Today we met up with Richard and Mary at her house and headed into Norwich to go to the castle and cathedral. Norwich used to be the second largest city in England after London. It was the hub of the farm land in the area and Richard says he remembers when animals were still driven directly into town to be bought and sold. Norwich the city is actually quite large; but the Norwich castle is bigger. It sits in the center and high above everything else. Its a traditional Norman keep so its square and tall. You have to walk up one of the earthworks (through the old moat) to get up to the bridge to go inside.
The castle looks much more impressive than Castle Rising because in the Victorian era it was remodeled on the outside to preserve it. It looks like new! Richard had been to the castle but it had been about 35 years ago and the inside has been totally remodeled since then. The main floor of the great hall collapsed just like at Castle Rising but its been kept up better. When the inner floors fell, they were covered with a wooden floor. The floor would have been lower than it is now but you can still see how the storage area (lower level) was rough cut and undecorated. At about the level that the great hall would have been, a gallery (balcony) has been built all the way around. You can see how the hall (upper level) was more polished and finished off because that's where the king would have been.
Around the main keep the other castle areas have been converted into galleries. There were several different exhibits including a 60's exhibit with some gorgeous photographs of all kinds of rock royalty. There were several traditional art galleries with work from local painters, a small Egyptian exhibit and an exhibit on china made from the local and famous Lowestoft Porcelein shop. There was a huge exhibit on Boudica and the Iceni, native people of Roman era. It was quite interesting and there were a bunch of artifacts found locally. That exhibit continued up into an Anglo-Saxon exhibit including the British-Romans left behind, native tribes and invading Danish. It was all fascinating! There were great video clips as well, including one on King and Saint Edmund, called Edmund the Martyr.
The dungeon section was closed so we left the castle to walk around the grounds a little bit before walking over to Norwich Cathedral. On the way we stopped to eat at the Slug & Lettuce, a great restaurant with good food. As we were walking we passed a game shop that had people dressed up as Storm Troopers, Rebel Fights, Darth Vader and Chewbacca from Star Wars. It was quite surreal to be in a town hundreds of years old and see them standing in the street!
The Cathedral was huge! The spire is the second largest in all of England and was a later extension on the earlier Norman building. The Cathedral, like many in England, has had many exciting times in its 900 years including several riots and occupations. The private school that shares the grounds and was having their "end of term speeches" which is similar to graduation. They were in the Cathedral and there must have been hundreds of people in there. All the volunteers at the church were quite miffed that the visitors couldn't go into the church until the ceremony was done. We had some time so we walked around the cloister and marvel at the bosses in the ceiling. Bosses were explained to us as working like nails to hold up vaulted ceilings and at Norwich they are highly decorated. Inside the Cathedral they actually tell the entire story of the Bible from one end of the nave to the other. Richard walked the labyrinth and we asked several of the volunteers about different things around the area.
As we still had some time until the Cathedral was open, we walked down towards the river to visit Pull's Ferry where the stones would have been brought to build the Cathedral. Originally there was a canal that was built from this location all the way to the Cathedral grounds but its since been filled in as a road. By this time the ceremony had let out and we headed back towards the Cathedral.
The Cathedral is massively tall and quite large. It reminded us a lot of Westminster Abbey with its splendor. There were walkways on each side with memorials on the walls and in small alcoves as well as large tombs between the massive archways. Walking towards the altar we found more memorials, beautiful stained glass windows and stone work. Behind the screen was a gorgeous section of carved benches for the choir and behind that the pulpit and organ. Since Norwich was the second largest city the Bishop of Norwich was very important and much of the splendor was due to his residence.
We tried to go to the gift shop to buy postcards of the shots we couldn't get (the bosses were 70 feet in the air) but the shop closed early. Apparently all the volunteers were angry the school had "invaded" their space and were saying as much every time we spoke to them. And the rental company guys cleaning up the extra chairs, video screens and sound system were complaining about the public trying to view the church. We headed back to our car and back to Dereham.
We decided to make dinner for Mary since she didn't want to go out so we stopped at a local grocery store. After a mad hut for Teriyaki sauce we had the materials we needed to make a nice salmon dinner. We had tea when we got back to her house with a nice fruit cake from the woman that helps her clean. Mike and I got to look at a few of Mary's watercolors that she has in binders. One is of all the clothes in Bishop Bonner's Cottages for their records. Another was every flower that came up in her garden, in order, for a year with little tidbits about the plant. Another, done in the same year as the flowers, was of all of her china and porcelain. She has quite few nice pieces and several sentimental ones.
