Friday, June 29, 2007
June 30, 2007: 22:17
The more you travel, the more you come to realize just how important toilets really are. There were some nice ones today, but we are tired and must get up early to get to York, so we will update later. Just wanted everyone to know we are still alive and having fun.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The Great Taxi Adventure
We had the continental breaky at our hotel this morning. It was, hands down, the best breakfast I've ever had at a hotel. It was typical continental breakfast food but the quality was better.
We took the underground to Paddington Station. They had a kiosk with Paddington Bear merchandise, which was cute. Tina and I went to a news stand where she bought water and I bought a little journal, a glue stick and a pen. I've decided to keep a travel journal, of sorts, where I glue in the business cards of places I go and write myself comments on what I liked and didn't like. It's now 0:12 so I'll be taking excerpts from that to expedite this entry. But what I think was most fascinating about Paddington Station is that the station was so clean and litter free despite the lack of trash cans of any sort on any part of the platform.
Anyways, In Bath we had lunch at the Cellar Pub. It's name is a very accurate description. But at least it was a clean cellar. We got naans (a pizza like food without sauce) with chips and drinks. All the food was good. The prices were fair. The bathroom was smelly and basement like.
After lunch we walked around for some sightseeing and shopping. This is the Roman Bath, a reminder of the expanse of the Roman Empire's rule. We spent a while picking up gifts in the gift shop.
This is Bath Abbey. In our guide book it told the story of the man who designed it. God spoke to him in a dream and this is how he described the abbey he was to build. At least he was only having strange dreams instead of hearing voices. We weren't allowed to enter the Abbey because there was a college graduation being held in the chapel.
We went to a few small shops (mostly candy stores) that had all sorts of cool, British candy.
This is a pretty statue in a river level park near the Roman Bath and Bath Abbey. It was so quaint with it's well-kept lawns and gardens, free public lawn chairs (I'm sure there's some cooler British term for it, but I don't know it) and sunbathing natives.
Then we took the train to Warchester which is the closest stop to the little town of Longleat, our destination. When we got off the train Tina said we needed to stop at an ATM. Unfortunately there were no ATMs at the station. We had enough to take the taxi from the station to Longleat House.
In spite of the lack of ATM, there was a beautiful stray cat. He was very friendly I wouldn't have minded adopting him.
Anyways, we then took a cab for about 10 pounds to Longleat House. When we went in to find a map and/or purchase tickets to the hedge maze (the only reason that we came) the nice, old man at the countertold us everything closed up at 17:00. It was 16:20ish. The maze was at the very back of the the estate grounds. On the way to the maze we tried to stop at the ATM. No good. It wouldn't read any of our cards. At all. We had, Tina said, 8 pounds. So we went to the maze. It was 3 pounds a person and it didn't take cards either. But that didn't matter because we weren't allowed in. It was too close to closing time. Even though the people before us in line were allowed in.
We followed the signs to an alternate ATM at a gift shop 2/3's of the way across the grounds that still wouldn't read our cards. Tina and I dug about and found 2 more pounds as well as some odd change. We made our way back to the other ATM which was next to a phone booth where we had some difficulty calling a cab (Okay, I had trouble. Tina did it.)
We walked a short path through a topiary garden where we
saw dragons and witches and stuff cut out of bushes and decorated with moss and flowers.
The whole taxi ride back to the train station, Tina and I kept eying the meter to makes sure it didn't exceed 10 pounds (at which point we planned to stop the taxi and walk the rest of the way). Fortunately we made it back on 9 pounds and change. Safely on the prepaid for train we decided to dine in Bath.
The Rat and Parrot is a cool pub on a back road in Bath. We chose it because it was bold enough to put rat in the name of a food establishment. I had a raspberry collins which was great, with raspberry puree in it. Tina had sweet and sour chicken and I had chicken tikka and we shared chips topped in cheese. I really enjoyed my food and drink. We decided to use the toilets before our long train ride. They were in the basement. The drippy, stinky basement that had puddles all over the floor and no light at all in one stale. I had stinky Bath bathroom water drip on my head. Ew.
Then we caught the train back to Paddington Station and then the underground to the hotel. Where we've continued our unfortunate evening tradition of watching horrible British quiz shows.
And on that note, I'm going to go take a baseball bat to the tv. Or go to bed. Either way.
We took the underground to Paddington Station. They had a kiosk with Paddington Bear merchandise, which was cute. Tina and I went to a news stand where she bought water and I bought a little journal, a glue stick and a pen. I've decided to keep a travel journal, of sorts, where I glue in the business cards of places I go and write myself comments on what I liked and didn't like. It's now 0:12 so I'll be taking excerpts from that to expedite this entry. But what I think was most fascinating about Paddington Station is that the station was so clean and litter free despite the lack of trash cans of any sort on any part of the platform.
