So, I realize I've been terrible and haven't posted since our first couple days here. I'm just going to cover our time in York in this post and then I'll cover the rest in more. Once again, I'm sorry for the delay.
York:
My cousin David arranged a couple days in York for us. His mum, Aunt Margaret, picked us up in the morning and took us to meet him at the train station. We took the train to York, making several changes at Cambridge, Ely, and Peterborough. When we arrived, we hiked the couple kilometers to the hotel. The hotel, which he had also arranged, was amazing. Not only did it have an amazing breakfast each morning (free of charge) but the appliances in the rooms were really great. I think I might even buy one of the ipod docks.
We decided to make the York Minster our first stop. This has really been a trip full of churches. After having seen the churches at Lavenham, Bury St. Ed's, and Thaxted, the Minster was a must see. Not only was the church itself amazing, but it's tower (a whopping 275 steps above the ground) offered an amazing view of York. We then took a trip down to the crypt where lie the remains of both the original 1100 Saxon church which was built there (hence why it is called a "minster") as well as the Roman ruins which date back to about 300. In fact, Constantine was in York when the current emperor died and he was named emperor in 306, although it took him until 310 to solidify his rule against his rivals.
We topped off the night with a ghost walk which left from the King's Arms pub. Apparently, this pub, which is right down next to the water, floods all the time! The walk took us all around York from Clifford's tower to the Shambles and back. Finishing off with a pint, we headed back to the hotel.
The second day we set out to see everything. We did the Yorvik viking center to start, touring the site of the ancient viking city beneath the streets of York itself! The street names were even the same! The Viking "Coppregatte" or "Cup Maker" steet is the modern day "Coppergate". From there, we headed over to the York dungeon, facing down the black death, Guy Fawkes and even Dick Turpin, the famous highway man who was hanged in York for stealing the horse "Black Bess". Afterwards, we hightailed it over to the Castle Museum where we experienced the streets of york as they would have been in victorian times, and in the 60's. We also wandered through exhibits in what used to be the jail! I tried to lock Gwen in but she escaped... :-P
We stopped in at Clifford tower for another view of York. I nearly tripped over my own feet playing hopscotch with the rocks on the top walkway. At that point, we were really tired and decided to go back to the hotel to regroup before dinner. Dinner was at this amazing Italian restaurant. The food was so good that I couldn't finish my chocolate cake dessert.
We woke up early the next day (Saturday) and hopped the train back to Audley End. However, there was no rest for the weary as that night was the Strange's Burn's Night celebration. Burn's Night is a gathering held to honor the Scottish poet Robert Burns. The tradition centers around hagis, a scottish delicacy which involves some sort of meat stuffed inside a lamb's stomach and cooked. The hagis is brought in, traditionally to bag pipe music, and then a poem (usually Burns' "Ode to The Hagis") is read. The ladies may also be addressed and then everyone takes a shot of whiskey, and the hagis is stabbed before being served. I had the honor of stabbing it. We Americans acquitted ourselves quite well. We began with the champagne, moved on to pink champagne, finished our whiskey and ended the night with both red and white wine. By the end of the night we were both exhausted and slightly tipsy.
This brings us up to our second Sunday. We pretty much lazed around, with the exception of Claudia and myself who went to the barn for a ride on Polly. I will leave the tales of this last week to another post as they include more fun and, oddly enough, more churches. Once again, I apologize for the delay in posts, we've just been so busy and enjoying ourselves so much! Our hosts have all been amazing!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
England Stage one - Recovery/The Countryside
We took a day to recover. We woke up and braved the AGA to try and make our own breakfast. Emboldened by our success with fried eggs and toast, we made an attempt to use the washing machine to try and get some laundry done. The day was certainly needed. The next day was spent putzing around at the barn for a bit. We met Pollyanna the new pony. She's a beautiful Conamara cross palomino. She's a little tubby and a little obsinante, but Claudia rides her beautifully. After returning home, we read until Uncle John crashed the party and joined us for dinner.