Richard made salmon with a mango salsa and potatoes and Mike made a spinach salad with dried cranberries, mushrooms and walnuts. We all ate our fill and we had plenty of leftovers. We didn't even get to the dessert we'd planned. We walked home and crashed, again.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Friday - touring Norfolk
We woke up early in our room but not as early as the other days. We got dressed and headed down to the breakfast provided. The lady of the house was quite friendly and introduced us to her mother as well. While she cooked her mother continued to talk to us. Not with us as much as at us. We got to hear all about her travels, of which she's had many, and the variety of luggage calamities she had had along the way. Finally our food came and despite trying to eat it the mother didn't stop talking for awhile. We had a "full English breakfast" which consisted of: sausage, bacon, baked beans, bread, tomato, mushrooms, and eggs. So much good food! Great milk and orange juice too. The bacon is different than American bacon as its quite thick!
We went back up to the room so that we could digest a little and get ready to see Richard and Mary. We headed into the main part of town in Dereham, down High Street, so that Mike could see some of it. We got to Mary's house and had a chance to visit and catch up before heading out. She had a bad fall recently and is still recovering from the bumps and bruises.
We went to Dereham to see St. Nicholas church, just down the road and near the town center. Its a Norman church, although the resident saint is much older. Saint Withburga build a monastery in Dereham and a miracle happened during its construction. Workers needed food and two does would come every day to be milked. A local overseer became jealous and tried to kill the deer only to be thrown from his horse and his neck broken. Saint Withburga's body was removed from its resting place by a rival monastery several hundred years later (they wanted the money that came with the pilgrims to visit her) and a spring rose up from where the body had laid.
Inside the church there are several beautiful artifacts like a stone baptismal font, medieval screens and Norman wooden painted ceilings. The nearby bell tower was built because the tower of the church wasn't big enough but once held French prisoners of war. One prisoner escaped and the search party shot him. The townspeople felt so bad about it they buried him in their burial grounds and planted a flowering bush nearby.
We also stopped in to Bishop Bonner's Cottages, a series of three thatched roof cottages built in 1502 near the church. They are named for Bishop Bonner, who was a vicar of the church before becoming the Bishop of London but he didn't actually live there. The cottages are amazingly small, each family would have lived in one room downstairs and one room upstairs. The stairways and passes are very narrow and the ceilings low. Many local artifacts are housed in the cottages and we got a nice little tour of it.
We headed first to Swanton Morley, a nearby town where Richard's father Tony used to have a pig farm. We stopped to eat at Darby's Freehouse, a local iconic pub. Apparently it used to be farm workers cottages and Mary said it was still odd for her to think of people eating there. In England tables are not waited on at a pub, you have to order from the bar. But after ordering a pint each for Mike and Richard and some food we headed outside to wait. As we waited Richard showed us a giant atlas of England and we chose our route for the day. The food we had was delicious: Richard had a crab salad with crab on the half shell; Mike had a Mediterranean salad and Bree had fish & chips.
After a full lunch we headed over to the local church were Anthony (Tony) Brown, Richard's father was buried. We walked around the outside a little while and Richard pointed out a plaque with Mary's name on it. Apparently she had been the one to open the new handicap accessible entrance being a well known "character of the community."
From Swanton Morley we headed north to drive along the north coast of England and the North Sea. As has been happening lately, Bree started to nod off because we had just eaten. Mike teased her relentlessly that her head had bobbed up and down and side to side the whole time.
We eventually came to Castle Rising, a Norman castle that is quite famous. There used to be a river leading to it so it was a strategic point to have a castle. Built in the 12th century it had a long history before falling into disrepair. There were huge earthworks on all sides of the castle, then a large moat, then more earthworks spanning out. When part of the earthworks were excavated they found a pre-Norman church that apparently was taken over and just used as part of the wall. Walking up the main stairs there was a hole in part of the archway above called a "murder hole" that was built to pour hot water, or tar or other unpleasantries down on invaders. The main great hall had fallen down years ago and never replaced. Now the keep stands as basically a large square, open at the top and only the rooms around the edges still stand. It was quite interesting and Richard knows a lot about, well everything, so he was able to fill us in. Including a tidbit about spiral staircases and the fact that they always spiral to the right. That was done on purpose so that as a defender (going downstairs typically) you could easily chop down with your right hand at the invaders. The invaders (going upstairs typically) would have to try to strike around the staircase which was difficult.
