Home at Last

It has been almost a week since we returned to Manitou Springs. Our bodies are slowly trying to adjust to our natural time zone. We have both come to the conclusion that it is much easier jetlag wise to travel East than to travel West especially when the time difference is 7 hours. We have had Indian Summer weather since our return. The color change is wonderful to see. I had worried that we were going to miss all of the bright yellows, golds, and reds. Thank goodness mother nature has decided to bless us with this late display.

All the wash is finally done. So what you may say, isn't that normal to get the wash done after a trip. It would be except that I did 8 loads of wash. Being gone a month at a changeable time of year weather wise, we had taken a variety of clothes. We used most of them, and bought a few more things while we were gone. During our time away, we did manage to do wash. However, the soap power and dryer sheets are a lot different than what I prefer using. Consequently, when we returned home I not only washed the dirty stuff from the end of our trip, I also re-washed the clean stuff. I know, I know, I'm crazy. But if you can't be crazy at our age, when can you be.

While we were gone, I had set up our VCR's to tape some of our favorite shows and a few new ones that looked very promising. I had Laurie tape Survivor and Cindi tape the opening episode of one other show. When we returned, it was to find out that the power had gone off sometime while we were gone and nothing taped on either of the VCR's I had programmed. Thank goodness I'll have the Survivor tape - you know we are Survivor junkies. I'll just have to wait for the tape to arrive and be sure not to watch tomorrow nights episode until we have seen all of the other episodes.

Yesterday, we voted early. It is a very handy thing to be able to do. We vote at our convenience and don't have to worry about where we are going to be on election day. All we have to do now is put up with the stupid television commercials both pro and con for the two ballot measures that has everyone up in arms. We were watching a West Wing television program once and they showed how the same speech can be cut and edited to say the exact opposite thing. I much prefer the written word where you are not swayed by the visual and emotional antics of the people on the screen. At this time of year, I get so tired of listening to smear tactics on both sides of the political fence.

T&T at home

My feet are tired – The Final Chapter

We have come to the end of our trip across the pond. These last few days have been very hectic as we try to cram in so many final places to visit. It seems we have walked till we are ready to drop. However, we still have more to see. I keep telling my feet they will get a chance to rest once we are back home.

We left Stratford and sped down the motorway towards Bath. This is a very old city. The buildings in the city center are tightly packed together. Parking was at a premium and we had to watch carefully for the Long Stay Parking signs. We eventually found the lot and had to drive around a bit until a space opened up. Of course, it was a pay and display lot (parking meter without the parking meters in front of each parking spot) where you needed a minimum of one pound for two hours time.

The drive down took a few hours so I was in need of a rest room. The British are so civilized. They have pay toilet areas near the parking lots. You do have to pay 10 pence to access the toilet, but they are very clean. This is because they look something like you would find on an airplane with a few major differences. After you pay, the door slides open. You enter and the door slides closed. The inside is much larger than what you would find on an airplane and made totally of stainless steel. There is a narrow baby changing area hanging off one wall. A sink is built into the wall with a button to push to get warm air to dry your hands. You need to press a button to get the toilet paper which dispenses in a long strip from an enclosed receptacle. The whole toilet area is made of stainless steel with just a rim to sit upon. Of course there is a sign saying that vandalism will not be tolerated and violators will be prosecuted (I guess they have camera taking pictures whilst you are inside). Finally there is a timing counter up on the wall telling you how many minutes you have left to finish your business. This counter is very important for you to keep track of. You need to exit the area before it reaches zero. If you are still inside, you will be sanitized along with all other surfaces with a cleaning solution and vacuum suction to get rid of excess water. It’s all very civilized of course.

The Roman Baths were amazing. This was the reason we took a couple of hours to stop in Bath. It blows your mind that in the middle of this busy area filled with modern day shops selling mobile telephones and other high tech equipment you have a historic building situated right at the center where an ancient Roman Ruin exists. The history was fascinating though I don’t know if I would want to get into the very green looking water. However, you can still feel the heat rising from the pools telling us that the water is still flowing over some very hot areas underneath the city.

We left Bath and sped along to an area I was keen to revisit – Avebury Circle. This area is filled with Standing Stones actually older by 200 years than Stonehenge. The stone circle is over a mile in diameter. What makes it different from Stonehenge is that you can actually get up and feel the stones. The circle is not intact like that of Stonehenge. The village of Avebury cuts the circle into 4 pie shaped wedges. There are parts of the circle visible in each wedge. The stones are usually cordoned off by fences with gates you can walk through without charge (they get you at the car park with pay and display). The fences are there to keep in the sheep which roam freely among the stones. The sheep serve two purposes. They mow the grass to keep the area neat and they leave their droppings to discourage people from camping out overnight. You also have to watch carefully where you are walking. Howard had to scrape some droppings out of the treds in his shoes. I loved being able to hug a stone and feel the energy.

