There And Back.
So, which were the highlights of my holidays?
Well, the trip there and back, for one. I had a book, an audio book and tons of music with me but hardly touched any of them. I was watching TV (i.e. looked out of the window).
Don't know if I would go First Class again. It's comfy, that is for sure, but it was also a *bit* boring, because from Erfurt to Brussels I was basically alone in the carriage (travelling on a Sunday). On the way back, there was a British couple from Derby that travelled until Köln with me, the rest was business people with their laptops and mobile phones. That's what makes travelling 2nd class much more interesting: There is a broader range of people, business people, students, families, grannies.
The hike had some of the most gorgeous scenery of the whole Path --maybe also helped by the fact that the grass was indeed green, not brown this time!
Hm, what else did we see...- sheep? I dare you to find one picture among my photos *without* them! :-) Going on this walk with not much preparation had me feeling my knees, badly, the third day, but using my hiking sticks on the descents helped. My sister lost the sole of one of her boots the second day, which was worse, since sandals weren't up to the task on that terrain. She decided to wear the boots no matter what the last day, even without the sole. Other than that, 20km a day with 10kg+ were no problem in the cool late May weather. I might think again about doing other long distance hikes (never again in summer, though!).
We did however see a badger, a sheep and a young hare on one day - all dead. The sheep very much so, it probably had drowned in the creek we found it in.
I haven't taken pictures of any of the places we stayed at, but if you ever get to Llangynhafal I know a nice place. Most of the B+Bs are "average" but some really stand out, nicely furnished with an eye for small things. This one even had a jacuzzi (we did have a hot bath after a long day, but without the bubbly feature!). And the food was first class (who said that the English can't cook? --says she as she stuffs her face with Sticky Toffee Pudding). If we had stayed, we certainly would have put on a few kilos.
At the end of the tour, I did of course walk into the Irish Sea "as far as you dare":
The London days included a Day with Bees and An Evening with Othello :-)
Actually, we only wanted to buy a glass of honey from a beekeeper around the corner from my sister, but ended up spending all afternoon in his garden, watching the bees, and watching him checking a beehive. I saw a queen bee! Even tasted honey directly from the hive. We took photos with sister's cameraphone, but I haven't got them yet. Afterwards we sat together with the Beekeeper and two other guests, chatting until he had to leave. Well, we just changed over to the garden of the other guests (she a beekeeper as well), and continued chatting into the night. What fun! Sometimes you just "click" with people. I did however steer clear of the wine offered. Not that it was bad, but under the influence I rapidly lose my ability to understand and speak English!
Understanding English also became a problem the next evening at the Shakespeare's Globe. My sister got tickets for "Othello". I took along the play and had a peek at the text every few minutes. Live theatre is very much different from watching a film on DVD, I tell ya!
At the end we had tears in our eyes (sister, BIL, and a friend came with me). I wanted to pelt that idiot with strawberries! And strangle Iago with a handkerchief. Speaking of idiots...- I did a double take, when "Othello" walked on stage. I didn't expect to know any of the actors, but I knew him. First time I ever saw an actor on stage that I had seen only in films before. Interesting to see the difference (which is huge indeed), between stage and camera acting.
On my last day I went to see "How We Are" at Tate Britain, an exibition on 150 years of photography.
inkognitoh had pitched it to me at the meeting with the Renegades the Sunday before (which was great fun, with loads of food :-) ). Amazing stuff. I thought the photography of the last thirty years much more interesting than that before, because more and more people were getting involved in photography as a hobby or profession, and the range of topics became broader. Tate has carried the whole thing a step further and installed four monitors in the entrance hall, where "How We Are Now" is being exhibited, which is a group at Flickr, where everyone is invited to post four photos. On returning home, I promptly did.
So, if you visit Tate Britain, you might see one of my works *looks smug*.
Well, the trip there and back, for one. I had a book, an audio book and tons of music with me but hardly touched any of them. I was watching TV (i.e. looked out of the window).
Don't know if I would go First Class again. It's comfy, that is for sure, but it was also a *bit* boring, because from Erfurt to Brussels I was basically alone in the carriage (travelling on a Sunday). On the way back, there was a British couple from Derby that travelled until Köln with me, the rest was business people with their laptops and mobile phones. That's what makes travelling 2nd class much more interesting: There is a broader range of people, business people, students, families, grannies.
The hike had some of the most gorgeous scenery of the whole Path --maybe also helped by the fact that the grass was indeed green, not brown this time!
Hm, what else did we see...- sheep? I dare you to find one picture among my photos *without* them! :-) Going on this walk with not much preparation had me feeling my knees, badly, the third day, but using my hiking sticks on the descents helped. My sister lost the sole of one of her boots the second day, which was worse, since sandals weren't up to the task on that terrain. She decided to wear the boots no matter what the last day, even without the sole. Other than that, 20km a day with 10kg+ were no problem in the cool late May weather. I might think again about doing other long distance hikes (never again in summer, though!).
We did however see a badger, a sheep and a young hare on one day - all dead. The sheep very much so, it probably had drowned in the creek we found it in.
I haven't taken pictures of any of the places we stayed at, but if you ever get to Llangynhafal I know a nice place. Most of the B+Bs are "average" but some really stand out, nicely furnished with an eye for small things. This one even had a jacuzzi (we did have a hot bath after a long day, but without the bubbly feature!). And the food was first class (who said that the English can't cook? --says she as she stuffs her face with Sticky Toffee Pudding). If we had stayed, we certainly would have put on a few kilos.
At the end of the tour, I did of course walk into the Irish Sea "as far as you dare":
The London days included a Day with Bees and An Evening with Othello :-)
Actually, we only wanted to buy a glass of honey from a beekeeper around the corner from my sister, but ended up spending all afternoon in his garden, watching the bees, and watching him checking a beehive. I saw a queen bee! Even tasted honey directly from the hive. We took photos with sister's cameraphone, but I haven't got them yet. Afterwards we sat together with the Beekeeper and two other guests, chatting until he had to leave. Well, we just changed over to the garden of the other guests (she a beekeeper as well), and continued chatting into the night. What fun! Sometimes you just "click" with people. I did however steer clear of the wine offered. Not that it was bad, but under the influence I rapidly lose my ability to understand and speak English!
Understanding English also became a problem the next evening at the Shakespeare's Globe. My sister got tickets for "Othello". I took along the play and had a peek at the text every few minutes. Live theatre is very much different from watching a film on DVD, I tell ya!
At the end we had tears in our eyes (sister, BIL, and a friend came with me). I wanted to pelt that idiot with strawberries! And strangle Iago with a handkerchief. Speaking of idiots...- I did a double take, when "Othello" walked on stage. I didn't expect to know any of the actors, but I knew him. First time I ever saw an actor on stage that I had seen only in films before. Interesting to see the difference (which is huge indeed), between stage and camera acting.
On my last day I went to see "How We Are" at Tate Britain, an exibition on 150 years of photography.
inkognitoh had pitched it to me at the meeting with the Renegades the Sunday before (which was great fun, with loads of food :-) ). Amazing stuff. I thought the photography of the last thirty years much more interesting than that before, because more and more people were getting involved in photography as a hobby or profession, and the range of topics became broader. Tate has carried the whole thing a step further and installed four monitors in the entrance hall, where "How We Are Now" is being exhibited, which is a group at Flickr, where everyone is invited to post four photos. On returning home, I promptly did.
So, if you visit Tate Britain, you might see one of my works *looks smug*.