Home Again

We left Datchet Mead Hotel for Heathrow this morning. US Airways flight 729 departs at 12:35 PM GMT and arrives in Philadelphia at 3:55 PM EDT. Turns out the tire was covered by the rental insurance, so I don’t have to pay anything for it—Mr. Lucky! Hopefully everything will go smoothly on the flight. I think the ash cloud is blowing north, so I doubt we’ll see the volcano this time but you never know.


It’s 4:20 PM (EDT) now and I’m waiting in Philadelphia’s terminal F17 for the connection to Harrisburg (US Airways flight 4355). I just called my precious wife to tell her I was back in the Homeland. She’ll be meeting us at Harrisburg International. The flight from London was good—no problems, and it was a bit faster than the way over because he didn’t have to fly so far north to avoid the volcano.

Here are some pictures from London that I didn’t have the chance to post earlier:

Wednesday 5/12
 

Parliament Buildings (& Big Ben)

 George Washington Statue

St Martin-in-the-Fields

Cafe in the Crypt--a good place to eat, St Martin's

Benjamin Franklin's House

Thursday 5/13

Subway Art, Charing Cross Station

Stained Glass Windows from the Baltic Exchange, Greenwich Maritime Museum

Me and my dad at the Prime Meridian, Greenwich

Thursday, 5/14

Buckingham Palace

Royal Horse Guards

My kind of place

So, now that I'm back what did  I think?  It was a good trip and I know my dad and I had a good time together.  It hasn't taken the place of my favorite foreign destination--that still belongs to Canada--but it's a close second.  I'm sure I'll be back.

It's 7:18 PM (EDT) in Carlisle, PA

Olney, oops

Our final full day in England. After a full English breakfast we stopped at Banbury, the site of the English nursery rhyme.

A Lady on a Fine Horse

We passed a town called Maynard Keynes, but we didn’t have time to visit. Too bad, since I’m a Keynesian.

So much for my bragging about driving. The next stop was Olney where John Newton—the author of ‘Amazing Grace”—is buried. As I was pulling along the narrow street to park along the church, I hit the curb again. This curb wasn’t as forgiving as the others though, and I blew a tire. We got our pictures, then changed it and got back on our way.

John Newton's Grave

Fixed Tire (Tyre)

The last big sight was Oxford University. It wasn’t a long tour, but it was interesting to see the dining hall where they filmed scenes from Harry Potter. The town of Oxford itself seemed tourist-y to me.

The Dining Hall at Oxford

Finally, it was back to Datchet and I got a picture of something I saw at the beginning of the trip. There were some Roman ruins in a park, but I found out that they were moved there from Libya in 1826. I took the picture over the fence, since we couldn’t find the entrance, but I knew it was a popular place based on all the cars parked along the road.

Ruins

Tomorrow we leave in the morning for Heathrow.  I have to explain to the rental agency about the tire.  I hope it doesn't cost me too much.  At least it shouldn't be as bad as buying air tickets from Singapore (see my last blog).
It's 8:57 PM (GMT) in Datchet, UK.

"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow"

Another busy day in the UK, and another day begins with a World Heritage Site. This time it’s the Telford Ironbridge, which was the first arch bridge in the world made with cast iron. It’s a nice-looking bridge—I was again impressed with what could be done at the time.

Ironbridge, Telford

Off to Coventry and a look at the Lady Godiva statue. Everybody knows the tale. But the whole story is that she was the wife of the Earl of Mercia and constantly begged her husband to lower his oppressive taxes. Finally, he said he’d do it if she rode through town naked. She did it and luckily (for her) her long hair saved her modesty. Click the link for a story on the first Peeping Tom.

Lady Godiva

Then, it was three of the five Shakespeare sites in Stratford-upon-Avon: Anne Hathaway’s house, his birthplace, and his grave. Anne Hathaway was his (rich, older) wife. He courted her at this house, according to the histories. His birthplace was interesting too. There were re-enactors here: a glove-maker, actors practicing his plays, and a few maidservants. One of these was from Virginia—I told her I could tell by her accent she wasn’t from these (Warwickshire County) parts. The grave was the least interesting, but it had to be seen. Anne is buried beside him.

Anne Hathaway House

Shakespeare's Birthplace

Shakespeare's Grave

Another thing that had to be done was dinner at McDonald’s. I like to visit one in every country I travel in to see how we plan on turning everyone into fat, happy Americans. They’re always crowded when I visit, and this one was no exception.

