England and Ireland!
I know I'm WAY late updating about my trip, but you know. Stuff happens.
So here we go! My England/Ireland trip update! Picture heavy!
We left Detroit on the 2nd of September, with a quick layover in Boston. Then we had a six hour overnight flight to London. I tried to sleep, but I was way too excited, and SUPER uncomfortable in my chair! D: So when Ben and birthday girl herecirm picked us up on the 3rd, I was in desperate need of a nap.
After our nap, Sari took us on a trek to the Devil's Punchbowl, which is a natural amphitheater. Along the way, Thad and I were super excited to find some sheep!
Devil's Punchbowl.
I really needed to take this picture. Sari and I agree that it needs to be a setting, somewhere, in a novel.
We also found THESE!
I have to thank Sari for putting up with me and my plantar fasciitis. I was slow, had to walk with a cane, and generally had a hard time walking on uneven ground. :( But no matter how many times Thad and Sari asked me if I wanted to turn around, I stuck it out until the end. :)
The next day (Thad and I's 10 year anniversary), Sari took us to Portsmouth harbour. Our first stop was the HMS Warrior, A frigate built in 1860.
We then stopped for lunch before continuing on. I had my first official English Fish & Chips, and it was delicious. The only thing that would have made it more official would have been to have it wrapped in newspaper.
Our next stop was the HMS Victory, a ship built in 1765, and most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
People were short, back then, as you can see by Thad standing next to the doorway. XD
Our final stop was the Mary Rose museum. The Mary Rose was a Tudor Navy Warship under King Henry VIII. In 1545, the Mary Rose suddenly leaned heavily over to the right side and sunk. Out of a crew of around 400, only 35 survived. The anti-boarding net was the doom of those below it. Half of the Mary Rose was excavated in 1982, and for years it was being treated for conservation. The black tubes in the pictures are actually the third (and hopefully final) stage, with controlled air for drying.
The next day we were whisked away to Chichester, a beautiful city with Anglo-Saxon and Roman history.
This is the Town Cross, built in 1501. It's in the very center of the intersection of the four main roads, and was primarily used as a meeting place, or a place for the poor to sell their wares.
Chichester Cathedral was BEAUTIFUL!
The Cathedral for the Anglo-Saxons was founded in 680 in Selsey, and the bishop's seat was moved to Chichester in 1075. So to see this list, and to see the year of the first bishop, was incredible.
The Bell Tower is unusual, as it's separate from the Cathedral, rather than integrated into it. Also, it was covered in a netting as to keep falling debris from hurting anybody (I think...).
Chichester Cathedral had a quaint little café that we stopped at before leaving. I had my first official English Scone, which tasted a lot like my mum's "Cloud Biscuits". Yummy.
We then went to the Novium museum, which actually contained the ruins of a Roman bathhouse!
While inside, we had WAY too much fun with the hands-on portion of it, where we tried on many hats, played with puppets and balls in cups, and just generally goofed around like children. XD
We also walked around the Bishop's Palace Gardens, where you can also see part of the ancient Roman wall still standing.
We met up with one of Sari's friends for supper at a Japanese restaurant called Wagamama's, which was quite delicious. Alana was pretty interesting and wonderfully nice to meet.
The next day, we stopped to see the horses so that Ben (off from work for the weekend) could move the fence line. Cash and Marty say om nom nom.
Iris says om nom nom, too, but from behind a fly mask (poor thing...).
And then we were off to Stonehenge! :D
The bus could take you all the way to Stonehenge, or it could take you half-way, and you could walk. We opted to walk.
Along the way, we found burial mounds.
Stonehenge!
At one point, I felt the need to sit on sacred ground. So I just plopped myself down, and Thad took a really nice picture of me, sitting, looking out at Stonehenge. <3
As we were walking back, we saw monks. I took a picture of one of them, as he took a picture of me. XD
Neolithic houses!
We also saw a Druid. XD
Ben then drove us to the village of Avebury.
ZOMG, phone booth! XD
Avebury contains the same kind of megalithic monuments, built in a henge, but you're allowed to walk amongst the stones...
...And even touch them.
ZOMG, A JACKDAW! <3 <3
The next day, we went to Bourne Woods. There have been many movies filmed there, such as Gladiator, Robin Hood, and even Thor!
This is where the castle was in Robin Hood.
