Adam's Travel Journal

Paris: Day 1

2009-09-24T14:38:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Paris in the early afternoon. It was odd to leave England. By the end of my time there I'd really started to feel at home (for the first time in my life) in a foreign country. Arriving in another foreign country, especially one that speaks a different language and was so different from the UK, was a little shocking. I had gotten comfortable with living in Europe but I hadn't had to deal with the "different language" part of it. This was all accelerated by the fact that a couple hours previous I'd been in, what had come to feel like, my home and now I was in a totally different culture. I guess Europeans deal with this all the time. A three hour train ride can drop you in another country with a different language, history and culture but a similar trip doesn't get you very far in the states.

After some confusion in getting our metro tickets, we finally made our way to the hotel. The Paris metro is pretty easy to navigate and (for someone as tall as myself) much more comfortable than the London Underground. After a quick breather at the hotel, we started walking to the the Pantheon.

It wasn't too far away and we made our way in without any waiting in line. While there, we bought a Paris Pass. This card gets you into most attractions and allows you to skip the lines and go straight in. Below are a few pictures of the Pantheon. It was a very impressive building. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it. Usually large, ornate churches or temples are centuries old but this was fairly new. I don't think it makes it any less impressive, in fact, it left me wondering why more countries or cities no longer build public works like the Pantheon.

After looking around the Pantheon and the crypts below, we were able to get tickets to the last tour up to the top of the building. They limit the number of people that can go, so we were happy to get on the list. It offered some beautiful views of Paris that you can see below.

After making our way back down, we walked through the nearby Jardin du Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Gardens. It was really beautiful and seemed quintessentially French. There were people lounging and enjoying the sun, performers playing music and people picnicking.

After getting back to the hotel we met up with one of Jamie's friends who had been living in Paris for the past three years. It was nice to have someone who knew their way around to join us on our first night in Paris. She gave us a lot of tips that would prove very useful.

Last Few Days in London

2009-09-15T17:29:00.001-07:00

I'm writing this about a month after the fact...

My time in London was quickly coming to an end. I was sad to finish my last couple days of my internship. I had met a lot of really great people and had some really great experiences, but I was really looking forward to seeing my wife, Jamie. My last day at the Embassy was on a Friday, I was preparing to meet Jamie at Victoria Station to begin a whirlwind tour of London and York. Unfortunately she was delayed in leaving the States due to bad weather, so she didn't arrive until a day later than planned. I was really disappointed, particularly because I wanted to visit York; but we just wouldn't have enough time to do everything we had planned.

One good note, however, was that I had already done most of the major sights in London so showing Jamie around was a lot easier than if we didn't know the area, particularly because a lot of the tube lines were down for repairs. We planned to do the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, a Thames River cruise, the Tower of London/London Bridge, the British Museum, the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, and Chinatown...all in three days. Since I've already written about most of these sights, I'll just post a few more pictures and a shorter description covering our few days in London.

After meeting Jamie at the train station we went back to my flat, dropped off her stuff and hopped on the bus to get to the Tower of London (the tube was down for the weekend). We also had to stop and buy some toiletries since the airline lost her luggage. Jamie enjoyed the Tower as much as I had. We managed to do a Beefeater's tour and see the crown jewels and a few of the major parts of the Tower. After the Tower we went to Harrod's, which I had yet to visit during my time in London. Harrod's was really neat to see, but everything was ridiculously expensive. After that we went back towards the Tower Bridge area where we had dinner on the south side of the river. We went to an Argentinian steakhouse called Gaucho. It was really good, perhaps a little pricey but you'll agree that you get a great view! The below picture is the view from the front of the restaurant. From left to right you can see the Gherkin, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge and the City Hall.

The next day we made our way to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, then walked to Westminster Abbey. The below picture is a cool view of the Horse Guards Parade (on the left) and the London Eye from St. James Park on the walk to Westminster Abbey.

We grabbed lunch and a beer/cider on the way to the Abbey (below) before doing an audio tour. We then made our way to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Jamie had picked out a couple paintings that she wanted to see so we didn't go through much of the museum. Afterward, we made our way to Covent Garden before meeting friends for dinner in Chinatown.

Our final day in London started with a boat ride from Westminster Pier, across the street from Parliament, to the St. Katherine's Pier next to Tower Bridge. The below two pictures are from the boat trip. From there we made our way to the British Museum. It was my second time there but it could have been the 100th, I still couldn't get enough of it. Jamie really enjoyed it too, although I think the crowds took away from the experience.

Finally, we made our way to Harrod's for Afternoon Tea. We both knew it was really cheesy, and overpriced, but it was still fun to do. I'm glad we did it because we had a really good time. Of course, Jamie enjoyed it a lot. The below picture is of our table with champagne, scones, sandwiches, desserts and tea. You can have as much as you want (except for the champagne) so we ate as much as we could. Our final meal in London was the fish and chips place near my flat, seemed to be a fitting end to our last day in London.

The next day we got a full English breakfast from a nearby cafe before heading to St. Pancras Station where we got on the Eurostar (which was surprisingly fast and comfortable) to Paris. I was sad to leave London, but was looking forward to Paris and eventually getting home for a little rest before starting back at school.

Windsor

2009-07-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I decided to do a short day trip from London and settled on Windsor. Since the tube line near my flat was down (again), I had to hop on the bus and make my way to Paddington Station. Direct trains to Windsor leave out of Waterloo, but that would have been too much of a pain to get to so I settled on going to Paddington and making a change at Slough. Trains run every half hour or so, so I didn't even bother looking at the departure times. It didn't take very long to get there; really, the longest part of the trip was waiting at Slough for the train to Windsor.

Windsor is definitely a tourist town, but sometimes that's alright. It makes for a pretty easy day, there are lots of signs directing you where to go and lots of shops and restaurants. There were a lot of nice stores in the facility around the central train station (there are two in Windsor, Riverside and Central), but I'm not really into shopping. I followed the crowds from the train station to the entrance to Windsor Castle. This is one of three official royal residences and has been a home of the royal family for 900 years. They have a pretty fast system in place, so I was able to get my ticket and into the castle pretty quickly. It was expensive (14 pounds for students) but since there isn't much else to do in Windsor I really didn't have a choice.

In all it was probably worth the 14 pounds. The royal family wasn't "in residence" so I was able to tour most of the buildings, with the exception of St. George's Chapel which is closed for services Sundays. I started by wandering around the grounds and stopping at spots to listen to the audio guide. The below photo shows the chapel on the left and the round tower in the center.

After wandering around for a bit I decided to go inside the staterooms. Before entering I snapped the below pictures of the square (it's closed off) where dignitaries and royal guests are greeted.

Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside the staterooms. So I've added the below from a web search. The staterooms are pretty amazing. It's really the only castle I've seen that has been continually modernized and up kept so it doesn't really feel like a museum. I started by viewing part of the royal collection that is on display, which includes drawings by Di Vinci. I then made my way into through the state rooms, some of which you can see below. As you could imagine, they are all decorated in beautiful works of art and historic objects. Pretty much fit what you would picture a royal palace to look like.

This is one of the few castles or palaces that I've been to that is actually lived in. It always strikes me, in an age where every family seems to move at least a few times in their lives it would be pretty amazing to live in your families home for hundreds of years. As if to drive home that fact, portraits of past generations of your family line the walls.

The final picture is of the Round Tower at the heart of Windsor Palace.

After leaving the Palace I walked towards Eton College. It's a nice walk along all the shops on High Street. It's not too far away but I was kind of worn out from my already long weekend. After looking around a bit I decided not to buy a ticket and made my way back to the train station.

