*those written in italic letters are non-english words.
13October2011
DAY7
Left Edinburgh at 8:30am with lots of beautiful memories. We entered Scotland taking the Highland route and now leaving it via the Lowlands to cross the border back to England.
1st Stop: GRETNA GREEN, Scotland. This place is where the blacksmiths used to wed runaway couples from England. Nice little village and the attraction here is that you can buy your pasalubongs duty free. Need you ask what i did :)
Gretna Green gained notoriety in the 16th century for allowing very young couples, i think 12,13 or 14 year olds to marry. they come here 'coz it was illegal to do that in England and Wales. As you can see, i went to one of the chapels, unfortunately, i could not get married...i dont have a groom!!!
but of course, this place being a duty free area, we just have to find something to buy ^^ and find something we certainly did. Nnylanna bought a couple of scarves in this shop, she initially bought one BUT the packaging was so nice and classy, i think she went back and bought some more. yeah, we're shallow that way... but then, you already know that ^^ toinks!
oh and this is the shop where we bought Pau's bag^^ i know, that is not a bag but hey, that's the only picture we took of the said shop so please bear with the model wannabe ^^
2nd Stop: GRASMERE, England. One of the many picturesque village along the Lakes District. It is surrounded by rolling hills, lush green pastures, scenic lake, and stone houses. Beautiful. This is where the famous poet Wordsworth lived along with other well know English artists. The Gang once again headed to our guide's recommended restaurant and ordered their famous "Yorkshire Pudding" and bought their famed ginger bread and mint. Mind you, i've had yorkshire pudding back in OZ many times but this thing is nothing compared to that. check out the photo, it's like a mini swimming pool ^^ lololol ^^
The English Lake District(The Lakes), in this case Grasmere lived up to it's reputation, it is indeed a pretty charming place!
and this is me and my never ending fascination with old cemeteries... i'm sorry, we passed by one and i could'nt help myself. Tita Dors joined the fun, started to "roleplay" complete with fake tears and dialogue, pretending to know the person buried in one of the graves... haaaaaa, the crazy pinoys strikes again! ^^
3rd Stop: CITY OF CHESTER, England. Another fascinating medieval city. Did a walking tour of the well-preserved Roman Walls...
my short vid of the Roman walls^^
...the Chester Cathedral. unfortunately, we didn't get to see what's inside... i think it was closed around the time we were there. as you can see, from the outside it looks huge... i wonder if it's as awesome as the other's we've seen in this country so far...
my 2 short vids featuring Chester City and the Cathedral.
...and then there's the famous Rows(known as the 1st shopping arcade... the English, they are my kind of people^^). Prominent were the black and white half-timbered buildings. I remember we bought a couple stuff at the Marks & Spencer shop... was it the aviator winter hat?...
... when i looked at this picture that Nnylanna took of Northgate Street, i was in awe... it looked like it came straight from a postcard! reeeally nice^^
my 2 short videos of fabulous Northgate Street. the voice on the 2nd vid is that of our tour director Bill.
Josie, Joy, Piberg and moi tried the local cheeze that our guide suggested. we got to taste the different varieties of cheeze and Joy and Josie ended up buying some..
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| me trying to decide where to go next ^^ |
4th Stop: Crossed the border to WREXHAM, Wales. Noticed that all the road signs were written both in english and their native dialect. Had an early night.
my short vid of the 1st of the two hotels that we stayed in Wales... Ramada Hotel... not bad right? not bad at all^^
14October2011
DAY8
1st Stop: IRONBRIDGE-Shropshire, England. Long day of travelling ahead of us. Crossed the border back to England and headed towards the hills. An old steel village where the 1st iron bridge in England was built. Correction sis, this bridge is the 1st of its kind in the WORLD.
my very short vid of THE Iron Bridge at the heart of Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England ^^
my very short vid of THE Iron Bridge at the heart of Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England ^^
Another picturesque village. I'm really loving all these quaint villages but as much as i love them, i dont think i can really live in one of them because i'm still a city girl. cannot live without the big shopping centers, bistro, cafe and cinemas.^^
Sis, just look at this one photo below and say it's such a drag to live here... this is... picture perfect! Joy was right, can you imagine how colorful this place must be in autumn ^^
here's a short vid of the The Gang taking time admiring beautiful Ironbridge ^^ we had that particular spot to ourselves that's why we were just feeling so at home, hence, our overly loud voices. pls excuse us ^^
If there was any place in England that i was really looking forward to see, this is the place. I have heard so much about it from historical novels that i was already envisioning what the place would look like. Stratford-Upon-Avon is the birthplace of the world famous William Shakespeare. But, what a disappointment. Why? Because it hasn't retained it's old-world appeal. It has become too commercialized. Even the Shakespeare Center was not to my liking. One cannot go directly to Shakespeare's house without passing tru The Shakespeare Center. There we got to watch an audio/visual presentation about the life of the literary genius...
...despite the no taking of photos/videos inside, i still tried to be the nice amiable tourist and said hi to one of the staff in the house^^ but of course, i had an ulterior motive...
... i was hoping they would be lenient with the rules and let us take a few snapshots of the house interiors. OK, the bad tourists that we are, we did take a few ...
...i'll let you take a guess where tourists have to exit? you guessed it right... the souvenir shop! i bought 2 books and Nnylanna bought a couple stuff that i now forgot what.
There was this shop across Shakespeare's cottage that sells all beautiful Christmas decors, so Piberg bought some to commemorate our visit here. what i bought was too heavy for my Li'l Old Christmas Tree so i gave it to Nnylanna last year to put it on hers. This is me at the entrance of the shop.
