There and Back Again
Jul. 30th, 2007 09:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unknownfateBack from Wales! Here's a quick trip summary:
Friday: We drove to Dulles airport in DC. That took about 6 hours. Then we got on the plane and flew to London. I forget how many hours that was, but it seemed like ages. The food was remarkably good. I had mushroom pasta with salad and a fudge cake, and I was shocked at how good it was. I also read the Zombie Survival Guide. The weapon section was very informative. I may have to give copies as gifts, so my friends will also be prepared for when the dead start to walk. Or to use as rp fodder.
Saturday: Then, we landed and all went to hell. Turns out that England picked that week to flood, so the trains weren’t running any farther west than Reading. (Wales is way west of Reading.) Sooo, I went with Mom to Oxford to find out what to do. We were a day early because we were supposed to be in Wales for the first night. After much hauling of cruelly heavy luggage up cobblestone streets, we found a place to sleep for the night: King’s Quarter House Bed & Breakfast.
It was lovely. The staff was wonderful. I began the first of many frantic calls back and forth with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
siarwenevenstar. There was much lamenting, but hope that the floodwaters would recede and I could be on my way the next day. No such luck.
Sunday. The trains weren’t running at all . Mom could check into her Oxford room, but I had no place to go. I was being all miserable about it until Mom pointed out a gargoyle that looked like me. I had to admit there was a resemblance. We took the Oxford Story ride, which I believe to be the world’s slowest rollercoaster through the history of Oxford. It was a nice little setup though, and it was even nicer to sit down for a few minutes.
I revealed my nationality by accident ordering a tomato crepe. (That’s toe-may-toe, not toe-mah-toe.) A Frenchman in line behind me muttered something about Americans and was shushed by the creperie man. I don’t know what he said because it was in French, but I did catch ‘American’ in there somewhere.
There was a concert that night in the Exeter chapel and we went to see that. It was Baroque chamber music with a choral accompaniment, and it was fantastic. The singer’s voice was amazing. There was also violin and harpischord.
And the bells! The bells! There’s 39 colleges here and I think they all have chapels, and apparently, many of them like to toll out the hours.
Monday: I set out bright and early to see what I could find out about the buses. The trains had failed me and I had gotten the insurance to be refunded if anything went wrong, so as long as I get the vast majority of my $468 back, I won’t wish specific harm on the train system. I got bus tickets so easily I was amazed. Everything else had been so tooth-pullingly complicated that I couldn’t believe it. Surely it was too easy. Surely something would go wrong.
I fretted about it all through the walking tour of Oxford we went on. There is some fantastic architecture there, and all sorts of little alleyways leading to shops and parks and cafes and gardens. I’d like to go back sometime when I’m not in stomach-churning state of stress!
Tuesday: Left bright and early on the bus. Drove and drove and drove and drove. I picked docile old ladies to sit next to and suffered no unwelcome conversation. After the first few hours I could make myself stop stamping an imaginary brake as we sped along through tiny streets as tiny cars and brave souls on bikes scrambled out of our way.
Anyway, I finally, FINALLY got to Haverfordwest wheresiarwenevenstar met me and took me to their house. We walked down past a graveyard to castle ruin and saw some horses.
Wednesday:siarwenevenstar took me on a bus trip to her old hometown. We hiked up a hill to see the ocean, and went to see an art gallery. Then we went up the road to Saint David’s cathedral.
Thursday: Started off slow. I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows ( I knew it!) and walked along to the fastest dental appointments ever. We went to the beach and were nearly sent airborne by the wind. Then, we went to another beach withsiarwenevenstar’s friend Sally Ann. After that was to a bar somewhere, with some people whose names I don’t remember ,to talk about cell phones, which I didn’t have.
Friday: Went to Folly Farm. Saw the animals. Went on Nature walk. Rode carousel, go carts, ferris wheel. Sally Ann picked us up and took us to Pembroke castle. Much scampering and photographing. Went home. Watched Dr. Who and V for Vendetta.
Saturday: Time to go back to London. Rode the bus allll day. Got to London. Walked around with Mom. Ate at Mexican restaurant.
Sunday: Early flight, headed for home. That took 8 hours. Got to DC in the midst of a terrific lightning storm. We had to stay on the plane until the storm moved three miles away. Then we had to sit in the baggage claim for three hours until it was safe for the luggage to be brought in. Then we drove another 6 hours home.
Gahhh. It was such a fun trip, but the going back and forth takes a lot out of me! I wish someone would hurry up and perfect a teleportation device or something...
