which is a scone, jam, clotted creme (very scrummy), and then tea. Tea, tea, tea...many cups of tea each day.
Then we drove on some tiny, narrow winding roads to Bourton on the Water, which is one of the loveliest villages we've seen. It has a small stream. Which winds through the center of the village with little stone humpy bridges. We walked around in the grey threatening skies for a couple of hours and a shopped for souvenirs.
Our B&B tonight is on the edge of the village with the pub in the front and separate little rooms in the rear with a nice large carpark. It's great to have a place to park a car because many, many places there is NO space and people just park in the street which reduces the lane to one and makes driving even more of a challenge, with cars having to take turns to pass.
We spent 1/2 hr repacking all our stuff. I was so relieved that we will be able to come back without buying another suitcase! But just barely.
So tomorrow is a very early start with about an hour drive into Swindon, a difficult city to navigate, and then a fight with Hertz about the car, I'm sure, about the nicks and dings which we did not cause....Not looking forward to that.
But tonight is a 1/2 pint and some good pub food. Our time in the countryside is almost over. England is a study in contrasts, with big, wide open farmland, fabulous views, rolling hills and then the villages are teensy, crowded, and everything jammed together. Tea rooms are tiny, shops are tiny with low ceilings and narrow doors. It makes you feel like a giant. I have yet to see a straight road. I cannot imagine driving, and my wonderful husband has sone ALL the driving--bless him. It's incredible to see the big tourist buses drive down the streets, you just can't see how they do it, but they squeak by.
Then we drove on some tiny, narrow winding roads to Bourton on the Water, which is one of the loveliest villages we've seen. It has a small stream. Which winds through the center of the village with little stone humpy bridges. We walked around in the grey threatening skies for a couple of hours and a shopped for souvenirs.
Our B&B tonight is on the edge of the village with the pub in the front and separate little rooms in the rear with a nice large carpark. It's great to have a place to park a car because many, many places there is NO space and people just park in the street which reduces the lane to one and makes driving even more of a challenge, with cars having to take turns to pass.
We spent 1/2 hr repacking all our stuff. I was so relieved that we will be able to come back without buying another suitcase! But just barely.
So tomorrow is a very early start with about an hour drive into Swindon, a difficult city to navigate, and then a fight with Hertz about the car, I'm sure, about the nicks and dings which we did not cause....Not looking forward to that.
But tonight is a 1/2 pint and some good pub food. Our time in the countryside is almost over. England is a study in contrasts, with big, wide open farmland, fabulous views, rolling hills and then the villages are teensy, crowded, and everything jammed together. Tea rooms are tiny, shops are tiny with low ceilings and narrow doors. It makes you feel like a giant. I have yet to see a straight road. I cannot imagine driving, and my wonderful husband has sone ALL the driving--bless him. It's incredible to see the big tourist buses drive down the streets, you just can't see how they do it, but they squeak by.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
English Roads - a tutorial and a warning
"you can't possibly get lost"---- that will be the motto for this trip, because we've heard it at every place, pub, village, out of every mouth to give us directions and we've always managed got, indeed, get lost. And here's the reason: the English road system is not like America's.
1. No directions-- North, south, east west. No, they have small signs, usually hidden behind a very large hedge, that give the next town up the road. Therefore, if you don't know where yu are going, you can't ge there.
2. Hedges, see above
3. Signs are only given once, right at the round about and you must read quickly and then navigate the roundabout.
4. Once you are on a road, they never tell you what road you are on, nor do they give speed limits. Although for us, that has not been a problem as we have been driving so slowly, trying to miss the edge of the road, which grows right up to the edge with those very large, obstructive hedges. No shoulder, no verge...
English roads fall into 5 levels. The large blue roads-M roads: these would be equivalent to our interstates. Then the green roads, usually A roads: equivalent to our state roads. Then the B roads, smaller state roads. Then yellow roads, like county roads, then white roads, the country lanes. White roads are usually 12 ft across and often require one driver meeting another to back up to a wide spot to allow passage. Again, no shoulder, no verge...
