Da Trip
Part Four

Thursday, April 8
Tintern, 9:42pm

blankExcept for one thing, today was great.
blankThat thing manifested when we were getting ready to leave after a nice breakfast (during which our hostess told us about a locl wild swan wihch mated with a grey-and-black goose when its mate died, and produced offspring!). My camera's batteries are dead. Very dead. No more photos until I get a new pair! And, of course, the local shop (which we had to wait for to open) didn't have the kind I need. Gr.

blankAnyhoo, we took a nice walk up on the English side of the river Wye. It was pretty steep in parts and often slippery because of recent rains, but wonderful anyway. We went up to Devil's Pulpit, a huge stone overlooking the Abbey. Legend has it that Satan stood on it and hassled the Monks who were working on the Abbey.
blankThe Abbey itself (which we'll hit tomorrow) is amazing, and we had some great views of it on the way out. There were also lovely views of fields and farms (Wordsworth's description of the "hedgerows, hardly hedgerows, mere sportive lines of wood run wild" is amazingly apt). There were wildflowers everywhere, too, from the biggest, brightest dandilions I've ever seen to gorgeous little violets, sheltered from hikers' boots by rocks in the path.
blankWe had lunch at the old Tintern railway station (now a museum of sorts), wwalked down to the Abbey (where we found out it was closed, and postponed our visit to tomorrow), then came back to the B&B to hang out.
blankI read a great book I picked up this morning (the little shop we tried for batteries didn't open for another half-hour when we hit it this morning, so we killed time by browsing in the town bookstore).

blankBedtime...

Friday, April 9
London, Lateish

blankI can't believe our two weeks are up already! Tomorrow, Mom and I hit Heathrow at 9am, say our fond farewells, and she leaves! granted, I'll be visiting Westminster and Salisbury after dropping her off, so my vacation's not quite over, but STILL! WOW!
blankToday was cool, though.
blankWe started off with Tintern Abbey, which was amazing. The church is the only building with most of itself intact but the walkman tour did a great job of describing where things were, and what it all probably looked like. There weren't many people around, and in the grey morning, it was delightfully peaceful. Even a lawnmower (which started up about halfway through our tours) couldn't entirely dispel the ruins' power.
blankThe giftshop was a delingt - I got some beautiful Celtic stationary, some postcards, a poster, and a pair of repoduction coinds (one from Richard III's reign! For only one pound, I couldn't resist). I also managed to visit that bookstore again, and spend 3 pounds on old postcards of the Abbey, before our hostess took us into town.

blankWe managed to find a cheap lunch and batteries for my camera before visiting another set of ruins - Chepstow castle.
blankIt was cool - there was a great display on the arms and armour of the English Civil war and the various stages of the castle's construction.
blankAfter a pleasant dinner (and a visit to another bookstore for me, where I got a collection of Jane Austen quotations and Notes from a Small Island) we headed for Heathrow, where the Tourist Info folks in Chepstow had booked us a room (at the Heathrow Sheraton, ooooh, aaah).
blankGetting here proved a bit tricky - our first train was VERY late, and to get to the hotel shuttlebus, we had to go to one of the actual airport terminals. But we made it. And the shuttle driver was sorta cute and rather flirty, so I'm happy.
blankMom's a bit miffed at the hotel - they took her credit card number and all our room requirements, and then didn't have a room actually set aside for us!

blankIt's been a great trip, but I think I'm ready for it to draw to a close. I'm eager for classes to start back up, and to get back to reading about Richard III!

