Family Visit 2001

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.

 

Cassie and Cara at Caerphilly Castle

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.

Three Cliffs Bay, Wales

 

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.

 

Period actor in Llancaiach Fawr Manor

 

In the kitchens at Llancaiach Fawr

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.

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem

In the Ye Olde...

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…

 

... 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.

 

Dover

 

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.

  

Dad, Cassie, Cara outside Canterbury Cathedral

The Black Prince's Tomb, Canterbury Cathedral

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}

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}