From Castle Rising we tried to go to Castle Acre which was on the way back to Dereham. We just missed getting in as the person in charge was locking up. We asked if we could just peer through the gate which was apparently suspicious because she stuck around to make sure we weren't going to break in. We could see the massive entry gate with crests on it but didn't really get to see the castle itself.
From there we headed back towards Dereham - we visited with Mary for a little while before heading back to our guest house. Richard went to the grocery store for his mom and we relaxed for a little bit. Well Bree relaxed and Mike fell asleep. We met Richard down the road at the King's Head for a late dinner. Mike still wasn't hungry (it had been another large late lunch) so he just had dessert. Bree had a mushroom stroganoff which was really sauteed mushrooms with rice with a balsamic glaze. It was alright but a little different.
After dinner we visited some more before sleepily walking back to the guest house. We see so much during the day we are so tired by the end of it! Bree especially of course.
We went back up to the room so that we could digest a little and get ready to see Richard and Mary. We headed into the main part of town in Dereham, down High Street, so that Mike could see some of it. We got to Mary's house and had a chance to visit and catch up before heading out. She had a bad fall recently and is still recovering from the bumps and bruises.
We went to Dereham to see St. Nicholas church, just down the road and near the town center. Its a Norman church, although the resident saint is much older. Saint Withburga build a monastery in Dereham and a miracle happened during its construction. Workers needed food and two does would come every day to be milked. A local overseer became jealous and tried to kill the deer only to be thrown from his horse and his neck broken. Saint Withburga's body was removed from its resting place by a rival monastery several hundred years later (they wanted the money that came with the pilgrims to visit her) and a spring rose up from where the body had laid.
Inside the church there are several beautiful artifacts like a stone baptismal font, medieval screens and Norman wooden painted ceilings. The nearby bell tower was built because the tower of the church wasn't big enough but once held French prisoners of war. One prisoner escaped and the search party shot him. The townspeople felt so bad about it they buried him in their burial grounds and planted a flowering bush nearby.
We also stopped in to Bishop Bonner's Cottages, a series of three thatched roof cottages built in 1502 near the church. They are named for Bishop Bonner, who was a vicar of the church before becoming the Bishop of London but he didn't actually live there. The cottages are amazingly small, each family would have lived in one room downstairs and one room upstairs. The stairways and passes are very narrow and the ceilings low. Many local artifacts are housed in the cottages and we got a nice little tour of it.
We headed first to Swanton Morley, a nearby town where Richard's father Tony used to have a pig farm. We stopped to eat at Darby's Freehouse, a local iconic pub. Apparently it used to be farm workers cottages and Mary said it was still odd for her to think of people eating there. In England tables are not waited on at a pub, you have to order from the bar. But after ordering a pint each for Mike and Richard and some food we headed outside to wait. As we waited Richard showed us a giant atlas of England and we chose our route for the day. The food we had was delicious: Richard had a crab salad with crab on the half shell; Mike had a Mediterranean salad and Bree had fish & chips.
After a full lunch we headed over to the local church were Anthony (Tony) Brown, Richard's father was buried. We walked around the outside a little while and Richard pointed out a plaque with Mary's name on it. Apparently she had been the one to open the new handicap accessible entrance being a well known "character of the community."
From Swanton Morley we headed north to drive along the north coast of England and the North Sea. As has been happening lately, Bree started to nod off because we had just eaten. Mike teased her relentlessly that her head had bobbed up and down and side to side the whole time.
