Day One - Seattle/Vancouver/London:
We are officially International travelers! We arrived in London safely, but extremely jeg lagged. Upon arriving at Heathrow, we purchased our Underground passes and headed to the B&B that we had reserved for the night. We made it to the correct station and attempted to find the place on foot, but quickly abandoned our search after realizing that London streets are not as clearly marked as ours and the traffic goes very fast. We called for a ride and were at our place in no time. After getting settled in, we looked at the beds and collapsed. After an hour nap, we headed to the small town near where we are staying (Crounch End) and found food. We walked back home and did a little reading and then called it a night.
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Day Two - London:
We woke up and had our first B&B British Breakfast this morning…eggs, bacon, sausage, and a tomato…not bad! After organizing ourselves, we set off for the day. After sort of a slow start, we quickly got the hang of what we wanted to do and ended up fitting quite a lot of things in. We took the underground to Trafalger Square and explored around and took some photos. We located a Tourist Information office and stopped in to ask abuot train times to some of the next cities we will be visiting. They were a big help and even directed us to a Scotland Tourist Information office down the street that helped us book our trip from Inverness to Oban for next week. Originally we were planning on taking BritRail (an 8 hour journey down and around and through Glasgow and back up again), but they helped us book a bus trip for about £25 (for 2) that cuts the trip to 3.5 hours and takes us on a much more scenic route on the water (near Loch Ness). So we felt good about pre-booking that and saving so much time! After that we exchanged some money, found a great little take-away deli for lunch, and bought tickets for a boat ride from Westminster to Greenwich on the Thames. On the boat we saw some great riverside sights. We walked to the top of the hill and went to the Royal Observatory. There they have the Prime Meridian and the famous 24-hour clock. We grabbed some ice cream and a flake and hopped the boat back to Westminster. Now we are sitting in an Internet Cafe in Leicester Square about ready to find a place for dinner. There are tons of choices here…too many, it is hard to decide, but Cameron has his heart set on having his first authentic bit of fish and chips. We are having a blast! Tomorrow we are off to York.
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Day Three - York:
We’ve taken our first train trip from London to York, on the GNRN railway. It was about a 2hr journey, and I’m guessing we averaged about 144mph. Quite fast indeed. I suppose I should also mention that I tried my first IRN-BRU (orange of course) and I have to say I like it. Think Red Bull. IMO wheras Red bull tastes like liquid cotton-candy, IRN-BRU tastes like liquid orangesicle. Anyway, we checked in to our B/B and walked in to York, taking time to check out the city wall. In the olden days (really olden), York was protected by either this wall, or waterways. It is also home to Clifford’s Tower, which is really the main attraction of the town. It’s really quite amazing, the amount of history in Great Britain. Stone stairways worn down with use, and cool things like that. We finished up the day with a guided tour of the York Brewery, and a walk through a place called the Shambles.
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Day Four - Edinburgh
One day in York seems plenty, and we only allowed for it, so we’re off to Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. This of course means another train ride via the Virgin railroad (unfortunately devoid of IRN-BRU). From York this was a 3.5hr journey. I think taking the trains was a good idea. I’m just barely getting used to looking the opposite way when crossing a street[1]. We arrived in Edinburgh around 1, hired a taxi to get us to our guesthome and we then walked down to the local bus stop to get a ride back into town for our first day of sightseeing. Edinburgh castle is probably one of the best attractions around (probably the biggest as well). We spent the later afternoon touring the castle, getting free tastes of scotch, and walking the Royal Mile. I suppose I should also mention that I’m 30 now, so that is what I got to do for my birthday. We have another day in Edinburgh before heading up to Inverness, home of the Loch Ness.
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Day Five - Edinburgh
Ok, our first real-time post. So we are continuing our tour of Edinburgh today which has already included a climb up Scott’s Monument, a view of St. Andrew’s statue/tower, and a stop here at the internet cafe. We’ll be continuing on to see Holyrood Palace, and then follow a path from within the palace walls to Arthur’s Seat (a mountain with great city views), and walks down Princess street(really just a busy street with stores). The weather has been terrific so far, and just barely rained last night, so we’ve been fortunate that way. Our food experiences have been just fine also. The B/B’s provide either traditional English/Scottish breakfasts or a continental breakfast. Don’t be misled by the latter, it is more than a typical American Hotel Continental Breakfast. Since we’re in Scotland, Michelle has threatened to try Haggis. I can’t say as though I’m in the same boat. I forgot to explain my footnote from the last post ( the [1] ), so I’ll do it now. [1] - It seems (and much to Michelle’s humor) that I’m getting on quite well adapting to the local slang/accent/linguistics and whatnot. Cheers.
