travelogue - 3 weeks in England

[salixbabylon]

The blow-by-blow account for those who are interested.

Let me know if it's way too long and I'll cut it in half and make a part 2 - I didn't have any problems loading the pictures, but will fix it if more than 2 people do.



30 August 2005

The rental car from home to the airport went *really* well. Got everything finished before I left, which felt good. Made decent time to SF, mere seconds to drop off the rental car, about 30 min to get to the terminal and check baggage... And then the fastest no-wait-at-all security checkpoint that I've been through since 2001. We were at the gate with a full 2.5 hours or more to kill, so we had fruit/breakfast at a cafe.

The flight was ok. Uncomfortable seats for 10 hours, a bit cramped. Food was ok but not great. Couldn't sleep hardly at all. Landed at 6 AM local time – Tuesday already!

It took 2 hours to get out of Heathrow – first a huge line at the passport check, then a while to figure out what had become of our luggage, then to get out. We planned to take the Heathrow Express to Paddington and then a cab to the flat, but got lost and we were brain-dead, so we took a cab all the way - #70! We had expected #50, so that was a bit shocking.

What are they looking for at the passport check anyway? And why are they so humorless and mean? I felt like I was failing some test, by not knowing the address of the flat right off the top of my head. *grump*

So we got to the flat around 9 AM. Took a "short nap" which ended up being until 4 PM. Left the flat to go find Boots, Sainsbury's, and dinner (at a pub around the corner, the Hog's Head). We both feel like we were beaten repeatedly, and *still* have swollen hands and feet, and are ready to go back to bed – it's only 8 PM! How do people who travel a lot deal with this?

The flat is minuscule – one room with a desk, loveseat, and fold-out futon. Decent bathroom, but one of those short bathtubs. Will have to try it later and see if depth makes up for less length (*snort*). Kitchen is a sink above a dorm fridge, 2 burners, and a microwave in the living room. Still, not like we plan to eat here.

Very disturbing to see all the same brands everywhere – Huggies, Tick-Tacs, Starbucks, Hertz car rental, Manpower temps, Nivea, Pringles, etc. I didn't realize *everything* was exported.

Tomorrow is Wednesday! Already! Ack!!! We have to do something, get to email, decide on timing for soar38, niennas_dreams, and Heather. Am feeling very pressured that we lost 2 whole days! So, so, SO tired, I could cry.


31 August 2005

After the most wretched night of my snuffling, snoring husband, I finally took a sleeping pill and slept until almost 10 AM. We had quiches and tea at a French bakery around the corner (Paul's), then walked from the flat to the British Museum. It looked far away, but was only about 20 minutes. Saw just about everything – the Elgin marbles, the Naiad temple, the Assyrian stuff, the mummies. The Sutton Hoo and Lindow man were less impressive this time = they've totally remodeled since I went in 1997. Also the manuscript collection is now at the National Library, so we'll have to go there separately. Poop.

It's hot, maybe in the 80s, and a bit humid, but not awfully so. Am dressed for cooler weather, though, so that's annoying.

We bought our own A-Z map so we can mark it up with what is close to what, and then had dinner at the Temple Bar, the Indian place across the courtyard. I had the chicken biryani with a vegetable curry – fabulous. Gerald had chicken tikka masala, which he liked. #25 for dinner, so not bad at all.

And then we fucked up – we planned to hit the Starbucks for some free internet, but it closed at 7 PM! Very annoying. (Also annoying that we passed *SIX* Starbucks on our 20 minute walk to the BM.)

Oh, and it takes *forever* to get the check at restaurants – we must be doing something wrong. Anyway, so we are back at the flat, totally screwed. Too tired to try and figure out where the cinemas are to see a movie, which is the plan for tomorrow night.

So now tomorrow = up early, internet cafe, art museum of some sort, then a movie. Provided we don't have any emails that change our plans, that is. And we've decided to make the Bath-Glastonbury-Avebury-Stonehenge side trip a priority. There must be a way to get from one place to another, and we'll figure it out. Should be a 1 or 2 night trip, maximum.

