London Calling Part 3 Changing of the Guards

The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace takes place every other day at this time of year. On Sunday I decided to head to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. I had read that it was important to show up early as there were generally a lot of people who wanted to watch this event. The guards change at 11:15am. I thought that I would be at the gates about 10:30.  

Although I arrived with plenty of time and found a spot right at the entrance gates, there were hundreds of people already milling about all over the grounds. The police were keeping everyone under control and ushering them to stand in the appropriate areas in order to leave a very large pathway for the guards. At 11:15, a parade of guards began marching from the Mall toward Buckingham Palace. There was a guard band playing and marching as well. The guards were flanked by police on horses. The procession entered the gates where I was in an excellent position to see them. After that, there was not too much that I could see as I was behind a hoard of people who were taller than me and everyone had their hands in the air recording the guard change on their iPhones. I could still hear the music which was nice.  

Since I wasn't seeing anything up close, I decided to head around the grounds to tour and see what else was worth looking at at the palace. At about noon, the guards who were coming off of their shift along with the marching band exited the opposite gates and marched out toward their barracks. The band continued to play as they marched with them. The mounted police escorts lead and followed them once again.  

As the crowds dissipated, I was able to more easily see Buckingham Palace and the two guards who were now standing in guard after the change. On Saturday, the bus guide had informed me that the hats that the guards wear are black bear fur from Canada! The men and women do look very impressive in their uniforms.  

Adjacent to the palace was Green Park. London has a number of very large public gardens that people really take advantage of every day. I wandered around the park for a while. I crossed the park to a shopping district in order to get some supplies from Boots and then headed for a Starbucks.  

Once I was suitablely caffinated, I headed back to Green Park. In Green Park, I found some gates that opened up to Buckingham Palace that were called Canada Gates. So, obviously, I had to take pictures of these. I don't really know the story behind them at all but It is always comforting to see a bit of Canada when I am away from home.  

I continued to walk around the perimeter of the park. The park is beautiful. The trees are huge. There were kids all over the place who were diving and hiding in piles of leaves. It was awesome to see the kids having such a great time.  

At one corner of the park was a newly installed war memorial. The memorial consisted of pillars that had the names of Commonwealth countries on them. These pillars were to commemorate those who had faught with Britain in past wars.  

Farther up from this memorial was another memorial. This was a newly dedicated memorial to those who served in the air force. There were 6 large statues of men in various air force uniforms inside of this memorial. Canada helped to support the building of this memorial. It was very moving.  

Next up for the day was a Political and Historical Walking Tour of London. We were to meet at the corner of Green Park. Our guide, Becky, met us there at 3pm. I am becoming a really big fan of walking tours. This was another case of an exceptional tour that lasted two hours. The guide took us through Green Park, the grounds of Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, past the house of the Prime Minister at 1 Downing Street (where there was a very busy political protest happening), toward Winston Churchill's WWII bunker, past St. James' Park, around the grounds of Westminster Abbey, and finally left us a The Parliament Buildings. The clock tower was lit up as it was now starting to get dark (due to last week's time change) and the effect was really stunning. All along the route, Becky told us interesting stories about Kings, Queens, Prime Ministers, and prominent historical figures.  

Even though it was Sunday, and my "usual" underground route was not in service, I was able to make my way home easily from Westminster Abbey to Aldgate East using my alternative route. I was learning!  

What a great day out in London.

London calling Part 2, The Theatre Edition

London is a large, energetic, beautiful city full of history. I think that a person could visit London every year and find something new to do and learn something about the city that they did not know before. Knowing this, I made set a goal to choose to do one big thing a day and not to get too overwhelmed. I can always come back to London.  

So, my goal for Saturday was to go to the theatre. I had never seen The Phantom of the Opera before believe it or not. So, I purchased a ticket for the matinee at Her Majesty's Theatre. The Phantom has been showing here for 27 years, second in longevity only to Les Miserables which has been showing in London for 30 years.  

The theatre district in London is jam packed with great shows. I was so tempted to go and see Les Miserables once again but I thought it better to see something that I had not previously seen 5 times. So, Phantom is was.  

The show started at 2:30 and I successfully took the underground (with one transfer) to the centre of the city. It was extremely, overwhelmingly busy in London on Saturday. The NFL was hosting a game in London. The underground was full of Americans and people wearing NFL jerseys and hats. Not really the picture of London that I had anticipated but that's what I got. Also - I have no idea why people are interested in football - just a side note.  

I arrived at the theatre as the staff were letting us in to find our seats.  I had fifth row from the front which was awesome. The stage was set. Beside me and around me were kids of about age 10 who were from a theatre group in Devon and had made a coach journey to watch Phantom as they were planning on putting on a production of their own in late 2015. It was a pleasure to chat with these kids who were really excited and maybe a bit nervous.  

Now, if you are a lover of the show, you may not want to read on.  

WTF? How has this show been in production for so long? Or even more than once? How has this show received such rave reviews? First, on the positive side, the stage sets and costumes were amazing. The singing was top notch. But what the hell is up with the story line? During the first half, I kept waiting for the phenomenal to occur. During the second half, I experienced a number of things. One, I was looking around at other people trying to tell if they were enjoying the show. Two, I kept wanting to yell outloud to the Phantom "Weirdo" because, well, he was. Third, there were times when I was stifling the inappropriate giggle due to my perceived ridiculousness of the story line. Needless to say, I was glad when the show was over and thought two things: "Well, I never have to sit through that again." and "I should have seen Les Mis for the sixth time!"  

Just a note on my thoughts about the story line. Essentially, from what I understood, the Phantom is in "love" with Christine. He wants to force her to love him. He kidnaps her. Tries to force love and marriage on her. He has a weird Psycho-like replica of her in a wedding dress (WTF? again). For Christine's part, she is dazed and confused whenever she hears the Phantom singing like she is in a trance. She wants a man to tell her what to do and how to live. I just found the whole story line made me really uncomfortable and sort of squirming in my seat.    