It's been very stressful and I'm sure to have an ulcer at the end of the trip. Jim is laughing as he reads this, but I'm dead serious. Ulcer. My stomach has been upset for three days,such that I cannot eat much and only want bland, potatoes and bread things. I've been taking pepto bismol for two days just to keep stable. So Jim thinks it's stress, and perhaps it is. The roads are so twisty, steep, narrow, poorly marked, potted, and wife driving on the left and with the steering on the right----man! Constant stress in the car.
1. No directions-- North, south, east west. No, they have small signs, usually hidden behind a very large hedge, that give the next town up the road. Therefore, if you don't know where yu are going, you can't ge there.
2. Hedges, see above
3. Signs are only given once, right at the round about and you must read quickly and then navigate the roundabout.
4. Once you are on a road, they never tell you what road you are on, nor do they give speed limits. Although for us, that has not been a problem as we have been driving so slowly, trying to miss the edge of the road, which grows right up to the edge with those very large, obstructive hedges. No shoulder, no verge...
English roads fall into 5 levels. The large blue roads-M roads: these would be equivalent to our interstates. Then the green roads, usually A roads: equivalent to our state roads. Then the B roads, smaller state roads. Then yellow roads, like county roads, then white roads, the country lanes. White roads are usually 12 ft across and often require one driver meeting another to back up to a wide spot to allow passage. Again, no shoulder, no verge...
It's been very stressful and I'm sure to have an ulcer at the end of the trip. Jim is laughing as he reads this, but I'm dead serious. Ulcer. My stomach has been upset for three days,such that I cannot eat much and only want bland, potatoes and bread things. I've been taking pepto bismol for two days just to keep stable. So Jim thinks it's stress, and perhaps it is. The roads are so twisty, steep, narrow, poorly marked, potted, and wife driving on the left and with the steering on the right----man! Constant stress in the car.
Today is Tuesday, and I'm doing another catch-up. I lost signal last night in the pub, so never got yesterday's blog posted. This has been a recurrent problem. Internet is weak, it goes out frequently, and the signal is not strong enough for certain functions on the iPad. Anyway, we stayed above the pub in Paxford, and the room was the least nice so far. The room was tiny, the bed was soft and lumpy, the toilet was almost impossible to flush. Altogether I wouldn't recommend this place at all. I thought the food was overpriced as well. 12.95 for fish and chips!! Really!
Anyway, the day was windy and very misty so we went to Moreton in Marsh for the weekly market, which was great. Lots of vendors of fresh veg and this and that. I got a sweater for 2.50--a real bargain. We bought a few souvenirs, and had a cream tea and sandwich at a tea shop. Britain must have more tea shops than anywhere else in the world.
Then we drove to Stow in the Wold and walked around, in the rain this time. Found a great chocolate shop. Then we drove to Willersley and found our farm for our farm stay. Strict instructions to not arrive before 5:00 pm and to take off our shoes. So we're debating whether to venture out for supper tonight. Not very hungry after the large tea at 2:00 pm and we have nuts and granola bars. We were give tea and cake at 6:00. The English seem to eat a lot of cake, and, of course, tea must be taken at multiple times during the day.
The farm has lovely views and horses and sheep to look at. Tomorrow is Hidecote gardens, which we've been told are lovely.
Anyway, the day was windy and very misty so we went to Moreton in Marsh for the weekly market, which was great. Lots of vendors of fresh veg and this and that. I got a sweater for 2.50--a real bargain. We bought a few souvenirs, and had a cream tea and sandwich at a tea shop. Britain must have more tea shops than anywhere else in the world.
Then we drove to Stow in the Wold and walked around, in the rain this time. Found a great chocolate shop. Then we drove to Willersley and found our farm for our farm stay. Strict instructions to not arrive before 5:00 pm and to take off our shoes. So we're debating whether to venture out for supper tonight. Not very hungry after the large tea at 2:00 pm and we have nuts and granola bars. We were give tea and cake at 6:00. The English seem to eat a lot of cake, and, of course, tea must be taken at multiple times during the day.
