16 March 2001 – I went to class, then waited for Mom, Dad and Cassie to
come to Swansea. Joy of joys, they came! I hadn’t seen them since I left the US
in January. I grabbed some stuff while they looked around the place, then we
set off to find a place to stay. Ended up at the Acorns Guest House, a nice
B&B on Gower Road. From there, we walked to the city centre. I took them to
the Sheep Shop and we ate at Yates by the castle. Then we stopped at the St.
George on the way back for a pint.
17 March – After a lovely English breakfast (for everyone else; I had
tomatoes on toast), we headed out on the M4 to Caerphilly Castle. It was a
horribly cold/windy/slightly damp day. We looked around there for a bit – nice ruins
with a leaning tower. From there, we drove to Cardiff and went to the castle there.
Ooh, so ornate and pretty inside! We walked around for a while, then stopped in
a pub to warm up. We watched the Wales/France rugby game with a bunch of
fanatics. Wales won! From there, went back to Swansea and got a place at a
hotel on the bay. {Forever known to us as
the place with the woman who looked like the “Send in the guards!” lady in
Austin Powers and her Doberman} Went to the Abertawe Alehouse for dinner. Good
food. Then back to bed.
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| Cassie and Cara at Caerphilly Castle |
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| Cassie, Cara, Mom at Cardiff Castle |
18 March – We drove out to the Gower and looked at Three Cliffs Bay and
Worm’s Head, but we couldn’t get very close because Foot and Mouth disease had
closed most paths. From there, we drove on to the Brecon Beacons, a smallish
mountain range north of Cardiff. Huge snow-capped hills and sweeping green
valleys – it was really gorgeous. We drove all the way up to Brecon and were
going to stop, but we got a little lost and ended up quite a ways away. I didn’t
mind, because I got to see more scenery. Finally, found our way back. After a
stop at the tourist information place, we walked up to the cathedral. It was a little
cathedral, compared to what I’ve seen before, but it was still nice. We saw the
castle ruins before heading back to the car. We found a nice B&B in an old
Georgian house. Set off to find some dinner and ended up at a bar. Nice family
entertainment – Cassie and Dad drawing pictures of each other. Went back to the
B&B where we all played Trivial Pursuit. Cass won, and Dad doesn’t like to
lose.
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| Three Cliffs Bay, Wales |
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| Brecon Beacons |
19 March – Another nice breakfast and cold day. We headed south and
went to a living history museum in a 17th century manor outside Cardiff. Then
we headed east to Bath. I think I dozed most of the way. They all went into the
Roman Baths and I did a little shopping and waited for them. Then we set off to
find Stonehenge, which was completely closed (but it wasn’t raining!) and past
Avebury (also closed). We drove back to Swansea and ate dinner at the Toby
Carvery. They dropped me off at my flat, then went back to the Acorns. I’m
going to travel with them the rest of the week, but I have a class I must
attend tomorrow.
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| Period actor in Llancaiach Fawr Manor |
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| In the kitchens at Llancaiach Fawr |
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| Cassie, Dad, Cara in Bath |
20 March – Went to my obligatory class, then met the family at 11 to
take off. We drove north, all the way to Nottingham. Parked, walked to tourist
information. Then we had them book us a hotel and found our way here. Nice
hotel, and we’re getting it pretty cheap. Rested a while, then headed over to
TGIFriday’s for dinner. Nice taste of British-Americanism. I didn’t feel took
well after dinner. We walked to the oldest tavern in England, Ye Olde Tripe to
Jerusalem, for a pint. Walked back to the hotel for an early night.
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| Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem |
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| In the Ye Olde... |
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| Robin Hood statue by night... |
21 March – Got up at 6:45 to use the pool. I swam laps for 20 minutes,
then came back up. Rest of the family was still sleeping. It was nasty-looking
outside – windy, snow blowing. Ugh – like being back home in November. Ate
breakfast, then headed out in the snow to the shopping center to tour the Caves
of Nottingham. Everyone was a bit short-tempered today, and the snow didn’t
help much, either. Toured the man-made caves, then went to the Nottingham Castle.
More art gallery than castle. We left Nottingham and drove to York. Stayed in a
Holiday Inn Express. We ate dinner at a neighboring pub before going into town
to go on a ghost walk. It was nice that the weather cleared up a bit while on
the tour. It was more informative than spooky or scary (or so I thought). Got a
nice tour of the city at night, too. We came straight back to the hotel
afterwards. Hope everybody feels better tomorrow…
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| ... Robin Hood statue by snowy day |
22 March – Move lovely weather greeted us in the morning – great gobs
of snow falling from the sky. We parked and rode into York. There, we went to
the Minster and toured the foundations and crypt, and then walked through the
streets. It started to rain a bit, so we ducked into a café called Betty’s for
a bite of lunch. Super swank place. We left York and drove on to Cambridge. The
weather got a lot milder as we went south. We walked through the city center to
get tourist info, then found the B&B they booked. Pretty nice place – we’re
all in the same room. Relaxed for a bit, then set off on foot to get dinner.
Ended up at La Margarita for some Italian. Quiet place. After dinner, went to a
pub for a drink, then back to the B&B.
23 March – Up, breakfasted and out by 10 this morning. We drove all the
way to Dover and got some hints of white cliffs. Had the idea to take the
ferry/hovercraft/etc. over to Calais, just because we could. Had a few hours to
kill before the next crossing, so we walked through the downtown. Cassie and I
looked around at shops, then met Mom and Dad in a pub. Went to the docks,
bought tickets, then waited. Crossing took about an hour on a Hoverspeed
SeaCat. Even through it was pretty misty and cloudy, got a nice view of the
cliffs. The Calais docks weren’t anywhere near the city, so we had to take a
bus. And because we were taking the last ship back, we had all of 45 minutes.
We had a drink in a bar, then bought a loaf of French bread and some croissants
for breakfast tomorrow. Caught the next boat and came back and had overly large
and greasy pizzas for dinner.
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| Dover |
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| Cara getting disinfected for Foot & Mouth in Calais |
24 March – Up and out of Dover early this morning. We stopped in
Canterbury to see the cathedral (nice) and walk a little through the city. A
lot better than Dover. We drove on to London from there. Dad negotiated the
evil traffic very well. We went to our hotel in the Bayswater area, but we
couldn’t check in yet, so we ate lunch at a pub. Got into our room (nicknamed The
Dungeon by Dad) then took the car back. We walked all the way to Piccadilly Circus.
Cassie was on a mission to buy a pair of Doc Martens, which, with a stroke of
luck, she did. We bought tickets to see a show on Sunday night, then took the
Tube over to see Big Ben {Parliament}.
It struck 6 just as we came by. Walked past Buckingham Palace. Then we made our
way to Harrod’s. I wanted to buy a bear, but alas, it was 6:55 when we entered,
and closed at 7, and I didn’t know where to find them. Left empty-handed.
Walked down to the next Tube station to avoid crowds. By this time, my legs
were lead weights. We ate dinner at a Tex-Mex restaurant in a shopping center.
Then went back.
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| Dad, Cassie, Cara outside Canterbury Cathedral |
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| The Black Prince's Tomb, Canterbury Cathedral |
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| Finding cool cars in London |
25 March – Slept in. Went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, then went down to
the West End for lunch and souvenirs. I just got a key chain. Oh, and first
thing we stopped at the mall to buy me some pantyhose, and I got a cardigan set
and a choker also. We went to see the Reduced Shakespeare Company, which was
hilarious. We ate dinner at the Hard Rock Café, then came back and packed.
{transcribed 2/10/2020}