In all it was a nice day trip. Very quick and easy to get to, and not too overwhelming. I probably wouldn't have gone if it was a long way from London but I figured it's one of those places that you should probably visit if you're in the UK for any length of time. It's so close I really didn't have an excuse not to, and I'm glad I did.

Dover

2009-07-27T01:58:00.000-07:00

The weather looked good for Saturday, so I decided I would head to Dover in southeastern England. I caught a train at Waterloo Station in London and after an hour and a half I was there. The second to last stop on the way to Dover stops at Canterbury, where I could see the famous Cathedral in the distance. Part of me wished I had decided to go there but I think I'd had my fill of Cathedrals from the previous weekend.

After arriving in Dover I wondered if it was always so crowded but I quickly found out that it was the 100th anniversary of the first flight across the English Channel by the Frenchman, Louis Bleriot. There wasn't a whole lot in the town so I made my way to the "Key of England", Dover Castle. As you can see from the second photo below, the Castle complex sits on top of a pretty steep hill. It was a little bit of a walk to get there from the town but was well worth it once you arrive. The first thing I did was climb to the top of the Admiralty Lookout, the lookout position used during World Wars I and II. The photo below is from the top of the lookout towards France, 21 miles away. It was pretty easy to see France that day, although it's kind of difficult to make out in the picture (it might be easier to see if you click on it). The third picture below is of the White Cliffs of Dover from the Admiralty Lookout. It was a really great view, France in the distance, the town of Dover to my right, the White Cliffs to my left and the ferries leaving the bustling Port of Dover for France below.

At noon I joined a tour of the castle's underground war tunnels. The tour focused on World War II, although there have been tunnels there since Medieval times. The tunnels were expanded during the Napoleonic Wars as England expected an invasion from France and, as you can see from the photos below, were extensively updated and used during World War II. After being routed by the German offensive into France at the outset of WW II, the British Expeditionary Force needed to be evacuated from Dunkirk, France. The operation to evacuate the British forces, codenamed Operation Dynamo, was conducted from these bunkers. Initial expectations were to evacuate around 45,000 soldiers; however, over 338,000 were eventually evacuated. The operation became known as the "Miracle of Dunkirk".

One really interesting thing about Dover Castle is that it contains something from almost every major chapter of English history. The first photo below is of the Roman lighthouse, built in the 1st century AD after the Roman invasion of Britain. The second photo below is of the Saxon church, St Mary de Castro. At this point I've gotten pretty good at being able to pick out which buildings are of Saxon construction. In general, a building with thick walls and only a few, small windows tends to be Saxon. Neither the lighthouse or the Saxon church had much to look at on the inside. The lighthouse was hallowed out and the church had been remodeled fairly recently (19th century). The third photo below shows the Norman Keep from the hill next to the Saxon church and Roman lighthouse. The keep has been closed for a year and is set to open next month so I couldn't go inside. Construction of the keep and the refortification of the castle began shortly after William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings (not too far away). In fact, his army took possession of the town and the Saxon fortifications after the battle before making their way to London.

I thought the below photo was somewhat poignant as it captures the castle complex's long history in one snapshot. The Saxon church is on the left (the Roman Lighthouse is barely visible just behind/to the left of the church), the Norman keep is to the right, and in the foreground is the barrel of a World War II anti-aircraft gun.

After leaving the castle I followed my trusty guidebook's directions to head to the National Trust's White Cliffs of Dover (like a National Park in the U.S.). I'm wondering if any of the writers actually made the walk. The sidewalk quickly disappeared from the road I was directed down. I had already gone too far, so I kept going. As I said, it was kind of a busy weekend so there was quite a bit of traffic. I kept having to jump up on the side of the road. Eventually I made it there in one piece. It is free to enter for people traveling on foot. I hadn't expected too much from the cliffs. I figured they would be just like normal cliffs, but white. Which they were, but it was much more exciting than I would have thought. Maybe it was because it was such a beautiful day, or maybe because I've seen them referenced in books and movies so many times, but the cliffs really were an enjoyable experience. There are a lot of walking paths, so I quickly made my way to a section that was less crowded.

Notice one of the many ferries to France in the right of the photo.

I settled down on a quiet section of the cliff to relax. Not wanting to be associated with the headline "Another Tourist Falls to His Death", I decided to stay at least one foot from the very edge. It was a great feeling, to lay back against my backpack and look out at the English Channel. One of the things I love about the ocean is its timelessness. I could lay on this windy cliff edge and imagine the Spanish Armada sailing through the Channel, a British soldier returning home after years of serving in the Empire, or the drone of the German bombers as they passed overhead during the Battle of Britain. That is one of the great things about history, it adds a further layer of depth and appreciation to life. I could have laid there a lot longer than I did, but eventually I had to get up and head back into town. It was a very cathartic experience and rivaled that of my second day in Scotland, when I stood on top of that mountain on the Isle of Skye. If there is one things I've increasingly come to realize during these trips, it's that I really enjoy being in nature. In fact, I think it's something that I need in my life rather than just enjoy. It doesn't always have to be far away places like the Scottish Highlands of the Cliffs of Dover, but I think I will make more of an effort to get out and appreciate the world around me.

After getting back to town I got a quick dinner at a pub then hopped on the train back to London. I took the below video while I was laying on the cliff edge, it is of a World War II British Lancaster bomber that flew past. The video pans over to the right so you can see the Port of Dover, to the left so you can see the White Cliffs and down so you can see the edge of the cliff.

St. Albans

2009-07-21T08:51:00.001-07:00

The next day after visiting Salisbury and Stonehenge I made my way to St. Albans. I was kind of worn out from the previous day but St. Albans is only a 20 minute train ride from the Cricklewood train station in London. Nevertheless, it seems like a world away once you arrive. Much calmer and more relaxed than London. I made my way to the center of town from the train station, which was actually a bit of a hike. From there I walked to the city's famous clock tower. It was built in the early 1400's. It was alright, but really not all that impressive. Although I must admit that I didn't actually go inside. After that I walked to the Cathedral.

The Cathedral was rebuilt over an early Saxon site after the Norman conquest, starting sometime around 1077. As you can see in a couple of the photos below, its built out of a real hodge podge of materials. A lot of the structure is made out of flint, which must be pretty common because lots of older buildings were made of the same. The Normans also used a lot of the original Saxon material and Roman bricks. Near St Albans was the site of the third largest Roman settlement in Britain, named Verulamium.

St Albans Cathedral is the resting place of, surprisingly enough, Saint Alban. Britain's first English martyr (there are three total), St. Alban had been a Roman living in Verulamium and converted to Christianity. As punishment, he was decapitated on a hill outside Verulamium which is now the site of the Cathedral.

St. Albans is a beautiful cathedral that's somewhat off the beaten path. It definitely makes for an easy day trip from London. You could probably even cover everything in an afternoon. The below photo is of a wall painting that was rediscovered in the 1800's. It had been whitewashed over during the Reformation. While I was at the Cathedral there was actually some kind of service going on in the far section. You can definitely tell that this is still a very active church and less of a museum like some of the other cathedrals and abbeys I've visited. Historically it had been a site for pilgrims and it seemed like the Church still very much catered to pilgrims traveling to St. Alban's shrine. I didn't take any photos of the shrine as we were asked not to.

After the Cathedral I headed to the site of the Roman city, Verulamium. Almost all the buildings had been taken apart for their building materials, so now its just a large 100 acre park. As you can see in the below picture, it's really pretty. If you lived in London or nearby it would be a real nice way to get out of the city.

On the edge of the park is the Verulamium museum. This is a small museum covering the Roman history of the area with some of the artifacts that have been found nearby. Its a nice little museum and worth a visit if you're going to go to St. Albans.