The farm has lovely views and horses and sheep to look at. Tomorrow is Hidecote gardens, which we've been told are lovely.
Monday: today we drove to Broadway, which was a lovely little town. We spent a few hours walking around. Then we drove on the Chipping Csmden, had lunch, and again walked around. Another blustery day with wind and sprinkles, though no outright hard rain. But it made walking around less pleasant. Then of to Paxford, a teensy village of about 1000 people, at most. We are staying abode the pub st Thd Churchill Arms, the only place in town. Again, an early arrival and Jim took a nap. He's been doing all the driing, and I've been navigating. He's had a two day headache and I had some sort of tummy thing yesterday all day, which made me feel punchy all day yesterday. Evidently, there is some 24 hr flu going around, so it was either that or something I ate.
We're sitting in the pub now, and waiting for dinner. I've had a pint of Hook Norton, local brewery ale. No Internet upstairs in the room, so this is it for the evening.
We're sitting in the pub now, and waiting for dinner. I've had a pint of Hook Norton, local brewery ale. No Internet upstairs in the room, so this is it for the evening.
Another day, another pub...
I was unable to post yesterday, be auss the intent at our farm stay went out. So, I'll try to do catch up.
Sunday: we lest Painswick and Simonne with kisses and hugs and took off for Sudley Castle. It was. Loses because the family was in residence. The family which has lived there for 200 years.... so we walked around the areas that tourists could visit and then walked through the gardens. It was a windy day with sprinkles of rain, so we didn't linger. Had tea and a scone and then took off for Tewkes urn and to find out farm. We arrived very early, about 3 PM and walked around, played with the dogs, took a turn through the vegetable garden. Very nice, and the room was wonderful. Big fluffy robes, leather chairs, big Telly.
We had a vey early dinner at The Swan, which was wonderful! I had a duck and chicken liver pste to die for. I promise a separate blog just for the foods we've eaten. Not a bad meal so far. Anyway it was back to the farm and we spent a long time planning ou the routes fo the next 3 days. Internet is so unreliable and another blog will be on the roads, signage, and amazingly easy many ways to get turned around and lost!
More on the next post....
Sunday: we lest Painswick and Simonne with kisses and hugs and took off for Sudley Castle. It was. Loses because the family was in residence. The family which has lived there for 200 years.... so we walked around the areas that tourists could visit and then walked through the gardens. It was a windy day with sprinkles of rain, so we didn't linger. Had tea and a scone and then took off for Tewkes urn and to find out farm. We arrived very early, about 3 PM and walked around, played with the dogs, took a turn through the vegetable garden. Very nice, and the room was wonderful. Big fluffy robes, leather chairs, big Telly.
We had a vey early dinner at The Swan, which was wonderful! I had a duck and chicken liver pste to die for. I promise a separate blog just for the foods we've eaten. Not a bad meal so far. Anyway it was back to the farm and we spent a long time planning ou the routes fo the next 3 days. Internet is so unreliable and another blog will be on the roads, signage, and amazingly easy many ways to get turned around and lost!
More on the next post....
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Finally learning
Today we took cab to Gloucester and walked around town. Spent a long time in the cathedral, which was very interesting. It was completed in 1164. And there was an Abby of monks there from 690. Then we took a bus to Cheltenham, which took about 1/2 hr for 2.50 pounds each. Walked sound the town which is a big shopping town, with multiple malls, avenues, etc all devoted to high end shops. Went to a Beatrix Potter shop, which was the shop about which one of her books was written, The Tailor of Glouscester. Then we took the bus back to Paimswick, another 1/2 hour, and went to dinner at a pub. Jim had wild boar stew which he thought excellent. Maybe if I stayed here for a while I would lose weight, because I haven't been hungry at all. So this was the best day yet, as there was no driving. Tomorrow we go to Tewkesbury and hopefully just spend a day in the town, which is very small.