We eventually came to Castle Rising, a Norman castle that is quite famous. There used to be a river leading to it so it was a strategic point to have a castle. Built in the 12th century it had a long history before falling into disrepair. There were huge earthworks on all sides of the castle, then a large moat, then more earthworks spanning out. When part of the earthworks were excavated they found a pre-Norman church that apparently was taken over and just used as part of the wall. Walking up the main stairs there was a hole in part of the archway above called a "murder hole" that was built to pour hot water, or tar or other unpleasantries down on invaders. The main great hall had fallen down years ago and never replaced. Now the keep stands as basically a large square, open at the top and only the rooms around the edges still stand. It was quite interesting and Richard knows a lot about, well everything, so he was able to fill us in. Including a tidbit about spiral staircases and the fact that they always spiral to the right. That was done on purpose so that as a defender (going downstairs typically) you could easily chop down with your right hand at the invaders. The invaders (going upstairs typically) would have to try to strike around the staircase which was difficult.
From Castle Rising we tried to go to Castle Acre which was on the way back to Dereham. We just missed getting in as the person in charge was locking up. We asked if we could just peer through the gate which was apparently suspicious because she stuck around to make sure we weren't going to break in. We could see the massive entry gate with crests on it but didn't really get to see the castle itself.
From there we headed back towards Dereham - we visited with Mary for a little while before heading back to our guest house. Richard went to the grocery store for his mom and we relaxed for a little bit. Well Bree relaxed and Mike fell asleep. We met Richard down the road at the King's Head for a late dinner. Mike still wasn't hungry (it had been another large late lunch) so he just had dessert. Bree had a mushroom stroganoff which was really sauteed mushrooms with rice with a balsamic glaze. It was alright but a little different.
After dinner we visited some more before sleepily walking back to the guest house. We see so much during the day we are so tired by the end of it! Bree especially of course.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday - Westminster Abbey, Parliament & the Tube
Sleeping in was a bust again. But we did try to lay in bed and relax until a decent hour (6am) to get up. After breakfast we headed to run some errands before heading out. We hit the local mall and bought a "pay as you go" phone. We got the phone, sim card, charger and nearly 80 minutes of time for 24 pounds. Then we headed bus station to go up to Parliament Square via the 87 bus. We came up along the back side of the House of Parliament and as we got out to view it Mike was really impressed by the size. We walked towards the front to see the infamous Big Ben. In Parliament Square there were dozens of protestors against the war in Afghanistan and asking for troops to be returned home. The scene mirrored the protestors on the White House green back home.
From there we walked to Westminster Abbey and luckily the crowds weren't too bad. We got a free audio tour and started on our clockwise tour of the humongous Abbey. It is always disappointing that photography is not allowed inside but it is still impressive. The Abbey has been open since 960AD, and been the home of every Coronation of a monarch of England since 1066AD. It is an amazing place and awe-inspiring. The Abbey is quite expansive, having been added on to several times. Each small chapel or nave has many raised tombs with effigies with walls covered in large monuments (with or without remains) as well as floor markers indicating people buried beneath your feet. The floor markers make Bree sad because many are so warn away the detailed crests and engravings of names are no longer visible; unlike the more recent stones of Poet's Corner.
We also got a chance to see the tombs of Kings and Queens of old including Henry the VII and the two daughters of Henry the VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I. It was all quite interesting to Bree who's been reading about Henry VIII and his six wives. We also walked to the back of the nave to see the Tomb of the Unknown and Winston Churchill's tomb.
After we left the Westminster Abbey we walked down Victoria Street to look for some food. Determined to have something real and different from what we could get back home we stumbled upon the Strutton Ground Market. We ended up getting some food from a catering company that had an outdoor wok/ grill at the market. Bree got an au gratin potato type dish with bacon and sausage while Mike got a fish cake with a salad variety. We sat in a park down the street to eat some lunch before heading back.
We walked along the front of Big Ben again and down Westminster Bridge and back again before finding the 87 going back to Wandsworth. On the way back we sat on the upper deck so that we could see the view. We got back in the early afternoon so Bree could try and take a nap. Mike had a cold earlier in the week and Bree was starting to feel achy with a sore throat. After a quick nap we got up, gathered some of our stuff and headed out. We were heading to Heathrow to meet Richard before heading up to Norfolk to see family.
We were going to take the 220 to Hammersmith again but Mike thought he heard Maggie tell him to take the 270 instead. But the 270 ended us at Putney Bridge Station, a far ways from Hammersmith. So we had to get on the Tube to get to Hammersmith to switch from the District line to the Picadilly line. Unfortunately for us, the Picadilly line was having a strike so service was interrupted. The trains to Heathrow were positively packed and we barely got on. The cars were stuffy and hot which wasn't enjoyable for Bree. Finally as we neared Heathrow the cars emptied out and we were able to sit. There were however several times that the train had to stop in order to provide enough space between it and the next one.