No one will ever say that I am not honest.  

It was time to make my way back to the flat. I expertly popped my start and end stations into my London Underground App and off I went with the confidence of someone who is really getting this underground thing! The confidence quickly disappeared as after three stops we were all told to exit the train as the next two lines (one of which would get me home) were closed for the weeked for repairs. This was news to me. If I had of looked on my app's information, I would have know this and would have been able to request an alternative route. I tried my best to follow the written instructions in the undergroud, but ended up walking along the Thames for a bit. It was a beautiful evening. Although, I attempted to find an underground route to use, each time I headed to a new station, it was one of the closed lines. So, I continued walking all the way home.  

Back at the flat, I was able to sit and think about how to find alternative routes using the app, which was actually pretty easy. Now I know. I was prepared to head out on Sunday, when those same routes would continue to be closed, and I would be able to navigate in a bit of a different way.

London Calling Part 1

On Thursday, I caught the train from Gloucester to London Paddington Station. The train trip was easy and once again I enjoyed the scenery of the English countryside. My apprehension was over the use of the London underground. I grew up in the country. We drove a car whenever we needed to get anywhere. There was no such thing as public transit in Acton as I was growing up unless you count the tractor pulls at the Acton Fall Fair or the various seasonal parades. Nonetheless, I was able to get from Paddington Station to Aldgate East (my underground stop) without a problem at all.  

The flat that I am staying in is an old German School. It is located directly around the corner from the underground station. Very easy to find. Check in time was 4pm and I was unbelievably early. Anna met me at 4pm and let me into the flat. There are 2 locked gates and 2 locked doors to enter before you actually get into the flat. Located at the bottom of an internal, concrete staircase, is the studio flat. The flat is decorated with a lot of different London and United Kingdom themed items. It was a relief to know that I would not need to be packing up again in two or three days and that I could settle down for a bit.  

I headed down the street to bring in some groceries so that I could cook my own dinner! When I got back to the flat I did laundry, made food, had a bath, and walked around in my underwear. Bliss.  

Friday morning I walked down to a Hop on Hop off Bus stop which was located just outside of The Tower of London. The Tower is one of the major places in London that I have always wanted to visit. The grounds are huge. The side walk that runs around The Tower is up high and I was able to look down to the moat. There is a very beautiful and moving installation occuring right now. As it is 100 years since the start of World War 1, over 880 000 ceramic poppies are being "planted" around The Tower of London representing the number of British who gave their lives during the war. Many have already been positioned. Some of the poppies are hanging down from corners of the tower. The poppies are meant to represent the blood shed during WWI. To see this installation is very moving.  

I hopped on the city sightseeing bus and prepared myself for the two hour tour. I made sure I got on the bus with the live commentary. There were only two other riders on the bus. As soon as they exited the live commentary suddenly stopped. After a few stops, I headed downstairs and asked if I should switch buses. I think that the commentator didn't realize that I was still onboard but he told me his mic was no longer working - somehow that didn't seem right to me. As I had joined the tour near the end of the route and we were heading to stop one, I decided just to stay on this bus to get the full tour. Many new people joined. We got a new commentator with a new mic, that worked a charm.  

The new commentator was very engaging. He was an elderly gentleman who obviously had a real love for London. As we toured around the city, he pointed out the major landmarks and regaled us with history and stories. The bus tour allowed me to get a feel for the city and to figure out if there were any places that I specifically wanted to visit. Before arriving, I knew that I really wanted to visit The Tower of London, other than that, it was all up in the air!  

I stayed on the bus for the entire tour in order to listen to the gentleman guide. He was way too good to miss by hopping off at any point. At the end of the tour, when I did hop off, I meandered around and made my way to Westminster Abbey and The Houses of Parliament. Part of the bus tour ticket included a ride on a foot ferry on the Thames. So I hopped on the boat and listened as a tour guide took us along the Thames to Tower Bridge. This was my stop and off I got. Just a short walk back to my flat and so ends my first full day in London.

Gloucester

I arrived in Gloucester on Tuesday afternoon a couple of hours later than I had planned. The remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo were blowing up all over England. It was major news. News reporters speculated on travel interruption for Tuesday. They were right about the travel interruptions. All I can say is that it was a touch blustery. However, this did translate to me sitting on the tracks in my train from Manchester for about 20 minutes for some track/weather related issues in Stafford.The result, for me, was that I missed my connecting train in Birmingham but 3 minutes.  

After getting the proper authorities to stamp my ticket, I had a new journey to follow in order to complete my trip to Gloucester. I had to catch a train to Cheltenham and then another to Gloucester. Fortunately I was able to email my B&B and let Keith know that I would be a good bit later than anticipated.   Fortunately, Keith was a very accomodating and welcoming host. We had a cup of tea and a good long chat upon my arrival. This is one of the nicer B&Bs that I have stayed in. Very comfortable (awesome duvet), great hosts, easy to find, and homemade granola and bread (delicious).  

As it was well into the afternoon, and I was late, I hadn't managed to have any lunch. Off to find food. Cafe Renee's was recommended to me, which turned out to be a pub really and not a cafe as I would imagine one. I ordered a mini burger, salad, and a half pint of beer. Everything was great. As I left the cafe, I could hear the bells of the cathedral peeling and thought that I would head over and have a look at Gloucester Cathedral. Turns out I was just on time for 5:30 Evensong. So I attended the service. This time the choir was made of solely of boys and men. The service was very similar to the one I attended at York Minster.  
I was interested in seeing the Cotswolds, and that is why I chose Gloucester as a place to rest my head. I was able to get to see some of the Cotswolds from this location and there was a train station in town too! I had a lovely long chat with Joan, the host on Wednesday morning after breakfast. Both she and Keith had suggested that I may want to take a bus around to different villages and towns to explore the Cotswolds. This is what I ended up doing.  