Our final stop for the day was Stonehenge. The ring is still complete and is much smaller - maybe a football field in diameter. You can’t get right up to the stones, but you can walk around the area, seeing the stones from all different angles. It was a special time for us. We had arrived late in the afternoon close to sunset. We walked around the circle taking pictures from all the different angles. We even waited a bit to take some pictures as the sun was starting to set over the stones. It was a bit surreal. I hope our pictures do it justice. Howard was really enthralled by the whole experience. The only part that was discordant was road noise from the traffic speeding by on a very busy roadway intersection. You think of Stonehenge as being in the middle of nowhere. It is in that there is nothing built up around it. However, instead of just one roadway going past the area, there is a major intersection not more than 500 yards away. It made it a bit difficult to meditate or imagine the sounds of times past when the circle might have been used.

We left Stonehenge and somehow managed to find our way to the B&B just outside of Salisbury without getting too lost. We were staying at a B&B Farmhouse. The place was built in the 1700’s. The oak beams were still in place. In a couple of places, braces had been added to keep the beams together. You could just imagine cooking in the large fireplace which was located in what was now the dining room, but then the original kitchen. Many rooms have been added over the years as have modern conveniences. The grounds were a gardener’s dream. Fruit trees, flowers, streams, & pastures. Of course there were horses and dogs. The setting is one built for relaxation. We were sorry that we only had the one night to spend before we set off once again.

Our last two nights were to be spent in a town called Frimley. It is close to where a former B&B guest of ours lives in a village called Yately. We have stayed in touch with Dorothy over the years and were looking forward to seeing her again. First, we had some final places to visit. Having left the B&B, we ventured back into Salisbury to see Salisbury Cathedral and view one of 4 remaining copies of the original Magna Carta (40 original copies were made with Kings Seal attached). This is a document which was so very important to Howard’s father, who had been an attorney. It is the basis for all constitutional law in the world. We stopped for a brief moment for what Howard calls another purchasing opportunity in the gift shop. I needed to pick up another tea towel. I do intend to use all of these towels which I am collecting. It will enable me to relive sections of our trip each time I see them.

Our next stop had not been on our original plan of places to see. However, one night we were watching the telly and there was a travel section regarding a special room at Wilton House. One of the Earls, had built a double cube room 30 feet high by 30 feet wide by 60 feet long)to house his personal Van Dyke collection of family portraits. It is the largest collection of Van Dykes in existence today (even larger than the Queen’s). The ceiling in the room was beyond description and the art collection spectacular. It seems that Howard has managed to drag me to art galleries without my being aware. He likes the art, I like the buildings. There was also a single cube room that had other art work. Of course, there were many art pieces collected from visits to Europe in centuries past.

Our final stop for the day was to Winchester Castle. This was another unplanned stop that came about after viewing a program on the Telly. There was a table in the Great Hall that, legend has it, was King Arthur’s Round Table. As Winchester was the original capital of England this seemed most likely. We had to view this relic for our friend John Gewecke who has an affinity for this time period.

We left Winchester right at rush hour. We missed the turn we were supposed to take and to avoid getting caught in the rush hour backlog, took a back road to catch back up with the motorway once again. Things were fine until we had to get off for the town we were to stay in for the night. There was not only road construction on the motorway and rush hour traffic, but also a lorry overturn spilling diesel oil across the roadway in the city street we needed to use. Needless to say, this snarled traffic. The signs were hard to read, traffic was a nightmare and after more than an hour and a half of trying to get onto the right road Howard was in a panic attack state. We finally pulled into a pub that served food. We called the B&B, got better directions, waited for the traffic to pass and sat down to dinner and a double drink each. It ended up we were only two minutes away from the B&B. We got into our room and collapsed.

Our final day was spent with our friend Dorothy. She came to the B&B and we all drove to Windsor Castle (the Queens Family ancestral home). The place is bigger than Buckingham Palace. We viewed a special Doll House that is an exact replica of the Castle down to running water and electric lights. It has furnishings that would have been those used during Queen Mary’s time. Also in this section were two dolls complete with wardrobes given by the French to then Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. It was not the type of thing that I would give a child to play with, but it sure was nice to look at. Of course, everything was made by French designers. The collection was complete with furs, jewels, gloves, shoes, evening dresses, lingerie, day dresses, hats, play clothes, etc. etc, etc. The day was perfect. The rain even held off until we were ready to leave. We returned to the B&B for a while. We needed to reorganize and packup all of our treasures. It was a good thing we bought that extra bag.

Our final night, Dorothy and her husband Ron took us out to dinner at a lovely restaurant. We had a lot of laughs. The boys talked cars. We ate until we were so stuffed we couldn’t move. A good night sleep and we are finally at our last breakfast.

We are anxious to fly out. We will be happy to return home to driving on the “right” side of the road.

Hope you all have enjoyed our journey.

T&T getting ready to leave England

Some Interesting Observations

Over the past month we have been in England & Ireland, we have come across a few things in our travels that we find amusing or interesting. Here are some of our favorites.