Saturday, April 10
Bath, 11:52pm

blankToday has been quite nice, mostly in unexpected ways!
blankMom and I had a decent breakfast (with the most obsequious waiter I've ever seen) and I hung out in the check-in line with ma at the airport before saying goodbye.

blankI then headed for Westminster (via the Heathrow Express train to Paddington). This took some doing, as the Circle line in the direction I wanted had been held up for quite a while, and the platform was packed. I eventually gave up and took the train heading the other way (true to its name, the Circle line runs in a circle). It was a longer trip, but more interesting than waiting.
blankWestminster was quite impressive, and only cost me 4 poinds (3 to get in plus 1 for the set-aside bits). I gaped at everything, and even managed not to spit on Henry VII's tomb.
blankThat took a couple of hours (including a visit to the gift shop, where I bought postcards, a painting book of Celtic interlace, and a book on the Wars of the Rosees). Then I headed for Bath.

blankThis was also a bit of a challenge, as the rail between Swindon and Bath was being worked on, and we had to get a bus at Swindon to take us to Bath. Oy.
blankBut, in one of the unexpectedly nice bits, I ended up sitting with a sweet old German guy on the train (and then the bus as well), who shared his killer German Chocolate bar with me and told me about his experiences in the States as a mining engineer, and his travels with his wife (who, as a veternarian, judged international dog shows). He even told me a bit about having to leave East Germany when the War was over!
blankIn Bath, I hit the tourist board immediately, only to learn that they had no rain info at all and the only bus tour of Stonehenge and Avebury left at 1pm. Oy. So, I visited my B&B (the Gardens again) to drop off my lugggage, then hit the triain station for schedules.
blankI also visited a low-price bookshop, where I got a Roman mystery, The Making of The Scarlet Pimpernel, and A Richard III Source Book, and the Post Office, where I got a tube to protect my already-mangled Tintern poster. See, a freak at Westminster left a baby buggy in the way, and when I went to move it, it fell over - when I grabbed at it, I accidentily closed my hadn too itght around the poster. Grrr). Then I nabbed a pastry from a corner shop (and some Hula Hoops and a softdrink) and had dinner al fresco in the park. (Note: Hula Hoops are like small tubular Pringles potato chips, and I adore them)
blankI originally planned to read a bit and write a letter or two, but it was getting dark and cold, so I hit the Gardens once again. I'd settled in to read a bit when a fellow-border in the single room near mine asked if I'd like to have a bit of wine with him, as he didn't want to have to drink the entire bottle himself. I thought, What the hell? and said yes.
blankWe talked until 11:30!
blankHis name's Richard (quite a coincidence, that), and he's here because his youngest son is doing a triathalon camp at the local university. He's quite nice and wonderfully British, and I had a delightful time, drinking wine from a teacup and discussing travel, film, music... everything!

Sunday, April 11
York, Late!

blankToday was pretty cool - Richard gave me a lift to the train station. On the downside, I wasn't able to find a place to leave my luggage OR to get out to Avebury. But Stonehenge was amazing, and I managed to see Salisbury Cathedral before sprinting for my train (well, jogging. It's hard to run with a backpack on).
blankActually, I should clarify what I mean about Stonehenge. The place is amazing. It has a power, a feel about it that is fascinating. The weather was gorgeous, as well - bright, with huge fluggy clouds blown around by the wind. I wasn't nearly as impressed by the audio tour. It was full of info I already knew, and didn't give evidence for 90% of its claims. There was some cute stuff in it (an ongoing argument between a shepherd and his mother about the origin of the structure), but overall it was only so-so.

blankWhen I got back to Salisbury, I set out insearch of the Cathedral. It was hard to miss, as it has the tallest spire in England. But figureing out which path to take was the hard part. I ended up with a pair of somewhat inebrieted locals as guides - they'd been drinking in a park I waked through, and asked if my pack was heavy. They seemed impressed by my strength and said they were heading over to the cathedral and would show me the way.
blankI can't help chuckling a little when I think back to them - two college-age guys (one actually rather cute), assuring me that they weren't alcoholics, and managing to be fairly embarassed by themselves. It was rather flattering, though - at one point they had a brief discussion: the cute one was bugged that his companion had lost his grip on his beer and dropped it, and said I was "a top gal" or something similar.
blankAnyway, the Cathedral was pretty cool - but I couldn't see it all because ther was a service about to start. I had to run to catch my train, but made it. It took about five hours to get back to my dorm, and when I finally did, I was friggin wiped. Fortunately, there was a cash machine in the train station, so I got dough and took a cab back here.