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Day Six - Inverness:
We left Edinburgh at 9:30am and after a 3.5 hour train ride, we arrived in the fabled land of Loch Ness. We had enough time to walk three blocks to find the Tourist Information Center, walk to the desk to ask about tours of the Loch and then run down the stairs to catch the last bus leaving for the day. We went on a tour of Loch Ness, first making stops at the riveting (not really) Loch Ness Monster Exhibition, Urquart Castle (much more interesting), and then a boat cruise back to Inverness. All in all it was what we had set out to do here, and we checked it off our list feeling pretty proud of ourselves that we were able to fit that in seeing as though we only had about a half a day here. After the tour, we grabbed dinner and then walked back to the hotel. The hotel itself is another story. We were really looking forward to this one…this was the one we splurged on! We thought it was going to be a castle, that is what the picture looked like after all. Don’t always believe what you see…photoshop works wonders! It was £99 per night, but turned out to be nothing better than good ole Motel 6…complete with alley view, drunken street walkers, and loud garbage trucks at 6am! It did have a nice view of the water…from the lobby. BTW- we didn’t see Nessie.
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Day Seven - Oban:
In the morning we had our breakfast…we tried HAGGIS! YES! I sort of liked it and swore I would go back for seconds, then Cameron kept reminding me that it was made from horrible things, so I pushed it aside and ate the coffee and chocolate croissant instead and called it good. We boarded our first bus and headed from Inverness to Oban along the series of Lochs in the area. Very beautiful ride with wonderful things to see along the way. Castles, hairy cattle, sheep of course, and beautiful countryside. It was a 3.5 hour journey with a swtich of buses in Fort William, a town near Ben Nevis (the tallest Mt. in the UK…I think). In Oban we found lunch, and our guesthouse…very nice, right on the water with a sea view. Much better than Inverness and £30 cheaper! We strolled the town and walked the beach roads, it is very nice here. We have another day here tomorrow and we are taking a boat ride to Mull and by a seal colony. Then we are on to Manchester…a 7.5 hour train ride from here! OUCH!
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Day Eight - Oban:
Well today saw our first day of rain, so we didn’t end up doing as much as we’d have liked. Our initial plan was to go over to the island of Mull via a tour boat which stopped off at a seal colony, and then out to Duart Castle.[1]
So we went on a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry instead. This was just a quick 45min ride over to the Isle of Mull, where we set foot on the dock, and then boarded for the return journey. Tomorrow we are off on an 8:18am train to Manchester, England via Glasgow, Scotland (as previously mentioned a 7.5hr train ride). [1] Originally we’d planned on biking around the Isle of Luing, but that is far enough from Oban that by the time we took the public bus, and then the ferry it was a full day excursion. Turns out we wouldn’t have done it from the intermittent rain anyway.
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Day Nine - Manchester:
Today was the day of our long train ride back into England. We left Oban at 8:15 and arrived in Manchester (after stopping in Glasgow for a station and train change)at 3:30. We found our hotel (which said it was an Airport hotel, but turned out to be a nearly £7 taxi ride away) and settled in. We changed some money at reception, and boarded a bus for downtown Manchester (1/2 hour ride with all the stops). We quickly found the Alan Turing Memorial in Sackville Park near the canal and took some pictures there (Cameron was wanting to see this, and so it was good that we chose Manchester for our stop off point on the way back into England). Then we walked around the city center a little before finding a place to eat dinner. Cameron wasn’t feeling all that well, and so we made dinner a quick one, hopped into a Broadband booth to get the times for our train the next day (we can’t post from these booths) and then headed back on the bus ride to the hotel. We watched the soccer match (England vs. Leichtenstein) a little and then fadded off to sleep (after doing laundry of course!). We had such a hard time finding a hotel in Manchester (which is why we ended up staying at the airport hotel vs the city center) and as it turned out, the match was the reason. The city was very crowded with rowdy soccer fans!