Near the museum is Roman Theatre. It is the best preserved Roman theatre in Britain, but as you can see from the below picture, there still isn't much there. They have found the foundations of some townhouses that were alongside the Roman Watling Street, which was interesting. It was just kind of neat to see the layout of an average sized Roman home.

As you can probably tell, St Albans isn't a mind blowing, spirit altering trip (unless, maybe if you're a pilgrim). But it was a nice place to spend a Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately not much is left of the Roman settlement but I have to admit, they do a very good job of presenting what remains. If you were visiting London and looking for a day trip, I could think of better places to go. But if you have the time, it is a nice place and could probably really be done in half a day.

Salisbury & Stonehenge

2009-07-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I took the train to Salisbury in the southwest of England. Known for it's beautiful Cathedral (with the tallest spire in the UK), Salisbury sits on the edge of the famous Salisbury Plain. Trains depart just about every half hour from Waterloo Station in London and arrive at Salisbury in about an hour and a half. After getting there I made my way to the city center. Salisbury must be the easiest, best marked city I've been to in the UK. There were signs everywhere, it would be almost impossible to lose your way. Once in the city center I grabbed a quick breakfast and stopped by the tourism office. They offer a cheap 2-hour walking tour which was leaving in a few minutes, so I signed up. The tour was good, although the guide was a little old and hard to hear. The tour was for the city and not the Cathedral or Cathedral Close (though we walked through part of it), so I'm glad I took it or I would have missed out on a lot. We ended up going into quite a few historic buildings that had been converted into hotels or restaurants. They were really interesting and I wouldn't have gone in them without the guide who apparently had an agreement with the owners.

One of the first places we went to was the Church of St. Thomas (below). The outside is nothing amazing, and really, neither is the inside except for the painting in the church called Doom. When our tour went by the church was closed for some kind of service, so I had to swing back by on my own a little later. It was well worth it though. The church was completely empty, which allowed me to sit down and look at the painting in my own time. It was a gift from a pilgrim and depicts Judgement Day, with people crawling out of their graves and either being taken to heaven or being dragged by demons to hell. It was kind of nice to sit alone and look at this medieval pilgrim's view of Judgement Day; knowing that generations of people have sat in the same pews, looked at Doom and pondering the same ideas that it brings to your mind. The second picture below is of the painting, although I couldn't get a clear shot to come out.

The tour conveniently ended in front of the Salisbury Cathedral, so I decided to go in. It was built from 1220 to 1258, very quick for a Cathedral which means that it was all done in one style, English Gothic. Normally, since Cathedrals take so long to build, they end up incorporating several different styles. The Cathedral is free to enter, but they do ask for a donation. People told me they could be quite pushy about it, because the upkeep of the Cathedral is considerable. I wasn't asked to make a donation, although I did put one in the box, but I heard them being kind of pushy with the people in front of me. Maybe they didn't bother because I'm foreign, or maybe because I bought one of the small guides. But the lady at the desk kept asking the people in front of me, "Would you like to make a donation", and when he said no they said, "Really!?! The upkeep is extremely expensive, you really can't spare a donation?". It seemed a bit pushy to me anyways, but the people just kept refusing and became a little exasperated. Although you probably should donate something, since it costs something like 12,ooo pounds a day to upkeep the Cathedral.

The first picture below is of the Cathedral's spire. Below that is a short video from inside the Cathedral. It was very atmospheric, a choir was practicing in the Cathedral (you should be able to hear in the video).

The Cathedral also houses one of the four copies of the Magna Carta. It's been at the Cathedral since 1225 and was pretty neat to see. The photo below is of some of the military flags in the Cathedral. It seems like almost every church and cathedral that I've visited in the UK, large or small, has the historic flags of the nearby/local military units. For a history fanatic, it is always interesting to see the flags that accompanied these units to the far flung reaches of the British Empire. Oftentimes the flags will have a plaque or sign saying where it was used, from China to the Crimea.

After the Cathedral I made my way to the bus station and got tickets for a line that runs a loop between Salisbury, Stonehenge and Old Sarum. It ended up being a really good deal. It only cost around 14 pounds, which included entry into Stonehenge. Of course there are huge lines when you get there, but the bus driver walked us through the side gate so we didn't have to wait.

By now, everyone knows how interested I am in history. But for whatever reason, Stonehenge never was a huge draw for me. Maybe because I assumed there wasn't much there and that it would be packed with people. This was the case, but it ended up being much better than I thought. It is always cool when you finally see something that you've seen on TV or read about. And the mystery and atmosphere of the place is kind of striking. Set on the Salisbury Plain, Stonehenge really was a fantastic sight. Another interesting thing was the large burial mounds in the fields nearby. You could tell that they were made in different shapes and, as it turns out, this was the case. Different shaped mounds were used for men and women.

Stonehenge really doesn't take too long, so I hopped back on the bus and road to Old Sarum. The bus ticket price included admission into Old Sarum as well as Stonehenge. This was the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. In fact, Salisbury has historically been referred to as New Sarum. It has been a site of human habitation since 3000 BC, but its first major development was during the Iron Age when it was built up as a hill fort. You can see from the photo below that, on top of being on a hill surrounded by plains, it has been built into a impressive fortification. It was occupied by the Romans, Saxons and eventually the Normans. The Normans built a large castle on the site, but only the foundations remain. William the Conqueror actually disbanded and paid out his army here following his conquest of England. The second photo below is looking towards Salisbury from Old Sarum, you can see the Cathedrals spire through the fog.

After getting back to Salisbury from Old Sarum I wandered around the market, then just as it was starting to rain (again) made my way to the train station. I really enjoyed my day at Salisbury, it's a nice little town and has quite a bit to offer.

London 3

2009-07-14T08:51:00.001-07:00

This post is kind of a hodgepodge of a few of the other places I visited while in London. Since I went to these places throughout my time here, they are in no particular order.

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This was a really interesting place. Although it is a museum of art and design, and I've been to plenty of those, I'm not sure that I've ever really been to something similar. It is such a huge museum that it would take ages to get through all the exhibits. I pretty much had a whole day so was only limited by my own endurance. Needless to say I didn't make it through the whole museum, which would be quite an undertaking, but I did manage to make my way through a good portion of the exhibits. The V&A has exhibits from all over the world and most time periods. It is well worth a visit if you are ever in London.

Parliament

I was able to get tickets to the Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) which take place in the House of Commons. Unfortunately, even having tickets does not guarantee a seat and, as it was the last session before the MP's recess, I wasn't able to get in. The PMQs only last for a half hour from 12-12:30 and anyone can get tickets from their embassy; however, Brits get preference in the "first come, first served" seating. However, I was able to get in after the PMQs to see a debate on climate change which was interesting. It was also nice to look around Parliament. There were plenty of tour groups, so I was able to listen in as some passed by while we waited to be let in. It is well worth the time to visit Parliament but, to me anyways, it looses a bit of it's luster as the building was rebuilt after a fire in the 1830's. As a history buff, it would be much more interesting to be able to actually walk the halls where so many historic events had occurred. As it stands, mine is only a minor complaint. The current structure is beautiful and a good substitute and they make an effort to point out the locations where these historic events did occur.

Tate Modern

I went to the Tate Modern after work on a Friday. Its housed in an old power station on the south side of the Thames. In the photo you can see the Millennium Bridge which allows pedestrians to cross the river. It stays open until 10 PM on Fridays and Saturday. I was a little tired from work to cover the entire museum, but was I did see was absolutely great. I could have spent many more hours there. I just covered the free sections (there are also changing exhibits which charge a entrance fee). I'd like to spend some more time there before I leave. It really is one of the world's premier modern art galleries.

