Bevington, Bath and Bristol (and Abervegeny)

Our next stop was with friends Paul and Josie in the hamlet of Bevington (or what is left of the hamlet of Bevington) not too far from Bristol. Here we had a great five days catching up with Paul and Josie and seeing the sights in their part ofthe world. We had a day trip to Bath which was excellent - apart from being historically significant it is a beautiful city. We toured the Roman baths, saw the elegant Royal Crescent and had a very nice lunch.

Judith and I toured the countryside one day and saw, among other things, the lovely township of Cirencester. There was an old historical army barracks there which was advertised for rent. "Up to 9,800 square feet with rear parking and suitable for a variety of uses". (WTF!! ?!)

 

Another day we took a trip into Wales and saw Chepstow castle, Tintern Abbey and Abervegeny. Many parts of Chepstow castle are preserved enough so that one can get an excellent idea of the evolution of the castle and life within it over the centuries. And it is easy to see why Tintern Abbey inspired the Victorians to visit it and write poetry. And Abervegeny is just a lovely Welsh village. We googled the lyrics to the song but let's just say they do the town a disservice.

 

Paul and Josie took us into Bristol one afternoon to look around and to see the Bristol Hot Air Ballon Festival. We got a good vantage point in the park on the hill and waited... And waited... We walked down the hill to go and have dinner (which we had booked) and they started to float over the late afternoon sky - it's called Murphy's Law. So we saw many of the balloons and then had a very good dinner at an Indian Restaurant.

Bristol is currently also having a fund-raising event for their local Children's Hospital. The creator of Wallace and Gromit is a native of Bristol, and for this fundraiser they have created over 80 metre and-a-half Gromits and given them to well-known British artists to decorate/paint. They have then placed them in various parts of the city for the public to enjoy. At the end of the event they are going to auction them off for the Children's hospital. An absolutely inspired idea!! The one directly below is titled "Being Gromit Malkovich".

Gromits have popped up all over Bristol. We saw about five or six but only photographed two because we were a bit slow on the uptake.

 

For our last day in this part of the world Judith and I went back into Bristol and saw the SS Great Britain which was designed by a man named Brunel and made in Bristol. This is the first ship to be made out of iron and to have a screw propellor. Like many man-made things it had a chequered history which included taking out emigrants to Australia and being scuttled and left under water for 30 years. It has been salvaged and preserved and is a fascinating museum and piece of history in its own right.

 

Overall, we had a fantastic time with Paul and Josie, not only because there were such interesting things to see in this part of the world, but because every evening we would catch up over a glass of wine and some excellent food. I will finish this blog with a photo of one of the sunsets over the Severn estuary.

 

Next part of the tour ... Stratford Upon Avon! Apparently some playwright was born there - yeah, right!

 

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Salisbury Plain to Pitney and family history

From Brighton to Pitney is a sizeable trip in British terms but we decided to do it in a day - and visit Stonehenge - AND see Salisbury Cathedral! We managed to do all these things and still arrive at our destination mid-afternoon.

To digress, when we first picked our car up (a small five speed manual Peugot) we were in Dartford and very near the M2 and the A2 connecting London with Dover. We must confess that we found it challenging and stressful getting our way around - never seen so many large trucks doing between 70 and 80 miles per hour, and where a minor mistake could mean miles out of your way. Anyway, by the time we drove to Pitney the traffic was not so congested and we started to relax a little.

Our first stop was Salisbury Cathedral which again was awe-inspiring. They are all awe-inspiring - that's their raison d'être - but this Cathedral's additional draw card is that it has one of the original copies of the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta is of course, a very significant step in the development of democracy and the Westminster system of Government. We were quite impressed to see it, even though we couldn't read it as it is written in Latin.

We drove on to Stonehenge where we became very excited!! We had became members of British Heritage at Dover Castle and this meant that we didn't have to queue at Stonehenge, and walked past everyone including a large tour group! It also meant we didn't have to pay. Let me tell you, it doesn't get much better than this.

So into Stonehenge. Now, Stonehenge is something that I believe should be on everyone's bucket list. It is fascinating and inspires its own awe. But one of the most interesting things about it is that we do not really know why it was constructed. Most of the past theories about it being a giant mystic calculator or (place your favourite theory here) have been discredited. So, it just is... It is merely one sign post on the road of mankind's evolution.

But I will say that it is photogenic.

We got to our B & B in Pitney mid-afternoon and - didn't unpack as there was no furniture or room in our room to unpack! At this stage we were literally living out of our suitcases. We had dinner at the local pub (three kilometres down the road). It was very popular and busy, and we had to share a table with four other patrons.