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Day Ten - Cardiff/Caerphilly:
We hopped of the train in Cardiff just to get a look at the Cardiff Castle (which we heard was a waste of time from our B&B housmates in Edinburgh). They were right. Nothing notable here. Walked around the city a little and ate at a great little pub and then boarded the train for a short jaunt to Caerphilly. Our B&B in Caerphilly was wonderful. Right near the train and in a nice neighborhood. The B&B’s are so much better than hotels in every aspect. The hotels are the most expensive and the worst accomodations. But, sometimes they are your only hope (i.e. Manchester). We dropped off our stuff and walked (a short walk) into town to view the grounds of Caerphilly Castle. The grounds are quite large and beautiful. We found a nice little place to eat that was recommended by our B&B host and then walked home…in the rain. It wasn’t bad, more of a misting really….does that count? All in all, we have been so lucky with the weather on our trip and everyone is talking about it…we know this trend is not the norm for this time of year and we feel very lucky! We’ll take it!
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Day Eleven - Bath:
We arrived in Bath at around noon or so (after our first - minor- train hiccup). We couldn’t check in until after 2pm, so we boarded our first very touristy, big, open-top bus and toured the city of Bath. They have very lovely architecture here. Repeated shapes and stately building fronts are everywhere. It is beautiful. On the bus tour, we passed right by our B&B for the night. It happened to be right in the “Circus”, right in front of the Assembly Rooms, and right down the street from the Royal Cresent - three of the main attractions in Bath. It is called The Townhouse and is one of the nicest places we have stayed on our trip. The bus tour continued on and made a big loop around Bath and it turned out to be a great way to see the city and get some interesting (and usually informative) commentary from our bus guide. After finishing the bus tour, we walked back up to the B&B, checked-in and headed back out for the the Roman Baths. We toured the Baths and enjoyed that quite a bit. We walked around the shops a little and sat and people watched in the twon square. We also found an all-day tour (from an information packet given to us by our B&B host) that goes to Stonehenge, Averbury, the Cotswolds, and a few other places. We booked that for tomorrow. We leave at 8:45am. This should be a wonderful day tour and we are really looking forward to it. Tomorrow we spend the night in Bristol before moving on to Canterbury and Dover for the rest of the weekend.
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Day Twelve - Stonehenge/Avebury/Cotswalds/Bristol:
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We started out the morning in Bath, in what we’ve decided is our favorite B&B. (as you recall, our room overlooked the Assembly room entrance, near the Circus). Anyway we found a brochure in our room that mentioned MadMax Tours, which for £20 each took us to Stonehenge, Avebury, the Wiltshire white horse, Lacock, and the cotswold village of Castle Combe. We figured this was a great deal as the best I could find online before leaving for just Stonehenge/Avebury was £54 from London. This turned out to be a full, but very fun day. Stonehenge turned out to be right next to a highway, so that was odd. Michelle mentioned that is how the great pyramids of Giza are, Cairo suburbs are just behind them. Avebury was great, and we walked most of the outer ring. Another interesting point was we got to see the Abbey in Lacock where part of Harry Potter was filmed, and ate lunch at a pub that has had a license to sell beer since 1362. We arrived back in Bath around 4:15 and jumped on a train to Bristol. You’ll remember perhaps that we couldn’t find another place in Bath back in Edinburgh so we booked the Bristol place. Turns out that was a Holiday Inn Express, and it was very new and very fantastic. We took the rest of the day to grab dinner and veg out in front of the T.V. Much to my surprise, the show Pop Idol was on (this is the exact same show as American Idol and even comes with Simon).