Now, to do some mapping, maybe watch some TV on the laptop, then to bed.


2 September 2005

Well, yesterday was a total wash = I got very sick with the cold Gerald got the day we left, and slept through most of the day. We went to Starbucks, checked emails, sent updates, etc. Came back to the flat, I slept more, got up, went back to Starbucks , checked emails again, did research and planned, then back to the flat. Had take-away (microwaved) from Sainsbury's. And then I couldn't sleep *again*. Oh yeah – I woke up at 5 AM and wrote a whole story, the Eric/Orlando/Karl one. Wretched night.

Today we got up around 7 AM. Had quiches at Paul's again, made theater reservations, then set about our day. We conquered the Tube! Very easy to use and fairly cheap - #2 for a full day. We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum – interesting but I kind of failed to see the point. Some art, but mostly "artifacts" from different cultures and time periods, in all different mediums. Things very crowded together and hard to see, and sometimes poorly lit. The Dacre Beasts were my favorite and we took a picture of that. It wasn't an art museum, and not quite a history museum either – I don't quite know what it is... The fashion exhibit was interesting, as were the copies of sculptures... It's all a bit of a blur now.

I was varying levels of miserable = congested, excruciating sinus pain, exhausted, sore body, blisters on my feet, massive headache. We took a brief break outside in the "garden," where many naked children played in the fountain. Then later we had lunch at an Italian restaurant. Then we went to Harrods.

Harrods was ok, although I was miserable and basically hit the ladies room, walked all through the food area looking for a place to sit, and then sat in the Caffe Espresso and had tea while Gerald wandered around. I wanted to see it, but didn't really feel bad about missing it, either – very expensive, classy department store. Impressive, but not really my thing. Maybe some other trip.

Came back to the flat, napped, went to Sainsbury's for a larger trip, and had more microwavable take-away. Indulged ourselves in candy bars and puddings, as well as got more take-away, salad mix, breakfast food, etc. Ribena is good. Candy so far is ok but not exceptional.

Off to bed – tomorrow I meet soar38 and see the London Zoo. We also plan to go to the Camden markets and wander around Regents Park.


3 September 2005

Today we got up at a somewhat reasonable hour (7 AM), although I *still* slept badly. Ate crumpets/tea/bread/fruit/cheese at home. Then discovered that Starbucks is closed on Saturdays. I cried for a bit and we tried to find a free ISP of e-cafe, and then gave up and left for Camden Town. Gerald enjoyed the wandering/people watching more than I did, as he always does. After a few hours of looking at hippie shops and goth/rave/fetish shops, we left and made for an e-cafe. (One shop of rave clothes was particularly impressive, and it actually looked like most of the gothy shops would have had clothes to fit me. Impressive.)

Found a place that was #1/hour, rather then the #5/hour we've been paying at Starbucks. We geeked for about 30 minutes then walked to Regents Park to meet up with soar38. Very nice, which is great since we had not really talked all that much on-line.

The zoo was expensive - #14 – so we ate lunch at "The Honest Sausage" in the park, then walked around for a bit. Looked at the rose garden, the pond with ducks (reddish with orange bills and black and white ones = not mallards!) huge carp, and black swans (huge and really elegant, I thought). Then sat for a long bit and just talked and enjoyed the sun. Nice to spend a day mostly outside. Then we took the tube to Lancaster Gate by Hyde Park and walked a bit in search of dinner. Found a nice Italian place – great cannelloni. Bought some post cards and came back.

My cold is almost gone, but my feet and body ache beyond anything. Gerald and I have blisters and just feel abused. Hopefully tomorrow won't be 9-5 walking.


5 September 2005

Yesterday was hideously long. Woke up every 2 hours (1 AM, 3 AM, 5 AM) and then got up at 6 AM. Left the flat at 6:30. Rushed to Holborn tube stop, to catch the first train at 7 AM. Except the first train came at 7:25. We were supposed to be at Lancaster Gate at Hyde Park at 7:30-7:35. We actually made it to the tube stop on time, but then decided they must have meant the actual gate, so we dashed over there. No mini-bus with the tour company's name on it, so we split up to wait at both locations, gave up at 7:50... And the mini-bus passed us by and we flagged it down. We were supposed to wait at the tube stop. Ah.