Anyways, In Bath we had lunch at the Cellar Pub. It's name is a very accurate description. But at least it was a clean cellar. We got naans (a pizza like food without sauce) with chips and drinks. All the food was good. The prices were fair. The bathroom was smelly and basement like.
After lunch we walked around for some sightseeing and shopping. This is the Roman Bath, a reminder of the expanse of the Roman Empire's rule. We spent a while picking up gifts in the gift shop.
This is Bath Abbey. In our guide book it told the story of the man who designed it. God spoke to him in a dream and this is how he described the abbey he was to build. At least he was only having strange dreams instead of hearing voices. We weren't allowed to enter the Abbey because there was a college graduation being held in the chapel.
We went to a few small shops (mostly candy stores) that had all sorts of cool, British candy.
This is a pretty statue in a river level park near the Roman Bath and Bath Abbey. It was so quaint with it's well-kept lawns and gardens, free public lawn chairs (I'm sure there's some cooler British term for it, but I don't know it) and sunbathing natives.
Then we took the train to Warchester which is the closest stop to the little town of Longleat, our destination. When we got off the train Tina said we needed to stop at an ATM. Unfortunately there were no ATMs at the station. We had enough to take the taxi from the station to Longleat House.
In spite of the lack of ATM, there was a beautiful stray cat. He was very friendly I wouldn't have minded adopting him.
Anyways, we then took a cab for about 10 pounds to Longleat House. When we went in to find a map and/or purchase tickets to the hedge maze (the only reason that we came) the nice, old man at the countertold us everything closed up at 17:00. It was 16:20ish. The maze was at the very back of the the estate grounds. On the way to the maze we tried to stop at the ATM. No good. It wouldn't read any of our cards. At all. We had, Tina said, 8 pounds. So we went to the maze. It was 3 pounds a person and it didn't take cards either. But that didn't matter because we weren't allowed in. It was too close to closing time. Even though the people before us in line were allowed in.
We followed the signs to an alternate ATM at a gift shop 2/3's of the way across the grounds that still wouldn't read our cards. Tina and I dug about and found 2 more pounds as well as some odd change. We made our way back to the other ATM which was next to a phone booth where we had some difficulty calling a cab (Okay, I had trouble. Tina did it.)
We walked a short path through a topiary garden where we
saw dragons and witches and stuff cut out of bushes and decorated with moss and flowers.
The whole taxi ride back to the train station, Tina and I kept eying the meter to makes sure it didn't exceed 10 pounds (at which point we planned to stop the taxi and walk the rest of the way). Fortunately we made it back on 9 pounds and change. Safely on the prepaid for train we decided to dine in Bath.
The Rat and Parrot is a cool pub on a back road in Bath. We chose it because it was bold enough to put rat in the name of a food establishment. I had a raspberry collins which was great, with raspberry puree in it. Tina had sweet and sour chicken and I had chicken tikka and we shared chips topped in cheese. I really enjoyed my food and drink. We decided to use the toilets before our long train ride. They were in the basement. The drippy, stinky basement that had puddles all over the floor and no light at all in one stale. I had stinky Bath bathroom water drip on my head. Ew.
Then we caught the train back to Paddington Station and then the underground to the hotel. Where we've continued our unfortunate evening tradition of watching horrible British quiz shows.
And on that note, I'm going to go take a baseball bat to the tv. Or go to bed. Either way.
June 28, 2007: 23:02
Yes, it's true. I fell and banged up my knee. I also found a bruise this morning on my arm and I don't know how it got there. But what Kristy failed to tell you is that she and I both nearly got hit by a car since we looked the wrong way crossing the street near Parliament. Glad to hear everyone is well there and the puppy is getting along okay. I found my travel sandals today so no falls (unless you count when I tripped walking into the bathroom in our hotel room because I forgot to step up).
I'm going to finish up from yesterday with some pictures and Kristy will post about today later on.
When we visited Parliament, there were a lot of press around because Gordon Brown had just become the new Prime Minister, and also some Torrie switched parties and joined Labour, which was a big deal. Tony Blair got a standing ovation when he finished his last address to Parliament, a rare event that not even Churchill saw at the end of his term in office.
Kristy got a closeup of these gargoyles hanging out at Parliament.
Look, kids! Big Ben! Parliament!
Westminster Abbey was closed when we walked over to it, but lucky for us we came around the back entrance and snuck in, as there was some school concert going on. So we took our own mini tour for free and on the down low. We walked on the graves of lots of people. We might go back when it is open for real.