With all those delays we got to the airport to meet Richard nearly an hour after we had originally planned. Luckily his flight was also delayed and we headed to the rental car lot. After getting our car squared away we headed up north. We manged to get there in about three hours! Our inn was a little difficult to find but we eventually got in. We had (luckily) contact the inn about coming in late so they were expecting us. We got into our room and are headed to sleep!
From there we walked to Westminster Abbey and luckily the crowds weren't too bad. We got a free audio tour and started on our clockwise tour of the humongous Abbey. It is always disappointing that photography is not allowed inside but it is still impressive. The Abbey has been open since 960AD, and been the home of every Coronation of a monarch of England since 1066AD. It is an amazing place and awe-inspiring. The Abbey is quite expansive, having been added on to several times. Each small chapel or nave has many raised tombs with effigies with walls covered in large monuments (with or without remains) as well as floor markers indicating people buried beneath your feet. The floor markers make Bree sad because many are so warn away the detailed crests and engravings of names are no longer visible; unlike the more recent stones of Poet's Corner.
We also got a chance to see the tombs of Kings and Queens of old including Henry the VII and the two daughters of Henry the VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I. It was all quite interesting to Bree who's been reading about Henry VIII and his six wives. We also walked to the back of the nave to see the Tomb of the Unknown and Winston Churchill's tomb.
After we left the Westminster Abbey we walked down Victoria Street to look for some food. Determined to have something real and different from what we could get back home we stumbled upon the Strutton Ground Market. We ended up getting some food from a catering company that had an outdoor wok/ grill at the market. Bree got an au gratin potato type dish with bacon and sausage while Mike got a fish cake with a salad variety. We sat in a park down the street to eat some lunch before heading back.
We walked along the front of Big Ben again and down Westminster Bridge and back again before finding the 87 going back to Wandsworth. On the way back we sat on the upper deck so that we could see the view. We got back in the early afternoon so Bree could try and take a nap. Mike had a cold earlier in the week and Bree was starting to feel achy with a sore throat. After a quick nap we got up, gathered some of our stuff and headed out. We were heading to Heathrow to meet Richard before heading up to Norfolk to see family.
We were going to take the 220 to Hammersmith again but Mike thought he heard Maggie tell him to take the 270 instead. But the 270 ended us at Putney Bridge Station, a far ways from Hammersmith. So we had to get on the Tube to get to Hammersmith to switch from the District line to the Picadilly line. Unfortunately for us, the Picadilly line was having a strike so service was interrupted. The trains to Heathrow were positively packed and we barely got on. The cars were stuffy and hot which wasn't enjoyable for Bree. Finally as we neared Heathrow the cars emptied out and we were able to sit. There were however several times that the train had to stop in order to provide enough space between it and the next one.
With all those delays we got to the airport to meet Richard nearly an hour after we had originally planned. Luckily his flight was also delayed and we headed to the rental car lot. After getting our car squared away we headed up north. We manged to get there in about three hours! Our inn was a little difficult to find but we eventually got in. We had (luckily) contact the inn about coming in late so they were expecting us. We got into our room and are headed to sleep!
Wednesday Part 3 - Stonehenge
We weren’t sure what to expect from Stonehenge since its a site everyone knows about and yet not everyone has actually seen. But even the basic facts most people don't have right. You can’t even really see it until you begin to walk along the path. The tall vertical stones seem much bigger than they are. We had an audio tour for Stonehenge as well and started it as soon as Stonehenge was in view. Normally you can only walk along one side on a path but there was a roped off section on the grass that continued almost all the way around. Monday was Summer Solstice and there was a massive ceremony on site. It was really interesting to hear the theories on the sites construction and use. Apparently the people that built it were hunter gatherers which meant they had to work all day to hunt enough to survive. Therefore the site must have had huge significance to them in order to lose important hunting time to make it. Our visit to Stonehenge was only 45 minutes so we quickly had to get back on the bus and head back to London.
Our guide Trevor had lots of little tidbits and stories to share along the road including crop circles and Winston Churchill. He had several quotes about Churchill’s less than polite demeanor in Parliament including two separate exchanges with the same female barrister:
Barrister: “If you were my husband sir, I would put poison in your tea!”