First order of business for the morning was a run. I ran to Gloucester Park and back and, unfortunately, think I have done some damage to my right foot. I am an some serious pain at rest but especially when I am walking, which is basically always. I don't know if I have done a sprain or a strain. I can't remember turning it while running but the ground here is very uneven so anything is possible. It seems like my old tendenosis is rearing its ugly head. Guess it is back to my physio stretching! This is a bit discouraging and I am not too sure what to do about it. Likely, it is one of these injuries that needs rest...  

Anyway, after my run and shower, I headed out to the bus that took me to Cheltenham. From there, I was able to catch a coach that would take me to a number of different towns. I chose to hop off at Bourton on the Water for my first town visit. The downtown is very quaint. It is obviously set up for tourists. Every other shop is either a cafe, a restaurant, an antique store, or a store selling knick knacks. I stopped for lunch first at one of the cafes. After that, I walked along the water, which was a small river flowing through the town. There were a lot of ducks and people were feeding them.  

My next stop on the bus was Stow on the Wold. This town was traditionally a market town, selling sheep. Fairs have been held here since 1330, by royal charter. The library building is set up in the centre of town. There are roads along all sides of this building and it creates a type of square area as the town centre. Again, the town is set up for tourists - cafes, pubs, antiques stores. I enjoyed some chocolate from a local shop there. St. Edward's church is the main, large church of the town. I walked the grounds and through the cemetary. The church was closed to visitors on that day, as were a number of shops and pubs.  

It had started raining by the time I was done wandering through Stow in the Wold. I hopped back on the bus and headed to Moreton in the Marsh. I chose not to hop off at this point as it was rainy, I was cold, and the town seemed to have more of the same - cafes, pubs, antiques. I totally understand why people want to visit here. It would be like going to St. Jacob's, Niagara on the Lake, or Stratford back home. Since what ever I purchase, I will be carrying on my back, shopping is not really what I want to be doing while I am away.   I really wanted to see one of the iconic thatched roof homes in the Cotswolds but believe it or not, I saw none. The bus ride back to Cheltenham was about an hour and a half and I sat back and enjoyed the English country side as it passed by.  

A short but sweet visit to Gloucester ended with my catchin the train on Thursday morning for a two hour ride to London.

Manchester

I had one sole purpose for visiting Manchester - The Coronation Street Tour.  

The Corrie Tour was one of the goals of my trip to England. So I was more than a bit dismayed when I was experiencing difficulty purchasing tickets on line. I tried to research a bit more about the tour and discovered that it was on for a limited time only. Originally, the tour was meant to last until October 4, 2014. But I could see the date that I wanted, October 20 on the ticketmaster site, I just was unable to purchase a ticket. So, while I was in York, I called ticketmaster and was able to purchase my ticket over the phone. TG.  

My tour time was 11am. I decided to walk to the site. It took about 20 minutes and I arrived early. I gave my reference number to the gentleman who was at the gate and he gave me a lanyard and my tickets. Since I had a bit of time, I headed to the cafe where I enjoyed a cup of tea and watched the Coronation Street special I had seen at home that described the move to the new set.  

The Coronation Street Tour takes place at the Granada Studio. This studio was the third site for the filming of Corrie. The site consists of the indoor studio which houses the sets for the indoor scences of the show and the outdoor studio which houses The Street.  

I was called to my tour a bit early as the previous times were not at capacity. Our group met our guide and she told us that she thought the reason that there were smaller groups than in the past was due to the fact that the tour had meant to be finished BUT they had been given permission by the city of Manchester to extend the tour into 2015. So thank God for small miracles.  

We started our tour outside of the studio and entered via the entrance that only the stars of the show used when it was a working set. The first place we entered was the Green Room. This is where the stars would sit and wait for their call to come on set.  

We walked along a corridor. There were a number of very small interior rooms that were the dressing rooms for the cast. At the end of the corridor we were led into the wardrobe room. In there, we were told about how clothes are purchased for the characters based on their personality. For instance, Emily rarely has new clothing as that would be very out of character for her. Whereas Maria has clothes purchased from the High Street in Manchester. Roy's clothes come from ebay. Roy's carrier bag is definitely the actor's mom's bag as was confirmed by his mom when she toured through the set. We were shown Carla's wedding dress, some of Becky's extremely small clothing, and a number of Jack's polo shirts. Within this room there was a small section that demonstrated how the hair and make up area of the site would have looked. We did not go into the actual hair and make up area as that was upstairs and our tour took place solely on the ground floor.  

Next, we were led into a small, dark room with benches and a large screen. We were treated to a 5 minute video with past clips from the show. It was fun to see past characters again.  

Following the video, we went into the studie. The first set we came to was Carla Connor's old apartment. Then it was the Platt's household. The unbelievable thing about the sets is the extremely small size of them. I can't even imagine how Gail, David, Kylie, Audrey, Nick, Max, Lily, and Gail's current love interest could fit in the front room of the set. It is just tiny. The rooms look larger than they do on tv, that's for sure. These sets both had three walls. The "fourth" wall is non existent so that filming can take place.  

Then it was on to the Rovers Return Inn set. This set was a bit different than the previous two. The Rovers Return had four real walls. Each of these walls could be pull out in full or in sections depending on how filming was going to take place. The windows may also be removed so that the camera could film through them to the benches inside. Then, we were all admitted through the famous doors. We were allowed to sit at in the pub, look around, touch anything that we liked. Our guide said that we may have our picture taked behind the bar. She asked if there were any volunteers to go first and I stood up immediately and said, "I will." This made her laugh as she said she generally had to prod to get someone to go first.  

So, I became a barmaid in the infamous pub for a few short moments. I pulled a pint. I had my picture taken. This picture became the only souvenier I have purchased thus far.  