Monday we decided to go into London with Uncle John and check out the British museum. We spent a good 5 hours wandering about the museum, particularly in the Egyptian and Greek wings, admiring pieces of the Sphinx and the Parthenon that we missed. They even had a piece of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus! After a brief stop in "Africa" we finally braved the tube to check out the Tower of London. We were a little late for the tours there, but we spent 2 to 2.5 hours wandering in the medieval castle, crown jewels house and the white tower. Arriving home, we were exhausted and I was finally coming down with that nasty cold that Gwen has had.
Tuesday, Aunt Margaret asked if she could take us about the British countryside. We admired the cathedral at Lavenham. After wandering the streets and checking out an antique shop, we continued on to Bury St.Edmund's to see their Cathedral, Guild hall and other attractions. Arriving home, we had more wine and chats before finally heading for bed.
Today, we spend the day checking out Finchingfield and Thaxted with Aunt Clare. We even did a proper pub lunch, bangers and mash! We also went shopping for the ingredients of tonight's excellent curry which was amazing!
Tomorrow we're off to York with David for a couple days. So we'll keep you posted later!
Monday we decided to go into London with Uncle John and check out the British museum. We spent a good 5 hours wandering about the museum, particularly in the Egyptian and Greek wings, admiring pieces of the Sphinx and the Parthenon that we missed. They even had a piece of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus! After a brief stop in "Africa" we finally braved the tube to check out the Tower of London. We were a little late for the tours there, but we spent 2 to 2.5 hours wandering in the medieval castle, crown jewels house and the white tower. Arriving home, we were exhausted and I was finally coming down with that nasty cold that Gwen has had.
Tuesday, Aunt Margaret asked if she could take us about the British countryside. We admired the cathedral at Lavenham. After wandering the streets and checking out an antique shop, we continued on to Bury St.Edmund's to see their Cathedral, Guild hall and other attractions. Arriving home, we had more wine and chats before finally heading for bed.
Today, we spend the day checking out Finchingfield and Thaxted with Aunt Clare. We even did a proper pub lunch, bangers and mash! We also went shopping for the ingredients of tonight's excellent curry which was amazing!
Tomorrow we're off to York with David for a couple days. So we'll keep you posted later!
Cruise Day 11-12
The last couple days of the cruise were relatively uneventful. We had a lazy sea day, packing, working out, and even trying our hand at trivia. That evening there was an "adult scavenger hunt". I leave it at that ;-). I did however prove myself to be my father's daughter by winning myself free drinks. Our favorite buddy Hencel had a metal puzzle (a heart on a horse shoe with cross piece) and he told me if I could solve it he would owe me free drinks all night. I honestly didn't think I could do it. Dad is the genius at these things, but suddenly, there was the answer... and my free drinks! We arrived back in Barcelona at the ungodly hour of 5am and had to be off the boat by about 9:30am. So we arrived at the airport with about 8 hours to spare before our flight. This proved to be no problem between napping, eating, and reading.
We had already sought out dinner at the airport and were REALLY surprised when they offered us sandwiches on the airplane. Arriving at Gatwick very late, we were met by the Strange ladies who hauled us back to Unwin's farmhouse (now twice it's original size) in their new American Jeep. The house has expanded amazingly! It's hard to explain, but the kitchen has doubled in size, and the door is now on the other size. There is a second living room (slightly larger than the other one which is now the boys' game room). The upstairs bath room has been expanded and Claudia's room demolished, but three new bedrooms added. I shall try and get pictures so we can play the game "guess what used to be here".
We chatted a bit, but really couldn't keep our eyes open much longer.
We had already sought out dinner at the airport and were REALLY surprised when they offered us sandwiches on the airplane. Arriving at Gatwick very late, we were met by the Strange ladies who hauled us back to Unwin's farmhouse (now twice it's original size) in their new American Jeep. The house has expanded amazingly! It's hard to explain, but the kitchen has doubled in size, and the door is now on the other size. There is a second living room (slightly larger than the other one which is now the boys' game room). The upstairs bath room has been expanded and Claudia's room demolished, but three new bedrooms added. I shall try and get pictures so we can play the game "guess what used to be here".
