... stay on the rails, no matter what!
(super bonus points to anyone who knows that one, my parents and sister are excluded from answering)
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Cardiff and onward
I am attempting to finish my blog. Scroll down to the entry below this one for links to pictures.
The last time I posted about where I was, it was my first night in Cardiff. The next day, I walked down to the waterfront to explore for the morning. They have statues along the shore that lay out the stanzas of a poem, which was neat. I visited a museum called Techniquest, which is a children's museum with tons of interactive displays. Physics is fun! It was a very loud place, and mainly was school groups, but I liked it. Very hands-on. Had lunch at a pseudo-1950's American diner. Tasty, but so full! The hostel there was nice, but the sheets were really odd. The bottom sheet, top sheet, and pillow case were all one piece. The sides of the sheets were sewn together for the first couple of feet, like the beginnings of a sleeping bag. The fact that the pillow case was a part of this meant you couldn't move the pillow, and when you are longer than a regular length twin, as I am, it makes for uncomfortable positioning. I had fun there, otherwise. Got to talking with one of the girls who works there, and watched Borat with one of the other guests.
From Cardiff, I went back to the train station in Bristol to meet my mom's cousin William. William and Sara live in a village about 45 minutes outside of Bristol. It was so good to be in a house and not a hostel! I spent a couple of nights with them, mainly relaxing, reading, and talking. No tourism! Home-made food! Of course, as I'm writing this, these things have once again become typical, but at the time, it was such a relief. They have a friendly dog named Molly. On Sunday William and I went to the lessons and carols service at the church they attend. We also tried visit the cathedral in Wells, but it was closed as they were preparing for their own carol service.
After leaving William and Sara's, I had a very very long day on the train going from Bristol to Edinburgh, via Glasgow. There were delays on the northern part of the line in England, which meant I was on trains from 09:29 to 18:00. The other thing about being on the train is train food. In airports, food is expensive, but at least there is some choice about it. On a train, you have to buy the train food, or go hungry. When I got to Edinburgh, I heard bagpipes right away when I left the station! Very good. It was dark already, so the monuments were lit up. Because it was getting close to Christmas as well (Dec 3 by now), their Christmas market was set up near the train station, with an ice rink, some rides, and lots of food stalls. The next day, I saw the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It is the Queen's official residence in Scotland, built by Charles II, although he never made it there. Lots to see and learn about Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mary Queen of Scots and whatnot. I'm catching up on my history... From there, I went to The Museum of Childhood, on the royal mile (the road between the palace and Edinburgh castle). It's a huge toy museum! So cool. Lots of really old stuff. I learned a lot. For example, piggy banks are called that because earthenware containers for coins were called pigs - the animal shape came later as a result of the name. They had many Hairy Maclary books in the shop at the end! I noticed that both the museum and the church I visited did not charge admission, but you had to pay 2 quid if you wanted to take photos. Interesting.
The next day, I visited Edinburgh Castle. It's a huge, proper castle on a hill overlooking the city. They still set off cannons every day at 1 pm. The castle was the only place where I encountered this sort of situation:
Me: Do you have a student price?
Lady at ticket window: Yes! It's the same as the adult price.
Me, thinking: So.. you don't have a student price.
11 pounds just to get in! Oi! It was very neat, though. The weather couldn't decide if it was going to rain or not - it kept starting and stopping. In the afternoon, I went to the Bank of Scotland museum. Very different than any other museum I'd been to! I learned lots about the history of money, and of counterfeiting. Paper bills came in to existence in the late 17th century, and fakes appeared almost right away.
From Edinburgh, I went back south in to England to the station at Darlington to meet my mom's cousin Jill and her husband John. Family! A house! etc. It's actually sort of a shame that I was meeting family in such an exhausted state. Ah well. Next time! Anyway. They picked me up, and we went to the Bowes Museum in the afternoon. It's a 19th century museum built to house the collections of John Bowes (yes, related to the Queen Mother). The neateest thing in the museum was an automaton of a silver swam dating from 1773. It "swims" along, and the little fish try to get away in front of it, but the swan leans down and catches one! In the hands-on section, John and I tried to figure out how the joint called "the impossible dovetail" works, to no avail.
Back at their house, Jill brought out photo albums that belonged to my grandfather's mother. Page 1 starts with my grandfather as an infant! Lawrence Layard Whytehead, born 7 February 1914, weighing this much, this length, etc. Four weeks old, this weight. I thought this was just the neatest, and oddest, thing. It's very hard to picture one's grandfather as a baby. Gradually the other siblings came along into the pictures, the older ones went away to school, wars happened, weddings happened, all the way down to the appearance of some of the next generation, including my mom's christening photos. Family history. Wow.
The next day off we went to York to see the minster. It is very.. lofty. That's the best word that comes to mind. That sort of architecture is amazing - the ceiling really does just seem to float. We also visited the castle keep, the only part of the castle still existing, and Fairfax House, which is a restored Georgian townhouse. There are two things I love about Georgian decorating. The first is the symmetry. They would put fake doors in a hallway just to keep it looking perfect. The second are the pieces of furniture, particularly desks, with dozens of drawers, including many secret ones that could only be uncovered if you did particular tricks in a particular order - opening this drawer, then sliding this, etc.
