England, May 2006
Hold your horses, here it is...
So... my family and I went to Wales/England in May. We spent the first few days in Wales with my Uncle Tom and Auntie Mary, then spent the rest of the trip in merry ol' England, staying in self-catering hotels, for the most part (we spent one night in a normal hotel in Wells for my birthday).
Highlights:
-Castles and churches and other old buildings everywhere. Pretty awesome. My Uncle Chris and Auntie Pennie live in a house from the 1600s (they found a poem from around then hidden in a beam in their kitchen), and directly behind their house is a church that was built in 1292. They keep bees.
-We went to Stonehenge on my birthday. That was pretty nifty. The weather was perfect for the occasion: light, misty rain and slightly foreboding clouds. The audio tour was surprisingly good.
-We spent the night of my 20th birthday (May 19th) at a hotel in Wells. It was a neat place; really old, to the point where the floors were sloping. I got my own tiny little room, on a seperate floor from my family, which was a nice change (although I pretty much had as much privacy as I needed at the other places we stayed, too; I almost had to share a room with my brother in Bewdley but, thankfully, that was averted). We had a pretty fancy dinner at the hotel restaurant that night; my parents got us a nice bottle of red wine. They were filming a "feature film" called "Hot Fuzz" right outside the hotel. Turns out, the two main guys from "Shaun of the Dead" are in it. We didn't see either of them, but we saw a scene with a mean-looking old lady on a bike, shooting at something in front of her being filmed outside my parents' window.
-The Wall family reunion at the Lakes House wasn't too shabby. Lots of people I didn't know. My mom and I hid in an empty living room eating fruit for a while.
-Went to a couple of pubs with my dad. British beer isn't half bad; judging from what I tried, I like it better than most of the Canadian stuff.
-We visited the Eden Project, because everybody says you have to. It's this huge area devoted to gardens; they have two big "biodomes", which are basically gigantic greenhouses. The whole place is geared toward educating the public about environmental issues, so it was right up my alley.
-We went to Stratford, but didn't get to see a play. We stood outside Shakespeare's birthplace for a moment or two, though.
-The aquarium in Plymouth was neat.
-Other biggish cities we visited: Birmingham, Worcester, Manchester (but we didn't really see Manchester, we just went to visit my Uncle John and Auntie Patty there).
-Places we stayed: Raglan (Wales), Lanreath (Cornwall, England), Wells (Somerset, maybe?, England), Bewdley (Worcestershire, England). My dad grew up in Bewdley, and my Uncle David and Aunt Liz live in the Lakes House (my Dad's childhood home) there.
-I could go on about the sheep again, but I'll refrain. I do think I'd like to run some kind of animal shelter type place somewhere in Europe when I get older, though. Close to a big city, but far enough away that it's still pretty. I'd take in abused/unwanted animals and have a lovely little farm. The countryside is just gorgeous over there. I'm not sure how old I'd have to be to feel ok with living in the country, though.
Anyway, some pictures (not in order)...
I took these in the back yard of the hotel we stayed at in Lanreath, Cornwall:
These are from my birthday:
Arden made friends with that little dude in the white shirt (in front of the cathedral) instantaneously.
My little room at the Crown Hotel...
I suppose turning 20 is an event worth recording...
These are from the Eden Project:
This is my dad and Arden at the hotel in Lanreath:
(Arden is a really good reader these days; he was motoring through those Famous Five books like a madman.)
Here's some place in Cornwall we went to that had a huge beach (at low tide, at least):
Arden loves soccer...
Some cliffy place...
We went to see the Hurlers, which are ancient stone circles:
Another beach:
This might be the same place:
We all fell in puddles, somehow...
My dad went to this beach as a kid... he remembers some mischief involving the slate cliffs:
We went to visit the boarding school my dad attended during the war, which he hated:
He told me to entitle this one "Survivor"...
It seems my mom doesn't understand the concept of a light meter...
Abergavenny:
Some scenery from various places:
And, last but not least... sheep!