Kenilworth Castle, Midlands Hike, Stratford-upon-Avon

2009-07-13T02:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went with my flatmate to an area of England known as the Midlands. This is located, not surprisingly, in the middle part of the country. We took the train to a small town called Kenilworth which is best known for the ruins of the large castle with the same name. We didn't actually go into the castle as it is mostly in ruins and you get the same view from outside. It really is a huge castle which looks much different than the typical English castle, or at least what I would imagine an English castle to look like, as it is built out of a red colored sandstone. The castle has a pretty interesting history; it was occupied by rebels allied with Simon de Montfort and put under a six-month siege by the future Edward I in 1266. A 100 acre man made lake (now drained) was engineered around the castle to further increase it's defenses. Unfortunately, the castle was partially destroyed after the English Civil War so that it could not be used.

We headed out for our hike from the castle, planning on following a ten mile loop that would bring us back around to where we started. The weather wasn't cooperating and it was pretty rainy early in the day but cleared up in the afternoon. Below is a photo of the typical scenery in the region, mostly rolling hills and fields. It's a really pretty area and, having come from London, nice and quiet! The path we were hiking was one of the many footpaths that criss-cross through England, taking you through farmer's fields and pastures. Unlike my similar hike on the 1066 Trail, we had the surveyors map so there was little chance of getting lost.

As we got closer to Warwick we stopped at a pub to get a drink before starting again. Shortly after that, in typical English fashion, we stopped at a canal-side cafe so my flatmate could get some tea. From there we started the trek back. Below is a photo looking towards Warwick, you can see the top of Collegiate Church of St Mary in the distance.

We saw quite a few animals on the hike. The below photo is of a horse and colt but we also saw plenty of other horses, goats, sheep and even a lama.

After finishing the hike we hopped in the car and drove to Stratford-upon-Avon, the town best known as the birthplace of William Shakespeare. It looked like a nice little town in which to spend the day, but also seemed a little bit like a tourist trap. There really isn't much in the town other than Shakespeare's birthplace (below) and his grave. Nevertheless, it was nice to stroll around the town and check it out. The second photo below is of the Avon, the church spire in the distance is the church where William Shakespeare is buried.

My train was leaving a little after 9 PM, so we drove back to Kenilworth to get some dinner closer to the train station. We ate at a Indian restaurant that was VERY good. I suppose I haven't tried Indian food often enough to be a very accurate judge of the quality, but to me it seemed great. It was a long day, since we left the flat around 8 AM and I didn't get home until just after midnight. But it was great to get outside and stretch my legs and spend some more time with my flatmate and her friend.

Scotland: Day 3

2009-07-10T06:45:00.001-07:00

On the morning of our final day we woke up early, grabbed a quick breakfast at the hostel, packed and jumped on the coach. We didn't have far to go before we reached our first stop for the day, a small park that was dedicated to the Royal Commandos who had trained in this area of Scotland during World War II. The park offered beautiful view of Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest peak. In the below picture it is hidden by the clouds on the right side; however, it isn't too much larger than the peak that is showing. It's not really a huge mountain, at around 4,400 feet (the largest in the Appalachians, Mount Mitchell, is just over 6,000 feet), but pretty nonetheless.

Not far from Ben Nevis was Inverlochy Castle. I've seen quite a few castles but this one was pretty cool. Not the most impressive castle in either size or grandeur (it's just the ruins that are left of the castle), but as it was abandoned during the Scottish Wars of Independence (1296-1357) it is easy to imagine what it looked like when it was built around 1270. Generally it seems like castles were expanded upon or modernized from defensive fortresses to residences, but this one sits just as it was in medieval times. Inverlochy Castle belonged to Clan Comyn who were rivals of the famous king of Scotland, Robert the Bruce, and were almost completely wiped out as a result. The castle, as you can see below, is exactly what a kid would draw if you asked them to draw a typical castle. It is a square with a tower at each corner, surrounded by a moat (now dry). From a historical perspective, it was neat to see a typical, simple medieval castle.

After checking out the castle we headed into the small town of Fort William to grab a picnic lunch from a grocery store, then made our way to the famous Glen Coe. Glen Coe was one of the most beautiful places we saw on our trip. It is a sharp valley less than half a mile wide and 10 miles long. The below picture is from the center of the valley by the stream that runs through it, where a few of us ate our lunch.

Glen Coe is also famous as the site of the Massacre of Glen Coe which took place in 1692. Clan MacDonald of Glencoe had not been quick enough to pledge allegiance to the new monarchs of Britain, King William and Queen Mary. So as punishment and to serve as an example to others, England's Secretary of State for Scotland ordered Captain Robert Cambell and 120 men (mostly Scots, including many other Cambells) to massacre the family. They arrived in the glen, accepted the hospitality of the MacDonalds and stayed with them for about two weeks before attacking them in the night. Many of the soldiers didn't attack their hosts, so only 38 were killed with a further 40 dying of exposure after their homes were burned. It has become a famous tragedy in Scottish history, and people still joke about never trusting a Cambell. Despite the tragic history, it is a beautiful location.

After leaving Glen Coe, we passed through an expansive area of moorland. It was really pretty in a way, but also very bleak. The ground was very stony. The guide said that there have been efforts to reforest the area although I can't imagine that there were ever many trees. The below pictures were from a pretty spot that did have some trees around the lake.

After driving a little further we officially left the Highlands as we made our way back to Edinburgh. Our final stop on the trip was at the Wallace Monument in Stirling. Everyone has seen Braveheart so there is no need to go into any of the history (not that the film is very historically accurate). We were running short of time, so the few of us that wanted to climb to the top of the hill really had to go quickly. The below photo is from the base of the Wallace Monument looking out towards the town of Stirling. Stirling Castle, a strategically important castle in Scottish history, can be seen on the large hill in the center. It is pretty clear why this was such an important and defensible position as it dominates all the nearby area. The final few pictures are of the Wallace Monument.

The drive from Stirling to Edinburgh was pretty quick and next thing I knew we were back at the Haggis Adventures office. I have to admit that I was pretty sad it was all over. It had been such an amazing trip. Maybe I'm just overly sentimental, but even though it was just three days it was kind of hard to say goodbye to everyone. I really wish I could have done a longer tour. Someone once told me, after a particularly eventful trip, that they would replay the events over in their mind for years to come. That sums up exactly how I felt at the end of this trip. As I walked back to the train station I knew that it would be one that I would not soon forget. As silly as it may sound, I felt like I really learned something about myself. Viewing the grandness of nature in a way you've never seen can have a cathartic way of making you reflective about what you really enjoy and want from life.

Not one to ever make things too easy on myself, I did have one final bit of excitement. The tour got in around 5:30 PM and my train didn't leave until 7 so I made my way to the train station, found the platform and went to get a bite to eat. About ten minutes before departure time I hopped on the train and started reading. Right after I sat down and got settled the train started to depart. I knew something wasn't right because trains often leave late but never leave early. The announcement came on that this was a train, leaving 10 minutes before mine, headed to Stirling. I hadn't even thought to check since all the trains I'd taken previously had sat at the platform for some time. At first I was pretty worried, but then I decided I would get a hostel, call into work the next morning and let them know, then spend the day exploring Edinburgh. I was pretty pleased with myself by the time the train stopped at the first station. It had only been going for about 5 minutes, so I figured I'd better try to get back to Waverly Station to see if I could still catch my train. For better or worse I was able to hop on the next train back and still get back to the correct platform in time to catch my train. The first half of the train ride back to London was really pretty as it runs down the North Sea coast of Britain. I didn't get into St. Pancras station in London until 11:30 and finally made it back to my place by 12:30. It had been a long day and it felt like a whirlwind of a trip since last Thursday night, but I really had a good time and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Scotland: Day 2

2009-07-08T05:35:00.001-07:00

The second day of the tour was by far the best. I was hoping it would be as I was really looking forward to visiting the Isle of Skye, which was the day's destination. The Isle of Skye is located on the west coast of Scotland. As we made our way westward from Fort Augustus, we first planned to stop at Eilean Donan Castle. The below picture was taken from the bus of the typical landscape in this area on our way to the castle.