We chatted a bit, but really couldn't keep our eyes open much longer.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Cruise and afterward Gwen
My head is healing just fine. We loved visiting Malta. I gave in to the carriage ride around the city just because I know how much Beth wanted to do it. :) We had one more day at sea and enjoyed time to pack and get our things in order. We spent the evening hanging out with Hencel and Stacey from College Station (my Texas buddy). We played probably the craziest scavenger hunt (rivals college days). I won't go into details....its kinda one of those things that "what happens on the cruise boat stays on the cruise boat." ;)
We spent the entire Friday in the Barcelona airport. It was pretty interesting. We took a nap in the lobby area for an hour, then ate lunch at this horribly expensive buffet and sat there for 4 more hours reading our respective "trip" books. We left once Beth finished her book and then waited the last 45 min or so in the lobby before being able to check in for our flight. We then finally got to check in our bags and quickly went through security. We grabbed a quick dinner and coffees at the airport before getting on the plane. We actually were served FOOD for FREE on British Airways. :) We arrived and picked up our bags at the claim and walked right out to the Welcoming arms of Beth's Aunt Claire and cousin Claudia. We walked out to the car park to find that they were driving a Jeep Commander!! :) Makes me feel right at home.
We got to the house and were fed tea. (I'm going to have so much TEA the next two weeks!!) Beth and I each have our OWN rooms to sleep in and stretch out in. The family is AMAZING: so nice, so fun, so caring. We spent the first day sleeping in, doing laundry, and just plain relaxing. We took the dog, Hetty, out for a walk in the country. We drank lots of wine that night with Aunt Claire and had a long girl talk. We had an English breakfast and then headed out to the stables to meet Polly Anna the pony. We might actually go for a "hack" while we are here. :) Uncle Jonny came home from his business trip at dinner.
Today we woke up with the kids and Uncle Jonny and went into London together with Jonny. He paid for all day travel tickets for us. Its really quite interesting to see how much the Obama inaguration is published in the English newspapers. They realllllly like him! We spent 5 hours at the British Museum gawking at the things that the British Museum collected from the places we've seen in the last two weeks. We also had a great time taking goofy pictures with the artifacts. We then jumped on the tube again and made our way down to the Tower of London. We spent a full two hours there before doing our best to make our way back to the train station. We are now fed...and going to an early bed for a LONG sleep before lunch with 1st cousin twice removed, Aunt Margaret, aka Grim. :) Should be fun!
We spent the entire Friday in the Barcelona airport. It was pretty interesting. We took a nap in the lobby area for an hour, then ate lunch at this horribly expensive buffet and sat there for 4 more hours reading our respective "trip" books. We left once Beth finished her book and then waited the last 45 min or so in the lobby before being able to check in for our flight. We then finally got to check in our bags and quickly went through security. We grabbed a quick dinner and coffees at the airport before getting on the plane. We actually were served FOOD for FREE on British Airways. :) We arrived and picked up our bags at the claim and walked right out to the Welcoming arms of Beth's Aunt Claire and cousin Claudia. We walked out to the car park to find that they were driving a Jeep Commander!! :) Makes me feel right at home.
We got to the house and were fed tea. (I'm going to have so much TEA the next two weeks!!) Beth and I each have our OWN rooms to sleep in and stretch out in. The family is AMAZING: so nice, so fun, so caring. We spent the first day sleeping in, doing laundry, and just plain relaxing. We took the dog, Hetty, out for a walk in the country. We drank lots of wine that night with Aunt Claire and had a long girl talk. We had an English breakfast and then headed out to the stables to meet Polly Anna the pony. We might actually go for a "hack" while we are here. :) Uncle Jonny came home from his business trip at dinner.