On our way to the location used to film the Vanaheim scenes in Thor: The Dark World.
We found movie props! A broken piece of pottery. We then shot battle scenes. Thor versus the baddies!
There's a particular section in the forest where ambush scenes occur. Here, Thor is our lookout on the road that leads to ambush.
We left Bourne Woods and headed for Waverly Abbey.
Remnants of the Monks' Dormitory.
Epic Pose!Thad.
We then went to Rivendell, where Ben's parents live. We met the Hound of Rivendell, who is just too adorable and excitable, and also became Thad's best friend.
Ben and Sari cooked a delicious meal for everybody, and Ben's parents are the sweetest.
The next morning, we returned to Rivendell (much to the delight of the Hound of Rivendell), as Ben's mum would drive us to the airport on our way to Ireland!
Delighted Hound!
We flew into Dublin and took a bus to the City. We got slightly turned around, but not for very long, because the Irish are INCREDIBLY friendly and helpful. Also, Dublin has free wifi, like, EVERYWHERE.
We meant to go to Christchurch Cathedral, but ended up at St. Patrick's Cathedral, instead. While Sari and Thad took advantage of the free wifi to figure out where we were, and where we should have been, I was useless and took pictures.
We eventually found our way to Christchurch Cathedral, and found our hotel right across the street. We dropped off our stuff, and set out on our adventure!
On our way back, I took a picture of the full moon over the Liffey. <3
We stopped at a pub for supper, and Thad had his first official Irish Guiness. I had a sip, just to say that I have, but I don't like beer.
We did stop at a corner store and bought alcohol before returning to the hotel, where we spent the rest of the night drinking like (im)proper Irishmen!
(I'm also amused by the fact that our room contained a bed big enough for three people, and then a lonesome little "time out" single bed. XD )
I deem Dublin a very noisy city at night, in between the loud drunks, the constant police sirens, and the Cathedral bells going off every quarter. But I enjoyed every second of it. <3 In the morning, we set off for more Dublin adventure!
Christchurch Cathedral
We found a cat!
Thad, the beast-tamer.
After being all lovey-dovey-purry-wurry with Thad, the cat, whose name was Ginger, wanted nothing more to do with us. This is our "piss-off" glare, that followed paw-swattings and a few hisses.
Inside Christchurch Cathedral we go!
This. This is THE reason I went inside.
It's in St. Lauds Chapel.
St. Lauds Chapel contained the preserved heart of the Patron Saint, St. Laurence O'Toole. Back in 2012, Sari sent me a link to a news article that informed that the heart had been stolen. Having a novel villain from Ireland, this was the perfect prompt for a drabble. A few months later, I find an article that states that the Rhino-horn gang was linked with the theft. So I finally write my prompt, and all is good.
As the years went by, I guess I'd somehow fooled myself into thinking that the heart had been returned? I was VERY disappointed to see a rock in the cage, instead of the heart-shaped container. But then when I re-read the articles, nowhere was it mentioned that it had ever been returned, so I was a little less disappointed. But just a little.
We were allowed down into the crypt!
And then I found THIS!
I had NO IDEA that certain scenes in the TV show "The Tudors" were filmed at Christchurch Cathedral! I had a happy.
We then went to a Viking and Medieval museum called the Dublinia. It was very hands-on, and we had fun trying on hats (again!), playing musical instruments (I found a bohdran!), and getting into trouble (for shame!).
Thad almost couldn't fit. XD XD
We then climbed St. Michael's tower, which was 96 winding steps to the top.
The lady in Dublinia's gift shop was the one who told us about St. Michael's tower, and she also told us about St. Audoen's Cathedral, which is where we adventured to next!
St. Audoen is the oldest parish church in Dublin (1190!) and still used as such. Because of that, we dared not venture inside. XD
Onward to more adventure! We found Dublin castle.
Dublin Castle. Destroyed by a fire, and rebuilt "modernized". :/
The park to the south of Dublin Castle's walls was definitely pretty.
We scrambled around a bit more before our return to England, trying to return to shops we had passed along the way the previous day, or the sweater shop, in specific, for my mother-in-law (thank you, friendly helpful Irish guy!). Sari and I both saw this in passing, through a window display, and just HAD to take pictures. I NEED THIS FOR NANOWRIMO! XD XD
I had always wanted to go to Ireland, and 2 days definitely wasn't enough. I didn't want to leave. And I cried on the plane ride back to England, both in sadness for leaving, and in happiness that I actually got to go. I apologize to Sari for having seen me cry, but I thank her SO VERY MUCH for giving me the opportunity to go, even for just 2 days!