Next we moved on to the set of Underworld. We also saw Hayley's coffin and Fred Elliot's coffin (which has been used repeatedly since Fred's death for the funeral of other characters). We also saw the set of one of Ken's love interests/affairs. This woman lived on a barge and therefore we saw the set of the boat. Next, it was onto the Duckworth's home. A tv was playing, showing clips of Jack and Vera. Some hilarious, some very moving.  

We were brought to the next spot that was a display case that housed different items from the show, including, the most expensive item - Deirdre's glasses.   We were then led through the production rooms.  

Our final stop was the outdoor sign for Nick's Bistro. The round topped doors were opened for us as the famous Corrie music was played and we entered onto the street.   The outdoor street set was awesome. Again, the set seemed so much smaller than on tv. Everything was compact. I was able to walk down Coronation Street and onto Rosamond Street. I passed by the bus stop. It was awesome to be able to walk on the famous cobbles. We were permitted to take as many pictures as we liked of the outdoor set. I took a lot of photos. I even got someone to take a picture of me outside of Rovers Return Inn.  

Once I had finished all of my photo taking and looking around, I went into the Medical Building to pick up my barmaid photo, which is awesome.   The tour was everything that I hoped it would be and more!  

After the tour, I decided to walk down to the new set of Coronation Street. This was about a 35 minute walk away from Granada Studio. The new set is housed in an area of Manchester called Media City UK. This is a really impressive part of town. It is located at the water's edge where all of the old docks used to be. There is a university campus there. BBC HQ and ITV HQ is also located there.  

There was no possibility in getting close to seeing inside of the new set but it was still neat to be able to see where the set had been moved to.  

Manchester is the second biggest city in England after London. My trip there consisted of The Coronation Street Tour, walking, reading and relaxing. It was a great couple of days.  

Next stop Gloucester.

York

I am working on this post as I am sipping a coffee and watching the trains roll in and pull out of York Station. I have had a lovely stay in York and it is a city that I could visit again.   

I know that there are going to be ups and downs while travelling solo. So far my spirits are still pretty high and I am enjoying this adventure. Being a homebody, I do miss home. I miss my family and friends. I miss eating properly all the time (although I really am doing my best). I enjoy all of the learning that is happening. I love all of the walking that I am doing. I feel happy that I am able to navigate on my own and get to where I want to be (although this has been so much easier with my cell, gsp, and a data plan). I have loved running by the rivers of each of the places I have visited so far. I am looking forward to being in one spot (London) for a week and am also feeling a bit apprehensive about navigating London. Before I head there though, I am on my way to Manchester for two nights and then Gloucester, in the Cotswolds, for two nights. Europe is approaching ever closer and I really have no plans for what I will do there and where I will go but I will have some time in London to sort out at least the beginning of that part of my trip.   

I arrived in York on Thursday afternoon after a lovely train journey. I felt like I was going to like this city as soon as I got off of the train. The walk to my bed and breakfast was about 2.5k and was mainly along the River Ouse. I stayed on the top floor (3 flights up) in a large Victorian home, which I later found out would have been the servants quarters. I threw my stuff down and went for a walk to the city centre. City Sightseeing Bus tours always help me to get the lay of the land and so I hopped on one from Exhibition Square and took off. The guide was an elderly man who did not stop talking the entire hour long tour. He was so informative about so many things. He reminded me of a history professor. Obviously, the guide loved the history of York, the city itself, and, as mentioned by him frequently, did not love the architecture of the 1960s.   

York's history includes Romans, Saxons, and Vikings (the name York comes from the Norse Jorvik). York is a haunted city. It boasts being haunted by over 100 different ghosts. There are, therefore, a number of ghost walks. This is something that I have wanted to participate in for a little while but I am still working up the nerve to do so.   

Having completed the bus tour, I strolled around the city centre on my own. York is a very easy city to navigate and is extremely pedestrian friendly. There is a wonderful open air market in the centre of thecity. It was there each day I walked around so I imagine it is rather a permanent thing. There are lots of beautiful, old buildings, many churches, including the impressive York Minster, cobbled streets, Tudor style homes, and lots of people out and about.   

The bus guide had mentioned a walking tour that takes place daily at 10:15 and 2:15. I really wanted to participate in the 10:15 tour. So, Friday morning, I ate breakfast, completed a 3k run along the River Ouse, showered and power walked downtown so that I could make the 10:15 walking tour. The tour lasted over two hours and covered a lot of history of the city of York including, King's Manor, The Wall, a couple of bars (which are like gates that were entrances and exits to the city walls back in the day), St. Mary's Abbey remains, The Shambles (a super old street in York where trade was conducted), and York Minster and the grounds. The guided walk was run by volunteers and there was no charge. So this was excellent value.   

After all that walking, I was ready for lunch. I found a little shop that sold me a delicious chicken quesadilla to go (or take away as to go is refered to here). I sat in the square and enjoyed my lunch.   Then it was off to the boat tour. The boat tour was about an hour and covered a small part of the River Ouse. We were provided with some historical information that simply added to my education of all things York. Plus a boat ride is always a good idea.   

A short walk from the river is Clifford's Tower. Originally built by William the Conqueror, the tower is all that remains of the original castle. This tower is located on a really high hill that was strategically situated for defense of the city. From an ariel view, the tower is shaped life a four leaf clover. There is no roof on the tower. That has been missing since 7 larges guns were fired at the same time and blew the roof right off. So you basically visit the tower for two main reasons. You are able to get a bit more history of York and you are able to climb to the top of the tower and look over the city and surrounding area. There are a number of steps that lead from the road to the base of the tower. Once inside the tower, you need to climb narrow, spiral staircases to readh the top. Once at the top, you are able to walk around the circumference of the tower and gain a 360º view of York. There are maps to point out different points of interest from where you are standing. This is well worth the clmb.   