Eilean Donan is actually a small island in Loch Duich. Apparently it was originally the site of an iron age fort but was occupied by missionaries when the fort was in ruins. Due to it's strategic location, a castle was built in 1220 to prevent Viking raiders from attacking inland by sailing up the loch. The castle was the stronghold of the MacKenzies but was given to the Macraes who still live in a private wing of the castle. The Spanish, attempting to provoke another Jacobite rebellion against the English in 1719, landed at the castle before moving inland to fight the battle of Glen Shiel. The small force they left at the castle was attacked by three British frigates which bombarded the castle for three days. The 14" thick walls held out but the Spanish eventually surrendered. The British used the gunpowder they were guarding to blow up the castle. The castle sat in ruins until 1919 when the family began to rebuild it. It was rebuilt according to the original records and looks amazing now. You may recognize it from the film "Highlander", or the James Bond movie "The World Is Not Enough".

The below picture is the view from the ramparts of Eilean Donan Castle.

After visiting the castle we finally made our way over the bridge to the Isle of Skye. I should point out that the entire time we were driving, the guide was filling us in on Scottish history and folklore. He was very energetic and interesting.

A little bit of background on the Isle of Skye; the island is very mountainous and beautiful. It has two major mountain chains. One chain is much older, with rounded tops, while the other is younger and much more craggy. I was really excited to see the island because I'd heard it was amazing. It has less than 10,000 inhabitants, most of whom live in the major town of Portree, and mile after mile of coastline. About a third of the population speak Gallic. The history of the island is dominated by two feuding clans. The MacLeods, who claim to be descended from the Vikings that ruled the island early in it's history, and the MacDonalds. The guide kept us interested by relating all the histories and myths about these two families.

We made an impromptu stop as there were some highland cattle on the side of the road. We saw quite a few over the three days, but there were a lot of little ones here so we pulled over. The Isle of Skye was covered with sheep, which roamed all over the place. The below pictures are of the highland cattle, or hairy coo's, as our guide called them. They are hairy to keep them warm in the cold highland weather.

We stopped in Portree to grab lunch and wander around the town. There were a few small shops which were interesting, but the town was pretty small. I got lunch with a couple other people in a bakery. I just got a sausage roll, a couple bridies (a Scottish flaky pastry filled with meat and onions) and a brownie. It was a nice little town, dominated by the fishing industry, but we didn't linger long. We drove a little out of the town, stopping at the top of a hill to take in the view. It was absolutely amazing. The below pictures definitely don't do it justice. A couple people had a tent set up on top of the hill. It definitely would be a perfect place to camp. You had a beautiful view of the coastline of the Isle of Skye, and across the water you could see the mountains of the mainland. In the first picture below you may be able to see a little white dot towards the bottom left hand side. It's actually a sheep that was standing on this little outcropping. Like I said, sheep were everywhere but I'm not sure how they manage to get to some places. The second picture below had a closer shot (with the sheep in the foreground).

After hanging out there a little while we made our way to the top of a mountain chain. The view was probably my favorite of the trip, and quite possibly the most amazing I have ever seen. It kind of looked like what I would expect to see in South Africa, except everything was covered in grass. A couple of the South Africans later told me that they had said the exact same thing to each other.

I really could have stood there for hours. It was just the most amazing view. There were almost no trees (really weren't many on the entire island). I have never seen any landscape like that before. The guide had said that at some point you may be hit with an "emotional feeling" from the Highlands. I assumed he was joking or just building up the experience. But, without sounding overly sentimental, I have to admit that standing on that mountain really was a wonderful feeling. Sort of a combination of amazement and a sense of timelessness from the landscape. It had the overall effect of making you very aware of your smallness and insignificance in the world. Pretty heavy stuff but, in a way, kind of exhilarating.

After that we continued our loop around the island. Below is a photo of the coastline.

After awhile we stopped at a stream which, supposedly, if you put your face in the water for exactly three seconds will make you beautiful. There was a whole folktale behind this story, which I won't relate here as it was rather long. I didn't bother to stick my face in though, I figure I'm beyond help (and I also saw someones dog peeing upstream, he's to the left of the bridge in the picture).

After that we made our way back to the hostel at Fort Augustus. A few of us had dinner. I finally tried the haggis, which is sheep's heart, lungs, liver and (sometimes) intestines minced with onions, oatmeal and different spices. It's suppose to be cooked in the sheep's stomach for a couple hours, but I think they use alternative means of cooking it now. I thought it tasted great. It's too bad you can't find it in the States.

After dinner we went on a evening boat cruise on Loch Ness, ostensibly to look for Nessie. It was starting to cool off (after a pretty warm day, for Scotland anyways) so most of us just enjoyed the views (below) with a Scottish whiskey. Needless to say, we didn't see the monster but it was fun nonetheless.

Afterwards we went to one of the pubs in Fort Augustus. We sat outside along the canal (below). After awhile we got a real treat as an otter climbed out of a hole in the wall of the canal and ran under our table. I think we scared him because he ran over my feet, right back into the hole. We saw him climb out and run back in again later. He was a cute little thing but a little too fast for me to get a picture. It ended up being a late night, but that was alright. It's always fun to talk to the people from different countries and cultures.

Scotland: Day 1

2009-07-07T03:13:00.001-07:00

I'll start off, more or less, where my last post ended. It was Thursday night and I had to race home from the 4th of July reception at Winfield House to change out of my suit and finish packing for my trip to Scotland. My train was to leave at 11:50 PM heading to the capital Edinburgh, so I had plenty of time. As is always the case, "plenty of time" never feels like enough and I ended up racing around to get everything ready in time. I then made my way to Euston Station where my train would be departing. I got on the train and quickly found my bunk (picture below). It was small, especially the hallways, but pretty comfortable. It would be very hard to manage with luggage but with just a backpack it was fine.

There was an older Scottish guy on the lower bunk and we chatted a bit before departing. It was VERY hot on the train. Apparently the air conditioning was broken. I was just laying there sweating most of the night but eventually managed to get some sleep. Otherwise it was actually a quite comfortable journey. I only woke up once, when the front half of the train had to detach to head to Stirling while our half continued on to Edinburgh. Shortly before arriving, we were woken up and given hot tea and shortbread cookies. The attendant also gave us a form to fill out for a refund. I'm guessing a lot of people had been complaining about the heat because he was really apologetic. I had just assumed that the train didn't have AC so didn't bother to complain. The Scottish guy and I chatted for a bit more and after arriving he walked me over to where the showers/bathroom were located. I paid the 3 pounds for a shower because I felt pretty grimy, but after that I was fine and ready to go.

So I headed out from the train station to the Haggis tour office. It wasn't far from the train station, but I still managed to get a little lost. Edinburgh looked like a really cool city from the little amount that I saw. I was really disappointed that I wouldn't have time to look around but, unfortunately, the tour was three full days and that is all the time I had. I had been tempted to spend the three-day weekend in Edinburgh and the nearby area but I really wanted to see the Highlands. The more research I did, the more I realized a backpacking tour would be the easiest/best way to do this.