The next day we went up to the Pitney Farm Shop because every time Judith asked about her forebears, everyone said: "Oh you should speak to Lizzie up at the Farm Shop". So we went up first thing only to find that Lizzie was on holidays! However, the lady standing in for Lizzie said that we should talk to Lizzie's mum so she went across the road and got her.

Well, Lizzie's mum (Joan) already had her computer open at ancestry.com so she invited us over to her place. Judith and she had a right old chat, along with Joan's husband - and a few forays into ancestry.com and some copies of old census results. After a cup of tea and coffee David took us down to the local hall and the Anglican Church for a good look around. It was a very fruitful morning for Judith and with a very hospitable and helpful couple.

In the afternoon we drove to a little village called Puckington (which was crying out to be included in a limerick!) and we looked at the village church from the outside. In the mid 1800's, the curate's daughter ran off with the stable boy who was a Whittaker. They married in London and sailed to Wisconsin - Mills & Boon eat your heart out.

The next day we drove to Bevington, near Bristol, to stay with our friends Paul and Josie who were exchange teachers in Ballarat sixteen years ago.

 

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From the white cliffs of Dover to the pavilion at Brighton

Our last day at Dartford saw us taking a trip to Dover to see the castle there and the white cliffs. Like all these historical remains, the castle at Dover is a result of centuries of building, rebuilding, adding, sacking, renovating and reinventing. It was still being used for military purposes during the Second World War although Judith and I didn't tour the WW2 tunnels.

We walked along the white cliffs which are impressive and very photogenic.

The next day we left our generous hosts and drove to Hastings and to the site of the famous battle. We took an audio tour and walked around the battlefield hearing a detailed account of what happened. Apparently it is a moot point as to whether King Harold was shot in the eye by an arrow or hacked to pieces, disembowelled and beheaded by four of William's knights specifically detailed for that task. What is not a moot point is the fact that this was a fundamental turning point in British history.

That night we stayed at a nice waterfront B&B in Eastbourne and travelled the next day Brighton where we stayed at another very nice B&B (but not on the waterfront). The following day we visited the Prince Regent's Pavilion in Brighton. This is a spectacular indo-saracen palace (or folly depending on your viewpoint) with extravagant and lavish chinoiserie interiors. It is incredibly self-indulgent, over-the-top, a profligate use of wealth but at the same time a thing of beauty.

Next stop, family history in Pitney.

 

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England swings like a pendulum do...

I've always wondered about that lyric - with the use of the word "do" followed by the line "bobbies on bicycles two by two". If an Aussie wrote it it would probably be:

"England swings like a pendulum does, bobbies on bicycles - here come the fuzz"

Anyway, we stayed in an apartment/flat in a part of London called 'Little Venice' in Paddington. It was a great spot - very picturesque, quiet, near a number of restaurants and pubs, and near a couple of tube stations. Robert Browning lived there at one stage and is responsible for its name.

There were many barges on the canals - one of them a cafe berthed just outside our apartment where we had breakfast on two mornings. One other was named "Milton" so of course we took a photo. And another we took on a trip down the canal to the Camden markets.

As so many before us, we thought that the London Underground system was fantastic. And here's something that I didn't know (and that many of you already did): the London Underground was first opened in 1863!! And we have our current state government's greatest plan being yet another road link!

While the underground was great, it certainly wasn't matched by the tea and coffee. A number of good cafes have emerged over the last few years and they are mostly run by Aussies - but they are not easy to find in a big city. Judith, as a tea drinker, was expecting more from what she thought was the mother-country of proper tea.

We spent five days in London and managed to see a number of the most notable sights. These included Westminster Abbey, the houses of parliament (from the outside), the Tate Modern, the Wallace Collection, the Camden Markets, St Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace (again from the outside), the View from the Shard, the Liberty department store, and a live show - The 39 Steps.

We then took a train down to Dartford in Kent where we stayed three nights with some lovely distant relatives of Judith. Roy and Dulcie were very hospitable and showed us around their part of England.

Highlights of this part of the trip included a visit to the Church of the Holy Cross at Bearsted where some of Judith's forbears lived and were married, and Canterbury Cathedral. Canterbury town itself is a beautiful town and it claims to still have one of the original ducking stools. The cathedral is magnificent and bears testament (take the pun or not) to the power of religion and the church in the lives of the people of these times.

 

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Melbourne to Hong Kong

Well we're off again - or maybe I should say "yet again". Anyway, we're off again. Early start at Tullamarine so stayed at an airport hotel for the night. Now here's a tip for beginners: when you're at an airport hotel, always check the bedside alarm clock and set it or turn it off. Yes, we were woken up by the alarm at 4.00 am.