Then it turned out the Magical Tour was canceled, and we had been put on the Stones and Bones tour instead. Fine – it went almost to the same places. Just not Glastonbury, which in the end was fine, because we wouldn't have had enough time there anyway.

First we went to the Avebury stone circle and henge (henge meaning... I can't remember now, damn.) Anyway, huge stone circle (the oldest and biggest in Europe, I think, approximately 2500 BC), and two inner circles. I believe the henge is the raised hill mound/multi-grave barrow surrounding the circle. Lots of sheep. I gathered some wool, literally.





Next we drove by a crop circle – fading and difficult to see, but still interesting. Then drove by a horse shape cut into the hillside, approximately 1812. There's dozens of them, the driver said.



Then on to Stonehenge. Unfortunately, at this point I was exhausted and we had very limited time to walk around, no time to linger. I listened 4/7ths of the audio information while looking at Stonehenge before giving up and just trying to take it all in. I would have liked to spend an hour there – we had about 30 minutes total. The size and effort of the thing is truly impressive, though. I kept wondering what I'd have to do to hook up with the local druids who get to do ritual there twice a year...







Then we had lunch as a "traditional country pub" in Amesbury – just seemed like any old pub to me. Had a chicken and sweet corn pie, which was good but heavy – about 50% gravy, 20% chicken, 30% corn, topped with puff pastry and a side of chips.

Then we went to Old Sarum – interesting, but really *ruined* ruins; hard to get any sense at all of what things would have looked like. Nice moat, though.

The Salisbury Cathedral – built in the 1200s, completed in a record-setting 35 years, so it's all one style. Tallest spire in the UK. Very pretty. Except that we arrive right at 3 PM, just as the evening service started, so we could only look at the back half of the cathedral. Couldn't get close to the tombs with effigies of knights and ladies on them, or the stained glass, or *anything* - very disappointing.





The Chapter House was gorgeous, though – has the original Magna Carta, so now I've seen 2 of 4 extant copies. :) Also saw some Indulgences – little scrolls of paper and a clay "medallions" to take with you to heaven. Very cool.



Long drive back to London. The tour guide was great. Very knowledgeable, amusing monologue, nice mix of history and present culture. He seemed mid-late 20s, and is Irish. Not bad looking, tall, perhaps a little heavyish, but not overweight.

BUT.

He wore chinos, not so tight in the back or thighs that you would see his ass. But in the front – OMG – I have never seen a man with that many bulges! It seemed like he had *huge* balls and a half-hard cock the whole day! At one point there developed a little damp spot. So either he's really *really* huge and didn't wipe well after a pee... Or... he was wearing some kind of contraption that pulled his balls forward, made them swell, and kept him semi-erect and aroused all day. I'm voting for the latter.

(No picture, sorry!)

Then we limped back to the flat around 7 PM, had take-away from Sainsbury's again, then went to bed at 9 PM. I broke down and took another sleeping pill. Still woke up briefly at 2 Am and 6 AM, but actually went back to sleep both times. Got up at 9 AM.

We decided our bodies have had enough so we are doing very little today, no tourist stuff. No point in rushing about to see everything if we don't enjoy it – I really which I had enjoyed Stonehenge more. So today is a re-fuel energy day.


6 September 2005

Today was another "short" day of sleep and "living in London." rather than tourism. Got up around 8 AM, Gerald went out for some gaming/comics shopping, and I went back to sleep. Got up around 1 PM. Went to a sandwich shop and then an e-cafe (yes, again). Then went to the Liberty House department store to get some needlepoint stuff for Kristine and then Lush – yum! Then we had dinner at the Ivy – also yum, although on the same scale of Pearl Alley Bistro at home.

Then soar38 and I saw "Guys and Dolls" at the Piccadilly Theater with Ewan McGregor and Jane Krakowski.