Road Signs:
Check Your Distances Keep 2 Chevrons apart - there are markings on the roadway lanes that have Chevrons marked about a car length apart for about a ¼ of a mile or so.

Sliproad ahead - their name for off ramps

Tiredness can kill. Be sure to take a break.

Welcome Break Station ahead - petrol stations located at next off ramp. Enclosed overpass connecting the two sides of the road that is has fast food centers or even a small Marks & Spencer market.

Blind Summit - a hill where you can’t see the traffic coming up the other side

Side wind - a wind sock showing that cross winds are blowing

Try your breaks

Queues likely – roadwork causing traffic to back up

Tank Crossing –

Wild Fowl area – to warn you that ducks may cross the road

40 Box - We couldn’t figure out what Box meant. Finally realized it was the name of a town we were coming to and they wanted us to slow to 40mph

Rumble Strips ahead - series of speed bumps in the road making lots of noise as you went over them

Oncoming vehicles in middle of road – narrow tunnel only wide enough for one car at a time.

Interesting Terms or things we saw:
Bag It – snatch a parking spot of someone who is going out from someone else.

Whilst – used in place of the word “while”

Pay & Display – put your money in a ticket parking ticket center and get a sticker that shows you how much time you have paid for.

Tonne - Ton

Centre – Center

Spotted Dick – Howard thought that this might be a communicable disease. Turns out it is a steamy hot pudding with dried fruit in it.

Sultana’s – large currents like raisins

Car Dealerships with Petrol Stations in front for all to use.

The color used for Caution clothing, or on police, emergency, or road work vehicles is a bright florescent yellow/green color (like we use the color orange)

Trees that form a canopy over the roadway to make a tunnel. It might be sunny outside, but the foliage is so thick it is dark as you drive through.

T&T from rainy England

Return to Medieval times in Warwick & Stratford

It was raining on Saturday, when we left the Lake District, and drove down the motorway towards Stratford. Howard was much happier driving on the high speed roads especially the toll road going around a major city. At one point, there was an overpass going over all lanes of the motorway. The only difference between this overpass and those in America was that this one was for cows. We looked up and there were cows, ambling gently across the bridge. They were not bothered at all by the cars whizzing by them underneath. It was quite a sight to see. The British are very considerate to the farmers who may have had lands on both sides of the motorway. They built special cow bridges for the cows to easily move from one pasture to the other.

We stopped in the city of Warwick just outside of Stratford to visit the very popular Warwick castle. Fortunately, the weather had cleared as we went into the castle. We have a couple of different David Winter cottages of this castle. The Earl of Warwick sold the family castle in the early 1980’s when it became too expensive to keep up. He sold it to Madame Toursards (Same Company as the Wax Museum). They have done an excellent job of restoration, but at the same time have made it a little too attraction like. However, the history which is imparted, as you go through the various parts of the castle, made it very interesting. The weather held off for the most part as we toured the various castle rooms. We had just finished when the heavens opened up as we went to view the outdoor field exhibit. We prevailed, whipping out our umbrellas and putting up our slicker hoods.

Stratford on Avon was only about 15 minutes away from Warwick. The directions to the B&B were right on. We only made one slight wrong turn before finding the place. The B&B is on a street where only permit holders can park. Fortunately, they lease spaces from someone on the next alleyway. It was actually a enclosed garage where we were able to leave the car parked. Parking in the town of Stratford is impossible. Everyone just walks. Fortunately, the B&B is just about 6 blocks away from the main street. Walking down the streets is like walking through a David Winter village with the timber structures all askew. Most of the businesses are in buildings that were built in the 1500’s. If the timbers were off of horizontal, that just was the way it was. What struck us so funny was seeing these very historic buildings playing host to new businesses like Pizza Hut or Woolworths.

Today, Sunday, we drove just a couple of miles away to Anne Hathaway’s cottage (birth home of William Shakespeare wife). The cottage and gardens were charming. It was a shame that the gardens were not in their summer glory. There were still blooms, but the full brilliance had long past. We left there and went to view Arden farm (birth place of William Shakespeare’s mother). They were having an apple harvest and festival. It reminded us Medial Market at Laurie’s middle school. It was interesting to see all of the different crafts used in daily living on the farm.

Our final stop for the day was at William Shakespeare’s birthplace. The original timbered house is in the center of town. The Shakespeare’s history center was next to the house in a newer building. By the time we finished we felt that we had done a credible job of investigating the life and times of William Shakespeare.

The library was nearby, also housed in an old original timbered building. Even though it was Sunday, the library was open and had free Internet service. It was unfortunate that we found this place so late in the day. We only had about 20 minutes before the library closed to get our mail and upload our blog. Pictures take a lot of time so will have to wait.

We are off again tomorrow, Monday, on the last legs of our journey. It doesn’t seem possible that we only have three more nights after tonight before we return home.