We returned to Sari's, went to bed, and woke up the next day for our last adventure: LONDON!
This is the London Eye. See that red capsule all the way at the top? Thad called dibs on it when we arrived... and sure enough, the red capsule happened to be the one we got on. XD
Big Ben, as seen from the London Eye.
The Thames river, as seen from the London Eye.
Double-decker busses! :D :D
We spent A LOT of time here.
And to prepare myself, I re-read Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere", and was pleased with myself for pointing out the names of the stops based on the novel. XD
We also ran around in circles trying to find Trader Vic's (which, we found out later, was INSIDE the Hilton...). Thad and I were disappointed to find no Pina Colada on the menu. (Cookies to those that get the reference!). Aoooooo!
Buckingham Palace!
I think Camden Market was my favorite place in London.
Sari and I found a vendor with really really old books. We were trying to find the oldest ones. The oldest books have the year written in Roman numerals, which we are all quite rusty on... XD
Final stop of the night:
Oh, yes. I went there. <3
We then went home and hurried up to pack, because our taxi was going to come at insanely-early-o'clock.
I actually fell asleep on the plane BEFORE take-off, that's how tired I was. Take-offs make me nervous, and I usually grip my seat or Thad's hands, and he was slightly concerned when I didn't grip his hand, but he saw that I was passed out, so... XD
We actually landed in Boston an hour early, so we had time to shop around the airport in Boston before our flight back to Detroit. I bought myself a model of the ship the USS Constitution, which is a Frigate launched in 1797, and most famous during the War of 1812 against Great Britain, when she defeated five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane and Levant. A little ironic, having just come back from England, BUT IT'S A SHIP, SO I DIDN'T CARE!
So there we have it.
I definitely want to return. Badly. Like... Right now.
My long-term plans are:
- August 2015: Visit my dad.
- 2016: The Tall-Ship Festival returns to Bay City. Maybe Sari can visit for it? Or any Renaissance Festival. ;)
- 2017: Go back to Ireland.
Raine
So here we go! My England/Ireland trip update! Picture heavy!
We left Detroit on the 2nd of September, with a quick layover in Boston. Then we had a six hour overnight flight to London. I tried to sleep, but I was way too excited, and SUPER uncomfortable in my chair! D: So when Ben and birthday girl herecirm picked us up on the 3rd, I was in desperate need of a nap.
After our nap, Sari took us on a trek to the Devil's Punchbowl, which is a natural amphitheater. Along the way, Thad and I were super excited to find some sheep!
Devil's Punchbowl.
I really needed to take this picture. Sari and I agree that it needs to be a setting, somewhere, in a novel.
We also found THESE!
I have to thank Sari for putting up with me and my plantar fasciitis. I was slow, had to walk with a cane, and generally had a hard time walking on uneven ground. :( But no matter how many times Thad and Sari asked me if I wanted to turn around, I stuck it out until the end. :)
The next day (Thad and I's 10 year anniversary), Sari took us to Portsmouth harbour. Our first stop was the HMS Warrior, A frigate built in 1860.
We then stopped for lunch before continuing on. I had my first official English Fish & Chips, and it was delicious. The only thing that would have made it more official would have been to have it wrapped in newspaper.
Our next stop was the HMS Victory, a ship built in 1765, and most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
People were short, back then, as you can see by Thad standing next to the doorway. XD
Our final stop was the Mary Rose museum. The Mary Rose was a Tudor Navy Warship under King Henry VIII. In 1545, the Mary Rose suddenly leaned heavily over to the right side and sunk. Out of a crew of around 400, only 35 survived. The anti-boarding net was the doom of those below it. Half of the Mary Rose was excavated in 1982, and for years it was being treated for conservation. The black tubes in the pictures are actually the third (and hopefully final) stage, with controlled air for drying.
The next day we were whisked away to Chichester, a beautiful city with Anglo-Saxon and Roman history.
This is the Town Cross, built in 1501. It's in the very center of the intersection of the four main roads, and was primarily used as a meeting place, or a place for the poor to sell their wares.
Chichester Cathedral was BEAUTIFUL!