Day Thirteen - Dover:
I guess it all started off when we transfered trains in London. Imagine perhaps one of the oldest trains you can think of (well really not quite that bad), but it was definitely the oldest, loudest, and dirtiest train we’ve come across so far. It gets better. At Folkestone, it was announced (over a speaker system that we couldn’t really even hear) that the train would be terminating service here. Turns out there was work being done on the tracks so we had to hop on a bus that BritRail setup for us to get to Dover. It gets better. Imagine if you will, the oldest, loudest, slowest and dirtiest double decker bus that you could come across so far. It pulls up and announces Dover as the destination. So we all (about 30 of us) pile in. Michelle and I decide to get a good view so we sit up on the top. This poor old bus crawled up out of the city valley and onto the motorway. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I started to think we might have to actually get out and push. We guessed that we were probably doing perhaps 5-10mph. going up the hill. Most cars over here tend to be on the small side, and I think that is great. Even those things were zipping past us like we were standing still (and remember those little cars were going up the hill also). It gets better. We finally arrive in Dover (Dover Priory station), and we walk to our B&B. Imagine as you step in being instantly transported into the Victorian age. Compound that with the permission to smoke in your room. Fortunately, they had another room that wasn’t recently “smoked in”, and so we moved there. Once checked in we went out and walked up and down the pier and waterfront. Turns out there aren’t too many places to eat in Dover, which was proven by the fact that there was a line coming out of KFC (yes that means what it means in the US). We settled for the restaurant in the local Best Western motel. After dinner, was an early night back and some more of the resting type of vacation.
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Day Fourteen - London:
The seemingly only redeemable point about Dover (aside from the white cliffs) is the castle. This is actually very cool, and helps to make up for the lack of … charm. So this morning before we left we took a tour of the castle and even got an hour tour of the Secret War tunnels, which were originally created during the Napoleonic times, and used as recently as WW2.
After our tour of the castle we left Dover for good. We are in agreement that this was our least favorite town.
We’re now currently in London, and took a ride on the London Eye this afternoon. It’s good to be back in London, and I’m surprised I find myself saying this being as it is a huge metropolis. I think the Tube is one of my most favorite things.
Something else that has been a first for us (well at least me), was that we saw a bunch of people crowd around a theatre in Leicester Square for the premier of ‘The Italian Job’. Being the tourist that I am (hey I *am* on vacation), I believe I have a couple shots of Charlize Theron walking in.
On the plate for tomorrow is Bletchley Park, London’s Transport Museum (more so to see if they have a book on the history of the underground, St. Paul’s Cathedral (it is the largest after all), and the changing of the guard at the Buckingham Palace.
Day Fifteen - London:
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In the morning, we attempted to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, but as it turns out it is actually autumn now and they only do that every other day in the low season. So…we missed it. Our main plan for the day was to go to Bletchley Park. We had to be there at precisely 2pm for a guided tour (they don’t let you roam around the park alone on the weekdays). So we boarded a train around 12:30 and made it to the station at around 1:30 or so….the only problem was that we were at the wrong station. After a frantic bit of trying to catch another train (got there too late), trying to find a bus and asking for walking directions…we cut our losses and hopped in a cab for quite a long stint to the actual Bletchley Park. We made it to the ticket office at 1:58pm…PHEW! The tour was a very interesting 2 1/2 hours long. Very cool. For those of you who don’t know, Bletchley Park is the place where they cracked the Enigma Code during WWII (amongst other things). After the tour, we headed home for dinner. The train ride home was intersting. We sat next to our first crazy passenger. He didn’t have a valid ticket for travel (which wasn’t happening with the ticket man) so he was asked to get off at the next stop. He refused quite passionately. So, after making numerous threats, he got off and was prompty arrested. That was our entertainment for the ride home.
Day Sixteen - London:
Today we had a full plate. It was our last full day of the trip. We started out at the Science Museum and felt quite overwhelmed. We dedicated 2 hours to it and moved on. There is no way you could see everything, even in 2 days. So we saw quite a bit and felt good about it.
After the Science Museum, we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral and saw that they are actually undergoing a major cleaning and restoration project (scaffolding is a recurrent site at many of the attractions we have been visiting) there and so some of the areas were inaccessible. But, we still saw the beautiful murals and guilding on the ceilings and fixtures. Very impressive. No photos allowed however.
After that we hopped over to the Tower of London for a look. We didn’t go in. Not enough time for that…we heard you could spend the entire day just in there. We then walked across the Tower Bridge (got some cool pictures along the way) and saw David Blaine hanging in a box over the river walk near the Thames. We woke up right when we got there…how lucky. Sort of ridiculous really, but a must see nonetheless.
Continued walking and hopped the tube to the Transportation Museum. Walked through that for an hour (good history on the development of the tube and London transportation in general throughout the years). Cameron bought a book that he has been putting off purchasing purely because of its weight.