Kristy and I both loved this statement at the main entrance to the Abbey. If you can't make it out, it says, "May God grant to the living-grace; to the departed-rest; to the church & the world-peace and concord; and to us sinners eternal life."
There were protesters across from Parliament. Some were protesting taxes, some were protesting the war, some seemed just to be protesting the general state of things.
We then went on the London Eye, the largest observation wheel in the world. We had reserved our tickets online to avoid a long wait when we got there. However, we arrived early so we ducked into a bar for a drink while we waited.
However, it had started pouring when we emerged from the bar. The lady at the ticket counter said we could wait out the rain to go on, but as we had no idea how long this would be and also knew that the large crowd inside the ticket office was doing that very thing, we decided to go ahead in the rain. Notice the raindrops on the lower part of the picture.
At any rate, Kristy got postcard-quality photos once we were over 1/2 way up. Here is a great shot of Parliament with Big Ben at the front.
An aerial view of Buckingham Palace.
Here is the view from the tippity top. Not something Mom would enjoy, for sure. There was a group of 3 Scottish women and their children in the car with us. One of the woman would not move from the bench in the center of the car. There are little tiny flecks from left to right in the center of the shot. Those are people on the ground.
This is a pretty gold eagle Kristy saw on the side of the Thames.
When we were done with the Eye,
it was still raining and about 9 PM (2100), so we made our way back to the Underground. It was at this point that we nearly got run over. Luckily, the hospital was across the way, so we wouldn't have had to go far. We used our Oyster cards to travel back to Earl's Court, where we are staying. We felt like proper visitors, having gotten the hang of public transport in London.
Once back, we stopped into the hotel to change into dry clothing before heading to a neighborhood pub for a late dinner. Amazing thing: I hate guacamole in the States but love it here. They make it with more onions, I think, and better spices. We had chicken sandwiches with chips, which were okay, but the chips were pretty good. Then back to the hotel, where we watched this totally annoying real-time game show, Make Your Play, where people call in to solve word puzzles. This one puzzle was on air for over 30 minutes with no one guessing the answer, and even the hostess was getting bored. There were barely any calls coming in. We stayed up until 1 AM waiting for someone to guess, and finally shut it off and went to bed, even though they were still playing. I checked when I woke up around 3 AM, and they were finally on to another game.
I'm off to bed now. Kristy has said she will blog about today, though I think we will be posting fewer pictures and more text because it is taking a long time to load all the pictures.
I'm going to finish up from yesterday with some pictures and Kristy will post about today later on.
When we visited Parliament, there were a lot of press around because Gordon Brown had just become the new Prime Minister, and also some Torrie switched parties and joined Labour, which was a big deal. Tony Blair got a standing ovation when he finished his last address to Parliament, a rare event that not even Churchill saw at the end of his term in office.
Kristy got a closeup of these gargoyles hanging out at Parliament.
Look, kids! Big Ben! Parliament!
Westminster Abbey was closed when we walked over to it, but lucky for us we came around the back entrance and snuck in, as there was some school concert going on. So we took our own mini tour for free and on the down low. We walked on the graves of lots of people. We might go back when it is open for real.
Kristy and I both loved this statement at the main entrance to the Abbey. If you can't make it out, it says, "May God grant to the living-grace; to the departed-rest; to the church & the world-peace and concord; and to us sinners eternal life."
There were protesters across from Parliament. Some were protesting taxes, some were protesting the war, some seemed just to be protesting the general state of things.
We then went on the London Eye, the largest observation wheel in the world. We had reserved our tickets online to avoid a long wait when we got there. However, we arrived early so we ducked into a bar for a drink while we waited.
However, it had started pouring when we emerged from the bar. The lady at the ticket counter said we could wait out the rain to go on, but as we had no idea how long this would be and also knew that the large crowd inside the ticket office was doing that very thing, we decided to go ahead in the rain. Notice the raindrops on the lower part of the picture.
At any rate, Kristy got postcard-quality photos once we were over 1/2 way up. Here is a great shot of Parliament with Big Ben at the front.
An aerial view of Buckingham Palace.
Here is the view from the tippity top. Not something Mom would enjoy, for sure. There was a group of 3 Scottish women and their children in the car with us. One of the woman would not move from the bench in the center of the car. There are little tiny flecks from left to right in the center of the shot. Those are people on the ground.
This is a pretty gold eagle Kristy saw on the side of the Thames.
When we were done with the Eye,
it was still raining and about 9 PM (2100), so we made our way back to the Underground. It was at this point that we nearly got run over. Luckily, the hospital was across the way, so we wouldn't have had to go far. We used our Oyster cards to travel back to Earl's Court, where we are staying. We felt like proper visitors, having gotten the hang of public transport in London.