3rd Stop: BROADWAY-Cotswolds, England. For some reason, this is the last entry on Nnylanna's travel notes. So, from hereon, whether you like it or not, it will be ALL PIBERG ^^ ... Broadway is referred to as the "Jewel of the Cotswolds" in fact, Bill said it holds some of the most expensive properties in the whole of England.
Left Cotswold England and crossed the border for a quick drive-by in CARDIFF, the capital city of WALES.
checked-in at our second hotel in Wales, ParkInn Hotel to freshen up and for a short rest 'coz later that night we have a guided tour and a fancy dinner at Cardiff Castle. For now, here's Park Inn Hotel - Cardiff, Wales.
checked-in at our second hotel in Wales, ParkInn Hotel to freshen up and for a short rest 'coz later that night we have a guided tour and a fancy dinner at Cardiff Castle. For now, here's Park Inn Hotel - Cardiff, Wales.
4th Stop: CARDIFF CASTLE, Wales. Ahhh... Cardiff Castle... you look mighty fine from the outside that i was sooo looking forward to what's in store for us during our tour of the Castle Apartments AND, The Welsh Banquets later that night^^
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| The Clock Tower |
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| the South Gate |
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| The Black Tower |
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| the main range/lodgings |
i really wanted to take a peek at the interior of the Keep but... no can do, we will be left by the rest of the group... and so, off we went to start the tour of the Castle Apartments...
Bill our tour director handed us over to MIKE, he's like the official tour guide inside the castle...
...The Chaucer Room or the Victorian Fireplace Room. it was a tiny room where every space seems to bear some intricate design. here's my video of the room... i was planning on capturing as much of the room as i could, i figured it was so small anyway so might as well videotape every beautiful colorful detail BUT when Mike started to utter the words "ground rules" i thought i know what he was about to say about camera prohibitions that i immediately stopped rolling 'coz i was just right smack in front of him it would have been too rude of me if i continued. In fact, when he said "ground rules" i finished the sentence for him and said "we cant' take photos" he said, "not exactly, you just cannot use the camera flash". aaahhh... fruckmylife, i already lost my rhythm *Orz*. i'm sure you'll notice in some of my Cardiff Castle vids that some peeps from the tour group were STILL using their camera flash... aaah, some people are just... ____ and just... _____ i'll leave it up to you guys to fill in the blanks!
...the whole castle is kinda dark...well, it is after all a Medieval/Victorian Gothic castle...so lighting was a problem for the photographer, namely Nnylanna. End result, she only took a few pictures of the Chaucer Room, forgetting perhaps that there is such a thing as picture editing sites and apps...
just look at how dimly lit the corridors are... must be scary when there are no tourists/guests there at night... just you and the resident ghosts. that's not a ghost btw, just moi ^^
The Arab Room... i didn't think it would be possible but this room which is just about the same size as The Chaucer Room is even more fabulously designed in a way that screamsss... ostentatious!!! mygahhhddd, it was over-the-top! i salute the person who did that ceiling, not just for your craftmanship but with your patience you have my utmost respect ^^ here's my vid of The Arab Room and a few of Nnylanna's photos...
next is the magnificent Banqueting Hall... let Nnylanna's pictures and my video speak for themselves. The ceiling... the murals... the carvings...the room is simply fab... fab... fabulous!
the Octagonal Stairs that leads to The Library...
finally, The Welsh Banquets... first we all had to wait in this room where we were served their traditional wine, or is it beer? i have no idea 'coz i dont drink! let's ask the "pro", Nnylanna??? hehehe...
the first word that came to mind when i entered the room where our dinner will be served... DUNGEON! i was thinking... is it possible that once-upon-a-time prisoners were chained and tortured here? officially, it's called The Undercroft, one of the oldest parts of the Castle. built in the 15th century.
The pretty ladies and handsome gentlemen that served our food were also the same people that gave the entertainment for the night. lovely night filled with traditional Welsh songs and dance and even moments of laughter and even surprises! a little trivia: did you know that the popular christmas song "Deck the Halls" is taken from a 16th century Welsh winter carol? i bet you didn't know that... well, me too! hehehe...
at some point during the show, the master of ceremonies for the evening asked our small group *6-8 tables maybe* where we're from... The US, Canada, Australia, etc and of course the Pinoy Team*The Gang minus Sue* made our presence felt and screamed... The Philippines! guess what? while we were having dinner, Tita Angie, our tita who's always quick to the draw, suddenly stopped eating, pointing to the lady on the piano*same lady playing the harp in the 2 pics above* and said "she's playing Lupang Hinirang*the Philippine National Anthem*". *it was the 1st national anthem played that night* The Pinoy Team, all 6 of us stood up and gleefully and proudly sang along until the last line of the song "ang mamatay ng dahil sayo" ^^ And, guess what #2? ^^ when the Canadian National Anthem was played, Tita Dors, Josie and Joy stood up and sang along with the other Canadian guests! And, guess what #3? when the Australian National Anthem was played, my sister stood up and sang along with the other Australian guests! Anak ng *toooooooooot* mga pinoy to... balimbing!!! bwaaaahahahahahahahaha !?@#$%^&*?! that was one of the highlights of the entire trip for me AND i forgot to videotape the whole thing *Orz* presenting the pretty girls of The Pinoy Team on The Welsh Banquets... cheers ladies! ^^
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| L-R: Tita Angie, Tita Dors, Joy, Josie, Nnylanna & Piberg |
BLOGGER'S NOTE: i know i kinda promised that this will be the last of the UK Travel Blog BUT again, this one is already too long so might as well write another one *the last i promise* and wrap the whole thing up ^^ Last Stop... leaving Wales and heading back to England to Jane Austen's BATH, The STONEHENGE, SALISBURY and back to LONDON.