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Day One - Seattle/Vancouver/London:
We are officially International travelers! We arrived in London safely, but extremely jeg lagged. Upon arriving at Heathrow, we purchased our Underground passes and headed to the B&B that we had reserved for the night. We made it to the correct station and attempted to find the place on foot, but quickly abandoned our search after realizing that London streets are not as clearly marked as ours and the traffic goes very fast. We called for a ride and were at our place in no time. After getting settled in, we looked at the beds and collapsed. After an hour nap, we headed to the small town near where we are staying (Crounch End) and found food. We walked back home and did a little reading and then called it a night.
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Day Two - London:
We woke up and had our first B&B British Breakfast this morning…eggs, bacon, sausage, and a tomato…not bad! After organizing ourselves, we set off for the day. After sort of a slow start, we quickly got the hang of what we wanted to do and ended up fitting quite a lot of things in. We took the underground to Trafalger Square and explored around and took some photos. We located a Tourist Information office and stopped in to ask abuot train times to some of the next cities we will be visiting. They were a big help and even directed us to a Scotland Tourist Information office down the street that helped us book our trip from Inverness to Oban for next week. Originally we were planning on taking BritRail (an 8 hour journey down and around and through Glasgow and back up again), but they helped us book a bus trip for about £25 (for 2) that cuts the trip to 3.5 hours and takes us on a much more scenic route on the water (near Loch Ness). So we felt good about pre-booking that and saving so much time! After that we exchanged some money, found a great little take-away deli for lunch, and bought tickets for a boat ride from Westminster to Greenwich on the Thames. On the boat we saw some great riverside sights. We walked to the top of the hill and went to the Royal Observatory. There they have the Prime Meridian and the famous 24-hour clock. We grabbed some ice cream and a flake and hopped the boat back to Westminster. Now we are sitting in an Internet Cafe in Leicester Square about ready to find a place for dinner. There are tons of choices here…too many, it is hard to decide, but Cameron has his heart set on having his first authentic bit of fish and chips. We are having a blast! Tomorrow we are off to York.
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Day Three - York:
We’ve taken our first train trip from London to York, on the GNRN railway. It was about a 2hr journey, and I’m guessing we averaged about 144mph. Quite fast indeed. I suppose I should also mention that I tried my first IRN-BRU (orange of course) and I have to say I like it. Think Red Bull. IMO wheras Red bull tastes like liquid cotton-candy, IRN-BRU tastes like liquid orangesicle. Anyway, we checked in to our B/B and walked in to York, taking time to check out the city wall. In the olden days (really olden), York was protected by either this wall, or waterways. It is also home to Clifford’s Tower, which is really the main attraction of the town. It’s really quite amazing, the amount of history in Great Britain. Stone stairways worn down with use, and cool things like that. We finished up the day with a guided tour of the York Brewery, and a walk through a place called the Shambles.
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Day Four - Edinburgh
One day in York seems plenty, and we only allowed for it, so we’re off to Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. This of course means another train ride via the Virgin railroad (unfortunately devoid of IRN-BRU). From York this was a 3.5hr journey. I think taking the trains was a good idea. I’m just barely getting used to looking the opposite way when crossing a street[1]. We arrived in Edinburgh around 1, hired a taxi to get us to our guesthome and we then walked down to the local bus stop to get a ride back into town for our first day of sightseeing. Edinburgh castle is probably one of the best attractions around (probably the biggest as well). We spent the later afternoon touring the castle, getting free tastes of scotch, and walking the Royal Mile. I suppose I should also mention that I’m 30 now, so that is what I got to do for my birthday. We have another day in Edinburgh before heading up to Inverness, home of the Loch Ness.
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Day Five - Edinburgh
Ok, our first real-time post. So we are continuing our tour of Edinburgh today which has already included a climb up Scott’s Monument, a view of St. Andrew’s statue/tower, and a stop here at the internet cafe. We’ll be continuing on to see Holyrood Palace, and then follow a path from within the palace walls to Arthur’s Seat (a mountain with great city views), and walks down Princess street(really just a busy street with stores). The weather has been terrific so far, and just barely rained last night, so we’ve been fortunate that way. Our food experiences have been just fine also. The B/B’s provide either traditional English/Scottish breakfasts or a continental breakfast. Don’t be misled by the latter, it is more than a typical American Hotel Continental Breakfast. Since we’re in Scotland, Michelle has threatened to try Haggis. I can’t say as though I’m in the same boat. I forgot to explain my footnote from the last post ( the [1] ), so I’ll do it now. [1] - It seems (and much to Michelle’s humor) that I’m getting on quite well adapting to the local slang/accent/linguistics and whatnot. Cheers.