Churchill: “If you were my wife, Madam, I would drink it.”
Barrister: “Sir! You are drunk!”
Churchill: “And you Madam, are ugly! But in the morning I will be sober!”
We both slept on the way home and woke up near London. We were dropped back off at Victoria Station and got directions to the bus station. But, English vernacular got in the way as we meant red bus and we were directed to the coach station. Buses are the buses that get your around town, the iconic red doubledeckers. Coaches on the other hand, are the larger buses that you would take a tour on. Victoria Station is on a large block and each side is a different form of transportation: bus, coach, rail and underground. We ended up circling the block trying to find our bus stop to take the 220 back to Wandsworth. But we ran into trouble on the way back as we weren’t quite sure of our stop in Wandsworth. We got off at the same stop we had the other day but it was a little bit farther down since it was a different bus and on the other side of the street. But we walked awhile until we found a station that had a local area map and headed towards our best guess until we saw some landmarks.
John was up at their second house in Snape but Maggie was up and helped up with some supper. We dragged ourselves off to bed and have no early plans so we hope to sleep in tomorrow!
Our guide Trevor had lots of little tidbits and stories to share along the road including crop circles and Winston Churchill. He had several quotes about Churchill’s less than polite demeanor in Parliament including two separate exchanges with the same female barrister:
Barrister: “If you were my husband sir, I would put poison in your tea!”
Churchill: “If you were my wife, Madam, I would drink it.”
Barrister: “Sir! You are drunk!”
Churchill: “And you Madam, are ugly! But in the morning I will be sober!”
We both slept on the way home and woke up near London. We were dropped back off at Victoria Station and got directions to the bus station. But, English vernacular got in the way as we meant red bus and we were directed to the coach station. Buses are the buses that get your around town, the iconic red doubledeckers. Coaches on the other hand, are the larger buses that you would take a tour on. Victoria Station is on a large block and each side is a different form of transportation: bus, coach, rail and underground. We ended up circling the block trying to find our bus stop to take the 220 back to Wandsworth. But we ran into trouble on the way back as we weren’t quite sure of our stop in Wandsworth. We got off at the same stop we had the other day but it was a little bit farther down since it was a different bus and on the other side of the street. But we walked awhile until we found a station that had a local area map and headed towards our best guess until we saw some landmarks.
John was up at their second house in Snape but Maggie was up and helped up with some supper. We dragged ourselves off to bed and have no early plans so we hope to sleep in tomorrow!
Wednesday Part 2 - Roman Baths
We drove from Windsor Castle to the town of Bath and stopped near the Roman Baths. We were able to go inside and see the great museum on the restored Roman Baths. The Baths were built around natural hot water springs (the only in England) and were used for relaxation, socializing, religious ceremonies, a meeting place and even as a market. The whole facility is really well done as it preserves the older ruins but displays and explains them in such a way you really feel like you’re there. As you step into a room the original walls go up as high as they exist now and modern walls continue up from there. There were projectors in several rooms that projected actors on to the walls in original dress carrying on as they would at the height of the Bath’s popularity. Another projector was aimed at the remaining pieces of the pediment of the temple and slowly faded in to show what the full design would have looked like; it eventually faded to the bright colors that probably ordained this all important piece.
Several artifacts have been found in the surrounding areas that have given archaeologists a lot of information about the community that surrounded the Roman Baths. One interesting set of artifacts were lead curses thrown in the spring to ask the patron goddess, Minerva. People would write on the soft lead curses like “I hope boils and dismemberment come to whomever stole my horse: Achilles, Axle, Smith, Barney.” The writers would include the offense, the desired punishment and their suspects. Some were wadded up before being thrown in and others were carefully folded.
We were able to walk into several rooms that have piles of squarish stones on the floor. These piles were actually supports for the real floor and would have been heated with steam in order to have heated floors in the bath house in the winter. It was actually quite ingenious and the museum had a very nice animation of the construction of the room that included placing 10-12” stacks of 6”x6” tile about the same distance apart from each other, throughout an entire room, and then covering that floor with several layers of flooring material for strength.
The whole time we were listening to a free audio tour that explained a lot about the Roman Baths, their discovery and restoration. It was a great way of getting information as we walked along.
