Warwick 2001

23 February 2001 – WARWICK – I left after class on Friday to visit my coworker at Ford from last summer, Jennifer C, for the weekend. After long, late and overcrowded trains, I finally arrived. Jennifer picked me up at the station, and we went grocery shopping. She and her husband Jeff were having two other American coworkers over for a Mexican Fiesta dinner. I helped prepare dinner and met John and Stan. Dinner was excellent (oh, how I’ve missed Mexican food!). They talked about work and things. We had ice cream after dinner and watched a show on TV about the Loch Ness Monster. Got to bed around midnight, but I was so tired.

24 Feb – Jennifer dropped me off at the Warwick Castle around when it opened at 10. Good thing, because there weren’t too many people around. The Warwick Castle is really nice, because it was never destroyed, and was used until the 70s. They had some interesting displays, especially the very realistic wax figures. I spent about 2½ hours there, then I called Jennifer to pick me up. We took a drive to Leamington Spa and ate a picnic lunch in the park. It was pretty cold – a little above freezing, I think. We walked around the stores in Leamington before driving up to Coventry. We saw the bombed-out cathedral there before coming back. Later, we all went out to eat with Stan and John in Solihull, a suburb of Birmingham. We couldn’t get in to eat until 8:30 at the California Pizza Factory, so we went across the street to a swank bar to kill time. Jennifer and I got hot chocolates with Bailey’s. At the pizza place, I got a nummy vegetarian pizza. We went back to the bar after dinner, only to find that it was snowing out! We got home about 11 and I was so tired.

  

View from Warwick Castle

 

Coventry Cathedral

25 Feb – Today we took a drive through the pretty Cotswolds. Some of the views at the tops of the hills were fantastic. It was barely over freezing today. We stopped in Bourton-on-the-Water for a look around. It was very pretty. We continued on to Stratford-upon-Avon. As expected, it was crowded with tourists. We walked down to Shakespeare’s birthplace, then over to the church he’s buried in, but we couldn’t go in. I bought my obligatory postcard. From Stratford, we drove straight back to Warwick. I helped make dinner, and we had a quiet evening.

Cara by Shakespeare's birthplace

26 Feb – This morning, Jennifer took me with her in to work at Jaguar. I got to see the miles of cubicles there. A lot like what I saw at Ford, only a lot more compact area. I met a few of the people she works with, then she sent me on my way at the Coventry train station. Had a nice, reasonably quiet ride back.

{transcribed 2/10/2020}

London 2001

16 February 2001 – LONDON- Megan and I left for London after class on Friday. The train was waiting at the station for us. It was another gorgeous, sunny day, and we watched the countryside flash past on the way here. Did a little reading. Pulled into Paddington Station@ 4:40. We got a crash-course in using the London Underground. Many people rushing about! We took the Tube to King’s Cross/St Pancras St. Didn’t really know where our hostel was, but we eventually found it. It’s called Ashlee House, and it seems so much cleaner and nicer than the one in Bath. Our room is a little cramped with 5 bunkbeds, but it’s not bad. Megan and I had the idea to try and see a show tonight. We tossed our stuff here, got changed quickly, then were out the door ~ 6. We took the Tube to Leicester Sq, deep in Soho. Lots of people around. We were thinking of seeing Chicago, but we ended up walking the wrong way, straight toward Les Mis, so we decided to see that. Waited in line to get two restricted view seats in the upper dress circle for £11 each. We ate dinner at this little soup shop down the street. I bought a Les Mis lapel pin. Our seats weren’t bad at all. I was on the very end of a row, and I just couldn’t see the downstage portion of my side of the stage. The show was marvelous, and we got tiny cups of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at intermission. Ah! So wonderful. We took the Tube straight back and went to bed.