The driving has been the worst thing about this trip, and if we ere came back, we would do as we did today and take the bus from town to town. The bus driver was very close to the edge of the road and was mashing up against the shrubbery, which grows right to the edge of the road in a mass, but it didn't bother me when he did it.
More tomorrow...
The driving has been the worst thing about this trip, and if we ere came back, we would do as we did today and take the bus from town to town. The bus driver was very close to the edge of the road and was mashing up against the shrubbery, which grows right to the edge of the road in a mass, but it didn't bother me when he did it.
More tomorrow...
Friday, September 10, 2010
Another day another set of problems
When we finally got to our B&B yesterday, the people were lovely. Just wonderful. Bill took us in and fed us tea and current cake. We talked and talked and the. Went right across the street to the pub, The Ragged Cot, and hac a great meal. Again, I was so stressed out that I had no appetite, nor did I want anything alcoholic. But when we came back we talked again with our hosts for a good 2 hours, and finally bid them goodnight at 11PM.
Up with a full English breakfast and then on to Painswick, with only one time getting lost. Painswick is a wool village with a lovely church, very, very narrow streets where only one car can pass so they block traffic so that only one lane travels at a time. We went to see the Rococo gardens and it was windy and threatening rain. Then back to Painswick to walk around. The village is so tiny that they don't have a bank or any regular ATMs and the B&B wants to be paid in cash, as did the one last night. So we are out of cash and must find an ATM tomorrow to pay our bill. Local pub for food tonight that was very good. I will have to have a special post just for the food we've had. Not a bad meal so far. Back at the B&B now and siting in the courtyard to get an Internet signal. But too cold and windy, so will end this post.
I noticed today that the car has lots of nicks, dings,and scrapes, and I'm quite sure we haven't done the damage, but we were so happy to finally get a little car that we just took it without going over the outside with the agent. Now I'm sure they will charge us for all the damage to the car, which is not ours. This is upsetting me greatly, but nothing to be done at this point.
Up with a full English breakfast and then on to Painswick, with only one time getting lost. Painswick is a wool village with a lovely church, very, very narrow streets where only one car can pass so they block traffic so that only one lane travels at a time. We went to see the Rococo gardens and it was windy and threatening rain. Then back to Painswick to walk around. The village is so tiny that they don't have a bank or any regular ATMs and the B&B wants to be paid in cash, as did the one last night. So we are out of cash and must find an ATM tomorrow to pay our bill. Local pub for food tonight that was very good. I will have to have a special post just for the food we've had. Not a bad meal so far. Back at the B&B now and siting in the courtyard to get an Internet signal. But too cold and windy, so will end this post.
I noticed today that the car has lots of nicks, dings,and scrapes, and I'm quite sure we haven't done the damage, but we were so happy to finally get a little car that we just took it without going over the outside with the agent. Now I'm sure they will charge us for all the damage to the car, which is not ours. This is upsetting me greatly, but nothing to be done at this point.
