Diversion

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Cardiff, 4/1/07

Breakfast in the lovely room of the B&B with a large window view of the garden. Finally struck up a conversation with some other guests, about where we'd been and where we were going, british tv and films, world travels in general, and friends with children. Hit the road by 10:15 on the way to Wales.

Funny thing about the tollbridge to Wales - you have to pay to get in, but getting back out of Wales is free. hmmm...

We got to town, took some time to find parking and get oriented, ate a not very good lunch in a cafeteria-type thing and went out to find the Tourist Information place. Finally found it, where they gave us a fantastic map and told us that without a doubt there was absolutely not enough time to see the Doctor Who exhibit at Red Dragon Centre and St Fagan's Museum of Welsh Life.

HA. We showed them.

Went to St. Fagan's first, and the lovely gentleman at the front desk said that we absolutely DID have enough time. We could certainly use more time if we'd had it, but we'd be able to get our money's worth. And boy was he right. (For one thing, admission was free.) If anyone is wondering whether or not to visit St. Fagan's, DO. Do Not Miss it. They get everything right there. All the guides were Welsh, and are extremely helpful without being overly intrusive. Down to the very last one, they were friendly and knowledgeable. Check out the Flickr site for some photos from the museum. As an added bonus, I found out that Doctor Who had filmed an episode there that hadn't even aired yet!

After St. Fagan's we went back to town for Doctor Who exhibit, and mom got to see me at my geekiest. No really. I seriously geeked out. I think that I was so Happy to be seeing all of the props and costumes from the shows that I actually convinced her to check out the show sometime. ...all part of my nefarious plan. Mouaahahahahaa.
Walked around Mermaid Quay - an absolutely lovely little area, much nicer than downtown cardiff. We poked around the Millenium Centre, where the Torchwood headquarters are said to be, and got lots of pictures. Again with the geeking out.

Finally, the sun went down and I had gotten all of the pictures I possibly could (plus, my camera batteries were running out, damn them), so we got some sandwiches to go at Subway (shut up), and headed on out to the Vineyeard where we'd be staying the night. We arrived too late for a wine tasting (my biggest regret - sorry, mom!), but the room was perfect - a bathtub for mom, and high-speed internet for me. -perfection! Ate dinner while surveying all of my plunder from the Doctor Who gift Shop. I'd show you photos, but I was so excited to open my presents that all of the photos turned out blurry. I'm not even kidding. Stayed up late trying out Yahoo voice chat (highly recommended - it was crystal clear!), then went to sleep feeling fat and happy.

Stonehenge &Glastonbury, 3/31/07

Yesterday, while in the gift Shop of the Jane Austen Centre, we'd asked the docents if they thought we could cover Stonehenge and Glastonbury in one day, and they said, "No, I really don't think so. If you were Japanese, you could do it. Twice." We were disappointed, but still determined to try.

We spent the morning in Bath City Centre, looking for a phone card and a toothbrush. Also, I was having having bank issues - my debit card was frozen. Apparently, you're supposed to tell them when you expect to go out of the country. ..oops.

I tried finding a way to get in touch with my bank from Europe - way more difficult than it should have been, thank goodness Mom was there to cover me for a bit. I tried going through a British bank, tried going to the local library to get online to find an international number, tried calling home for someone stateside to call the USA number and ask the bank representative. Finally, I was bored with being frustrated and gave up for the time being. Knowing that we already had a full day ahead of us, we'd already wasted too much time on the mundane stuff.

Stonehenge was really cool. You can see it from the highway, just sitting there, minding its own business while eons of people have had their minds blown just looking at it. It was fairly crowded, but not ridiculously so, and VERY windy. We got the little audio tours - devices that look like a cross between a cel phone and a high tech bathroom key at an old gas station. It has a wee speaker in it, and as you get to a point along the walk, you come across a small marker with a number on it. You press the number on the device, and a pre-recorded message plays. It was mostly stuff I'd heard or read before, but it was good to have it inside the complex, to know that That. That stone right there. That is the one that they are talking about.

