Palaces and Eyes and Tours

We got up early this morning and left our homestay families behind.  The homestay was not as bad as I was thinking it was going to be, but really, it seemed like a waste of time.  We could have spent one night and then had an extra day in London.  As it was, we left early and drove like mad to get to Buckingham Palace in time for the Changing of the Guard.  

When we got there, we had several people who desperately needed to use the bathroom, so Dina and I headed down to the other end of St. James' Park with a group of kids.  Donia assured us that it was right there, but it took us 15 minutes to find it and another 12 minutes to potty everybody.  I was afraid we were going to miss the Changing of the Guard, so when it was time to head back, I was leading and I left everyone in the dust.  Poor Dina was trying to keep up but I have longer legs and I was on a mission!  

I don't know what I thought the Changing of the Guard was, but I was not expecting the band to be playing Copacabana.  We were across the street from the main entrance, so we couldn't see what was happening inside the gates.  Still, it was Buckingham Palace, and I was there.

We didn't have time to wait for them to come back out, since we had to be at the London Eye by 1.  We went back to the other end of St. James Park to have our sack lunches, and then we walked to the London Eye.  It really isn't very far, and we were able to see some parts of London that we wouldn't have otherwise.  

We waited in line for the London Eye for about 45 minutes.  It was hot, and I got sunburned.  I was not expecting to get sunburned in London.   We all crowded into one car and got some really nice views of London.  It was a little nerve-racking getting 33 people off the car while it was moving, but we managed.  The London Eye is something that I'm glad that I did once, but I don't need to do it again.  

After the Eye, we met our tour guide for a coach tour around London.  She was very good, but by far the coolest part about that was going to St. Paul's Cathedral.  We drove by it, and I thought that was it, but then our driver needed a break, so we stopped about 2 blocks from the cathedral and the guide was going to walk us down to a bridge that had been in a Harry Potter movie.  I asked if I could go to the cathedral instead, and of course was told to go.  I paid £16.50 to get in and told the girl at the desk that I had a great-uncle who had been killed in WWII and I would like to see the Roll of Honor.   An employee met me and took me back to the book and told me to take as many pictures as I wanted, in spite of all of the signs that warned No Photography.  She then started shooing people away who saw an exhibit opened and wanted to see what it was, telling them that this was a personal, private family moment and to please give me some space.  It was a little surreal.  Then she took me back to see the original book.  I wasn't prepared for how emotional it would make me, but I kept thinking of Grandma and how pleased she would have been.

We continued with the coach tour, which was very good but too long.  We drove to Wembley Park, where our hotel was, and I was looking out the window thinking what a ghetto this area was.  It got a little better the closer to the stadium we got, but it was definitely a low income area.  The best part of it, though, was that I had my own room.  I'm not sure how Dina managed that, (she told us it was black magic) but all the leaders had their own rooms and it was so nice.  

Tomorrow, the Tube!!

Parks and Wars and Libraries

We started out our day by having breakfast with Sally.  She is a very nice lady, but she Never. Stopped. Talking. She took Seth and me to town, and we met up with the delegates and other leaders at 8:30.  We took the kids to the park and they wrote in their journals and then played ball until it was time to go to the Commandery Museum.  The Commandery is an old house/ factory from the 1400's that served as the command post for the Parlimentary troops during the English Civil War.  It has served as private homes, a school for blind boys, a textile factory, a war command post, and other uses during the last 600 years.  The building is so old that the floors and walls are warped and it gave me an unsettling feeling, kind of like the whole thing was going to collapse around me.   

The kids were givin a talk about arms and armor of the Civil War, and then were given the chance to practice using a pike (18 ft long pole with a sharp point used to stab your enemy in the face or throat) and loading and firing a cannon.  We had lunch there also, which was a sack lunch packed by their homestay families.  I had a roasted chicken breast sandwich, which was quite lovely.  Tracie and Dina had egg salad, which may or may not have given Tracie food poisoning.  Ugh.

When we were ready to leave the Commandery, we stopped in the gift shop where I bought a couple of books about Tudor life.  I paid 10 pounds and put it on my CC.  As we were lined up ready to leave, the lady working there came up in a panic because the cc machine had spit my receipt out after I left and she voided it because she didn't know what it was for.  I said that it wasn't a problem, and pulled out my card again, but she took forever to figure out how to make the till come out right and run my card again.  She was apologizing all over herself, but ended up calling the manager which took forever.  In the meantime, the entire delegation was outside waiting for me.  She finally got it straightened out and took my number to call me at the end of the day when she ran her reports, to make sure I hadn't been charged twice.  

When I finally got all that straightened out, we walked all the way across town to the new public library named the Hive.  It was very nice, but not someplace I wanted to spend a couple hours.  On our way back from the Hive, we stopped in the shopping district and spent 20 minutes.  Dina and I went to Poundland, which is the English dollar store.  We made it back to the park and the kids played ball while we waited for our homestay families to pick us up.

We had supper with Sally and Carys (Ian was at a football game) and then Seth, Sally, and Carys went to get ice cream while I Facetimed with mom and Kellie.  We visited and then gave them our gifts.  The Montana book (Montana: East of the Mountains) seemed to be a big hit.  

I want to get this posted while I have wifi, so no pictures tonight.  I will add them later.  Next stop, London!

The cathedral in Worchester.

Castles and Graves and Homestays

We got up this morning and returned to Warwick (War-rick) Castle.  We had three hours to explore on our own.  It was very cool.  The castle is celebrating its 1100 birthday this year.  Tracie and I went through the castle and then walked the ramparts and went to the top of one of the towers.  Unfortunately, I left my SD card on the coach so I don't have pictures from that day until Tracie uploads her pictures.  