So much to post! Travel stress multiples times ten
Did not post yesterday or the day before, though it is early morning on Friday and at last I am a little bit relaxed. The last two days have been awful. The bus trip to Swindon was fine, taking a taxi to Herta was fine, but they didn't have the car we had ordered and onlynhad a hue, huge diesel ford galaxy. We took off and promptly got lost (we've bee told since tha Swindonis a nightmare to dire in). Finally stopped and some vey nice people took pity on us and led us through the city (300,000 people) and out to our route. We quickly realized that this car was impossible. Not used to deicing on the left and with the steering wheel on the right, it made it vey difficult to judge the edge of the road and I kept having to tell Jim to "mind the verge". We got lost multiple times, not used to the roundabouts and the way names of streets changed willy-nilly. By the evening we had had multiple close calls and were both frazzled, exhausted, and I had broken down and cried at least twice. We found our B&B and ate at a local pub. Didn't sleep well at all and the next morning it was up at 6 in order to do the dawn tour of Stonehenge, which was quite lovely and worth the effort. More on another post
We were helped by Margaret, the owne o the B&B, who contacted the Hertz people in Shipton, so we drove to Shipton to transfer the car, but they didn't have a small automatic either. Another breakdown by me, I'm ashamed to say. So they located a car in Bristol, 50 miles away
and said we could drive there to pick it up. Bristol is one of the big cities, maybe 1 million people. So, another breakdown. They finally offered to drive our car to Bristol, with us in it, to make the switch. A nice young Polish man, probably about 21 years old, who didn't speak English, drove us there. I'm so glad he did, because Bristol was incredibly confusing. We did swith to a small automatic Ford focus - the very car we had originally ordered two months ago - and we found our way out of Bristol and onto the M5, one of the major "interstat
e" type roads. We had at this point not seen any of the town of Salisbury, nor the cathedral, which was the original plan. We drove to Nailsworth, then Dursley, then Uley, getting lost multiple times and backtracking. I know we went through Nailsworth at least 4 times, getting lost each time. And we finally found Owlpen manor, which was up a one lane gravel track, with no verge and no way for two cars to navigate. At this point we are tired, thirsty, hungry, and short-tempered with each other. Jim kept running off the road on the verge, and I kept getting more an more nervous.
Owlpen Manor was closed for restoration. We only got to walk around the gardens, which would have cost us 4 pounds each, but she took pity on us because at this point it was 4 pm, we hadn't had lunch, we looked bedraggled, and we were!
After leaving Uley and finally getting lost again, another lovely man helped us find our way to Minchinhampton. Honestly, honestly, we would never have found it. At one point we went across a cow ield, where the cows were grazing with NO fence, right up onto the road. It was a series of switchbacks and little winding steep roads with no name.
We were helped by Margaret, the owne o the B&B, who contacted the Hertz people in Shipton, so we drove to Shipton to transfer the car, but they didn't have a small automatic either. Another breakdown by me, I'm ashamed to say. So they located a car in Bristol, 50 miles away
and said we could drive there to pick it up. Bristol is one of the big cities, maybe 1 million people. So, another breakdown. They finally offered to drive our car to Bristol, with us in it, to make the switch. A nice young Polish man, probably about 21 years old, who didn't speak English, drove us there. I'm so glad he did, because Bristol was incredibly confusing. We did swith to a small automatic Ford focus - the very car we had originally ordered two months ago - and we found our way out of Bristol and onto the M5, one of the major "interstat
e" type roads. We had at this point not seen any of the town of Salisbury, nor the cathedral, which was the original plan. We drove to Nailsworth, then Dursley, then Uley, getting lost multiple times and backtracking. I know we went through Nailsworth at least 4 times, getting lost each time. And we finally found Owlpen manor, which was up a one lane gravel track, with no verge and no way for two cars to navigate. At this point we are tired, thirsty, hungry, and short-tempered with each other. Jim kept running off the road on the verge, and I kept getting more an more nervous.
Owlpen Manor was closed for restoration. We only got to walk around the gardens, which would have cost us 4 pounds each, but she took pity on us because at this point it was 4 pm, we hadn't had lunch, we looked bedraggled, and we were!
After leaving Uley and finally getting lost again, another lovely man helped us find our way to Minchinhampton. Honestly, honestly, we would never have found it. At one point we went across a cow ield, where the cows were grazing with NO fence, right up onto the road. It was a series of switchbacks and little winding steep roads with no name.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Day 3 - Tues. Really tired
A very full day, and my little brain has suffered sensory overload. We went to the British Museum, which is just around the corner from the hotel. In fact, we can look out the window to see the back of the museum. We spent the entire day there from 10-5, and covered a lot of area. The British Museum is a huge place, filled with the plunder of countless British explorers, who literally took everything they could get their hands on and brought it all back to Britain. Millions of objects. We saw Chinese jade, the Rosetta stone, Indian buddhas, Assyrian tablets, walls, friezes,and huge statues. Greek vases by the hundreds, statues, jewelery, etc., etc. We only saw a portion of the stuff, and finally we pooped out. Went to get a pint of ale and talked with a nice local man who lived round the corner from the pub. Then we came back to drop our stuff, went out walking again and ate dinner at a place called Tas; Arabic/middle eastern. Tabouli, hummus, lamb....