It's 10:01 PM (GMT) in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, UK

Another day, another castle

The name of the castle this morning was Beaumaris, in Beaumaris, Wales.  Like most castles built by Edward I, it is near the sea so that it can be supplied by ships.  And like some of the other castles we’ve seen, it was never finished—go figure.  I guess it wasn’t as easy to get a stimulus package then.

Beaumaris Castle and Moat

Castle Courtyard

We went back to the Snowdonia National Park to take a ride on the cog railway that the Victorians built up Mount Snowden, the highest peak in Wales.  It took an hour to get up there, we looked around for about twenty minutes, and then an hour back.  The scenery was spectacular, and I didn’t know sheep would graze that high up a mountain.  My lack of knowledge regarding nature strikes again!

The engine that took us up

My dad at the top

Me at the top

Finally, we saw the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.  It took ten years to design and build, and was opened in 1805. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site (so is Beaumaris Castle), and it is a pretty impressive engineering feat. Those 19th Century Brits really thought they could do anything—and they left a lot around to prove it.

Canal Boats.  We ate at the tavern behind them.

Aqueduct from below

The canal carried by the aqueduct

We’ve eaten pretty well here. If you’ve ever heard the term “full English breakfast,” that means eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, mushrooms, potatoes, and a grilled tomato. The bacon’s OK—sort of a cross between Canadian bacon and our kind—but I can’t get into the sausages. I read that they’re ground pork and leek, which makes them kind of mushy, and they are in a “natural casing” which I think is pig stomach, and that turns mine. They’re not Jimmy Dean, that’s for sure.

It's 9:55 PM (GMT) in Trevor, Wales, UK

More Wales

More Welsh travels today, which included a drive through the Snowden National Park and the Llanberis Pass. I’m not one much for nature, but it was interesting to see these mountains up close and the way people lived here.

Mountain Lake

Mount Snowden

Caernafon Castle was next, and it was pretty impressive.  To those of you who are interested in British Royal history—and I know you’re out there—this is where Prince Charles was invested as the Prince of Wales in 1969, when he was 18. He looked pretty happy and carefree in those TV videos. I guess waiting 41 years for the throne affected him.

Caernafon Castle

Castle Courtyard

We also stopped at the train station at the town with the longest name in the UK and one of the longest in the world: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.  It means St Mary's Church (Llanfair) in a hollow (pwll) of white hazel (gwyngyll) near (goger) the swirling whirlpool (y chwyrndrobwll) of the church of St Tysilio (llantysilio) with a red cave ([a]g ogo goch).

Train Station at Llanfairpw...whatever

Then it was off to Anglesey Island and the Melin Llynnon windmill, which was restored in 1986 and produces flour for sale. The guide was really good, and then we got a shot of vodka when we came in the gift shop. That never happened before!

Windmill on Anglesey

We also went to see a lighthouse on Holyhead Island, but there was fog blowing in from the Irish Sea which totally obscured the lighthouse. It had been a long drive, so we headed to the hotel in Llangefni.

Speaking of driving, I got a good bit more practice today. I’ve gotten the hang of the roundabouts, I don’t freak out by the cars coming at me on the right anymore, I rarely hit the curbs now, and I’m getting the feel of the traffic signs. Bring on Ireland and Australia!

This is what I see off the exit--and it's Welsh!

It's 10:05 PM (GMT) in Llangefni, Wales, UK.

Take me home, Cymru roads

Here's an update on the past two days:

Tuesday, 5/18


More exploring of Cardiff today. Cardiff Castle (next to the hotel) has been occupied in some way since Roman times.

Cardiff Castle Keep

We got tickets to a session of the Welsh Assembly today. Wales (along with Scotland and Northern Ireland) recently was given more authority over local decisions by the UK government in London. They take this pretty seriously and there seems to be a lot of local pride in their local government. It got a little boring after a while—especially if they spoke Welsh—but I noticed that the ministers avoided answering any questions posed to them directly, just like politicians at home! They’re well on their way.

The last things we visited were some architecturally interesting civic buildings and the Cardiff University. Oh, to be young again.



Wednesday, 5/18

We left Cardiff today to drive in rural Wales. The first stop was Caerphilly, a nice little town with the biggest castle in Wales.

Caerphilly Castle

Since part of my dad’s interest in coming here was genealogy, we spent some time in the library at Merthyr Tydfil and got the baptism and marriage records of my great-great- grandfather. Earlier, we even visited the church where they were married. We went in and after the priest was told there were “two Yanks” here to see some marriage records, he took time to show us around and told us about the church’s history. He even invited us to stay for the Welsh funeral that was going to take place, but we didn’t take him up on that.