On the road again, T&T

The Scottish Experience

We left Windermere on Wednesday and headed north for an overnight stay in Edinburgh. Along the way we stopped to see Carlisle Castle, just this side of the Scottish Border. Carlisle Castle was originally built by the Romans. The Celts, Normans, and finally the British built on top of the site. It was built as a small fort on the border of England and Scotland. The Castle sits on one corner of what became a walled city. At one time Mary Queen of Scotts was imprisoned here. The Castle is also famous in history as a battle between England and Bonnie Prince Charlie of Scotland. The Scotts eventually lost and scurried back across the border pursued by the English who defeated them in a great battle. Up until 1959 the Castle was occupied as a British garrison.

We left the castle and Howard proceeded to whisk Lynda across the border to Gretna Green. Gretna Green is mentioned in many of the romance novels she reads. It is the place where the heroine was whisked away from her family and compromised by the hero. Howard was looking for the famous accommodations that the heroes may have stayed at (the three hours daily special). Lynda said after 40 years she was already thoroughly compromised.

In the drive up to Scotland, we had to divert due to construction on the road we were supposed to take. Low and behold, we ended up driving past Neuthrude House – a Girl Guide Training Center Lynda visited on her previous trip to Scotland. She became very emotional, reliving her past experiences. Eventually we made it up to Edinburgh. Of course, finding the correct road to take to the B&B became quite a challenge. We stopped at a retail center and a kind man tried to explain how we should go. His accent was hard to follow, but Lynda finally managed to understand, the just follow me. It appeared that he was going in that same direction. Thanks to him, we finally made it to the street we needed.

We had time that day to tour Edinburgh Castle. The Castle started out as a palace and a fortress. During the tour they talk about the conflicts with England. It is interesting to see how the same set of facts is looked at from two different points of view. The Castle has always been used by the royals as the defensive position in case of attack. It has also been used as a prison. During the American Revolution, American prisoners of war were held here. Currently, it is still used as a garrison as well as a major tourist attraction.

Eventually, one of the royals decided that they would be a lot more comfortable at Holyroodhouse Palace just down the road. It was attached to an important Abbey. The Palace wasn’t near as drafty as Edinburgh Castle. We walked down the Royal Mile from one to the other. A royal mile is definitely longer than a normal mile. We must have walked at least 3 miles from the Castle to the Palace. The Palace today is not only a tourist attraction, but is still used by the Royal Family for state functions and visits. It was beautiful inside. It was laid out in the same fashion as Versailles in France. It is not as lavish or large as Buckingham Palace. We walked around the garden and met Tillie, a 2 yr. old white golden retriever. Her owner works at the Palace, and Tillie sleeps under her desk for most of the day. Tillie’s daily romp is through the Palace Garden, which she considers her own. She knows all the hideouts of the royal squirrels which inhabit the trees. She stalks them, but hasn’t managed to catch them.

In our trek down the Royal Mile, we stopped at a Woolen Mill that specialized in making tartan material. It had a very interesting exhibit on how the material is made and the various styles of tartans over the years. Of course, they sold their wares. Lynda was able to purchase a Black Watch Royal Regiment lambs wool scarf. She has always identified with this group and was very pleased with her purchase.

Our time in the North was too short. As we headed back to the Lake’s, we drove through the Clyde Valley – I wonder if our friend Clyde knew there was a valley that used his name. Finally, back in the Lake’s, we set to getting ourselves organized for our trek to the South on Saturday. We found that we have collected a number of purchases and treasures along the way. Thus, we have come to realize we will need to purchase additional small duffel. On our final day in the Lake’s, we went on a tour of the local area to the south of Windermere Lake. We found our small duffel in a local outdoor marketplace in a small village.
We relaxed “at home” and prepared for our next excursions.

We’re off tomorrow – T&T

Mini Bus Road Trip through the Lakes.

Remember the Movie – If it’s Tuesday it must be Belgium? (For those of you reading this and too young to remember, it was about a bus tour in Europe). Well, it is Tuesday, but it is not Belgium. However, we are on a mini bus road trip through the English Lake District. We are going to visit or drive by 10 different lakes. We decided on this course of action for both our sakes. We wanted to not kill each other or have someone kill us if we had tried to navigate these narrow pack horse routes ourselves (believe it or not, they call these “C” roads). So, we left this to Bob, the bus driver who has lived in this area for many years. Of course during the course of the day, Howard who was sitting in the front seat kept trying to apply the brakes even though he was sitting on the passenger’s side. Needless to say, there were some very tight squeezes as we sped along the tracts at speeds we would have never attempted had we been driving ourselves. Please remember these were all for two way traffic.