Cara and Megan

17 Feb – Our first full day in London! I got up ~7:30. Ate a free breakfast of toast and cereal with Megan and these two Canadian girls we met, Jess and Randi. We all took the Tube to Charing Cross station around 10. Megan and I wanted to get tickets to see Chicago tonight. They only had one cheap one, so we passed. Looked into a few other shows before getting £10 tickets to see Madame Melville. Macauley Culkin (insert “Home Alone” face here) is in it. We walked and saw St. Martin-In-The-Fields by Trafalgar Square. From there, we walked past St. James Park toward Buckingham Palace. Then we walked to Westminster Abbey. Saw {heard} Big Ben strike noon on the way. We walked through the Abbey, then headed over by the Thames for a look around. It’s a very nice, sunny day. A little chilly, but not bad. From there, we took the Tube to St. Paul’s Cathedral. We looked for a place to eat around there, but nothing was open. We were going to go into the Cathedral, but at £4, it wasn’t worth it, so I bought a postcard instead. We walked on to the nearest station to catch the Tube to the Tower of London. We caught a bite to eat nearby, then went over to buy tickets. Alas, it was too late to catch a tour, so it didn’t seem worth it. We took pictures of the Tower Bridge instead. I was started to feel a bit tired by this point. We took the Tube over to the London Bridge just for the novelty of singing “London Bridge is falling down” while walking across. We walked a little ways over to the replica of the Globe Theatre. It was pretty chilly and overcast by this time. Took the Tube back to King’s Cross. I really, really like London. It may be busy and swarming with tourists and viciously expensive, but everything is so grand and royal and oozes with history. And it’s just so lovely! I have to find a proper souvenir. We all went out to dinner at a little Indian/Balti restaurant just down the street. We were the only ones there! The food was good, but Megan and I had to dash out or risk missing the start of the show. We got to the theater with 15 minutes to spare. Our seats were up high in the square. Still gave us a pretty good view of the whole stage. Not knowing what to expect, I thought the show was good. It’s about a French teacher and 15-year-old student in 1966 Paris, set over the course of two days. Very well acted. We came straight back from the theater. My tummy was giving me fits, so I went straight to bed. There was a disturbance in the room last night – the police came in and asked a guy to leave, I guess.

 

Tower Bridge

Trafalgar Square

18 Feb – We both went out with Jess and Randi again this morning. They’re both from Canada’s west coast area. They’re traveling around Europe for three months, sounds really interesting! We took the Tube to get us to the Tower of London when it opened at 10. Long line, but we bought our tickets and jumped in a Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) guided tour. Our tour guide gave us information about gruesome executions and the buildings for the Tower. For being so old, it’s really been kept in great condition. He explained the Traitors Gate, the Bloody Tower, and the ravens around the White Tower. I got a picture with some Beefeaters after the tour. We looked around and when the line was short enough, we went to see the Crown Jewels. Ooooh, sparkly. Very nice. From there, we walked in and around the White Tower. It was full of old armor, cannon, guns, etc. Got a little old after a while. We walked in the Bloody Tower, and the Medieval Palace before deciding we’d had enough. We went to a nearby shop and I bought an Underground “Mind the Gap” magnet. We split off from Randi and Jess and headed to Piccadilly Circus. For being Sunday, it was heavily touristed. Megan and I got a way-overpriced lunch before walking toward Hyde Park. I stopped at the Hard Rock Café (the very first one!) and bought a bin and tank. Megan and I walked through Hyde Park and Kensington Park. It was so green and lovely, people all around, flowers poking up. I got my picture taken by the Peter Pan statue. From there, we took the Tube to Baker Street. “Sherlock Holmes” met us outside the station and I got my picture with him. At the Sherlock Holmes museum, I bought a little Baker Street sign. We got back on the Tube and headed for Charing Cross. We took in Evensong at St. Martin’s. After the service, we walked around the area in search of a restaurant for dinner. Ended up at a little French café, where we got crepes. We took the Tube from there to Piccadilly Circus to see it all lit up at night. A lot like NYC, I guess (through I’ve never been there). We took the Tube back to King’s Cross. I made Megan walk over to the railway station, so I could get a picture by Platform Nine and Three-Quarters [Harry Potter – where the Hogwarts Express leaves from]. My feet were absolutely dead by this time. No more walking, please! Walked back to the hostel, and took it easy for the rest of the evening, as we’re leaving in the morning.

 

Cara with Beefeaters at the Tower of London

Pre-Cumberbatch Sherlock

What platfom 9-3/4 really looks like...

Obligatory photo op

19 Feb – Got up and out by 9. We exchanged email with Jess and Randi. Got to the train station a bit early, so bought a little food for the journey. Megan bought a stuffed Paddington Bear. The train was pretty crowded the whole way. Eventually made it back.