So anyways, after checking in we hopped on the coach and got going. There was a total of about 20 people on board, give or take. After the safety briefing our guide, Donald, went through and asked where everyone was from. Almost the entire group was made up of backpackers or students from all over the world; places like China, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, the US, Canada and one from England. We got going, driving through Edinburgh's old town and past the famous castle. Unlike what I had previously assumed, we were actually going counter clockwise through the country, so we were heading north. We passed over the Firth of Forth while our guide gave us some facts and a background on Scottish history. You could tell he was really passionate about it, which made the tour all the better. We passed by Perth and eventually arrived at our first destination, Dunkeld, which is a small town on the river Tay in the lowlands on the eastern side of the country. Apparently the town was founded by the Picts sometime in the 800's and there are a couple Pictish items in the town's cathedral. The town rose to prominence as a religious center, the only main attraction in the town is the large medieval cathedral. Otherwise it would be just another small town (although there was a battle fought nearby between the Jacobites and Royalists in one of the early Jacobite rebellions). This is not to say the town wasn't worth seeing, it was very pretty in a quaint sort of way. You could walk through it pretty quickly. I checked out the Cathedral (below) then went into the town to get coffee and a pastry. At this point I hadn't really spoken much with any of the other people on the tour. The second picture below is from the side of the Cathedral, looking to the River Tay.

We then headed off towards a small town where we got lunch, while the guide told us the story of the the Wolf of Badenoch (we saw his tomb in Dunkeld Cathedral). Apparently he was a pretty nasty character but the story is too long to relate here. At some point along the way we passed over the unofficial border into the Highlands. You could definitely tell the difference in the landscape as there were less trees and more hills/mountains (obviously). After getting lunch (I had the Scottish Angus burger) we headed towards the battlefield of Culloden.

This is the site of the notorious last battle of the final major Jacobite Rebellion in 1746, where the Highlanders fought to put Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) on the throne. Stuart had landed, with French assistance, in Scotland and was able to raise an army of highlanders. They had some significant successes early in the conflict and were able to invade England, even threatening London. The English quickly got their act together and shifted some troops from the Continent, including a large number of Lowland Scots, under the command of the Duke of Cumberland (who was later to earn the nickname "The Butcher").

As the nickname may indicate, the Highland Scots lost the battle and Bonnie Prince Charlie was forced to flee from Scotland and never return. After looking over the battlefield, the guy from Singapore commented that it seemed like more of a massacre than a battle. This does seem to be the case. Of the 7,000 Jacobites, about 2,000 to 2,500 were either killed of captured; whereas the Government troops only suffered about 50 killed and 250 wounded from a total of 8,000 troops. Most of the wounded and captured Highlanders were killed after the battle.

I've been to dozens of battlefields from the American Revolution, French & Indian War (7 Years War), American Civil War, World War I and World War II and, perhaps with the exception of the battlefield at Verdun, Culloden is the most somber. I suppose there are a number of reasons for this, including the fact that a significant number of Scots still want to be an independent country (members of the largest political party in the country, the Scottish National Party). So I'm sure the brutality of this battle and what it symbolized still stings. The battle, and the brutal aftermath, more-or-less ended the hopes of an independent Scotland. In addition to this, many people in the Highlands have the same names as the clans that fought here, making the battle even more personal.

As the guide explained before we arrived, the typical battle tactic of the Highlanders was to position themselves on an incline (makes sense in the Highlands) and charge down on their enemy. This cancelled out any advantage the Government troops had in firepower as the Highlanders would be on them very quickly. However, as you can see from the below pictures, the battlefield at Culloden was not well suited for this. In fact, I can't think of worse terrain for this tactic. They have paths through the battlefield now, but the ground was really marshy and a tangle of tall grass and shrubs. It would have been impossible to move quickly, which is exactly what happened. Once the Highlanders were finally given the signal to attack (apparently there was a long delay) they were mowed down by artillery and rifle fire. The places where the Highlanders were able to actually reach the Government lines, they inflicted a large number of casualties. Most of the Government force's casualties came from only the few units that made contact. The below photo is from half way between the Jacobite line and the Government line (the red flag marks the government line) it gives you a rough idea of just how hard it would be to run on this terrain. The second photo is from the Jacobite line looking towards the Government line.

The Jacobites were buried in mass graves. Some had markers that stated which clan was buried there, while others just say "Mixed Clans" (the guide thought this was horrible). My family, the Davidson's supposedly fought at the battle as part of the Highland Chattan Confederation, which included a few families (the Mackintoshes, from which the Davidson's apparently originated, where the head of the Confederation). They were situated in the center of the Jacobite line and suffered quite a few casualties as they were one of the few units to make contact with the Government line. Although my particular branch of the family had already left Scotland, it was still a somber moment to see the mass grave (below) where the Davidson's which were killed would have been buried alongside with the Mackintoshes. The second photo below is of the memorial cairn, erected in 1881 where the hand-to-hand fighting had been the worst.

After leaving Culloden we made our way west through the capital of the Highlands, Inverness, and down the western side of Loch Ness. I had no idea how massive Loch Ness actually is. It contains more water than all the lakes in Wales and England combined. It is 23 miles long and incredibly deep. Along the way we stopped by the ruins of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness to stretch our legs. Below are a couple pictures of the castle and Loch Ness.

The driver accidentally left someone at Urquhart, so after doubling back to get them (which took awhile because the roads are so narrow and it was difficult to find a spot to turn around) we made our way to Fort Augustus where we would be staying for the night. It is a really small town on the southern tip of Loch Ness. A canal runs through Fort Augustus, connecting Loch Ness to Loch Oich and further down to Loch Lochy. Apparently through the lochs and canals, you are able to cut through the country from the North Sea to the Atlantic. Fort Augustus is a small town with only 600-700 inhabitants. It's been around for awhile and was the site of an Abbey and a fort built by the Government after one of the Jacobite Rebellions.

After getting there, we went to a small demonstration (below) on the clothing and life in the Highlands, then we made our way to the hostel to check in. I was in a room with three other guys. It was a pretty decent hostel and included a small breakfast. After checking in, myself and a couple other people went to get some fish & chips for dinner then headed into a pub. This was the only part of the trip that there was any rain, so we got pretty lucky in that regard. I made it a pretty early night though, since we had to get going fairly early in the morning. The last photo below is of the canal leading through Fort Augustus into Loch Ness from outside the fish & chip shop.

Winfield House London, Ambassador’s Residence

2009-07-06T01:52:00.000-07:00

A few of us received invitations to attend the 4th of July reception at the Ambassador's residence in London, the Winfield House. As the Ambassador has not yet been confirmed by Congress, the position is being held by the Charge d'Affairs who greeted us in the reception line.

We weren't allowed to take cameras into the house so I pulled a few photos from the Internet. The house sits on the edge of Regent's Park. In my humble opinion, the exterior of the house wasn't that impressive (at least the front entrance wasn't, the side facing the park was nice), it was just a large brick house. The gardens were beautiful and very well done. But the inside was just absolutely amazing. It was sort of what you would think an 18th century aristocrat's house would have looked like at it's prime. Most the furniture was from the 18th century and there were some amazing and famous works of art. The reception only lasted for a couple hours, most of which we spent checking out the house and trying to spot celebrities. Apparently there were quite a few on the guest list (Kevin Spacey, Venus and Serena Williams, Ewan McGregor, Sandra Bullock, Jerry Springer, etc.) but I didn't see any. We did see Buzz Aldrin, who was the guest of honor, which was probably more interesting than any of the others anyways.

Everything felt a little hectic to me as we had to race to Winfield House from work, then I had to race home to grab my bags before heading to the train station. But Winfield House if definitely worth seeing if you ever have the chance. The below photos are of the Winfield House (Regent's Park side), the street side foyer, and my favorite room in the house, the Green Room, which is hung with 18th century, hand-painted Chinese wallpaper.

UPDATE: I just received the below photo. It was taken while we were in the reception line, being greeted by the Charge d'Affairs.

Coming Soon: Scotland

2009-07-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

I'll be heading to Scotland tomorrow night for a three-day trip over the long weekend. Below is a map of my route through the Highlands. Should be a lot of fun!