We had a BBQ lunch (hamburger and a baked potato) right there at the castle, and then we headed down the road to Stratford-Upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare.  Stratford is very proud of its resident playwright, and everywhere we looked there were references to Shakespeare.  We had about an hour to look around, and then we walked to the church in which Shakespeare is buried.  We stopped in a medieval Catholic church on the way and took some pictures.  When we got to the church where WS is buried, we discovered that you have to pay to see his grave.  It was two pounds, which seems a little ridiculous, but I paid it because I had come 6000 miles and thought I should see it.  The Avon river was very busy with canal boats and lots of little rowboats that you could rent for an hour.  Of course we didn't get to do that.  

On the Avon River.

This made me laugh and reminded me of Granddad!

We left Stratford snd headed for Worchester (WOO-ster) where we were to meet up with our homestay families.  Worchester is where they make Worchestershire sauce, so I knew right off that I was going to love it.  Seth and I stayed with Sally and Ian Langfield and their 16 year old daughter Carys.  They are very friendly.  I was nervous about the homestay because I didn't know what we would talk about.  That turned out not to be a problem since Sally started talking the moment we got in the car and didn't stop until I said I was going to bed at 11:30.  They wanted to show us the cathedral so they took us on a "short walk".  Two hours later we finally got home.  It was nice, though.  We walked down by the river and saw lots of the Queen's swans and more of the canal boats.  

Severn River

Seth, Sally, Carys, and Ian

Heights and Castles and Fears and Roman Cities

OMG!  I rapelled down a castle wall!  Holy cow!  I was just looking again at the pictures and I can't believe I did that!!!   

We stayed in a youth hostel last night, and it wasn't a complete dump. Still not someplace I want to stay ever again, but at least it had a real shower.  We had another short night of sleep and then we were up ready for today's Full On experience.  We were supposed to get yet another coach and driver this morning, and it was supposed to be there at 8 am.  Jim finally showed up at 8:25, putting us behind for the day, it's seemed like.  Our hostel was at the top of a steep, narrow drive, and we had to drag our suitcases up and down the drive by ourselves.  Not fun, since my suitcase now weighs the equivalent of a small elephant.  

Anyway, the coach finally showed up and we were on our way to Penrhyn Castle.  The Full On team was there to meet us and get us harnessed up for the rappelling.  After a group picture and some safety info, they split us into two groups.  I went with the first group, because I figured if I waited and watched, I would chicken out.  

We went up the original stairs in the tower, until finally at the top we had to climb a steep ladder.  I almost chickened out then, but I made it to the little waiting room at the top.  Then I had to wait while they called 14 students and sent them over the edge.  Finally, Dina and I went to the top of the tower.  We had our harnesses checked again, and then it was up on the edge of the wall.  Kiah, a hairy Welshman, was helping me.  He got me up there, and then told me to put my feet right on the edge of the wall and lean back.  I almost froze. I couldn't say anything or move.  He assured me that it was safe and that he had me, and then finally I was able to take that first step.  The descent took about 1 minute 20 seconds....and it was incredible.  

Live life full on.

All of us accomplished our goals, except for Dina who is afraid of heights, and she even stood right on the edge.  

After the abseiling (English for rappelling) we went to Chester, England.  We had a traditional fish and chips lunch, and then explored the city of Chester for a few minutes (and I do mean a few....we had about 20 minutes).  The Romans founded the city in 79 AD.  We took a walk along the city walls that were built by the Romans, and saw an original Roman amphitheater.  

We then headed for Warwick Castle. The traffic is insane, so we are moving very slowly.  

Warwick Castle was so cool!  We got there about 6 pm, just as the castle was closing, and were met by an actor who was training the Americans to fight in the War of the Roses.  The kids were given a lesson in sword fighting, saw a longbow being shot, and saw the world's largest trebuchet shot.  We had the place to ourselves, so Dina and I wandered around some and took pictures. It is absolutely beautiful there.  We are coming back tomorrow morning to explore the castle.

Love you all. 

Ferries and Wales

We got up super early this morning to catch the ferry to Wales.  We were driving through downtown Dublin when the bus started developing problems.  Ray couldn't shift into 3rd gear, and the coach kept stalling.  At one point we pulled over and the coach actually quit.  I kept thinking about what we were going to do if we missed the ferry.  Ray pulled it off, though, and we made it to the pier in plenty of time.  We boarded the ferry and commandeered the very back of the ship for our delegation.  It was very nice because the kids could all stretch out and sleep.  

Goodbye Ireland!

Yes, that is a teddy bear in his arms. 

The ferry ride was uneventful, and after about three hours we found ourselves in Holyhead, Wales.  (Harry Potter reference....remember the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team?).  We had lunch at a pub that looked like what I have always pictured English or Welsh pubs to look like....lots of dark paneling.  Very charming.  Lunch was ham, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, and these little fried potato balls that were very good.  I was asking the cook/ owner how to make them, and apparently the secret is lots of really good duck fat to roll them in....it makes them nice and crispy.  

After lunch we had a short lesson in Welsh, none of which I remember except that hello is the same in Welsh as it is in English.  We then headed up the road to Caernarfon and Caernarfon Castle, which was completely huge and remarkably well-preserved.  Of course, since this is a People to People trip, we didn't actually get to go into the castle but we walked around the outside and marveled at it.  (Fun fact of the day....Wales is the home to 614 castles.  Someday I am going to do a castle tour of Wales.)

We also stopped at Llanfairpwllgwngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which is a train station in Wales.  It has the longest station name in the world.  We stamped our passports and continued on our way.  

We had supper at a really cute little B&B up the road, and then the kids had their first part of their Full On experience.  We broke boards with our hands tonight.  I am amazing.  Tomorrow we rappel (or abseil, as they call it here) down a castle wall.  I'm freaking out a little bit.  

Wish me luck.