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Day Six - Inverness:
We left Edinburgh at 9:30am and after a 3.5 hour train ride, we arrived in the fabled land of Loch Ness. We had enough time to walk three blocks to find the Tourist Information Center, walk to the desk to ask about tours of the Loch and then run down the stairs to catch the last bus leaving for the day. We went on a tour of Loch Ness, first making stops at the riveting (not really) Loch Ness Monster Exhibition, Urquart Castle (much more interesting), and then a boat cruise back to Inverness. All in all it was what we had set out to do here, and we checked it off our list feeling pretty proud of ourselves that we were able to fit that in seeing as though we only had about a half a day here. After the tour, we grabbed dinner and then walked back to the hotel. The hotel itself is another story. We were really looking forward to this one…this was the one we splurged on! We thought it was going to be a castle, that is what the picture looked like after all. Don’t always believe what you see…photoshop works wonders! It was £99 per night, but turned out to be nothing better than good ole Motel 6…complete with alley view, drunken street walkers, and loud garbage trucks at 6am! It did have a nice view of the water…from the lobby. BTW- we didn’t see Nessie.
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Day Seven - Oban:
In the morning we had our breakfast…we tried HAGGIS! YES! I sort of liked it and swore I would go back for seconds, then Cameron kept reminding me that it was made from horrible things, so I pushed it aside and ate the coffee and chocolate croissant instead and called it good. We boarded our first bus and headed from Inverness to Oban along the series of Lochs in the area. Very beautiful ride with wonderful things to see along the way. Castles, hairy cattle, sheep of course, and beautiful countryside. It was a 3.5 hour journey with a swtich of buses in Fort William, a town near Ben Nevis (the tallest Mt. in the UK…I think). In Oban we found lunch, and our guesthouse…very nice, right on the water with a sea view. Much better than Inverness and £30 cheaper! We strolled the town and walked the beach roads, it is very nice here. We have another day here tomorrow and we are taking a boat ride to Mull and by a seal colony. Then we are on to Manchester…a 7.5 hour train ride from here! OUCH!
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Day Eight - Oban:
Well today saw our first day of rain, so we didn’t end up doing as much as we’d have liked. Our initial plan was to go over to the island of Mull via a tour boat which stopped off at a seal colony, and then out to Duart Castle.[1]
So we went on a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry instead. This was just a quick 45min ride over to the Isle of Mull, where we set foot on the dock, and then boarded for the return journey. Tomorrow we are off on an 8:18am train to Manchester, England via Glasgow, Scotland (as previously mentioned a 7.5hr train ride). [1] Originally we’d planned on biking around the Isle of Luing, but that is far enough from Oban that by the time we took the public bus, and then the ferry it was a full day excursion. Turns out we wouldn’t have done it from the intermittent rain anyway.
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Day Nine - Manchester:
Today was the day of our long train ride back into England. We left Oban at 8:15 and arrived in Manchester (after stopping in Glasgow for a station and train change)at 3:30. We found our hotel (which said it was an Airport hotel, but turned out to be a nearly £7 taxi ride away) and settled in. We changed some money at reception, and boarded a bus for downtown Manchester (1/2 hour ride with all the stops). We quickly found the Alan Turing Memorial in Sackville Park near the canal and took some pictures there (Cameron was wanting to see this, and so it was good that we chose Manchester for our stop off point on the way back into England). Then we walked around the city center a little before finding a place to eat dinner. Cameron wasn’t feeling all that well, and so we made dinner a quick one, hopped into a Broadband booth to get the times for our train the next day (we can’t post from these booths) and then headed back on the bus ride to the hotel. We watched the soccer match (England vs. Leichtenstein) a little and then fadded off to sleep (after doing laundry of course!). We had such a hard time finding a hotel in Manchester (which is why we ended up staying at the airport hotel vs the city center) and as it turned out, the match was the reason. The city was very crowded with rowdy soccer fans!