Friday: We drove to Dulles airport in DC. That took about 6 hours. Then we got on the plane and flew to London. I forget how many hours that was, but it seemed like ages. The food was remarkably good. I had mushroom pasta with salad and a fudge cake, and I was shocked at how good it was. I also read the Zombie Survival Guide. The weapon section was very informative. I may have to give copies as gifts, so my friends will also be prepared for when the dead start to walk. Or to use as rp fodder.
Saturday: Then, we landed and all went to hell. Turns out that England picked that week to flood, so the trains weren’t running any farther west than Reading. (Wales is way west of Reading.) Sooo, I went with Mom to Oxford to find out what to do. We were a day early because we were supposed to be in Wales for the first night. After much hauling of cruelly heavy luggage up cobblestone streets, we found a place to sleep for the night: King’s Quarter House Bed & Breakfast.
It was lovely. The staff was wonderful. I began the first of many frantic calls back and forth with
siarwenevenstar. There was much lamenting, but hope that the floodwaters would recede and I could be on my way the next day. No such luck.Sunday. The trains weren’t running at all . Mom could check into her Oxford room, but I had no place to go. I was being all miserable about it until Mom pointed out a gargoyle that looked like me. I had to admit there was a resemblance. We took the Oxford Story ride, which I believe to be the world’s slowest rollercoaster through the history of Oxford. It was a nice little setup though, and it was even nicer to sit down for a few minutes.
I revealed my nationality by accident ordering a tomato crepe. (That’s toe-may-toe, not toe-mah-toe.) A Frenchman in line behind me muttered something about Americans and was shushed by the creperie man. I don’t know what he said because it was in French, but I did catch ‘American’ in there somewhere.
There was a concert that night in the Exeter chapel and we went to see that. It was Baroque chamber music with a choral accompaniment, and it was fantastic. The singer’s voice was amazing. There was also violin and harpischord.
And the bells! The bells! There’s 39 colleges here and I think they all have chapels, and apparently, many of them like to toll out the hours.
Monday: I set out bright and early to see what I could find out about the buses. The trains had failed me and I had gotten the insurance to be refunded if anything went wrong, so as long as I get the vast majority of my $468 back, I won’t wish specific harm on the train system. I got bus tickets so easily I was amazed. Everything else had been so tooth-pullingly complicated that I couldn’t believe it. Surely it was too easy. Surely something would go wrong.
I fretted about it all through the walking tour of Oxford we went on. There is some fantastic architecture there, and all sorts of little alleyways leading to shops and parks and cafes and gardens. I’d like to go back sometime when I’m not in stomach-churning state of stress!
Tuesday: Left bright and early on the bus. Drove and drove and drove and drove. I picked docile old ladies to sit next to and suffered no unwelcome conversation. After the first few hours I could make myself stop stamping an imaginary brake as we sped along through tiny streets as tiny cars and brave souls on bikes scrambled out of our way.
Anyway, I finally, FINALLY got to Haverfordwest where
siarwenevenstar met me and took me to their house. We walked down past a graveyard to castle ruin and saw some horses. Wednesday:
siarwenevenstar took me on a bus trip to her old hometown. We hiked up a hill to see the ocean, and went to see an art gallery. Then we went up the road to Saint David’s cathedral. Thursday: Started off slow. I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows ( I knew it!) and walked along to the fastest dental appointments ever. We went to the beach and were nearly sent airborne by the wind. Then, we went to another beach with
siarwenevenstar’s friend Sally Ann. After that was to a bar somewhere, with some people whose names I don’t remember ,to talk about cell phones, which I didn’t have. Friday: Went to Folly Farm. Saw the animals. Went on Nature walk. Rode carousel, go carts, ferris wheel. Sally Ann picked us up and took us to Pembroke castle. Much scampering and photographing. Went home. Watched Dr. Who and V for Vendetta.
Saturday: Time to go back to London. Rode the bus allll day. Got to London. Walked around with Mom. Ate at Mexican restaurant.
Sunday: Early flight, headed for home. That took 8 hours. Got to DC in the midst of a terrific lightning storm. We had to stay on the plane until the storm moved three miles away. Then we had to sit in the baggage claim for three hours until it was safe for the luggage to be brought in. Then we drove another 6 hours home.
Gahhh. It was such a fun trip, but the going back and forth takes a lot out of me! I wish someone would hurry up and perfect a teleportation device or something...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
woohoo!!
Date: 2007-07-30 04:56 pm (UTC)Katie
YAY!
Date: 2007-07-30 07:40 pm (UTC)And it was St David's Cathedral, not St Michael's, but it's ok, I won't tell anybody!
You also didn't mention about how my mother stuffed you full of food!!! Mwhahaha.
So. Awesome.
Re: YAY!
Date: 2007-07-31 10:01 pm (UTC)