...I guess that's pretty much it.
So... my family and I went to Wales/England in May. We spent the first few days in Wales with my Uncle Tom and Auntie Mary, then spent the rest of the trip in merry ol' England, staying in self-catering hotels, for the most part (we spent one night in a normal hotel in Wells for my birthday).
Highlights:
-Castles and churches and other old buildings everywhere. Pretty awesome. My Uncle Chris and Auntie Pennie live in a house from the 1600s (they found a poem from around then hidden in a beam in their kitchen), and directly behind their house is a church that was built in 1292. They keep bees.
-We went to Stonehenge on my birthday. That was pretty nifty. The weather was perfect for the occasion: light, misty rain and slightly foreboding clouds. The audio tour was surprisingly good.
-We spent the night of my 20th birthday (May 19th) at a hotel in Wells. It was a neat place; really old, to the point where the floors were sloping. I got my own tiny little room, on a seperate floor from my family, which was a nice change (although I pretty much had as much privacy as I needed at the other places we stayed, too; I almost had to share a room with my brother in Bewdley but, thankfully, that was averted). We had a pretty fancy dinner at the hotel restaurant that night; my parents got us a nice bottle of red wine. They were filming a "feature film" called "Hot Fuzz" right outside the hotel. Turns out, the two main guys from "Shaun of the Dead" are in it. We didn't see either of them, but we saw a scene with a mean-looking old lady on a bike, shooting at something in front of her being filmed outside my parents' window.
-The Wall family reunion at the Lakes House wasn't too shabby. Lots of people I didn't know. My mom and I hid in an empty living room eating fruit for a while.
-Went to a couple of pubs with my dad. British beer isn't half bad; judging from what I tried, I like it better than most of the Canadian stuff.
-We visited the Eden Project, because everybody says you have to. It's this huge area devoted to gardens; they have two big "biodomes", which are basically gigantic greenhouses. The whole place is geared toward educating the public about environmental issues, so it was right up my alley.
-We went to Stratford, but didn't get to see a play. We stood outside Shakespeare's birthplace for a moment or two, though.
-The aquarium in Plymouth was neat.
-Other biggish cities we visited: Birmingham, Worcester, Manchester (but we didn't really see Manchester, we just went to visit my Uncle John and Auntie Patty there).
-Places we stayed: Raglan (Wales), Lanreath (Cornwall, England), Wells (Somerset, maybe?, England), Bewdley (Worcestershire, England). My dad grew up in Bewdley, and my Uncle David and Aunt Liz live in the Lakes House (my Dad's childhood home) there.
-I could go on about the sheep again, but I'll refrain. I do think I'd like to run some kind of animal shelter type place somewhere in Europe when I get older, though. Close to a big city, but far enough away that it's still pretty. I'd take in abused/unwanted animals and have a lovely little farm. The countryside is just gorgeous over there. I'm not sure how old I'd have to be to feel ok with living in the country, though.
Anyway, some pictures (not in order)...
I took these in the back yard of the hotel we stayed at in Lanreath, Cornwall:
These are from my birthday:
Arden made friends with that little dude in the white shirt (in front of the cathedral) instantaneously.
My little room at the Crown Hotel...
I suppose turning 20 is an event worth recording...
These are from the Eden Project:
This is my dad and Arden at the hotel in Lanreath:
(Arden is a really good reader these days; he was motoring through those Famous Five books like a madman.)
Here's some place in Cornwall we went to that had a huge beach (at low tide, at least):
Arden loves soccer...
Some cliffy place...
We went to see the Hurlers, which are ancient stone circles:
Another beach:
This might be the same place:
We all fell in puddles, somehow...
My dad went to this beach as a kid... he remembers some mischief involving the slate cliffs:
We went to visit the boarding school my dad attended during the war, which he hated:
He told me to entitle this one "Survivor"...
It seems my mom doesn't understand the concept of a light meter...
Abergavenny:
Some scenery from various places:
And, last but not least... sheep!
...I guess that's pretty much it.