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Bath 2001

3 Feb 2001 – BATH – Megan and I made plans to start using our BritRail passes right away. We decided to go to Bath. I had heard and read a lot about it, and it was pretty close to Stonehenge. We left early Saturday morning There were a lot of football (soccer) and rugby fans already drinking and cheering at 8:30 in the morning. We were on a direct train to Bath, but there was some problem, so we had to get on a different train and make a connection in Newport. We finally got to Bath around 11. It is a gorgeous city. All the buildings are made of the same honey=colored stone, so there’s a sense of calming coordination. We checked into our hotel and found our room. We’re in Blues & Jazz, and I’m in the Billie Holliday bunk. Kind of grimy, but it’s cheap. £12.50. We took off walking towards the Abbey, which was very close. Stopped into the tourist information center for some maps. We wanted to see if there were any shows we could see at the Royal Theatre, so we walked that way. The city center was cluttered with shops and people, a lot like Swansea. No go at the theater, so we walked back to the Abbey to start our walking tour. We went inside. It was beautiful with all the stained glass windows and vaulted ceiling. It was interesting, because there were old “grave” markers on the walls and floors everywhere. From there, we took a tour of the roman Baths. Very interesting. We came up through the Pump Room. We were getting hungry, so we looked into going to Sally Lunn’s, but it was too expensive. Ate our sandwiches while we walked to the Jane Austen Centre. Megan wanted to go there. That was also interesting, but less so for me, because I’ve never read any of her work. From there, we walked by the Royal Crescent and The Circus to the Assembly Room and Museum of Costume. That was something I was very interested in. They had pieces dating back to 1660. From there, we got pizza at a nice Italian restaurant. We decided it best if we went home Sunday night, so we walked to the train station to check what time we could get back to Swansea. It was after 6, so most of the shops had closed, so it was dark and somewhat eerie. Came back to the hotel to find a few of our friends from Swansea (exchange) were staying there also. Chatted with them for a bit. Megan and I wanted to find a nice place to read and drink some tea. We ended up at a restaurant by the Abbey. The ventilation was poor, so even through only two people were smoking, my eyes were burning and I couldn’t breathe, so we left. Came back and I took a shower, then read a bit before calling it a night. I’m just really tired.

  

Bath Abbey

Roman Baths

Cara outside the Pump Room

4 Feb – Today was a rather mystical, exciting, charming, quaint, and very rainy day. Megan and I started off the day bright and early as we made our way to the meeting place by the Abbey for the Mad Max tour. 16 of us crammed into a minibus and began our journey to Stonehenge. Our tour guide was really friendly and informative. The drive took about 50 minutes. It started raining on the way there. We could make out some burial mounds around the area as we got closer to Stonehenge. When we pulled in, it really started to rain. Good thing I had my jacket and umbrella. Paid £3 to get in. Couldn’t go up very close to the stones. They actually weren’t quite what I expected. It seemed a lot smaller than how it’s shown on the Discovery Channel, etc. Anyway, we were getting really wet, so we cut our time outside short and headed back. I got two postcards. From there, we drove past Woodhenge to Avebury. It was still raining there. Here, we got to walk up next to the stones, give them a hug if we liked. Avebury has a huge henge (ditch and mound), and has a village built right in the center as a Christians-against-Paganism movement long ago. The weather was better by the time we left. We drove past Silbury Hill, the largest man-made object in prehistoric Europe. It’s just a big hill, well-engineered, with its purpose being a mystery. From there, we saw the Cherhill White Horse, made when the soil was removed from the hillside in the shape of a horse in 1780. We drove on to Lacock for lunch. It’s almost entirely owned by the National Trust, a sort of historical preservation society. It’s very small, and the houses date from 13th to 18th centuries. It only rained here once we got back on the bus. From Lacock, we drove to “the prettiest village in England,” Castle Coombe. If you can call it a village. It had one street and fifty houses, but it was really quite charming (and wet). The movie Dr. Doolittle was set here. We went back to Bath after that, then Megan and I caught trains back to Swansea, where it was also raining.

Getting rained on at Stonehenge

The Barber Stone at Avebury

Cara in Castle Coombe

{transcribed 2/10/2020}