The other reason we opted for a tour was to soak up some of the history and local features that we would have missed out on by driving ourselves. The whole area started out as an inland sea followed by upheaval and volcanic action. Eventually, the glaciers came along and created the many U shaped valleys and lake depressions. The Romans eventually came and built roads high up on the mountains (3,000 ft is the highest peak – a mere mole hill to us Coloradoan’s). They wanted to have any enemy’s below them. Then the Vikings came. They brought their sheep and needed pasture for them to graze. The valleys were too soggy, so they cleared away large patches of forest. The sheep were happy to oblige keeping the forest from coming back by eating everything in site. Sheep are natural lawn mowers.

Today, the valleys and been drained and are overflowing with numerous farms and LOTS of SHEEP! They are everywhere you look. They are found down along the roadside, as well as high up on the barren hillsides. The remarkable thing is that they have a built in hereditary Hefted instinct. It means that the place they are born in is imprinted on their brains. They know which valley they were born in and do not leave that area. They wander the hills of their valley at will and don’t come down to the lower pastures until the quick sheep dogs go after them.

We asked the driver about the markings on the backs of the sheep. We had assumed that they were to tell the different herds apart. Boy were we wrong. During Feb., when the sheep are brought down to the lower pastures for breeding, the Ewes are separated out from the Rams. The undersides of the rams are painted with a sticky red paint. One ram is let into a Ewe enclosure with a set number of sheep. At this point, Rams do what a Ram’s got to do. I’m sure he was as busy as a beaver servicing all the Ewes he could find. In the morning, the farmer would come out and separate the Ewes which had paint on their backs. He knew that they had gotten together with the Ram. Hopefully, he would have a lamb or two come spring from the marked Ewes. More Ewes would be added to the enclosure and the Ram would have another night with a smile on his face. Some modernized farmers are using a red stamp pad which is tied onto the underside of the Ram. It comes with enough ink that it doesn’t need re-inking. Way to go Rams.

Everywhere we went there were walkers – both young and old (older than us) and their dogs. We were taking a steamer across one of the lakes and on board came a young man and his wife with Mac their 180 pound very large St. Bernard. This was Max’s first steamer ride but he didn’t seem to mind it very much. However, when we finally hit land again, he got off the boat and headed for the shore and a drink of water. Of course he needed to get totally in the water to get that drink. We all made sure we were will away from him before he decided to get out and shake.

We drove up to an old stone circle. It was only 3000 years old (Stonehenge is 4000 years old). However, unlike Stonehenge, you can walk right up to the stones and in and around the whole stone circle which is still in place. They felt that these stone circles were used as gathering points for the celebration of the changing seasons. They used astronomical sightings with the rising sun or setting moon for the equinox and solstice. Elementary, but it seemed to work.

Howard had a Jennings beer in one of the pubs when we stopped for lunch. Then when we stopped for a snack later in the afternoon, he had ice cream, also made with Jennings beer. I skipped the beer entirely, but had some Toffee Hazelnut ice cream. The ice cream was made with sheep’s milk and had a softer and creamier texture due to higher butterfat content. Of course, the town we stopped near was called Buttermere.

Overall, the scenery is something that the authors and painters who came to this area have captured to perfection. I now realize why so many watercolors were created in the Lake District. The light through the clouds or as direct rays of sun bring such life to the various shade of color that are speckled throughout the land. It is no wonder that the writers and poets such as Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth as well as watercolorists were so prolific in nature. You could be here forever and never view the same scene in the same way. I’m sure that I have taken quite a number of what we call Eagle shots (similar shots taken repetitively) It just seemed that every picture was better than the last.

On our way back home, we stopped by a slate quarry high up in the mountains. It is still an operating mine, but not for the large slabs. Now they gather up the tailings of what had been left behind as junk and ground the pieces up into tiny stones chips. These are now used like we would use gravel in ornamental areas or to help control weeds. Apparently it is proving to be just as good a business as mining the original slate rocks. I did manage to find a bit of slate on the side of the road. It managed to find its way into my pocket. Of course, it is going to be added to my rock collections back home.

I hope that those of you who are reading these musings are enjoying them. I know that Howard and I receive great pleasure as we write them. We are able to relive each day as we set our thoughts down. I guess that is what journaling is all about. We would enjoy receiving any comments you might have. You can use our regular e-mail address or leave you comments here on the blog.

That’s it for today. T&T in The Lake District.

The Literary Lake District

The Malcolm, the concierge at the timeshare, had said that we would have a sunny but cool day today. Just like the weatherman, he lied. The day was cool, misty, and gray. That didn’t stop us from venturing out with the car to brave the roads. The hillside reflections off of the smooth, clear lakes were not as pretty as it could have been. However, the scenery was still breathtaking.

There are two very famous authors who have called the Lake District Home. One is William Wordsworth and the other is Beatrix Potter. We first drove to a little town called Grasmere – William Wordsworth lived here at Dove Cottage. Wordsworth loved to walk the many footpaths in the lakes with his notebook and pen. He sat for hours writing his poetry to which we are all grateful. I can understand why he spent so much time outside. The quaint home is very dark inside. The one window in each room was not overly large and made it very difficult to see when you were inside. I can see why there are window seats in every room. If you really wanted to read or write you needed to curl up by the window.