No trip to York would be complete without a walk on the city walls. So I made my way back to one of the gates that housed stairs up to the wall and did just that.

While on the walking tour in the morning, our guide let us know that if we wanted to head inside York Minster for free then we could attend evensong, which took place at 5:15 each evening. That sounded like a great idea to me as attending a service that involved a choir singing in a large church was on my list of things to do on this trip. There is a little pink cupcake trailer outside of the minster so I sat and enjoy a cup of Yorkshire tea while I waited for 5:15. As I sat there, a young man began to play the violin. He also paused and sang in between playing. Especially wonderful was his rendition of "Oh Danny Boy" which he played a couple of times while I sat and listened. He voice was very powerful and the violin was beautiful.   

At about 5, I entered York Minster. This cathedral is impressive. It is breathtaking. It is difficult to understand how such a huge and impressive cathedral was built. (although I do have a better understanding of how something of this magnitude was accomplished after reading The Pillars of the Earth). The minster was built in the early 1300s and took almost 100 years to complete. It is home to half of all of the medieval stained glass in England. The largest stained glass window is a big as a doubles tennis court but was being restored currently, so I was only able to see a life sized picture of it hanging against the back wall of the cathedral.   

The evensong service lasted about 45 minutes. There was a reading from the old testament and one from the gospel. The choir consisted of two rows of young girls and two rows of grown men. The choir master led the choir through the Lord's Prayer, the Magnificant, Psalm 89, and a few hymns. The acustics in the cathedral gave rise to a beautiful sounding choir. It was very peaceful and I sat with my eye closed for most of the service, taking it all in.   

I met a lovely couple in the B&B who were visiting York for the weekend. They mentioned to me that The Dungeon would be a great place to visit. I really only had plans to visit The Castle Museum on Saturday so I added The Dungeon to my short list of possibilities.   

Horror of horrors, my B&B did not have wifi. I did need to figure out where I was going between York and London and needed to know how I was to get there. So, Starbucks to the rescue. I was able to sit and enjoy coffee and the free wifi. After organizing my time, I headed to The Castle Museum, which was in the shadow of Clifford's Tower. The bus guide mentioned that the exhibits included a recreation of a village, a WW1 exhibit, and an exhibit that focused on the 1960s.   

The Castle Museu is an excellent museum. First, I was taken though a bunch of different room vignettes. There were different rooms set up from different eras. These rooms showed what a Victorian dining room, a 1960 kitchen, a 1980s kitchen, a Victorian farm house would have looked like. It was so interesting comparing the different eras and noticing the stuff of daily life that people found important enough to house in their homes.   Next up was toys through the eras. I loved seeing the different Nintendo systems and hand held games.   

Then it was on to the part of the museum named from Birth to death. There were glass cases that focused on birth, Christening traditions, marriage, death, and burial throughout the ages. it is interesting to see how some things change so drastically and some things stay the same.   

Next, there was an village street set up in the museum. This was great. Not only were their sights, but believe it or not, there were smells. The museum was trying to get the visitors to really know what it was like back in the day. So, the place where horses would be shoed, smelled like horse manure. The back alleys, smelled like - back alleys. There was a confection shop, a watch maker, a dress maker, a public house, a place that sold odds and ends, and a school house. Down the middle of the cobbled street was a horse a carriage. This part of the museum was amazing. I was able to enter into all of the shops and experience a taste of what it was like before cars, electricity, and indoor plumbing!   A special exhibit in the museum currently was the exhibit to World War 1. This part of the museum was specifically focused on the role that the men and women of York played during this part of history. There was a focus on how World War 1 changed the course of history. I always like learning more about the sacrifices made by men and women that allow me to live the life that I do now. Learning about the past helps me to remember and appreciate the freedom that I have experienced my entire life.   

The final aspect of the museum was an exhibit that focuse on the 1960s  - music, counter culture, women's liberation, politics, fashions, the home, and toys.

My final stop in York was The Dungeon. This was the spot that was recommended to me by the couple I met in the B&B that morning. Essentially, The Dungeon is a spot where actors are employed to act as different characters form the history of York. The focus is on the bloody and possibly horrific part of York's history. I was really unsure about participating in this dungeon thing but I try to do something at least once, even if I am unsure about it. Then, if I don't like it I will know and will never have to do it again.   So, a group of about 25 of us climbed up a set of stairs into the darkness. We waited in a small, dark room (all of the scenes take place in small, dark rooms) until an actor came out with a scream and scared the people at the front of the group. We were guided into a room where the actor told us about Henry VIII and his propensity to hang, well, just about anyone. As she is talking, "Henry VIII" begins bangin on the door, the room shaking.   

This 80 minute tour continues on like this. Each room has one actor and focuses on another terrible part of York's history. So, we also went through a lesson the the plague, a ghost story, the brutality of the Vikings, beheading (where, when the beheading took place, the lights went off and we all got doused with the "blood" splatter), The story of Guy Fawkes, the burning of witches, a trial for a few of the audience members, and an executioner. So, now that I have done that, I don't really think I need to do that again. Although, I will say, it is a fairly engaging way to learn about the darker parts of history. The actors are really into their roles and I imagine that the things I learned there will not soon be forgotten.   The entire time I was in York, the weather was perfect. It was sunny. It was warm (up to 17 ºC). Overall, it was a wonderfully pleasant stay in York.   Next stop, Manchester - and specifically - The. Coronation. Street. Tour. Need I say more?

Newcastle

I left the lovely Lake District area by reversing a couple of the train journies I had taken from to get there from Dumfries. Once I got to Carlisle, I joined the train to Newcastle, which was about an hour and a half journey.  