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Day Ten - Cardiff/Caerphilly:
We hopped of the train in Cardiff just to get a look at the Cardiff Castle (which we heard was a waste of time from our B&B housmates in Edinburgh). They were right. Nothing notable here. Walked around the city a little and ate at a great little pub and then boarded the train for a short jaunt to Caerphilly. Our B&B in Caerphilly was wonderful. Right near the train and in a nice neighborhood. The B&B’s are so much better than hotels in every aspect. The hotels are the most expensive and the worst accomodations. But, sometimes they are your only hope (i.e. Manchester). We dropped off our stuff and walked (a short walk) into town to view the grounds of Caerphilly Castle. The grounds are quite large and beautiful. We found a nice little place to eat that was recommended by our B&B host and then walked home…in the rain. It wasn’t bad, more of a misting really….does that count? All in all, we have been so lucky with the weather on our trip and everyone is talking about it…we know this trend is not the norm for this time of year and we feel very lucky! We’ll take it!
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Day Eleven - Bath:
We arrived in Bath at around noon or so (after our first - minor- train hiccup). We couldn’t check in until after 2pm, so we boarded our first very touristy, big, open-top bus and toured the city of Bath. They have very lovely architecture here. Repeated shapes and stately building fronts are everywhere. It is beautiful. On the bus tour, we passed right by our B&B for the night. It happened to be right in the “Circus”, right in front of the Assembly Rooms, and right down the street from the Royal Cresent - three of the main attractions in Bath. It is called The Townhouse and is one of the nicest places we have stayed on our trip. The bus tour continued on and made a big loop around Bath and it turned out to be a great way to see the city and get some interesting (and usually informative) commentary from our bus guide. After finishing the bus tour, we walked back up to the B&B, checked-in and headed back out for the the Roman Baths. We toured the Baths and enjoyed that quite a bit. We walked around the shops a little and sat and people watched in the twon square. We also found an all-day tour (from an information packet given to us by our B&B host) that goes to Stonehenge, Averbury, the Cotswolds, and a few other places. We booked that for tomorrow. We leave at 8:45am. This should be a wonderful day tour and we are really looking forward to it. Tomorrow we spend the night in Bristol before moving on to Canterbury and Dover for the rest of the weekend.
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Day Twelve - Stonehenge/Avebury/Cotswalds/Bristol:
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We started out the morning in Bath, in what we’ve decided is our favorite B&B. (as you recall, our room overlooked the Assembly room entrance, near the Circus). Anyway we found a brochure in our room that mentioned MadMax Tours, which for £20 each took us to Stonehenge, Avebury, the Wiltshire white horse, Lacock, and the cotswold village of Castle Combe. We figured this was a great deal as the best I could find online before leaving for just Stonehenge/Avebury was £54 from London. This turned out to be a full, but very fun day. Stonehenge turned out to be right next to a highway, so that was odd. Michelle mentioned that is how the great pyramids of Giza are, Cairo suburbs are just behind them. Avebury was great, and we walked most of the outer ring. Another interesting point was we got to see the Abbey in Lacock where part of Harry Potter was filmed, and ate lunch at a pub that has had a license to sell beer since 1362. We arrived back in Bath around 4:15 and jumped on a train to Bristol. You’ll remember perhaps that we couldn’t find another place in Bath back in Edinburgh so we booked the Bristol place. Turns out that was a Holiday Inn Express, and it was very new and very fantastic. We took the rest of the day to grab dinner and veg out in front of the T.V. Much to my surprise, the show Pop Idol was on (this is the exact same show as American Idol and even comes with Simon).