If Wordsworth wanted to write or read at night he would sit at his corner chair and light a rush candle. Depending on how much light you wanted you could light the rush at both ends in the candle holder. This may have been the origin of the phrase “burning the candle at both ends”. He also may have inspired the phrase “traveling light” His Portmanteau (suitcase) was very small and held his shave kit, extra socks, a night shirt, an extra shirt, and his extra paper and pens.

He also lived in a place called Rydal Mount and Gardens. As small as Dove Cottage was, Rydal Mount was just the opposite. The rooms were large and had at least two windows in each room. It was a manor house as opposed to the simple farmer’s cottage that was Dove Cottage. The gardens at Royal Mount were said to have been designed by Wordsworth. There were winding pathways to walk, benches to sit upon, flowers to smell, and a view to contemplate. What a perfect setting for a poet to perfect his craft.

Not far away are the little villages called Hawkshead & Near Sawrey. Since it was lunchtime, we had planned to picnic in the park. However, the weather had us celebrating with a picnic in the car instead. It was still a gray, dismal overcast day, terribly chilly with a full mist sending the cold right through you. The trees were laden heavy with moisture. The water collected heavily on the foliage just starting to turn fall colors. Of course, this weather doesn’t bother those that come for a ramble (walk). They come dressed in Country Clothing (hiking clothes) able to bear whatever weather is thrown at them. The typical Rambler (Walker) would be adorned as follows:
Walking Hat with a round rim
Treated water repellent walking jacket (field jacket)
Outdoor Waistcoat (ski vest)
Scarf
Knickers (or long pants covered by socks over the cuffs)
Tall Socks
Walking shoes
Walking stick
And the requisite Jack Russell Terrier

Beatrix came to this area after she had written her first Peter Rabbit book. She bought Hill Top Cottage and eventually married. She loved the fresh air and quiet life, so different from her London upbringing. She took to the local activity of being a sheep farmer. She raised Herdwick Sheep (Black Sheep – you know the type Bah, Bah, Black Sheep Have You Any Wool Yes, sir, Yes, sir, three bags full.….) She was inspired by her cottage and the area. She used her house and some of its items in her book illustrations. The garden was still as it would have been if she had been living there. In the various rooms we toured, you would find one of her books open to some illustration of an item or view that was in or from the house. It was very special connection to be able to make. I know when Josiah is older and I read her stories to him, I’ll be able to see in my minds eye just where the things were in the cottage. Wish I could have been able to take pictures inside.

I had hoped to be able to share the Ireland pictures with everyone, but the internet café, which is close to us, closed early today. We were only able to get some pictures transferred. I still need to label them and add the rest of the Ireland Pictures. We won’t make it back in time tomorrow to get to the shop, so you will all need to wait a little longer for actual visual references. I guess you will just have to make due with my verbal descriptions for the time being. I hope you are enjoying the blog. Howard & I are enjoying writing it. It gives us a chance to review and relive the day.

T&T – from misty Bowness-on-Windermere

A day with nothing going on.

We are at the timeshare Cottage at Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District.
The unit is nice, but not the four star quality that we have at the Ridge in Lake Tahoe. Today was just a relaxation day for us. We did some laundry and walked into town. It felt good to just relax for a change. The Hotel complex which is attached to the Timeshare has a recreation center which we can use free. They have a “Trimnasium” with all the latest gym equipment. Not real big, but big enough for our use. They had a welcome reception tonight and we signed up for a Lake’s District Bus Tour on Tuesday. Tomorrow we explore on our own going to Dove Cottage (Wordsworth) and Hill Top Farm (Beatrix Potter) We may get to see one more historic property depending on our timing.

T&T - Relaxing at the time share in the Lake District

The journey to Windermere

Today, Saturday, we set off for our weeks stay at a timeshare exchange in the Lake District. We have some general observations about the road system in England. First, you have the Motorways, or M’s as they are called over here. They are like our freeways or Interstates and are high speed and very nice.

Next, there are the A roads. We have decided that not all A’s are created equal. We feel that there should be different classifications of A’s. First, there are the “A+” roads. These roads have a center divider and two lanes in each direction, and a wide shoulder. They also have right turn off lanes not left like in America. A regular “A” road would have a single lane in each direction with a center line. There would also be wide shoulders and roundabouts. Now this leads us to the “A-“roads. They are narrower and do not have much of a shoulder. We have decided that the person who categorizes the roads needs to have his head examined. Howard kept insisting that we were not on an “A” road. According to the map, it was designated “A” for that area. However, we feel that if anything, these “A- -” roads are really “B’s”. The lanes are generally very narrow, without shoulders, and possibly have rock walls or hedge rows. In addition, they usually occur on very windy stretches of road with blind curves. It is most interesting to say the least.