As we exited the Roman Baths you had the option to go into the Pump Room which is a restaurant but also displayed how the spring water was pumped out. On our way back to the bus we walked past the Bath Abbey which has angels climbing up carved ladders on either side of the tower. Our bus was delayed by a few people that were late and we ran off to our next stop, Stonehenge.
Several artifacts have been found in the surrounding areas that have given archaeologists a lot of information about the community that surrounded the Roman Baths. One interesting set of artifacts were lead curses thrown in the spring to ask the patron goddess, Minerva. People would write on the soft lead curses like “I hope boils and dismemberment come to whomever stole my horse: Achilles, Axle, Smith, Barney.” The writers would include the offense, the desired punishment and their suspects. Some were wadded up before being thrown in and others were carefully folded.
We were able to walk into several rooms that have piles of squarish stones on the floor. These piles were actually supports for the real floor and would have been heated with steam in order to have heated floors in the bath house in the winter. It was actually quite ingenious and the museum had a very nice animation of the construction of the room that included placing 10-12” stacks of 6”x6” tile about the same distance apart from each other, throughout an entire room, and then covering that floor with several layers of flooring material for strength.
The whole time we were listening to a free audio tour that explained a lot about the Roman Baths, their discovery and restoration. It was a great way of getting information as we walked along.
As we exited the Roman Baths you had the option to go into the Pump Room which is a restaurant but also displayed how the spring water was pumped out. On our way back to the bus we walked past the Bath Abbey which has angels climbing up carved ladders on either side of the tower. Our bus was delayed by a few people that were late and we ran off to our next stop, Stonehenge.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday Part 1 - Windsor Tour
We had planned on getting up early in order to meet up with our tour but didn't need alarms. Bree woke up in the middle of the night and didn't get back to sleep til almost dawn. Both of us woke up with the sun at 5am. Our room at John & Maggie's faces east and this time of year the sun is up at 4am in London and doesn't set until 10pm. We read up on some sights and got ourselves settled with plenty of time for breakfast and heading to the bus station. We've borrowed John & Maggie's Oyster cards and added a few pounds to them before heading off. We took the 170 straight to the Victoria Coach station to meet our coach tour. Our reservations said the tour left at 8:45am and to arrive at least 10 minutes in advance to queue. But when we got there the queue didn't even start until almost 9am and we didn't leave for awhile after that.
Our tour guide was Trevor and he was filled with information! As we exited London he shared information about the different boroughs we passed through, which celebrity lived where and the history of how some of the neighborhoods came to be. We exited London and made our way to Windsor Castle down the M3 (Motorway 3). When we arrived at Windsor we were repeatedly told when and where to meet as we were on a tight schedule. Trevor would say, "I'll meet you here on the bus, ready to go, buckled in at 11:55. You're on bus #286 and if you get lost remember that I will be outside the bus with a worried look on my face starting at 20 til twelve and looking more and more worried until you are all in your seats at 5 to twelve." There were many tours at Windsor and each tour guide had some obvious visual clue to lead their group; such as a zebra print umbrella, a flag, and a pink hat. We headed through the small Windsor Train Station and through the town of Windsor past shops to the outer wall.
There was a very large queue for groups that day so despite his many speeches before Trevor made a second speech of equal length and repetitiveness with a new time of 20 past twelve. Trevor led us through the Middle Ward and around the Round Tower towards the State Apartments. The castle is massive and has been added on to in its years of continuous living since 1066 AD. The Round Tower is the castle keep and was the last stronghold of defense for the monarchy. From outside the State Apartments you can see the Upper Ward and look across to the Private Apartments where the Royal Family stays when they are in residence. We entered the State Apartments and proceeded through them on our own audio tour. The State Apartments were breathtaking!
We passed through the King's & Queen's old bedrooms, dressing rooms and presence chambers. There was a dining hall big enough to have housed our entire wedding at one table. There was a room devoted to the Order of the Garter, the most prestigious society of chivalry. There are only a certain number of members at any given time with the Sovereign as leader and another member of the Royal family as second. Prince William recently became the 1000th member of the Order. The Knights of the Order are involved in a large ceremony once a year and expected to attend church regularly. But since they are often important people with busy lives, there are lesser Military Knights whose job it is to live in Windsor Castle (ahh shucks!) and pray in a special ceremony for the actual Knights who are too busy.