From Jill and John's, I ventured back to London. That was a crazy day since I didn't actually have anywhere booked to stay that night, and had to call Robert to rescue me when I couldn't find anything affordable. Lots of factors went in to this - drenching rain, the fact that it was a Saturday just before Christmas (dec 8 by now), a bus randomly changing its route mid-course. But in the end, it all worked out. We had Indian food and went to the gallery show of an artist friend of his.
Sunday was incredibly lazy. That worked well.
Monday I took a day trip to Cambridge, but did not see anyone in academic dress. It definitely feels like a university town. Saw the chapel at King's, which was absolutely stunning. Out back of Trinity, the punt boats were still on the river. Dec 10, about 3 degrees, and the boats were out. I did not actually see anyone on them, though. I would have like to have tried if it wasn't so cold! Spent Monday night throwing things out and rearranging my bags, because Tuesday was....
The last full day. It was quite possibly one of my favourite days of the trip. I left both my backpack and my day pack in the care of the hostel, and just wandered around London. I visted Westminster Abbey in the morning, and saw memorials of Darwin and... a physicist who I don't remember now! It wasn't Newton, but one of those ones that made me smile when most other people wouldn't get it. Went back to the British Museum to see the Mary Delaney pieces, since I only learned about her after I'd been there the first time. (another family member with items on display). Of course, I went back to the fabulous fish and chips place near the museum for lunch again. So so so good. I've had fish and chips since I've been back in Canada, and they're rather depressing here. I walked along Oxford and Regent Sts, and along the Mall back to Buckingham Palace, where the Christmas tree was up. Went back to the hostel to collect my bag, and headed up to Michelle+Matthew+Alistair's place for the evening. Will came over for dinner as well, and he and Alistair and I played Settlers. It was a nice way to end the trip, hanging out with people I already knew and just having a typical sort of evening.
The next day, I got up and just went straight out the airport. 28 stops on the Tube. "This is. Change here for the lines. Exit here for . This is a Piccadilly line service to Heathrow, Terminals 1, 2 and 3." Over and over. But so convenient. Any city whose metro goes all the way to the airport gets major points. I didn't get there any too soon! I decided I don't like Heathrow, and especially not at Christmas. Queues everywhere, but it was never entirely clear where you were supposed to queue. People everythere. Baggage everywhere. The conveyor belt behind the Air Canada desk had stopped working, so the bags were just being piled up. Then, through security, they do the general sort of put your wallet/keys/coat/carry-on in the plastic bin, go through the metal detector thing. Then they did a passport check. THEN they made you take off your shoes and go through another scan. Why not do this all in one shot? So much easier when you're trying to juggle a small backpack shoved in a plastic shopping bag much too small since it's full already, since Air Canada didn't bother to mention that the British Airway Authorities only allow you through security with one carry-on! Oi. Never again. The plane was full on the way to Toronto. Saw "The Simpsons Movie" (with many scenes edited out), and "Evan Almighty." The drink cart only came 3x in 8 hours. It was a pretty bumpy flight. The line for customs in Toronto was long long long. But then I get out the door of the baggage hall, with all my bits and pieces, and Sarah was there! What a relief.
Then I was in Toronto! And horribly miserable from jet lag.
The last time I posted about where I was, it was my first night in Cardiff. The next day, I walked down to the waterfront to explore for the morning. They have statues along the shore that lay out the stanzas of a poem, which was neat. I visited a museum called Techniquest, which is a children's museum with tons of interactive displays. Physics is fun! It was a very loud place, and mainly was school groups, but I liked it. Very hands-on. Had lunch at a pseudo-1950's American diner. Tasty, but so full! The hostel there was nice, but the sheets were really odd. The bottom sheet, top sheet, and pillow case were all one piece. The sides of the sheets were sewn together for the first couple of feet, like the beginnings of a sleeping bag. The fact that the pillow case was a part of this meant you couldn't move the pillow, and when you are longer than a regular length twin, as I am, it makes for uncomfortable positioning. I had fun there, otherwise. Got to talking with one of the girls who works there, and watched Borat with one of the other guests.
From Cardiff, I went back to the train station in Bristol to meet my mom's cousin William. William and Sara live in a village about 45 minutes outside of Bristol. It was so good to be in a house and not a hostel! I spent a couple of nights with them, mainly relaxing, reading, and talking. No tourism! Home-made food! Of course, as I'm writing this, these things have once again become typical, but at the time, it was such a relief. They have a friendly dog named Molly. On Sunday William and I went to the lessons and carols service at the church they attend. We also tried visit the cathedral in Wells, but it was closed as they were preparing for their own carol service.