The “B” roads are generally less developed “A’s”. Quite often you have to straddle the center line in order not to hit the walls or go into a ditch. As for “C” roads, they truly are country lanes. No lines and barely wide enough for two cars to pass.

Now then, on A, B, or C roads you may be slowed down by a tractor or pony cart. You have to wait patiently until the road allows you to cross over onto the lane of oncoming traffic. Furthermore, you may have to abruptly slow down as you travel through a small village. You also have to cross over into the oncoming traffic lane to get around the cars that are parked half on the road and half on the sidewalk. Of course, each country village does have its local pub. Many of these houses and barns are built right on the edge of the road. If you took a large step out the front door, you could shake hands with the occupants of the car going down the road.

Our trip from York to the Lakes was a journey of 152 miles but took us 5 hours (including a midway stop for lunch at a cheese factory). We could have taken a quicker route, but wanted to travel the scenic byways. Lynda was finally able to see and experience the grey, windswept moors described in her romance novels. Neither of us has figured out what the difference is between a dale, a moor or a fell. It all looks the same to us. At one point, we traveled over a cattle grate and came upon a large herd of grazing sheep right along the roadside and in one case the middle of the road. This must be a communal pasture since the sheep were marked with various color splotches to differentiate ownership. Howard has decided that the reason that the English call a sweater a wooly jumper is because they are made from wool and sheep jump.

At one point Howard needed petrol (gas) for the car. He stopped in a little village, pulled up partly out of the roadway on the sidewalk, and had started to fill the car. Up walked grandpa in his pinstriped suit, shirt, tie and wool hat. He said he would do that for us and proceeded to act as the station attendant. He had come over from his house next door when he saw us. He also was the owner of the used car lot that the pumps were in front of. Americans should not complain about the cost of our gas prices. In equivalent U.S. prices the petrol cost us about $65 worth to fill up the tank – about $7.00 per gallon. Fortunately, the car we are driving gets about 40 miles per gallon in good conditions. Who knows what type of gas mileage we are actually getting, as we go over these interesting roads.

When you finally reach a larger town, you may find yourself stopped by a traffic signal. They are very civilized here. Not only does the yellow caution light come on to warn you that the light is going to turn red, but it also comes on to let you know that is going to turn green.

We finally arrived in Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere (don’t know what the difference is between the two). The town sits on the edge of the largest lake in England. It is another tourist destination. The streets are narrow, lined with shops, restaurants and pubs which are all crowded. Hopefully, it will quiet down during the week. The timeshare shares the property with an upscale hotel. The “cottage” we are in is a multi level. Entry, ground floor level, has the kitchen- dining area. You go up a short flight of stairs (6 to be exact) up to the living room, another short flight up to the bedroom/bath. The second bedroom/bath is a short flight down from the entry level. There are two cottages in each building and our car park is right outside our front door. The complex is beautiful and the trees are just starting to change color. We have access to the hotel’s gym, pool, spa and laundry facility. Town is just a short walk away – a good thing since there really isn’t any place to park.

After checking in, we set off to find the grocery store. It was a large store that is every bit as nice as our own chain stores back home. It was interesting finding products similar to what we use. They tend to call things by different names. You know what you want, but just need to figure out where they are hiding it and what they call it. For instance, milk comes in skim, semi-skim, and whole. The semi-skim never did say if it was 1% or 2%. Crackers for our St. Agur Cheese (only $10/lb not the $20/lb we pay at home) are found in the biscuit (cookie) section. In the meat counter you can find duck and gammon (ham). Bacon is unlike anything we have seen in America. It is a cross between a strip of bacon and Canadian bacon. Very little fat if any. Howard has decided that he will forego his martini. Bombay here is considerably more expensive than at home. However, we have found some good wine buys. Hopefully, the taste will be okay. Howard was finally able to find some dark roast coffee of his liking. He is finally happy with his morning brew.

One last aside for today, regarding electricity in the unit. We are charged for the amount of electricity we use. All wall plugs have a switch on them which you need to turn on before any power is generated. Of course, if you forget to turn off a light or plug when you leave, you can avoid running around turning things off by just flipping off the main power switch by the front door. In the living room alone, there are 14 different switches to deal with. Also, major appliances have these same on/off wall switches.

We are going to just take it easy today for a change. We will do some laundry, read a book and eventually walk into town to find an internet café. Unfortunately, they don’t have wireless at the timeshare.

That’s it for now – T&T at the lake.

Forgot one Irish Post

Today, Tuesday, is our final day in Ireland

Here are some observations we have about Dublin.