There were a lot of tourists, but judging from the amount of space available to accommodate them, I could tell they expected it to get a lot worse as the season wore on. As it was, we had a bit of a wait for tickets, food, and restrooms, and the gift shop was very crowded. But at the site itself, I just kept reminding myself that it could be a lot worse.

The area around the stones themselves is roped off to prevent access and vandalism. Originally, I was disappointed that we couldn't actually go inside the ring of stones, but when we got there I realized why - there's not enough room for people to get in and not touch the stones. They were at once bigger and smaller than I'd expected. Standing near the stones, they're huge, but not very many people could get within them without being able to easily reach out and touch them.

The sight was certainly awe-inspiring, but considerably less so with all of the people there. I wanted quiet, uninterrupted landscape-no cars, no people. I understand that they do allow before- and after-hours access with special permission, so the next time I go, I'll look into that more thoroughly. Mom and I split a lovely cheesy pie thingy in the car, out of the wind, and then headed for Glastonbury.

I could tell we were close when I caught sight of Glastonbury Tor in the distance. Sadly, it was too far to walk to in the time we had, but it was still nice to be close to it after reading so much about it. I'm quickly realizing that I simply will have to come back.

I'd seen lots of photos of Glastonbury Abbey, and had a strong feeling that Mom would like it as well, so that's where we headed first. The grounds of the abbey are kept very well - very clean and inviting. They allow you to walk all over - no ropes or designated paths. Such a lovely change from Stonehenge! What is left on the Abbey grounds are stone ruins and arches, and lots of quiet mixed with sounds of the outdoors.

Legend has it that Arthur and Guinevere were buried here, and there's a marker over the spot, with a plaque explaining that in 1191, their remains were found, and in 1278 were removed ro another place in the abbey "in the presence of King Edward I and Queen Eleanor," and there they remained (the remains, not Eddie and Ellie) until the abbey was dissolved in 1539. After that, I suppose it's anybody's guess. So if you have some musty old bones in a chest somewhere in your wine cellar or something, it could be King Arthur. Don't throw them away, 'kay?

Our B&B hostess in Bath had said that Glastonbury (the town) had "gone downhill," but having never seen it, we had nothing to compare it to. I didn't really have any expectations of what it might be, and what I found just seemed like a big Hippy town - tarot readings drum circles advertised on flyers all over the place, and crystals, faeries, insense, aromatherapy oils, and Yanni cds on sale everywhere. Whether you go in for that sort of thing or not, it's hard to dislike a place where everyone is so happy and friendly and nobody's rushing or yelling at you to hurry up or get out of the way.

One of the places I was really interested in seeing was The Chalice Well. Unfortunately, we got there too late and it was closed. Definitely something for next time. (check out the link. It's pretty cool.) And that's another thing: when Mom and I felt we hadn't had a chance to go somewhere, or get the full experience of a place, we'd say to each other, "we'll just have to see it next time!" We found that a good way to get over the disappointment was to think of it as only a first visit, with more chances in the future.

We made calls home from one of the red English phone boxes partly to check in, but mainly to say we did. Such dorky tourists we are.

Wanted to go through Salisbury and stop in to tour the Cathedral, but not enough time.
Wanted to drive through Avebury, where we could walk among the stone circle, and touch the stones, fewer tourists, etc. ...but no time. Clearly we should have had another day for this, or should have started at the crack of dawn. ...next time.

Driving back to Bath, we were nervous again about finding our B&B without too much difficulty, but we managed to go right to it with no wrong turns, proving once again that clearly Mom belonged in the driver's seat, and I did just fine with the map. Not the other way around, thank you very much.

We walked into town for dinner at a proper pub, where I had shepherd's pie, a glass of stout and chips with malt vinegar on em. The transformation is complete - I'm totally native now.

After dinner, I tried again to call home and work out the bank business. Stuggling with time differences, international calling rules, and general frustration at the situation reminded me how fortunate I was to have Mom along with me.

It was rugby night, and lots of rowdy fans were out ad about. Mom and I were squeezed into a phone booth trying to figure out how to work the calling card, and into the next booth ran a drunken rugby fan who bent over and graced me with a view of his pasty english full moon. In front of my MOM.

The bank was still a no-go, so we headed back to the B&B to repack and get ready for Cardiff in the morning.