The Rooms Inn is located about a 15 minute uphill walk from the Train Station. I had absolutely no plan to come to Newcastle until I met someone in Dumfries that suggested I check it out and so I decided to do so. The unfortunate part about Newcastle is the trash. It is everywhere. There is litter and garbage all over the sidewalks and on the green parts. This was not so impressive. There is a collage in Newcastle. And there are areas that are being built up and improved. Newcastle boasts a number of bridges crossing the Tyne, joining the city with Gateshead, which was considered a burrow, but is now a town in its own right. Newcastle also has a number of beautiful old buildings and a fantastic castle.  

After checking in a settling in the Rooms Inn, I decided to head downtown and find the Tourist Information Centre. The downtown is about a 15 minute walk from the inn and is very manageble to walk around once you become familiar with the city. The woman at the office helped me out by providing me with a number of maps and pamphlets as well as suggestions for places to visit that were free. She also helped me to find a laundette as it was time to wash again.  

I thought that I wanted to take it easy on Tuesday. Just have a bit of a break day. So I started off with breakfast and then a run (lots of uphill again). Once I was ready for the day, I needed to find a laudromat. The woman at the tourism office had located one for me and off I set. The only problem was that it turned out the laudrette was not self service and there wasn't one close by. So, I left my laudry for someone else to do. Kind of weird but it needed doing. The woman said I could pick it up at 2:30.  

In the interim, I went to The Discovery Museum, which is just down the street. This museum showcased the history of Newcastle from Roman occupation to the present day. Newcastle was originally selected as a site for development due to its proximity to the river and due to its placement as a defence between Scotland and England. There were small vignettes to each of the eras: Roman, Norman, Medieval, Stuart, Georgian, Victoria, and finally The 20th Century. Newcastle was a shipbuilding community and then later, during The Georgian period, the industries were glass works, paper mills, roperies, and iron works. A very industrial city, where the descrepancy between the rich and the poor was large.  

I enjoyed my lunch at the museum cafe. I walked to China Town and down by the old city walls. It was time to pick up my laudry so I set of to gather that. The rest of the afternoon I spend lounging - literally. I watched some tube and read. It was a relaxing day.  

Wednesday was my walking and touring day. I wanted to make it down to the River Tyne. Since there are a number of bridges, I decided to cross over the farthest one, walk along the river on the Gateshead side, and then cross over a different bridge to get back to Newcastle. I choice to walk over the Redheugh Bridge which was the bridge that was the closest to where The Rooms Inn was located. On the opposite side of the river there was a walking path that followed the road, rather than the river, but that was the path I had to take. So I followed the walking path along until I reached The Tyne Bridge. There is not too much really to say about this side of the river. It was a highway and more road side trash.  

Where the Redheugh Bridge was a rather flat and highway like bridge, the Tyne Bridge was made of a large metal arche with criss crossing girders. And it was painted green. There were many great views of the city walking over this bridge. And there were great views of the other bridges including the Swing Bridge. There are seven bridges in total connecting Newcastle to Gateshead. The newest being the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. The castle and the steeple of St. Nicholas Cathedral were also visible from the Tyne Bridge.  

My goal was to head to Newcastle Castle. This castle gave the city its name. The castle keep and he gatehouse, The Black Gate, are the remaining structures. The gatehouse and the castle are separate buildings. The Black Gate was the original guarded entrance to the city. I was able to walk around the guardhouse. The city is working on preparing the interior for visitors by 2015. I was able to visit inside the Castle Keep. Newcastle Castle is a really interesting castle to visit. It is not too big but has many different pathways and stairwells to confuse a visitor. I was able to visit the Garrison Room, the Chapel, the Lower Hall, the Great Hall, the Gallery (which is like a square hallway that looks out over the Great Hall), and the Roof. As with all castles, the stairs (some spiral) and floors are uneven, there are lower doorways, and it is cold. Interesting features of this castle were the guarderooms, the well, the fireplaces, and the chapel. I also enjoyed the roof and looking out over the city.  

Close to the castle is St. Nicholas Cathedral. This cathedral is beautiful. There are a number of beautiful stained glass windows. The Baptismal Font is extremely ornate and the "lid" to the font is raised by a pully above the font. When I looked at it, I thought it was off centred. I read that it really was off centred due to the tilt of the steeple tower! It is also amazing at the number of carvings of both wood and stone exist in this cathedral. Some carvings are so intricate that it is unbelievable. There was a little cafe in the cathedral so I stopped for a spot of tea.  

I wanted to take a look at some of the architecture in the city so I left the cathedral and headed toward Grey Street, located in historic Grainger Town. Grey Street ends with a giant statue of Earl Grey (love that tea) so I assume that is who the street is named after. Grey Street is lined with beautiful buildings. I have absolutely no clue what era they were built but there is something about them that are appealing to me. So, I just googled the street and this is what the Newcastle tourism site said, "Grainger Town is one of the dazzling jewels in our crown, with classical architecture designed in the 1830s by the internationally renowned Richard Grainger. Grainger Town is the historic heart of Newcastle upon Tyne and includes Grainger Market, Theatre Royal, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street. 40% of buildings in the area are listed as being of historical and architectural importance. The focal point of Grainger Town is Grey's Monument, erected in 1838 to commemorate the Reform Act of 1832, drafted during Earl Grey's time as Prime Minister." So, there you are.  

Having seen most of the items of interest in Newcastle, I had some time in the afternoon. The day I arrived, I had walked by the LIFE Science Centre. I noticed that Body Worlds Vital was on in the centre. In 2009, when I visited Dublin, Body Worlds was on at the museum there and I had debated visiting then and choose not to. I have always wanted to see this display so I decided today was the day. This was literally the best part of Newcastle.    

For anyone who doesn't know, Body Worlds Vital is an exhibit featuring real human bodies that have been preserved through a process called plastination. The full human bodies that were on display were arranged in a different ways to display different body systems. For instance there was a man running. His body was separated into the skeletal system and the muscular system. Also on display were the digestive system, the circulatory system, the nervous system, and the reprodutive system. The human body is unbelievably fascinating and to see it displayed in this manner was so intriguing. Besides full human bodies, there were displays that showed different parts of the body. Especially fascinating were the healthy lungs versus the lungs that were tarnished by years of smoking, the health heart versus the diseased heart, and the skeleton with osteoporosis. Also of interest were the "slices" of different parts of the human body that show cross sections of various organs and in one case an entire body.  