The Cathedral for the Anglo-Saxons was founded in 680 in Selsey, and the bishop's seat was moved to Chichester in 1075. So to see this list, and to see the year of the first bishop, was incredible.
The Bell Tower is unusual, as it's separate from the Cathedral, rather than integrated into it. Also, it was covered in a netting as to keep falling debris from hurting anybody (I think...).
Chichester Cathedral had a quaint little café that we stopped at before leaving. I had my first official English Scone, which tasted a lot like my mum's "Cloud Biscuits". Yummy.
We then went to the Novium museum, which actually contained the ruins of a Roman bathhouse!
While inside, we had WAY too much fun with the hands-on portion of it, where we tried on many hats, played with puppets and balls in cups, and just generally goofed around like children. XD
We also walked around the Bishop's Palace Gardens, where you can also see part of the ancient Roman wall still standing.
We met up with one of Sari's friends for supper at a Japanese restaurant called Wagamama's, which was quite delicious. Alana was pretty interesting and wonderfully nice to meet.
The next day, we stopped to see the horses so that Ben (off from work for the weekend) could move the fence line. Cash and Marty say om nom nom.
Iris says om nom nom, too, but from behind a fly mask (poor thing...).
And then we were off to Stonehenge! :D
The bus could take you all the way to Stonehenge, or it could take you half-way, and you could walk. We opted to walk.
Along the way, we found burial mounds.
Stonehenge!
At one point, I felt the need to sit on sacred ground. So I just plopped myself down, and Thad took a really nice picture of me, sitting, looking out at Stonehenge. <3
As we were walking back, we saw monks. I took a picture of one of them, as he took a picture of me. XD
Neolithic houses!
We also saw a Druid. XD
Ben then drove us to the village of Avebury.
ZOMG, phone booth! XD
Avebury contains the same kind of megalithic monuments, built in a henge, but you're allowed to walk amongst the stones...
...And even touch them.
ZOMG, A JACKDAW! <3 <3
The next day, we went to Bourne Woods. There have been many movies filmed there, such as Gladiator, Robin Hood, and even Thor!
This is where the castle was in Robin Hood.
On our way to the location used to film the Vanaheim scenes in Thor: The Dark World.
We found movie props! A broken piece of pottery. We then shot battle scenes. Thor versus the baddies!
There's a particular section in the forest where ambush scenes occur. Here, Thor is our lookout on the road that leads to ambush.
We left Bourne Woods and headed for Waverly Abbey.
Remnants of the Monks' Dormitory.
Epic Pose!Thad.
We then went to Rivendell, where Ben's parents live. We met the Hound of Rivendell, who is just too adorable and excitable, and also became Thad's best friend.
Ben and Sari cooked a delicious meal for everybody, and Ben's parents are the sweetest.
The next morning, we returned to Rivendell (much to the delight of the Hound of Rivendell), as Ben's mum would drive us to the airport on our way to Ireland!
Delighted Hound!
We flew into Dublin and took a bus to the City. We got slightly turned around, but not for very long, because the Irish are INCREDIBLY friendly and helpful. Also, Dublin has free wifi, like, EVERYWHERE.
We meant to go to Christchurch Cathedral, but ended up at St. Patrick's Cathedral, instead. While Sari and Thad took advantage of the free wifi to figure out where we were, and where we should have been, I was useless and took pictures.
We eventually found our way to Christchurch Cathedral, and found our hotel right across the street. We dropped off our stuff, and set out on our adventure!
On our way back, I took a picture of the full moon over the Liffey. <3
We stopped at a pub for supper, and Thad had his first official Irish Guiness. I had a sip, just to say that I have, but I don't like beer.
We did stop at a corner store and bought alcohol before returning to the hotel, where we spent the rest of the night drinking like (im)proper Irishmen!
(I'm also amused by the fact that our room contained a bed big enough for three people, and then a lonesome little "time out" single bed. XD )
I deem Dublin a very noisy city at night, in between the loud drunks, the constant police sirens, and the Cathedral bells going off every quarter. But I enjoyed every second of it. <3 In the morning, we set off for more Dublin adventure!
Christchurch Cathedral
We found a cat!
Thad, the beast-tamer.
After being all lovey-dovey-purry-wurry with Thad, the cat, whose name was Ginger, wanted nothing more to do with us. This is our "piss-off" glare, that followed paw-swattings and a few hisses.