Today we woke up with the kids and Uncle Jonny and went into London together with Jonny. He paid for all day travel tickets for us. Its really quite interesting to see how much the Obama inaguration is published in the English newspapers. They realllllly like him! We spent 5 hours at the British Museum gawking at the things that the British Museum collected from the places we've seen in the last two weeks. We also had a great time taking goofy pictures with the artifacts. We then jumped on the tube again and made our way down to the Tower of London. We spent a full two hours there before doing our best to make our way back to the train station. We are now fed...and going to an early bed for a LONG sleep before lunch with 1st cousin twice removed, Aunt Margaret, aka Grim. :) Should be fun!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Beth's Cruise Day 10
Jan 14
We arrived in Malta late. We didn’t even get to disembark until 11:30AM. Our first order of business was to find an internet café where we uploaded quite a few photos and took care of some email and skype business. From there we sought lunch at a lovely little Maltese café. On the way, we stopped to buy new books, having finished the ones we brought. We each, ironically, chose a book that sort of fit both ourselves and our trip. Gwen chose a book that centers around Gaudi and the Sagrada Familia. Mine centers around Alexander the Great and his lost tomb.
From there we wandered down the main street, stopping to admire the Cathedral of St. John. We paid to enter the Armoury of the Grand Masters. Apparently the island was run and protected by these warrior monks the Knights of St.John. They held off the Muslim armies of Suleiman through a siege in 1565. Ten of their number killed 3000 muslims in one assault. The grand masters ruled the order and the one who was the head during the siege (John Valette) had the fortress built and named the city Valetta for himself. Their armament even contained rocket launchers and air guns.
We walked to the gardens of Barakka and then hired a horse carriage to take us around the city and back to the boat. Back onboard we met an awesome couple in the hot tubs. From there we ran to dinner in Alizar and then hurried to catch Lenny Windsor’s comedy in Spinnaker, which sucked. Afterwards, we checked out the Chocoholic Buffet, complete with chocolate dragons etc., before bed.
We arrived in Malta late. We didn’t even get to disembark until 11:30AM. Our first order of business was to find an internet café where we uploaded quite a few photos and took care of some email and skype business. From there we sought lunch at a lovely little Maltese café. On the way, we stopped to buy new books, having finished the ones we brought. We each, ironically, chose a book that sort of fit both ourselves and our trip. Gwen chose a book that centers around Gaudi and the Sagrada Familia. Mine centers around Alexander the Great and his lost tomb.
From there we wandered down the main street, stopping to admire the Cathedral of St. John. We paid to enter the Armoury of the Grand Masters. Apparently the island was run and protected by these warrior monks the Knights of St.John. They held off the Muslim armies of Suleiman through a siege in 1565. Ten of their number killed 3000 muslims in one assault. The grand masters ruled the order and the one who was the head during the siege (John Valette) had the fortress built and named the city Valetta for himself. Their armament even contained rocket launchers and air guns.
We walked to the gardens of Barakka and then hired a horse carriage to take us around the city and back to the boat. Back onboard we met an awesome couple in the hot tubs. From there we ran to dinner in Alizar and then hurried to catch Lenny Windsor’s comedy in Spinnaker, which sucked. Afterwards, we checked out the Chocoholic Buffet, complete with chocolate dragons etc., before bed.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Cruise Days 7 - 9 Gwen
So I felt Beth had the details of the Egypt trip pretty well covered but per the request of "others" I will post on my views of the last couple of days.
Egypt was eye opening. It was incredibly surreal standing in front of the Great Pyramid and not just standing in front but also touching it. I think those photos are worth more than the panoramas but Beth might beg to differ. Also walking through the beautiful mosque and seeing the city was an experience where photos don't do the view the justice it deserves. Cairo was a very very very long day. It was great that we were taken to a lot of different places. I struggled with my hypoglycemia a bit but Beth was a real trooper and stuck with me through the wining and the stubborness that comes with my episodes. We both bought cartoochs. It was very interesting to know the interpretation of the letters according to Hieroglyphics. The things you learn about yourself just by the name you were given. :-P Alexandria was also very interesting city. The dividing line between the three levels of income were staggering. The streets on the west side of the city were very dirty, very crowded, but once we went through the central part of the city, we were exposed to the resort hotels and palaces of rulers. The water is gorgeous. The blue is barely captured in the pictures.