1. We were channel surfing and all of a sudden we could not understand the Irish accent. That was because they were not speaking English, they were speaking Gallic. The Irish national language.
2. The B&B we stayed at in Dublin was located in an area of attached homes. The Irish individualize each of their homes by painting the front doors a different color from their neighbor. Our feeling is that this is done so that when they come home from the neighborhood pub (drunk) they can find their house.
3. In London when it was time to cross a busy street a chime would be sounded. In Dublin, this sound is a loud chirp which goes on and on.
4. No matter what you may order at a pub for dinner it is going to come with chips (French fries). One night Lynda ordered chicken pasta and it came with a side of fries.
5. Dublin is not as clean a city as London. In London, you always saw street cleaners everywhere throughout the city. In Dublin, the trash cans are left out for days at a time in the front yard waiting for trash day. In addition, there was loose trash blowing around the streets and yards.
6. Buses are everywhere in Dublin since they don’t have an underground. You may have five or six buses in a row all following each other down the street. I’m sure they are all going to different places, but it sure looks weird.

Today we purchased a full day tour bus pass from our B&B host. We took the local bus to the city center of Dublin and then transferred to a tour bus. Since we only had one full day here, this seemed to prudent thing to do. After several stops we hopped off the bus at the Guinness plant. The entry fee included a sample pint at the end of the tour. The tour was self guided and was quite interesting. It is more than a brewery tour, it is a history tour. Upon finishing the tour we grabbed a quick lunch - with a pint. Lynda gave the beer a try – to go – she opted for a Coke. Of course as you exited the plant you had to stop by the gift shop. More damage was done to our credit card. Finally we boarded a tour bus again to continue the city tour.

Our next stop was at Trinity College. The book of Kells is kept there. The book of Kells was written in the 8th century by monks. This also was a history tour, with the added benefit of seeing the book of Kells. There also was a long hall that was two stories high where all the other ancient books were kept. They had first editions of Darwin and Hooke. Wow, what a collection.

We ended the day by finding an internet café to upload pictures from London and our latest blog entry. We have found the cost to be quite reasonable as long as you go in with a plan. If you were just surfing the net for information, I could see where things could get expensive as you get caught up going from site to site.

Onward, back to England early tomorrow morning.

Cheers from Ireland
T&T

It's England. It's evening. It's raining.

It’s blog time again and the title of this blog says it all. The day started off cloudy, cleared up, but later clouded up again. Finally the moisture just had to let loose.

Today we went to my “ancestral home” – Castle Howard. Construction started on the castle in 1699 after the King gave his permission. The estate sits on more acreage than one person should own. We entered a magnificently manicured rose garden. This rose garden roamed from one enclosure to another; and finally exited on a vast grassy area which contained an enormous fountain. This we found out was the back entrance. The front entrance wasn’t so bad either as it sat off a picturesque lake. The Howard family still occupies one wing of the castle (they have 3 yr old twins). The majority of the castle is open to the general public (of course, for a fee). You move through the tour from one gorgeous room to another. This place is beyond belief. The art is by such painters as Gainesboro, Canalletto, Pannini, and many more. At times they close the tour to the general public, so that the entire family can use the property. The one thing that impressed us is that while the facility is very large, the feeling is that it is not just “another” museum, it is being used on an ongoing basis. On many of the tables there were current photos of the Howard’s and their twins.

By the way, we had to find this property using our UK A to Zed map book. Lynda is getting very good at finding where we are to go. Occasionally, we do get turned around and have to use spiral navigation (going around in circles) to get to our destination. When we are desperate we do stop and ask.

In the area, was a local farm the specialized in growing lavender. Lynda had to make a detour and see the farm. It was actually very pretty. We also stopped at a medieval priory. Next to it there was a field of cows. They came to the stone fence to moo at Lynda in an English accent. Actually, I think that they were looking for something to eat.

We next moved on to Eden Camp. Eden Camp was used to house German and Italian prisoners of war during World War II. Today the 24 huts contain a history of the life in England during the War. There are newspaper articles, artifacts, personal accounts, pictures and recreations of the life and times from 1939 until they closed the camp in 1948. You just couldn’t assimilate all the information. We finally had to leave, since they were closing it for the evening.

All along the way, we keep coming across interesting road signs. I won’t try to explain them as a picture is worth a thousand words. I think I will just store them for now. Later, I’ll devote an album just to road signs and pub signs.

This evening we went to a neighborhood pub for dinner. Let me say that this is what we truly expected to see in a rural pub. We sat in the token – no smoking area. In the main part of the pub, there was a large group of people having their pint of ale (or more) all this while their children were outside playing tag or watching the telly in the front lounge area. It all seemed “so British.” We really enjoyed the scene. However, when we finally got back to the B&B we had to change out of our clothes since they smelled so smoky. So much for the non-smoking sections of a pub.

We have had some delightful conversations with our hosts, Elaine & David. It seems that the B&B stories are the same no matter where you are located. In fact, the interruptions between telephone or walk-in evening guests looking for accommodations were also the same. Elaine indicated that it was difficult to deal with the time conflicts when their own family came to visit. Even those problems were the same as what we had dealt with when we owned the B&B.

We leave tomorrow for the Lake District. We plan on taking the scenic route through the North Yorkshire Dales National Park. Hopefully, the road will not drive us too crazy with its twists and turns.

Cheers, T&T