Ewan. *dreamy sigh* He's taller than I thought, built fairly solid - not heavy at all, but not too skinny and fragile like Orli (or Viggo). And has *PRESENCE*. You KNOW he's in the room. Even when he's looking at the floor, barely on stage, casual in the background, in the wings.

But his voice really threw me... He was doing one of those "New York in the 1940s" accents, so I didn't recognize his voice at all, and that was a little disappointing, somehow. I wanted to see Ewan, not Sky Masterson. But he was really good. And, oh, he danced. Something Latin-beat-ish, like a rumba or something sexy like that. Fluid hips in motion... *heart flutters* I could have just watched that one scene all night.

We didn't hang around backstage trying to get an autograph or anything, so I only saw him in the show. But it was still fabulous! :) I failed to not be a squeeing fangirl. Luckily soar38 was very patient with me. Amazing experience to be in the same room with him – totally fangirly of me, but I don't care. It *was* amazing.

And from a critical perspective, the musical wasn't bad at all – usually the low-budget productions with Dan or UCSC students really drag and I get bored, but this didn't at all. Maybe some musicals (non-Andrew Lloyd Webber) actually don't suck.

Anyway, another long day. Our feet ache and we're both tired. Train to Stratford-upon-Avon tomorrow.


8 September 2005

Yesterday we got up early, packed, tidied up, and took the tube to the train station, and took the train to Stratford-upon-Avon. The train ride was *lovely* - my god, the British make travel so easy and, well, yes, civilized. An hour later, we got out and walked about 10 minutes to the B&B and were given a "pretty room" which was SO PINK. Doilies everywhere, chintz with pink roses, pink carpet, pink toilet and sink and chairs – pink fucking toilet paper. Nauseating.

Then we went to meet niennas_dreams. We went to Shakespeare's birthplace (amazing old house) and then to the church here he is buried (also his wife and daughter, and a bust of him that's considered accurate). Very cool.





Then we walked along the river Avon, sat and watched people, swans, geese, and ducks, and just talked. niennas_dreams is very nice, too, and I'm so glad I got to meet her. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant.

Back to the B&B around 9 PM. Early to bed. Gerald snored and I barely slept a wink. Had the full British breakfast this morning – good bacon, scary fried toast, weird baked beans, and average egg and sausage. Tangerines and orange juice were nice additions, as was the tea. EXCELLENT tea, wonder what blend... The atmosphere was a bit stuffy, though, and we were the youngest by about 20 years.

Now we get on the train to Birmingham and then Crewe, where we meet up with Heather.


9 September 2005

We took the train – the walk from station to station in Birmingham was a little too far to be certain we were going the right way. Then another train ride, and finally some actual English RAIN! Heather met up at the station and drove us around a bit – lots of tiny villages, all run together. She lives in Leftwich, and we are staying in Davenham.


these signs made us titter like school children every time we saw them

We went to the Salt Museum – Heather said we couldn't miss "the most boning museum in the world" – it was fun and low-budget, but still with older and a wider range of historical artifacts than anything I've seen in the US. Then we had tea and a snack at the Bull's Head pub by our B&B, then went to Heather's house briefly, then took off for Blackpool.



There we saw the "Illuminations" – lights strung up across the promenade in a really extraordinary display. Again, kind of cheesy and lame but also fun. We had fish and chips (greasy – yuck!) at a restaurant, then gambled away #1 each in 2p coins – lots of fun. Took a brief walk along the water's edge/cliff above it – really wide, flat beach. Weird to see the Atlantic ocean for the first time and have it be the Irish sea.



Then drove back to the B&B and fell into bed. *finally* had a good night's sleep. Up at 8 AM for another heavy English Breakfast – not sure I can handle the idea of a third one tomorrow. Food is heavy and no vegetables and I'm getting a bit grossed out.

Not sure what we are up to today, aside from buying shoes...

(later)

We bought shoes at an outlet mall, then wandered around Chester. We walked 3/4ths of the way around the Roman (or was it medieval?) wall, saw the cathedral, and a clock with faces on 3 sides – the 4th side faces Wales and the English "won't give them the time of day," or so the story goes.