Once back, we stopped into the hotel to change into dry clothing before heading to a neighborhood pub for a late dinner. Amazing thing: I hate guacamole in the States but love it here. They make it with more onions, I think, and better spices. We had chicken sandwiches with chips, which were okay, but the chips were pretty good. Then back to the hotel, where we watched this totally annoying real-time game show, Make Your Play, where people call in to solve word puzzles. This one puzzle was on air for over 30 minutes with no one guessing the answer, and even the hostess was getting bored. There were barely any calls coming in. We stayed up until 1 AM waiting for someone to guess, and finally shut it off and went to bed, even though they were still playing. I checked when I woke up around 3 AM, and they were finally on to another game.
I'm off to bed now. Kristy has said she will blog about today, though I think we will be posting fewer pictures and more text because it is taking a long time to load all the pictures.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
June 27, 2007: 23:42
Here are a couple of observations regarding toilets on transportation: There is often a breeze when you sit down that Kristy does not care for, but I would say it is not unpleasant. In a bus bathroom, there is an emergency release on the window in case you get trapped. Which I guess is a good thing, but I would hate to be in the position to ever have to use it. When flying at 35,000 feet, the toilet flush could possibly take a piece of your clothing with it if you weren't careful.
And now, the trip...
Our flights were pretty smooth. Very long, but smooth. I did leave my Discover Card at a vendor in JFK, and was told to go to three different places to pick it up from security, the last being the gate for my flight. Which was good because the flight was about to board. Unfortunately, the security guard never brought my card and said I then had to go down into the basement to get it, and miss my flight! I said no, I will just cancel the frigging card, and got on the plane.
Here are some pictures of what we did today:
Here is Buckingham Palace. The flag over the entrance means that the Queen is in residence today. When Princess Diana died, many Brits were in an outrage that the Queen did not fly the flag at half mast, but the Queen was not in residence then and she maintained that Diana was not royalty anymore anyhow. Bloody Queen!
And here are the guards. I remember them wearing those big tall hats when I was here last time, but maybe that was the one they made stand outside the Guards Museum that I was remembering. These guards do a sharp little march every half hour or so that serves no purpose but to impress the gawking tourists, so we obliged and gawked while they marched about 20 paces away from the gate and then back.
A shot of the ornate gold-plated gate at the entrance to St. James's Park. It's a lovely park with giant ducks. The ducks here are much larger than the ducks in the U.S.
This is the Victoria Memorial located in front of Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria is facing the Mall, flanked by the Angel of Justice and the Angel of Truth. Behind her facing the Palace is a figure representing Charity. Above her is Victory. It's quite pretty with a pool of water and several fountains surrounding it.
Here is a view from the Southeast, featuring the Angel of Justice. Very dramatic against the cloudy sky. Nice job, Kristy!
The Mall.
And we did a lot more today but it is late and I must get up early tomorrow so I'll have to post the pics later. We also went to Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and on the London Eye. Goodnight!
And now, the trip...
Our flights were pretty smooth. Very long, but smooth. I did leave my Discover Card at a vendor in JFK, and was told to go to three different places to pick it up from security, the last being the gate for my flight. Which was good because the flight was about to board. Unfortunately, the security guard never brought my card and said I then had to go down into the basement to get it, and miss my flight! I said no, I will just cancel the frigging card, and got on the plane.
Here are some pictures of what we did today:
Here is Buckingham Palace. The flag over the entrance means that the Queen is in residence today. When Princess Diana died, many Brits were in an outrage that the Queen did not fly the flag at half mast, but the Queen was not in residence then and she maintained that Diana was not royalty anymore anyhow. Bloody Queen!
And here are the guards. I remember them wearing those big tall hats when I was here last time, but maybe that was the one they made stand outside the Guards Museum that I was remembering. These guards do a sharp little march every half hour or so that serves no purpose but to impress the gawking tourists, so we obliged and gawked while they marched about 20 paces away from the gate and then back.
A shot of the ornate gold-plated gate at the entrance to St. James's Park. It's a lovely park with giant ducks. The ducks here are much larger than the ducks in the U.S.
This is the Victoria Memorial located in front of Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria is facing the Mall, flanked by the Angel of Justice and the Angel of Truth. Behind her facing the Palace is a figure representing Charity. Above her is Victory. It's quite pretty with a pool of water and several fountains surrounding it.
Here is a view from the Southeast, featuring the Angel of Justice. Very dramatic against the cloudy sky. Nice job, Kristy!
The Mall.
And we did a lot more today but it is late and I must get up early tomorrow so I'll have to post the pics later. We also went to Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and on the London Eye. Goodnight!
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