Inside Christchurch Cathedral we go!
This. This is THE reason I went inside.
It's in St. Lauds Chapel.
St. Lauds Chapel contained the preserved heart of the Patron Saint, St. Laurence O'Toole. Back in 2012, Sari sent me a link to a news article that informed that the heart had been stolen. Having a novel villain from Ireland, this was the perfect prompt for a drabble. A few months later, I find an article that states that the Rhino-horn gang was linked with the theft. So I finally write my prompt, and all is good.
As the years went by, I guess I'd somehow fooled myself into thinking that the heart had been returned? I was VERY disappointed to see a rock in the cage, instead of the heart-shaped container. But then when I re-read the articles, nowhere was it mentioned that it had ever been returned, so I was a little less disappointed. But just a little.
We were allowed down into the crypt!
And then I found THIS!
I had NO IDEA that certain scenes in the TV show "The Tudors" were filmed at Christchurch Cathedral! I had a happy.
We then went to a Viking and Medieval museum called the Dublinia. It was very hands-on, and we had fun trying on hats (again!), playing musical instruments (I found a bohdran!), and getting into trouble (for shame!).
Thad almost couldn't fit. XD XD
We then climbed St. Michael's tower, which was 96 winding steps to the top.
The lady in Dublinia's gift shop was the one who told us about St. Michael's tower, and she also told us about St. Audoen's Cathedral, which is where we adventured to next!
St. Audoen is the oldest parish church in Dublin (1190!) and still used as such. Because of that, we dared not venture inside. XD
Onward to more adventure! We found Dublin castle.
Dublin Castle. Destroyed by a fire, and rebuilt "modernized". :/
The park to the south of Dublin Castle's walls was definitely pretty.
We scrambled around a bit more before our return to England, trying to return to shops we had passed along the way the previous day, or the sweater shop, in specific, for my mother-in-law (thank you, friendly helpful Irish guy!). Sari and I both saw this in passing, through a window display, and just HAD to take pictures. I NEED THIS FOR NANOWRIMO! XD XD
I had always wanted to go to Ireland, and 2 days definitely wasn't enough. I didn't want to leave. And I cried on the plane ride back to England, both in sadness for leaving, and in happiness that I actually got to go. I apologize to Sari for having seen me cry, but I thank her SO VERY MUCH for giving me the opportunity to go, even for just 2 days!
We returned to Sari's, went to bed, and woke up the next day for our last adventure: LONDON!
This is the London Eye. See that red capsule all the way at the top? Thad called dibs on it when we arrived... and sure enough, the red capsule happened to be the one we got on. XD
Big Ben, as seen from the London Eye.
The Thames river, as seen from the London Eye.
Double-decker busses! :D :D
We spent A LOT of time here.
And to prepare myself, I re-read Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere", and was pleased with myself for pointing out the names of the stops based on the novel. XD
We also ran around in circles trying to find Trader Vic's (which, we found out later, was INSIDE the Hilton...). Thad and I were disappointed to find no Pina Colada on the menu. (Cookies to those that get the reference!). Aoooooo!
Buckingham Palace!
I think Camden Market was my favorite place in London.
Sari and I found a vendor with really really old books. We were trying to find the oldest ones. The oldest books have the year written in Roman numerals, which we are all quite rusty on... XD
Final stop of the night:
Oh, yes. I went there. <3
We then went home and hurried up to pack, because our taxi was going to come at insanely-early-o'clock.
I actually fell asleep on the plane BEFORE take-off, that's how tired I was. Take-offs make me nervous, and I usually grip my seat or Thad's hands, and he was slightly concerned when I didn't grip his hand, but he saw that I was passed out, so... XD
We actually landed in Boston an hour early, so we had time to shop around the airport in Boston before our flight back to Detroit. I bought myself a model of the ship the USS Constitution, which is a Frigate launched in 1797, and most famous during the War of 1812 against Great Britain, when she defeated five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane and Levant. A little ironic, having just come back from England, BUT IT'S A SHIP, SO I DIDN'T CARE!
So there we have it.
I definitely want to return. Badly. Like... Right now.
My long-term plans are:
- August 2015: Visit my dad.
- 2016: The Tall-Ship Festival returns to Bay City. Maybe Sari can visit for it? Or any Renaissance Festival. ;)
- 2017: Go back to Ireland.
Raine