Seeing this exhibit really puts in focus how important heathy eating, exercise and rest are to the human body.  

Also within the science centre I saw a movie at the Planetarium called "What's Up, Einstein?" which "explained" physics, black holes, dark matter and the like. The audience was age 7 plus but I still find some of the information in the presentation really difficult to grasp. After, there was a live performance in the Science Theatre called "Move It!" where Duncan showed how and why the human body works. Finally, an interesting art display on the second floor consisted of items that teachers had confiscated from kids in London. Some of the items were funny - notes: Do you like me? Check yes, no, maybe. Other items reminded me of things Adina and I had seen in the Kingston Penitentiary, homemade weapons and the like.  

After my afternoon at the science centre I headed to the grocery store for some dinner items and then to Starbucks for a large Americano. Back at the inn I started to do some research on the city of York and I am really looking forward to heading there on Thursday.

Windermere

Friday I travelled from Dumfries, Scotland to Windermere, Lake District, England.  

I travelled by train with 2 changes. It looked like this: From Dumfries to Carlisle. From Carlisle to Oxenholme. From Oxenholme to Windermere. The journeys were great. Beautiful scenery going by. About two stops from Windermere the skies opened and it began to pour. Fortunately it had stopped by the time I arrived at my destination. I can't count how many rainbows I have seen since the beginning of my journey but I guess that is to be expected when the weather turns from rain to sun so often.  

Haisthorpe B&B is located fairly close to the train station. The walk was all downhill so that was nice. I checked in around 4. After getting organized, I headed out to check out the town. There are two main one way streets in Windermere with shops and cafes in between the streets and on opposite sides of the road also. Most of the buildings seem to be built of grey rock that is laid on its side. The effect is beautiful. The town centre was fairly busy with car and foot traffic. I guess people are here for the weekend. Lots of walkers and cyclists come to the Lake District to hike and cycle.  

I decided my visit to Windermere was going to be low key. Not too much touristy stuff. Just some hiking, running, reading, and relaxing.  Saturday morning I enjoyed scrambled eggs with salmon on a bagel. This was a delicious breakfast. I met another guest who was visiting for a couple of nights. She was a family physician who worked in Manchester and would come to Windermere to work on a Saturday and hike on a Sunday. She is also trained in Emergency Medicine, and trekking and mountain climbing medicine, and is currently working on her studies so that she will be able to be called up by the British government to go to disaster areas or areas around the world that are experiencing emergencies.  

I decided to run to Lake Windermere. It was about 2.5 km, all downhill. So, I made really good time. I walked around the harbour for a bit then decided to see how far I could run uphill (which is really quite steep). I made it, in intervals, for another kilometre. I walked the rest of the way back.  

After showering and getting ready for the day, I decided to head to a cafe to grab some coffee and sit and read. As I was on my way to the cafe, I passed by the public library which had a sign about a display about Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. I headed up the stairs to the library. In the library, there was information about how Windermere had become a refuge for about 300 children in 1945 who had survived the Holocaust, were liberated, and because they had no family, were brought to England to recover. Since most of the children were boys (apparently the Nazi thought boys more valuable than girls as they could do manual labour) the were nicknamed The Windermere Boys. There were, however, about 40 girls in this group. The exhibit explained how the children arrived and where they were housed when the stayed in Windermere. There was also a tv playing interviews with the men and women who had once been those children.  In a separate room, there were individual portraits of about 15 men and women, who had been a part of The Windermere Boys, a photo of them as a child, and a write up about their family backgrounds, their time in labour camp(s)/concentration camps, and their participation in death marches. Their biographies also included what they did after leaving Windermere, including their education, jobs, and family life. For me, the most touching part was that although each of these men and women had lost their entire family, they each had children and grandchildren, their family line still lives on no matter what evil tried to stop them. Also, many of the biographies ended with a quote from the individual and most often, their quotes expressed extreme faithfulness, gratitude, and messages about acceptance and love. It always amazes me who people who live through atrocities and extreme situations are still able to see the beauty in life and feel fortunate to merely be.  

Another guest at Brambles Cafe talked me into enjoying the sticky toffee pudding with local vanilla ice cream. It was to die for. And there goes the running effort. But so worth it! By the time that I was done with the cafe, it was dark, cloudy, and rainy out. I headed back  to Haisthorpe B&B to do some more reading as I figured being outdoors was going to be a right off for the rest of the day.  

However, after about 15 minutes, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining. It looked so beautiful outside with the sun shining on the wet leaves of the tree across the street. As the saying goes, make hay while the sun shines, so I got dressed for a hike I wanted to do to Orrest Head Viewpoint. With the sun shining, I headed out. The trail started at the top of the village and forked to the left and the right. I decided to head left on the way up and come around in a loop. There are so many spots on this hike that were worthy of photographs. Everywhere I look was natural beauty. I don't think any of my photos will do the scenery justice but I did take quite a few.  

It was about a 20 minute hike to the top which I was told would result in a type of look out over the surrounding area. The walk up was lush, wet, mossy, rocky, and beautiful. I was not disappointed when I reached the top. After walking through the forest, the top of the trail opened up and the view was 360 degrees. There were hills, lakes, farmland, sheep, cows, trees, and natural beauty all round. This is difficult to describe but there were benches at the top of the trail and I sat and took it all in.  

I made my way slowly back down to the village and my accomodations for the night.  

It was a foggy start to Sunday morning. I wanted to take a boat ride on Lake Windermere today and thought I would wait a bit until the fog lifted. The boat piers are about 2.5km from the B&B on a downhill walk. I set off about 10 at a liesurely pace. The weather was not too warm but not too bad either.  