Back in the hotel planning our trip for tomorrow,
I was struck at all the foreigners I saw in the museum--Japanese, German, polish. Then, it occurred to me that, of course that's who was at the museum! All the English were at work, and this was where tourists go. I was also aware that I didn't see very many fat people. Most were average sized. Not a lot of extremely tall people, either.
So we leave London tomorrow and we haven't done quite what we originally planned..no tour bus, no Natural History museum. But that's ok. Things are just taking more time than we thought. We plan to leave extra early tomorrow and take a cab to Victoria Station because trying to schlepp our suitcases on the tube again is not a good idea. Jim's back is still hurting and I just can't imagine doing this during rush hour.
So, off to bed and dreams of masses of antiquities will float in my head, I'm sure
Back in the hotel planning our trip for tomorrow,
I was struck at all the foreigners I saw in the museum--Japanese, German, polish. Then, it occurred to me that, of course that's who was at the museum! All the English were at work, and this was where tourists go. I was also aware that I didn't see very many fat people. Most were average sized. Not a lot of extremely tall people, either.
So we leave London tomorrow and we haven't done quite what we originally planned..no tour bus, no Natural History museum. But that's ok. Things are just taking more time than we thought. We plan to leave extra early tomorrow and take a cab to Victoria Station because trying to schlepp our suitcases on the tube again is not a good idea. Jim's back is still hurting and I just can't imagine doing this during rush hour.
So, off to bed and dreams of masses of antiquities will float in my head, I'm sure
Monday, September 6, 2010
Day two-monday: first impressions and a full day on my feet!
We were both stiff upon awaking this morning, Jim saying that the bed was too soft but my thought was that it was carrying the heavy suitcases up and down all the stairs at the Tube.
It promised rain, and there was to be a 24 hr strike of the Tube workers at 5 PM today so we changed our itinerary. In the morning we went to the National Gallery and spent 3 hrs looking at great works of art. I noticed right away that I'm not used to being on my feet and sanding and walking on hard floors....but we saw several Cezannes, Monets, 1 Rembrandt, and 1 Vermeer
Lunch was at a Pret a Mange, a lovely shop with very nice, healthy food choices. I had a middle eastern salad and Jim had a tuna and egg salad. I've noticed that so far the food choices feature healthy food and we have been very pleased so far. It's not going to be hard to eat healthily.
Then off via the Tube to the British Library, where Jim was in heaven--as there was an exhibit of maps, quite extensive and nicely done. We spent an hour on that one exhibit. Then, on the upper floor, they have Treasures of the Library, and it was wonderful. Originals of the magna carta, Gutenberg bible, Alice in Wonderland, original musical scores from Beethoven to Handel, handwritten lyrics of a few Beatles songs, Audebon's bird folios, an early copy of Beowulf, and more. Spent a couple of hours.
To avoid the shut down on the tube, we took a taxi back to the hotel.
Went to a pub for a few 1/2 pints and stayed to eat fish and chips, with the ubiquitous peas. Quite nice and we felt very relaxed indeed. Jim had a Pim's (english style) and a Crabbie, which is an alcoholic Ginger beer. I stayed with ales and had and Admans and an Old Peculiar.
First impressions of London are that this is a eery multicultural city, and it seems large and typically city-like, but without the rushing, pushing energy oF New York. Not as dirty, no graffiti that I saw (though I did see a lot of graffiti yesterday from the train into the
city). If you had enough money, it would be a good city to live in, but it does seem that it would be very expensive to live here.
So the day is done and we're feeling very tired and content. A bit of Telly and then off to bed.