Hong Kong wasn't too bad this time around. We had a very good meal on the first night at an Indonesian restaurant not far from our hotel. And yes, Milton did have yet another Laksa - which, by the way, was pretty good.

On the first morning we asked the concierge for a western style cafe nearby. We like to have a western style breakfast and then eat local for lunch and dinner. He told us of a suitable restaurant just nearby called "Daily Friends". We thought that sounded fine so went in search of said restaurant. We passed a Deli France but no "Daily Friends" in sight. Until Milton (with two years university level linguistics under his belt) realised that the concierge had really been saying Deli France/Daily Friends/Deli France!! It's an aural joke - I guess you had to be there. Still, we had a bit of a laugh at the pitfalls of international travel.

Our plane didn't leave until 35 minutes after midnight but the tropical rain set in late afternoon so we decided to cut our losses and go to the airport early and wait for the flight. Next morning we arrived at Heathrow early in the morning and headed for our accomodation in Paddington in a pre-paid mini-cab. But that's another chapter.

The rain in Spain falls mainly in Madrid

We have been extremely fortunate on this trip to have had reasonably good weather almost all of the time. The one exception has been Madrid where it has rained each day for a significant time. However, this has not prevented us from seeing the sights and particularly the galleries.

Now I know this must sound like heresy, but I am a bit over the old masters and far prefer to see contemporary artwork. As a consequence, we are not going to visit the Museo del Prado (quelle horreur!!) So on our first day here we visited the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia which, among other things, houses Picasso's Guernica. This is a very poorly laid out and sign-posted gallery and, while there are some Picassos and Dalis, I was expecting more. Guernica was good although, given its iconic and idealised status in Spain, it is not easy to get to see as it is surrounded by many onlookers for most of the time. All in all we were both quite underwhelmed by this art gallery.

Day two saw us visiting the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. This museum is made up of art works collected by two generations of the Thyssen-Bornemisza family which have subsequently been donated to Spain. It is a breathtaking collection which includes at least one painting (and often more) of almost every significant European painter and a number of American artists from the 20th century. At the same time they are running a blockbuster exhibition of the works of Marc Chagall. We both saw the Chagall exhibition and were very pleased we did. He has never loomed large on my art radar but seeing his paintings together has given me a real appreciation for his work.

Anyway, the T-BM was a highlight for us both.

We have been out and about in many of Spain's plazas, streets and malls now, and one dominant feature of all of them are the buskers. Many of these buskers, however, are the sort that wear elaborate costumes or makeup and generally stand stationary (apart from the occasional gesture and posing with individuals for a photo shoot - and a donation for the privilege). Some of these look impressive and others just look pathetic or bazarre.

I guess it's a living in a depressed economy.

We were going to take a day trip to Toledo on our last day in Madrid, but we have decided to return to Australia immediately as Judith's 92 year old father is ill and has been hospitalised.

We will have to save a visit to the Guggenheim in Bilbao and a week in Paris for another trip. C'est la vie.

 

Cordoba: more of the same? Not exactly.

We got to Cordoba by train, but on arrival were greeted by a shower of some very heavy rain. So it is quite plain that the rain in Spain did not fall mainly on the train! (I've been waiting for something like that...) We hurriedly got into a taxi and took the short trip to our hotel which is a five star Marriott - at last a bit of luxury!! The hotel is very swish, and our room on the fifth floor has a spa bath and a double shower, all the amenities you could want and a great view of parkland.

The biggest tourist attraction in Cordoba is a cathedral (what else) called the Mezquita (the Mosque). Now, Judith and I have seen a few Cathedrals by now, and to be honest we're starting to develop a rather large dose of cathedral-lag (it's a bit like jet-lag where you see too much of the inside of a Boeing 747).

However, I would have to admit to once again being surprised and impressed by yet another oversized religious building. It was originally a Visigoth church (AD 600), converted into a mosque (AD 785), expanded over the centuries by many moorish rulers to its current size, and then converted back into a Christian church in 1236 when Ferdinand III of Castille recaptured Cordoba. It has remained a Catholic cathedral since then with a few modifications every couple of centuries or so.

So, it looks very much like a massively huge mosque with a huge cathedral bunged into the middle of it - which it in fact is. However, it still looks spectacular and is different from any other cathedral we have seen. We certainly thought it was worth seeing.

After we saw over the cathedral, we had an ice cream and walked over the bridge to the other side of the river where we walked along the bank, getting back to our hotel via another bridge further downstream.

Today we have really just taken things easy, done some washing, bought some supplies at a supermarket, looked around the shopping centre nearby, and generally enjoyed the amenities of our hotel. We have needed to take a break from all this sightseeing and traveling.

Tomorrow we take the train to Madrid where we are scheduled to stay five nights.