The gentleman at the ticket booth suggested that I take the boat up to Ambleside, a town about a 20 minute boat ride north of Windermere. He said there were some good trails and a nice village and with lots of cafes there. He also gave me a map of the walking paths that I could take in and around the village. I took him up on his suggestion. The ticket allowed me to get off at Ambleside and spend as much time as I wanted there and then return on another ride.  

It was cool on the water but a pleasant journey. The fog was not thick enough to block any of the view. It drooped like ghostly fingers down the hillsides making a very interesting and changable scene.  

I decided to take the walking path that follow the river, River Rothsay, the closest so that I would be near water as much as possible. The first part of the journey took me through Borrans Park and then to a National Trust area called Galava Roman Fort. This is the remains of a Roman fort that is located in a farmers pasture. There was interesting information posted about the Roman Fort.  

Next, I needed to pass through gates to get to a boggy area to walk across, then through a farmer's field. I was lead to an area that was near a recycling plant. The information on my map told me to locate the footpath called The Rothsay Footpath. Up until now, the map and instructions had been spot on but I was having difficulty finding this path. I circled around the area a bit until a notices a small arrow, located behind a bunch of branches, titled Rothsay Footpath. This path was less a path and more a forest. The ground consisted of exposed tree roots, making the footing tricky. I stuck close to the river and followed along until I got to Miller Bridge. I wanted to continue to circumnavigate the village as much as possible, sticking to the forest and natural views. So I continued beside another farmer's field where sheep grazed and one man was using a metal detector to find... metal?  

The path eventually ended when I reached the road and I followed that road around to the village. There was a wonderful Bridge House over the river. It was a very small house that was located near a bridge. I walked through the town and considered a few cafes. Nothing was appealing to me at the moment so I headed through town to the pier. The hike took me about two hours and I had worked up a bit of an appetite, so I had a bite to eat at the cafe near the pier. Unfortunately, people felt the need to feed the birds at the lakeside here. There were crows, pigeons, seagulls, ducks, geese, swans, and it was essentially my idea of hell. I was able to eat outside in peace but as soon as the people at the table next to me took off, the crows descended. And that was it for me, I hightailed it right out of the cafe.  *Side note the homemade blueberry scone was delicious.  

I was able to catch the 2:10 boat back to Windermere. I sat on the deck and on our way back the sun finally burned through the clouds and it was glorious. I sat with my eyes closed facing the sun and soaking in the warmth. It was lovely.  

I arrived back on shore and faced the long uphill climb to my accommodations. I needed to make a pit stop for a healthy snack and a bit of a rest. But, since I am in the Lake District, famous of walkers, I wanted to get one more hike in before the day was done. Plus the sun was shining and I wanted to be outside.  

The map that was provided to me by my host outlined a few hikes around town. Since I had already made it to Orrest Viewpoint yesterday, I decided to take the path that would lead me along the lake. This path had it all, road, paved footpath, sheep pasture (see my sheep selfie), beach, forest, lakeside and riverside. There were beautiful views from the top of the pasture which I shared with the sheep - although they were a bit wary of me. I walked along a public dock, at the beach, to the end and looked out across the lake. There were a few dogs swimming in the water and playing fetch with their owners. It was a beautiful and multifaceted walk.  

Best part of the day was when I arrived back and was able to video chat with my family. It is Thanksgiving weekend. For those of you who don't know - I have The Best Family out there. I am so thankful for their constant support of me and generous love they have for me. I can't imagine where I would be without all of them.  

I am especially thankful to be an aunt. Those who know me well will know that about me but I need to express that love all the time.  I love Sage. She is intellegent, beautiful, compassionate, sensitive, and she still loves to hug me and sit on my lap whenever we get together. I am so glad that she still loves to spend time with me and hope that she will still give me lots of hugs when I get home (don't ever outgrow that). I love James. James is the happiest little guy. He is cheeky - in a great way, funny, full of joy, and totally loving.  

I have fantastic siblings. Patrick and Anne-Marie are both gentle people who demonstrate sensitivity in their dealings with others. A way of living that I aspire to, and fall short of, but keep trying. Gemma is a wonderful sister in law who is a fantastic mom, raising James in a loving way so that he has turned out to be such a loving little boy, a total reflection of Gemma.

Mom and dad - throughout my life you have been so supportive of me, especially these past few years, where I have experiences some challenges with my mental health. Please know that I have felt that support and I so appreciate it. I am thankful that my family loves to get together, to hang out, and to laugh. That is the best. I love you all.  

I am thankful too for all of the friends that I have in my life. If you are reading this blog post, know that I truly treasure you and thank you for your friendship - even if it is not something I say often.  

Finally, I am so thankful for my job. That may sound funny as I am not working right now. But, without my job, and the clause in my contract that allows me to defer my salary, I would not be living the life that I am right now. The ability to travel, not always knowing what will come next, what is around the corner, and not worrying about any deadlines, is priceless. I am so thankful for that.  

On a less serious note (and I know that last paragraph started off with "Finally", but whatever, I am not a professional writer - deal with it, I am so thankful for technology. Most importantly, technology has allowed me to easily keep in contact with friends and family back home. It also has allowed me to book accomodations on the fly. I have been able to research places that I am visiting for suggestions of what to see and do. Also, gps has saved me so many times and makes it easy to find my way from place to place.  

It is definitely autumn. Each morning I head outside and smell the crisp smell that is so distinctly autumn. The trees are changing colour and are shedding their leaves. The leaves are crunching under my feet. Autumn is a great time of year and a wonderful time to be outside.  

So, it is now evening on Sunday. I am just finishing my blog, will enjoy some tv shows, and then head to bed with a grateful heart and lungs full of all of that fresh autumn air.  

Next stop, Newcastle