I start out at 11:50 PM on Thursday night, taking the sleeping-car train from London's Euston Station to Edinburgh (should be quite an experience as I'm 6'4", we'll see how much sleep I get). From there I meet my Haggis Adventures tour group at 8:30 AM. We'll follow the below route, going clockwise. I'll post plenty of pictures and narratives over the next week after I get back to London!

Cambridge

2009-06-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I decided to head to the college town of Cambridge. As is often the case, the tube line that I live near was down for the entire weekend for repairs. Luckily I was able to hop on an overground train to get to St Pancras station. The train ride didn't take long, perhaps an hour total. It was about a mile or so into the center of the town from the train station. I had gone out the night before so I stopped by a cafe to get some coffee and a sandwich. Emerging refreshed from the cafe I was ready to explore Cambridge. I wandered around for a bit, checking out the market square and eventually decided to get a tour from the town's tourist office. This turned out to be a really good idea as there were graduations going on at a couple of the different colleges and some areas were closed, making sightseeing a little difficult.

We started the tour at the old Saxon church. Interestingly, he pointed out that the church was built similar to the Roman style of building because architects in those days thought large buildings needed to be very solid, with very few windows. The contrast couldn't be more different between the Saxon church and King's College Chapel, which we later visited, as the chapel is full of windows. The second photo below is of the Saxon church's graveyard.

We then made our way past Queen's College and King's College as the guide told us more about the university. Cambridge University is made up of 30 colleges which are run somewhat independently; so much so that occasionally a college will shut down if they don't manage their individual endowments well (hasn't happened for some time). Below is the entrance to King's College.

Just as it started to rain we made our way into the King's College chapel. To call it a chapel seems kind of strange. The "chapel" is huge, more like a cathedral. It was difficult to take photos in the chapel but I gave it a shot (no pun intended). There are amazing stained glass windows (all of which were removed and hidden during WWII) and the Adoration of the Magi by Ruben. To me, one of the most amazing things was the incredible fan vaulted ceilings.

After the tour I made my way to King's College square and Trinity College square (below). There are both really pretty and look like something out of Harry Potter.

Before leaving I walked to the other side of the River Cam known as "the Backs" because it is the area behind the university. The river is very pretty and there were a lot of people on punts making their way up and down the river. I snapped a couple more pictures of the university, as well as one of a couple professors leaving the graduation, then made my way back to the train station.

Battle, 1066 Trail, Rye

2009-06-30T03:55:00.000-07:00

This will be a fairly long post as it was a really, really long day. I started in London, taking the train to the small town of Battle in East Sussex. Battle is the site of the famous Battle of Hastings (Hastings is a town on the English Channel, not too far away) where the Normans under William the Conqueror defeated the English, commanded by Harold Godwinson. It took a good 90 minutes to get there by train, followed by a brief walk to the town center. After the battle, William had the below Abbey built on Senlac Hill, the actual spot where the battle took place and Harold, the last Saxon king, was killed.

Having read so much about the battle, it was interesting to finally see the landscape on which it was fought. Harold certainly picked his location well. Senlac Hill is much steeper than I would have imagined. Prior to the Abbey being built it was even steeper as the top had to be levelled for construction. By placing his army on such a steep hill, Harold was able to negate some of the advantage the Normans held in their use of cavalry. Below is a photo of a pond at the bottom of the hill, the area at the bottom is quite marshy. The second photo is of the Abbey atop Senlac Hill, taken from the Norman position.

After walking the loop around the battlefield and checking out the museum, I set off on the 1066 Country Walk. This trail runs from the town of Pevensey on the English Channel (where William the Conqueror is thought to have landed) to Battle, continuing on to the small medieval town of Rye. I was picking up the trail roughly half way through, as it is approximately 31 miles long and the stretch I planned on hiking was 15 miles. It started out well enough and it wasn't long until I was in the East Sussex countryside.

It is very pretty country with sheep absolutely everywhere. In fact, there was quite a bit of wildlife; everything from rabbits to sheep, pigs, horses, chickens and even more sheep. I had a couple maps but not the suggested surveyors map. After all, it's England not Alaska, how hard could it be to find your way?!? Well, these country walks are very different from anything in the States. You literally are walking through people's fields and backyards, jumping fences and climbing walls. Apparently in the UK you are allowed to walk anywhere, as long as you leave to place in the same condition in which you found it. It's a neat concept but made it particularly hard to follow any sort of designated path. Below are a couple pictures of the trail.

I wish all parts of the trail were as clear as these two pictures. As you can probably tell, I eventually got lost. I wasn't the only one as I met, and hiked with, a guy from Essex who was attempting the do whole trail in one day. He eventually gave up and walked into a town. I pushed on for awhile until I realized that I was hopelessly lost. I came across a older guy taking photographs and asked for directions. He pointed out a distant church steeple and told me which town it was in. It was at that point that I realized I had somehow hiked almost in a complete circle. At that point I made my way to the nearest town, determined to figure out a better means of getting to Rye. Below is a picture of one of the many flocks of sheep and one of the (far too few) signposts.

Determined to expedite my journey to Rye I caught a bus on the edge of a town. Once in Rye I grabbed some fish & chips and settled on a bench by the waterless River Tillingham to take a break. Even though the fish still had the scales on them (which I hadn't seen before) it tasted pretty good.

Rye is one of the medieval port cities which made up the Cinque Ports Confederation. The Confederation was tasked with the defense of the coast and, in return for their service, did not have to pay taxes. The town sits atop a steep hill and has a very maritime feel about it. Unfortunately for Rye, in the 15th century the port began silting up and Rye now sits 2 miles from the English Channel. This all but stopped the growth of the town, allowing it to retain its small town, medieval charm to this day.

There are a lot of neat little shops, restaurants and inns in Rye. I made my way to the 900 year-old St. Mary's Church in the center of the town. The below picture is from the church's graveyard looking in towards the town. The second picture is of the church's clock, the oldest in the country, which supposedly inspired the nursery rhyme "Hickory Dickory Dock". The third picture was taken as I approached the church.

I then walked a block over to the Ypres Tower (below) which is on the edge of the town facing the Channel. It was originally built in the 12th century as part of the town defenses. The second picture below is taken from the front of the tower, looking out towards a wind farm in the distance (note all the sheep in the foreground).

Just as it started to rain I made my way to the train station in Rye to head back to London. I was definitely worn out and exhausted but had a day I won't soon forget!

Buckingham Palace & Queen's B-day

2009-06-30T02:48:00.000-07:00

I went to Buckingham Palace on June 14th for the Queen's official birthday. Apparently this is not her actual birthday, but rather, the state's celebration of her birthday. In other words, no matter who is on the throne, this date will always be celebrated as the monarch's birthday.

I spent a good amount of time waiting around for the Queen's arrival (as did a lot of other people). Apparently, the Household Cavalry and Horse Guards parade with the Queen through Westminster, ending at Buckingham Palace. While we waited we were entertained by the military band and took plenty of pictures of the Palace Guards as they paraded and prepared for the arrival of the Queen.

Finally the Queen arrived in her carriage (notice the blue speck towards the back of the carriage). She was greeted with lots of cheering, waving of flags and music. She then ascended to the balcony accompanied by her family and stood there waving for a few minutes. Somewhat anticlimactic, but then again I don't know what I expected.

After awhile the Horse Guards and Household Cavalry paraded past (below left), followed by the Royal Artillery who prepared the 63 gun salute (below right, Royal Artillery and Band).