We stopped at the ruins of Tretower Castle in the afternoon and took some pictures. This is the castle that we think our ancestors owned in the 1600s. I read on the Internet that most Vaughns are from here, so it must be true!

Tretower Castle--my ancestral holdings

BTW, Cymru is Welsh for Wales.

It's 9:39 PM (GMT) in Brecon, Wales, UK

Free at last

Since I refuse to pay £15 (about $22) for internet from the Cardiff Hyatt, I am sending this from Lloyd's No. 1 Bar a few doors down the street.  The room at the hotel is nice, but now I'm not a Hilton fan.

I'm going to try to catch up from Sunday, 5/16:

Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t rain here every day. It does change quickly from sun to clouds with an occasional shower. It’s also pretty cool—I’ve worn a jacket every day.


Now having said that, today was the first day we had some heavy rain. It was also the day we went to Stonehenge. I was worried that it would make for bad pictures, but I think it turned out OK. I drove here from Datchet. I still need some practice.

Stonehenge

Next was Salisbury Cathedral, which had a flag from the War of 1812 in it. The plaque said that the flag was eventually brought to India where it fell into the Ganges and was recovered after eight months. No wonder it was mostly threads hanging there!

Salisbury Catherdral--it has the tallest steeple in Britain

Bath was last, and the most interesting things here (to me) were the Roman bath excavations. It was a site the pre-Roman Britons used, so there have been people around for centuries. It was only in 1880 that any excavations turned up Roman ruins.

The baths at Bath.  See the Roman matron by the pillar?

It's 6:20 PM (GMT) in Cardiff, Wales, UK

Volcanic quickie

They’re talking about the volcanic ash cloud tonight in the news. It’s disrupted air travel today in Ireland. It would be a shame if I had to spend more time in a foreign country. As I promised earlier, here are pictures from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano that my dad took from the plane.

Eyjafjallajokull volcano, Iceland

It's 9:40 PM (GMT) in Bath.

Drive left, pass right

Today was our last day in London and we toured the Tower of London. This is where three of Henry VIII’s wives were beheaded and also where the Crown Jewels are kept—pretty neat. There was graffiti from the 1500s carved into the walls by prisoners. I was surprised to learn that there are about 300 residents living in the complex—it’s not just a tower, it’s more of a castle.

Tower Bridge

White Tower (under renovation)

 

Tower Green

And now the reason I skipped the update from the past few days in London: I had to blog about the driving!

We picked up our rental from the airport—a five-speed Peugot. My dad drove out from there to our B&B in Datchet (he’d done this before about 25 years ago), and then it was my turn. First, it’s hard to get used to cars coming at you on the wrong opposite side. Then, most roads are curbed here and they’re narrower. So while I was avoiding traffic coming at me on the right, I rode on the curb a few times. It’ll take a couple of days to get used to it. Believe it or not, I actually did get better as time went on.  I drove from Dachet to Eton and then we walked over to Windsor.  I needed a rest!

Rental Car

Datchet Mead Hotel

Windsor Castle

I just chatted with Fe and the boys online. I miss them.

It's 12:05 AM (GMT) in Dachet, Berkshire

Busy, busy

As I thought, we've been so busy seeing things, I have't had time to blog anything.  My feet hurt!

It's 6:35 PM (GMT) in London

Olde London towne

Landed at Heathrow today at about 1030 am.  The pilot flew a more northerly route to avoid the ash cloud that is still coming from the Eyjafjallajokul volcano in Iceland.  The plane flew by it though, and my dad got some pics, but he has a Sony camera and the memory card is not compatible with my reader.  Damn Sony and their proprietary crap!  Oh well, I'll post it later.

We took a bus from Heathrow to the hotel--it was the cheapest way to go.  When we went to get our bags off the bus though, one of my dad's was missing!  It didn't have his money or passport, but it did have his camera in it.  Luckily, the bus company's lost & found had it.  Someone had mistaken it for theirs and walked off with it, but then turned it in when they realized that. 

As any good intenational traveler knows, the first thing you do in a foreign country is change your money.  I did this after customs at the airport.  I wasn't sure it would fit in my wallet--not because I had so much, but because their money is bigger than ours.

This is what $700 gets you.  God save the Queen!

The first thing we saw in London was the British Museum.  You can never see the whole thing in a day, so we saw the highlights:  the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, and the mummy collection.

The Rosetta Stone

One of the Elgin Marbles

I want my mummies!

We did go to a lot of other places on the first day, but those stories will have to wait until I get back..  The Underground is the best!

My dad and the "Way Out" sign

It's 10:32 PM in London (GMT)