Once we got back from Alexandria, Beth and I were exhausted. We were very excited about the spa treatment. I was the very last of the group to be taken back. It was a luxurious series of treatments. I felt like a whole new person afterwards. We continued the celebration of being treated like queens to dress up for dinner and enjoy some entertainment.
We had a lazy sea day, per usual. We caught up on the lost sleep from the two pervious long days. I got up early (8:30) and went to breakfast by myself before going back to sleep. After lunch and our workout, I enjoyed a quick snack before we went to the hot tub. I'm pretty sure I could get bored doing this every day but for now I'm soaking up the luxury. We showered and relaxed for a while before getting ready to go to dinner. I was talented enough (with the help of the rough seas) to hit my head on the corner of the chair. I covered my forehead and slowly rolled to the floor. Beth walked over and checked on me, only to notice the blood on my hands. We quickly cleaned up and then went to dinner. More later...the battery is dying. Love you all...we will update on the 17th!
Egypt was eye opening. It was incredibly surreal standing in front of the Great Pyramid and not just standing in front but also touching it. I think those photos are worth more than the panoramas but Beth might beg to differ. Also walking through the beautiful mosque and seeing the city was an experience where photos don't do the view the justice it deserves. Cairo was a very very very long day. It was great that we were taken to a lot of different places. I struggled with my hypoglycemia a bit but Beth was a real trooper and stuck with me through the wining and the stubborness that comes with my episodes. We both bought cartoochs. It was very interesting to know the interpretation of the letters according to Hieroglyphics. The things you learn about yourself just by the name you were given. :-P Alexandria was also very interesting city. The dividing line between the three levels of income were staggering. The streets on the west side of the city were very dirty, very crowded, but once we went through the central part of the city, we were exposed to the resort hotels and palaces of rulers. The water is gorgeous. The blue is barely captured in the pictures.
Once we got back from Alexandria, Beth and I were exhausted. We were very excited about the spa treatment. I was the very last of the group to be taken back. It was a luxurious series of treatments. I felt like a whole new person afterwards. We continued the celebration of being treated like queens to dress up for dinner and enjoy some entertainment.
We had a lazy sea day, per usual. We caught up on the lost sleep from the two pervious long days. I got up early (8:30) and went to breakfast by myself before going back to sleep. After lunch and our workout, I enjoyed a quick snack before we went to the hot tub. I'm pretty sure I could get bored doing this every day but for now I'm soaking up the luxury. We showered and relaxed for a while before getting ready to go to dinner. I was talented enough (with the help of the rough seas) to hit my head on the corner of the chair. I covered my forehead and slowly rolled to the floor. Beth walked over and checked on me, only to notice the blood on my hands. We quickly cleaned up and then went to dinner. More later...the battery is dying. Love you all...we will update on the 17th!
Beth's Cruise Day 9
The 9th day was a sea day. As is now typical of us on a sea day, we slept until about noon. From there we sought out breakfast, and then had some time to do journaling and picture uploads. From there we hit the gym (all that food the night before at Papa's Italian restaurant was getting to us). The boat was REALLY rocking which made running interesting. It was kind of like doing randomized hills. Sometimes I was running uphill, and then downhill... but you never knew when it would get worse or better or change. Afterwards, we spent some time in the hot tub to complete our workout. After showering and reading for a bit it was dinner time. We went to the regular dining room but had the rest of our Chianti (best red I've ever had I think...).
For the evening's entertainment there was comedy in the lounge. So we checked that out and then got all decked out in white for the "White Hot Party". It was white.... It wasn't so hot. It was sort of a bust. But the cruise director was dancing on stilts and I met some nice girls from Iowa so it turned out alright.
We're actually in Malta at the moment at an internet cafe getting the best service we've had in ages. We'll probably do some exploring and post on it later. TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!
For the evening's entertainment there was comedy in the lounge. So we checked that out and then got all decked out in white for the "White Hot Party". It was white.... It wasn't so hot. It was sort of a bust. But the cruise director was dancing on stilts and I met some nice girls from Iowa so it turned out alright.
We're actually in Malta at the moment at an internet cafe getting the best service we've had in ages. We'll probably do some exploring and post on it later. TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!
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