After the gun salute there were a series of fly overs by the RAF. The coolest one being the famous Spitfires which saved Britain during World War II, as everyone cheered and applauded. The final fly over was also cool as the jets trailed red, white and blue smoke behind them. Once the fly overs were done the Queen went back inside and everyone dispersed. Again, somewhat anticlimactic, but interesting nonetheless. Notice the royal flag on Buckingham Palace signifying that the royals are in residence (below right).

After the Queen's birthday celebration I went to Appley House (sorry, no pictures). It was nearby and was pretty interesting and had a good (and inexpensive!) audio guide. Appley House was the home of the Duke of Wellington. It was interesting to see a 19th century aristocrat's home as it had been in his lifetime. The historical foundation which administers the house has done a lot of painstaking restoration work to make sure it appears as it did in the Duke of Wellington's day. It was full of his paintings and gifts he received after the Battle of Waterloo. Oddly enough, the current Duke of Wellington and his family still live in a closed off portion of the house. In all, it was a pretty interesting and exciting day which I finished off by going on a pub crawl through London!

Greenwich

2009-06-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

The next weekend I chose to go to Greenwich on Saturday and explore the National Gallery on Sunday.

Greenwich is a beautiful town not far from London. Historically, Greenwich was the retreat of the monarchs but London has grown so large that it is nearly part of the city now. I bought a ticket at the Westminster Pier (right near Big Ben/Parliament, see London 1 posting for map) for a boat ride to Greenwich. It was probably one of the more inexpensive ways to get to Greenwich, certainly the prettiest, and included a narrative by one of the crew (he only asked for a tip at the end). Below are some of the photos from the boat trip including Parliament, the HMS Belfast with the Tower Bridge in the background, St Paul's Cathedral, and the Tower of London.

After arriving at Greenwich I explored the Royal Naval College, the Painted Hall, the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul, the National Maritime Museum, the Queen's House and the Royal Observatory (the location of the Prime Meridian). All these things can be done pretty quickly and are within easy walking distance. As you can see from the pictures, it was a beautiful day. So I also enjoyed a couple pints in the outdoor section of a nearby pub. None of the sights in Greenwich are exactly mind blowing, but combined with the boat trip it all made for a very enjoyable day.

(Left) View from the Royal Observatory with the Queen's House in the foreground and the City (the financial district of London) in the background. (Lower Right) View from the back of the Queen's House towards the Royal Observatory

London 2

2009-06-29T06:33:00.000-07:00

I chose to spend my first weekend in London exploring the city a little more. Being a history nut, I made my way directly to the Tower of London.

It was fairly crowded but I don't think there is any way around that. It was pretty easy to find, take the tube to the Tower Hill station and follow the crowds. Luckily I was able to get into one of the Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters) tours which were included with the price of a ticket. They start at the entrance to the Tower every hour.

It was a good one-hour tour which provided a lot of info and, most importantly, gave you your bearings in the Tower (which is a fairly big complex). He also gave tips on what to see and in what order to avoid the crowds.

To the right is the White Tower, the oldest and (to me) most interesting part of the Tower. The setup inside had an exhibit on Henry VIII'th armour and weapons. It was fairly interesting to see how he progressively grew fatter, but I was more interested in the earlier history of the place.

After the White Tower I jumped onto the second half of another tour so that I could go into the Chapel (my original tour was cut short for a baptism). It was pretty interesting. In front of the Chapel is the spot where executions of important people took place, most famously Anne Boleyn. People who were less important were executed outside the tower, on Tower Hill, so that they could be viewed and ridiculed by the crowds. The last execution was an 80-year old Scottish nobleman, Lord Lovat, a Jacobite rebel.

To the left is a guard in front of the Queen's House with one of the famous Tower ravens in the foreground. The legend says that when the ravens leave the Tower, the monarchy will collapse. Although I don't foresee this happening as the ravens are chained to their perches.

The final thing I saw inside the Tower was the crown jewels. They were pretty amazing and well worth seeing. The below picture is of the famous Tower Bridge, taken from the ramparts of the Tower of London.

Finally, of interest to any fan of Bedknobs & Broomsticks, I made my way to the antique market on Portobello Road. It was pretty interesting and lively, but I can't say that I found much worth buying.

The next day I took the tube to the Lambeth North station and walked over to the Imperial War Museum. For a history buff such as myself, it was amazing. I could have wandered around for hours. The audio guide is not necessary as everything is labelled very well and in any case, there is so much stuff you are going to have to pick and choose what you look at.

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London 1

2009-06-29T05:47:00.000-07:00

After arriving in London on the morning of May 18th, I decided to spend the first couple days exploring as much of the city as possible. Its a huge, very diverse city with lots of museums, restaurants and pubs. More languages are spoken in London than anywhere else in Europe. Below are a few of the most famous/interesting sights from my first foray into the city. I primarily focused on Westminster, popularly known as the area which houses the United Kingdom's government. Everything in and around Westminster is pretty easy to find. Westminster has some of the most famous sights in London: Parliament & Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, the Banqueting House, etc. The Jubilee Line on the underground (which is the line nearest to where I'm staying) has a stop at Westminster and as you can see on the below map, everything is pretty close and accessible by foot.

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Westminster Abbey (above) is an obvious must-see for London and the first place I went. It can be a little crowded, but the audio guides do a good job of explaining the most famous spots in this amazing and historic place. There is so much history in this building, the audio guides really are a must. Without the guide, it would be very easy to miss something or not fully appreciate what you are seeing. On July 7th I'll be returning for Evensong being held at the Abbey in celebration of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. Below is a shot of Big Ben & Parliament (notice the large police presence due to a protest in support of the Tamil Tigers). I haven't yet been inside Parliament, although I have tickets for the 'Prime Minister's Questions' (PMQ's) for July 15th. This is when the Prime Minister is brought before Parliament and made to debate/answer any questions for a half hour.

Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey/Parliament are within easy walking distance. I walked up Parliament Street, which turns into Whitehall, passing the Banqueting House on my right. I have not yet been there, but it is the site where William and Mary officially accepted the crown and most famously, Charles I was executed on a scaffold outside the house.

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I was able to snap the above picture of one of the ever present double-decker buses with the London Eye in the background on my way. Also on the way to the square is the Horse Guards Barracks. They offer parades from time-to-time, but generally have a couple guards on horseback posted in front during the day. Makes for a good picture!

Finally I reached the famous Trafalgar Square (below). This photo was taken from a bench at the foot of the National Gallery. Although there isn't much to do in the square, it is a famous London landmark and generally considered one of the main centers of the city. The second picture is a better view of Nelson's Column, the focal point of the square, with the National Gallery in the background. The column was erected to celebrate Lord Admiral Nelson who defeated the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar, effectively ending the threat of a French-led invasion of Britain during the Napoleonic Wars.

I went into the National Gallery for a little bit. It is free, including audio guides, they only ask for a donation. They had some impressive pieces but perhaps I was a little spoiled from my recent trip to Italy as I didn't find it too impressive. Nevertheless, it's worth a look.

I also spent a full day in the British Museum. It is absolutely amazing. I spent hours looking through all the different exhibits and I was only able to scratch the surface. It got pretty crowded which was a bit annoying after awhile. The number of people was not the problem, but the fact that everyone was taking pictures of everything. I felt like you couldn't look at anything without camera flashes going off every other second, particularly with some of the most famous pieces (Rosetta Stone, mummies, etc). But it is well worth the annoyance and an absolute must-see.

I was only able to scratch the surface on these first couple days. Unfortunately my internship at the Embassy was to start on the 20th, so that I barely had enough time to get my bearings and recover from the jet lag before starting.

First Post!

2009-06-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I figured it may be easier to use a blog instead of Facebook/emails to keep everyone up to date and to post pictures. Kill two birds with one stone sort of thing. So my first step is to catch up on everything that I've already done. Check in occasionally as I plan to post regularly!