Apparently there was a large fire in 1992 that damaged a large portion of the State Apartments. They have since been fully restored and you can't even tell. The Grand Reception room had to have the floors fixed which meant picking up each piece of wood, flipping it and replacing it. It is covered in gold filagree and is breathtaking.
After viewing the State Apartments we visited the Drawing Room and St. George's Chapel. The Drawing room cycles through its exhibits every 6 months so that it can display all of the country's treasures. From there we walked into the China room and just the small sampling of what was there was beautiful. The Chapel was beautiful and is the final resting place for several people including the current Queen's parents and grandparents. We ran through both and headed out the castle gates into town. We bought Cornish pasties for lunch and made a run for our bus.
We just made it in time, ate our lunch and Bree soon fell asleep on our way to Bath.
Our tour guide was Trevor and he was filled with information! As we exited London he shared information about the different boroughs we passed through, which celebrity lived where and the history of how some of the neighborhoods came to be. We exited London and made our way to Windsor Castle down the M3 (Motorway 3). When we arrived at Windsor we were repeatedly told when and where to meet as we were on a tight schedule. Trevor would say, "I'll meet you here on the bus, ready to go, buckled in at 11:55. You're on bus #286 and if you get lost remember that I will be outside the bus with a worried look on my face starting at 20 til twelve and looking more and more worried until you are all in your seats at 5 to twelve." There were many tours at Windsor and each tour guide had some obvious visual clue to lead their group; such as a zebra print umbrella, a flag, and a pink hat. We headed through the small Windsor Train Station and through the town of Windsor past shops to the outer wall.
There was a very large queue for groups that day so despite his many speeches before Trevor made a second speech of equal length and repetitiveness with a new time of 20 past twelve. Trevor led us through the Middle Ward and around the Round Tower towards the State Apartments. The castle is massive and has been added on to in its years of continuous living since 1066 AD. The Round Tower is the castle keep and was the last stronghold of defense for the monarchy. From outside the State Apartments you can see the Upper Ward and look across to the Private Apartments where the Royal Family stays when they are in residence. We entered the State Apartments and proceeded through them on our own audio tour. The State Apartments were breathtaking!
We passed through the King's & Queen's old bedrooms, dressing rooms and presence chambers. There was a dining hall big enough to have housed our entire wedding at one table. There was a room devoted to the Order of the Garter, the most prestigious society of chivalry. There are only a certain number of members at any given time with the Sovereign as leader and another member of the Royal family as second. Prince William recently became the 1000th member of the Order. The Knights of the Order are involved in a large ceremony once a year and expected to attend church regularly. But since they are often important people with busy lives, there are lesser Military Knights whose job it is to live in Windsor Castle (ahh shucks!) and pray in a special ceremony for the actual Knights who are too busy.
Apparently there was a large fire in 1992 that damaged a large portion of the State Apartments. They have since been fully restored and you can't even tell. The Grand Reception room had to have the floors fixed which meant picking up each piece of wood, flipping it and replacing it. It is covered in gold filagree and is breathtaking.
After viewing the State Apartments we visited the Drawing Room and St. George's Chapel. The Drawing room cycles through its exhibits every 6 months so that it can display all of the country's treasures. From there we walked into the China room and just the small sampling of what was there was beautiful. The Chapel was beautiful and is the final resting place for several people including the current Queen's parents and grandparents. We ran through both and headed out the castle gates into town. We bought Cornish pasties for lunch and made a run for our bus.
We just made it in time, ate our lunch and Bree soon fell asleep on our way to Bath.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday night
After arriving at John & Maggie's we settled in and relaxed for awhile. We were apparently very relaxed as we started to fall asleep sitting up! We took a short nap but didn't want to sleep for long as we were trying to get on London time. Maggie came home in evening and cooked up a delicious meal. We had a chance to chat with John and Maggie over dinner and hear all about what the family has been up to. After dinner we watched a little of the UK vs Australia cricket match. John taught us much about cricket as this was a "short form" of the game with a defined set of overs (like innings) which are over in a few hours (7-8) rather than a few days. We tucked into bed a little after ten and planned to get plenty of sleep to get on London time. Emphasis on planned.
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