It promised rain, and there was to be a 24 hr strike of the Tube workers at 5 PM today so we changed our itinerary. In the morning we went to the National Gallery and spent 3 hrs looking at great works of art. I noticed right away that I'm not used to being on my feet and sanding and walking on hard floors....but we saw several Cezannes, Monets, 1 Rembrandt, and 1 Vermeer
Lunch was at a Pret a Mange, a lovely shop with very nice, healthy food choices. I had a middle eastern salad and Jim had a tuna and egg salad. I've noticed that so far the food choices feature healthy food and we have been very pleased so far. It's not going to be hard to eat healthily.
Then off via the Tube to the British Library, where Jim was in heaven--as there was an exhibit of maps, quite extensive and nicely done. We spent an hour on that one exhibit. Then, on the upper floor, they have Treasures of the Library, and it was wonderful. Originals of the magna carta, Gutenberg bible, Alice in Wonderland, original musical scores from Beethoven to Handel, handwritten lyrics of a few Beatles songs, Audebon's bird folios, an early copy of Beowulf, and more. Spent a couple of hours.
To avoid the shut down on the tube, we took a taxi back to the hotel.
Went to a pub for a few 1/2 pints and stayed to eat fish and chips, with the ubiquitous peas. Quite nice and we felt very relaxed indeed. Jim had a Pim's (english style) and a Crabbie, which is an alcoholic Ginger beer. I stayed with ales and had and Admans and an Old Peculiar.
First impressions of London are that this is a eery multicultural city, and it seems large and typically city-like, but without the rushing, pushing energy oF New York. Not as dirty, no graffiti that I saw (though I did see a lot of graffiti yesterday from the train into the
city). If you had enough money, it would be a good city to live in, but it does seem that it would be very expensive to live here.
So the day is done and we're feeling very tired and content. A bit of Telly and then off to bed.
Day one. The trip
All travel should be dull, because the alternative is that it be exciting, a much less wished for alternative. Our trip, by that standard was dull, as nothing went wrong. Tiny airplane seats, poor sleep on the eight hour flight, long lines at customs, and a long, long trek to the hotel, involving a 36 pound cost for the express train from Heathrow to Paddington, where I purchased the first souvenier, a small Paddington bear for my granddaughter. Then the tube from Paddington, which involved many steps down and up with our two small and two large suitcases. The public transport does not lend itself to accommodating the handicapped traveler and we saw no one on crutches or in a wheelchair..they must all travel by taxi.
We arrived at our hotel around 2:30 pm local time, having left our home in NC almost 24 hrs previously.
The Morgan hotel is a tiny hotel with low ceilings, narrow stairways, and very small rooms. But it's clean, we get a full English breakfast (eggs, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, and toast), along with coffee or tea, juice, cereals, and yogurt. Lovely.
Supper was at a noodle shop called Wakamama, and it was great. I had saisen noodle soup with tofu, sprouts, mushrooms, pea pods, zucchini in a lovely broth. Jim had a curry noodle dish with prawns. He had a drink of apple juice and cucumber pulp---very odd, but ok.
Early to bed with several episodes of waking and deliberately deciding to sleep again.
All in all, glad to be here. They speak my language!!
We arrived at our hotel around 2:30 pm local time, having left our home in NC almost 24 hrs previously.
The Morgan hotel is a tiny hotel with low ceilings, narrow stairways, and very small rooms. But it's clean, we get a full English breakfast (eggs, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, and toast), along with coffee or tea, juice, cereals, and yogurt. Lovely.
Supper was at a noodle shop called Wakamama, and it was great. I had saisen noodle soup with tofu, sprouts, mushrooms, pea pods, zucchini in a lovely broth. Jim had a curry noodle dish with prawns. He had a drink of apple juice and cucumber pulp---very odd, but ok.
Early to bed with several episodes of waking and deliberately deciding to sleep again.
All in all, glad to be here. They speak my language!!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Waiting in the airport.....