Day Thirteen - Dover:
I guess it all started off when we transfered trains in London. Imagine perhaps one of the oldest trains you can think of (well really not quite that bad), but it was definitely the oldest, loudest, and dirtiest train we’ve come across so far. It gets better. At Folkestone, it was announced (over a speaker system that we couldn’t really even hear) that the train would be terminating service here. Turns out there was work being done on the tracks so we had to hop on a bus that BritRail setup for us to get to Dover. It gets better. Imagine if you will, the oldest, loudest, slowest and dirtiest double decker bus that you could come across so far. It pulls up and announces Dover as the destination. So we all (about 30 of us) pile in. Michelle and I decide to get a good view so we sit up on the top. This poor old bus crawled up out of the city valley and onto the motorway. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I started to think we might have to actually get out and push. We guessed that we were probably doing perhaps 5-10mph. going up the hill. Most cars over here tend to be on the small side, and I think that is great. Even those things were zipping past us like we were standing still (and remember those little cars were going up the hill also). It gets better. We finally arrive in Dover (Dover Priory station), and we walk to our B&B. Imagine as you step in being instantly transported into the Victorian age. Compound that with the permission to smoke in your room. Fortunately, they had another room that wasn’t recently “smoked in”, and so we moved there. Once checked in we went out and walked up and down the pier and waterfront. Turns out there aren’t too many places to eat in Dover, which was proven by the fact that there was a line coming out of KFC (yes that means what it means in the US). We settled for the restaurant in the local Best Western motel. After dinner, was an early night back and some more of the resting type of vacation.
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Day Fourteen - London:
The seemingly only redeemable point about Dover (aside from the white cliffs) is the castle. This is actually very cool, and helps to make up for the lack of … charm. So this morning before we left we took a tour of the castle and even got an hour tour of the Secret War tunnels, which were originally created during the Napoleonic times, and used as recently as WW2.
After our tour of the castle we left Dover for good. We are in agreement that this was our least favorite town.
We’re now currently in London, and took a ride on the London Eye this afternoon. It’s good to be back in London, and I’m surprised I find myself saying this being as it is a huge metropolis. I think the Tube is one of my most favorite things.
Something else that has been a first for us (well at least me), was that we saw a bunch of people crowd around a theatre in Leicester Square for the premier of ‘The Italian Job’. Being the tourist that I am (hey I *am* on vacation), I believe I have a couple shots of Charlize Theron walking in.
On the plate for tomorrow is Bletchley Park, London’s Transport Museum (more so to see if they have a book on the history of the underground, St. Paul’s Cathedral (it is the largest after all), and the changing of the guard at the Buckingham Palace.
Day Fifteen - London:
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In the morning, we attempted to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, but as it turns out it is actually autumn now and they only do that every other day in the low season. So…we missed it. Our main plan for the day was to go to Bletchley Park. We had to be there at precisely 2pm for a guided tour (they don’t let you roam around the park alone on the weekdays). So we boarded a train around 12:30 and made it to the station at around 1:30 or so….the only problem was that we were at the wrong station. After a frantic bit of trying to catch another train (got there too late), trying to find a bus and asking for walking directions…we cut our losses and hopped in a cab for quite a long stint to the actual Bletchley Park. We made it to the ticket office at 1:58pm…PHEW! The tour was a very interesting 2 1/2 hours long. Very cool. For those of you who don’t know, Bletchley Park is the place where they cracked the Enigma Code during WWII (amongst other things). After the tour, we headed home for dinner. The train ride home was intersting. We sat next to our first crazy passenger. He didn’t have a valid ticket for travel (which wasn’t happening with the ticket man) so he was asked to get off at the next stop. He refused quite passionately. So, after making numerous threats, he got off and was prompty arrested. That was our entertainment for the ride home.
Day Sixteen - London:
Today we had a full plate. It was our last full day of the trip. We started out at the Science Museum and felt quite overwhelmed. We dedicated 2 hours to it and moved on. There is no way you could see everything, even in 2 days. So we saw quite a bit and felt good about it.
After the Science Museum, we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral and saw that they are actually undergoing a major cleaning and restoration project (scaffolding is a recurrent site at many of the attractions we have been visiting) there and so some of the areas were inaccessible. But, we still saw the beautiful murals and guilding on the ceilings and fixtures. Very impressive. No photos allowed however.
After that we hopped over to the Tower of London for a look. We didn’t go in. Not enough time for that…we heard you could spend the entire day just in there. We then walked across the Tower Bridge (got some cool pictures along the way) and saw David Blaine hanging in a box over the river walk near the Thames. We woke up right when we got there…how lucky. Sort of ridiculous really, but a must see nonetheless.
Continued walking and hopped the tube to the Transportation Museum. Walked through that for an hour (good history on the development of the tube and London transportation in general throughout the years). Cameron bought a book that he has been putting off purchasing purely because of its weight.
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