Had tea and scones at a tea shop built in the 1300s, in addition to breakfast and a lunch of soup timed to get inside out of a sudden downpour. Dinner was at the pub again – a jacket potato and frightening salad. I miss vegetables. I'm *trying* to eat reasonably healthy and failing miserably.

Watched a few episodes of the new season of "Dr. Who" and saw some aggravating news coverage of current events like Iraq and Katrina. So frustrating.

Today was a bit too long – am hoping tomorrow is shorter.


11 September 2005

Yesterday was Saturday, and it was nice and slow. We had a smaller version of the English breakfast and then went to Heather's place to research train times and check email.

Then we went to Alderly Edge, had tea, and took a walk/hike to the Wizard's Well. The walk was lovely – beautiful woods, very different from California. Very reminiscent of fairy tales and so on. The myth at Alderly Edge is that a wizard has hidden warriors in the hillside and "in the time of utmost need" the wizard will rouse them from the underworld. Drinking the water is supposed to do something good for you... The inscription says "Drink of this and take thy fill, for the water falls by the wizards will." But the well is shallow, catching the drips off a rock from a natural spring. We filled a bottle, and once it settled, it had swimming bugs and such. Am deciding whether to take it home or boil and filter it first. Gerald thinks that will get rid of the magic. I told him giardia isn't magic.





Drove all over Cheshire, saw tons of sheep and cows, and went to an ice cream farm. Then back to Heather's for Chinese take-away (nasty and scary), cider, and more "Dr. Who." Stayed at Heather's as all the B&Bs and hotels are full, due to some motorbike race thing this weekend.

This morning we are off to Glastonbury – Heather is driving us there and then dropping us off at the train in Bath. It's been nice here – lots of driving and long days, but less exhausting than London.

(later)

Today we got up and drove South, stopping briefly at a rest stop for bathroom, tea, and water bottles. Left at about 10 AM and got to Glastonbury around 2 PM. Took a bus to the Tor and walked up it. Quite a climb, short but exhausting. Fantastic views, lots of wind. Difficult to meditate, but easy to imagine the Tor as an island, or with a hostile army approaching, or being in a tiny hamlet at the feet of the Tor, sent up with no shelter to meet Gwyn ap Nudd, god of the underworld...



Walked down the other side and found ourselves at the Chalice Well. Walked through the gardens, collected water from the Lion's Mouth (drank some), and then went and sat by the Well itself.



There was a definite sense of *age* at the Tor; a sense of *peace* at the Well. Cleansing. Forgiveness. A woman sat by me, silently crying for a long time, in a place of such beauty, with votive candles and flower petals around the edge of the well. I do think I want to be ordained. I want to be a priestess, not just a witch. Take myself and my duties to others seriously. I felt such a sense of peace and right-ness.

Then we had a very long walk back to the town itself. Wandered around some shops and looked at expensive pagan trinkets that I can get at home. Didn't buy much. Missed the abbey before it closed.

Drove to Bath and on the train to London – we should be at the flat in about 2 hours!


12 September 2005

Today we slept until 11 AM – yikes! Guess we needed it. Decided to spend the day getting things done. First a trip to the internet cafe, then to Piccadilly Theater for pictures I forgot to take earlier, then to St. Paul's for a quick glimpse at the cathedral. Big and nice, but I'm a bit sick of religious art, I guess. Good thing we decided on the Tower tomorrow instead of the Tate. Took a bath and washed clothes and towels in the sink – god, what work! I never appreciated the invention of the washer and dryer so much!

I'm looking forward to being back at home, with all my stuff. I've missed it.


13 September 2005

Today we went to the Tower of London and saw everything – the Beefeaters, the ravens, the White Tower, the Crown Jewels, all of it. And then I got my period and got all crampy and dizzy – yuck!







Had dinner at a nearby pub – the King and Keys – with soar38 and had a really nice time. Really good to have one last visit with her.

Back home for a frantic night of packing and flapping. Can't really think of much to say – tired and overwhelmed. Will miss the feeling of freedom, with no work, no friends, no obligations.