What a day.... All packed and at the airport waiting to board for Atlanta! Where we will have a 4 hour wait for the flight to England. It will make for a very long day and I know, even with the water, No Jet Lag, etc that I will be blasted when we finally arrive, noon local UK time, but 7 AM body time. But at least we are on the way. Today has been crazy, trying to purchase Skype miles only to find out that our credit card had a block on it. 30 min later with a rep and 3 supervisors, they assured me it is fixed but I have doubt in my heart! Also lost my international drivers license, but luckily had made a copy of it. Just crazy-making stuff. Our son is here and seems ready and able to take care of the house and dogs, we were able to pack enough so that we don't have to worry about doing laundry. We are using my son's MUCH nicer luggage and we have back up of all information we will need. So let the adventure begin!
Friday, September 3, 2010
anticipatory butterflies
Almost time...we leave tomorrow evening so today is the last day for preparation. Picking up cleaning, getting stuff packed ahead of time. Cleaning the house and doing some laundry. Have to get our son from the airport as he will be housesitting and taking care of the dogs (one less big worry).
It's becoming very clear that by tomorrow we will be on our way, and I have to admit to anxiety, stress, worry--all the bad stuff that clamps down on the good feelings of excitement and anticipation that someone with less OCD would be experiencing. But I am what I am. Worrywort par excellence! At this point my biggest worry is about jet lag because I really felt it when I went to Paris and that was years ago. Now I'm older and thus, it might hit me even harder. In Paris I spent a day in bed feeling awful so I don't want a repeat of that experience. All I can do is try to sleep on the plane and take the No Jet Lag stuff that I bought. Lots of water, no alcohol. Stay up the first day and then go on local time for sleeping. We'll see and I'll chronicle it, of course.
We have duffels for carry-ons into which I will put my ipad and my purse and my pillow. Also, lots of vitamins, nuts, granola bars, etc. With 24 hours before a shower I'm sure we will both be funky and stinky by Sunday when we check into the hotel. The weather reports are saying high in the low 70's and dry which is perfect weather. Low in the 40's at night, so definitely jacket weather.
Another worry is the transportation system in London, specifically the Oyster cards which we will buy. This allows transportation within several zones of London, but I'm not really clear on the zone system. Hopefully, we will be fine. Not enough time in London, I'm sure of that. We could spend the entire vacation in London and not see everything, so I'm already thinking of this as Trip #1 with more to follow. Would love to go to Ireland and Wales, but no time, no time. I feel like the White Rabbit.
Got British pounds in hand and am really trusting that my ipad will be up and running (WiFi signals are necessary) so that we can make use of the apps I have for London. Still need to purchase bus tickets for Swindon.
It's becoming very clear that by tomorrow we will be on our way, and I have to admit to anxiety, stress, worry--all the bad stuff that clamps down on the good feelings of excitement and anticipation that someone with less OCD would be experiencing. But I am what I am. Worrywort par excellence! At this point my biggest worry is about jet lag because I really felt it when I went to Paris and that was years ago. Now I'm older and thus, it might hit me even harder. In Paris I spent a day in bed feeling awful so I don't want a repeat of that experience. All I can do is try to sleep on the plane and take the No Jet Lag stuff that I bought. Lots of water, no alcohol. Stay up the first day and then go on local time for sleeping. We'll see and I'll chronicle it, of course.
We have duffels for carry-ons into which I will put my ipad and my purse and my pillow. Also, lots of vitamins, nuts, granola bars, etc. With 24 hours before a shower I'm sure we will both be funky and stinky by Sunday when we check into the hotel. The weather reports are saying high in the low 70's and dry which is perfect weather. Low in the 40's at night, so definitely jacket weather.
Another worry is the transportation system in London, specifically the Oyster cards which we will buy. This allows transportation within several zones of London, but I'm not really clear on the zone system. Hopefully, we will be fine. Not enough time in London, I'm sure of that. We could spend the entire vacation in London and not see everything, so I'm already thinking of this as Trip #1 with more to follow. Would love to go to Ireland and Wales, but no time, no time. I feel like the White Rabbit.
Got British pounds in hand and am really trusting that my ipad will be up and running (WiFi signals are necessary) so that we can make use of the apps I have for London. Still need to purchase bus tickets for Swindon.
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