After leaving William and Sara's, I had a very very long day on the train going from Bristol to Edinburgh, via Glasgow. There were delays on the northern part of the line in England, which meant I was on trains from 09:29 to 18:00. The other thing about being on the train is train food. In airports, food is expensive, but at least there is some choice about it. On a train, you have to buy the train food, or go hungry. When I got to Edinburgh, I heard bagpipes right away when I left the station! Very good. It was dark already, so the monuments were lit up. Because it was getting close to Christmas as well (Dec 3 by now), their Christmas market was set up near the train station, with an ice rink, some rides, and lots of food stalls. The next day, I saw the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It is the Queen's official residence in Scotland, built by Charles II, although he never made it there. Lots to see and learn about Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mary Queen of Scots and whatnot. I'm catching up on my history... From there, I went to The Museum of Childhood, on the royal mile (the road between the palace and Edinburgh castle). It's a huge toy museum! So cool. Lots of really old stuff. I learned a lot. For example, piggy banks are called that because earthenware containers for coins were called pigs - the animal shape came later as a result of the name. They had many Hairy Maclary books in the shop at the end! I noticed that both the museum and the church I visited did not charge admission, but you had to pay 2 quid if you wanted to take photos. Interesting.
The next day, I visited Edinburgh Castle. It's a huge, proper castle on a hill overlooking the city. They still set off cannons every day at 1 pm. The castle was the only place where I encountered this sort of situation:
Me: Do you have a student price?
Lady at ticket window: Yes!
Me, thinking: So.. you don't have a student price.
11 pounds just to get in! Oi! It was very neat, though. The weather couldn't decide if it was going to rain or not - it kept starting and stopping. In the afternoon, I went to the Bank of Scotland museum. Very different than any other museum I'd been to! I learned lots about the history of money, and of counterfeiting. Paper bills came in to existence in the late 17th century, and fakes appeared almost right away.
From Edinburgh, I went back south in to England to the station at Darlington to meet my mom's cousin Jill and her husband John. Family! A house! etc. It's actually sort of a shame that I was meeting family in such an exhausted state. Ah well. Next time! Anyway. They picked me up, and we went to the Bowes Museum in the afternoon. It's a 19th century museum built to house the collections of John Bowes (yes, related to the Queen Mother). The neateest thing in the museum was an automaton of a silver swam dating from 1773. It "swims" along, and the little fish try to get away in front of it, but the swan leans down and catches one! In the hands-on section, John and I tried to figure out how the joint called "the impossible dovetail" works, to no avail.
Back at their house, Jill brought out photo albums that belonged to my grandfather's mother. Page 1 starts with my grandfather as an infant! Lawrence Layard Whytehead, born 7 February 1914, weighing this much, this length, etc. Four weeks old, this weight. I thought this was just the neatest, and oddest, thing. It's very hard to picture one's grandfather as a baby. Gradually the other siblings came along into the pictures, the older ones went away to school, wars happened, weddings happened, all the way down to the appearance of some of the next generation, including my mom's christening photos. Family history. Wow.
The next day off we went to York to see the minster. It is very.. lofty. That's the best word that comes to mind. That sort of architecture is amazing - the ceiling really does just seem to float. We also visited the castle keep, the only part of the castle still existing, and Fairfax House, which is a restored Georgian townhouse. There are two things I love about Georgian decorating. The first is the symmetry. They would put fake doors in a hallway just to keep it looking perfect. The second are the pieces of furniture, particularly desks, with dozens of drawers, including many secret ones that could only be uncovered if you did particular tricks in a particular order - opening this drawer, then sliding this, etc.
From Jill and John's, I ventured back to London. That was a crazy day since I didn't actually have anywhere booked to stay that night, and had to call Robert to rescue me when I couldn't find anything affordable. Lots of factors went in to this - drenching rain, the fact that it was a Saturday just before Christmas (dec 8 by now), a bus randomly changing its route mid-course. But in the end, it all worked out. We had Indian food and went to the gallery show of an artist friend of his.
Sunday was incredibly lazy. That worked well.
Monday I took a day trip to Cambridge, but did not see anyone in academic dress. It definitely feels like a university town. Saw the chapel at King's, which was absolutely stunning. Out back of Trinity, the punt boats were still on the river. Dec 10, about 3 degrees, and the boats were out. I did not actually see anyone on them, though. I would have like to have tried if it wasn't so cold! Spent Monday night throwing things out and rearranging my bags, because Tuesday was....
The last full day. It was quite possibly one of my favourite days of the trip. I left both my backpack and my day pack in the care of the hostel, and just wandered around London. I visted Westminster Abbey in the morning, and saw memorials of Darwin and... a physicist who I don't remember now! It wasn't Newton, but one of those ones that made me smile when most other people wouldn't get it. Went back to the British Museum to see the Mary Delaney pieces, since I only learned about her after I'd been there the first time. (another family member with items on display). Of course, I went back to the fabulous fish and chips place near the museum for lunch again. So so so good. I've had fish and chips since I've been back in Canada, and they're rather depressing here. I walked along Oxford and Regent Sts, and along the Mall back to Buckingham Palace, where the Christmas tree was up. Went back to the hostel to collect my bag, and headed up to Michelle+Matthew+Alistair's place for the evening. Will came over for dinner as well, and he and Alistair and I played Settlers. It was a nice way to end the trip, hanging out with people I already knew and just having a typical sort of evening.
The next day, I got up and just went straight out the airport. 28 stops on the Tube. "This is
Then I was in Toronto! And horribly miserable from jet lag.
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