Our Europa: So ist das Leben Schön tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2008:/troy/euroblog//21 2006-08-10T15:12:01Z Europe travel blog Movable Type 3.2 Flying home in style tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.144 2006-08-10T15:06:34Z 2006-08-10T15:12:01Z Our flight home on MaxJet was very nice. The business class treatment was a far cry from the uber-economy class flights we had taken around Europe. It was a nice way to think about all that we'd done and seen... ewass Our flight home on MaxJet was very nice.

The business class treatment was a far cry from the uber-economy class flights we had taken around Europe. It was a nice way to think about all that we'd done and seen in the past two months.

We got in at 1, took the subway home. Arrived at home around 3. And spent the rest of the day jetlagged and unpacking the tons of junk mail, boxes we'd sent home, and our luggage.

Man summer flew. What a fun adventure.

We will be putting a lot of the photos on our photo blog. They're not up yet, but we invite you to bookmark http://www.troywass.com for those galleries.

Keep in touch!
Erica and Troy

]]> Moving toward home tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.143 2006-08-10T15:00:27Z 2006-08-10T15:13:49Z Upon leaving Dachau we went to the Munich Airport. The plan was to arrive at London's Stansted airport and then kill about 10 hours before checking in for our flight.... ewass Upon leaving Dachau we went to the Munich Airport. The plan was to arrive at London's Stansted airport and then kill about 10 hours before checking in for our flight.

]]> We took EasyJet again. I think I prefer EasyJet to Ryanair, but really only deicded which airline to take based on the locations of where they flew to/from and the price. The first Ryanair flight was, by the worst. The rest weren't as dirty or as uncomfy. Still, the EasyJet planes feel newer and nicer and make for a better trip.

When we arrived at London, we decided to scrap the "time killing" idea, get the train instead of a cab when we got to NYC (saving about $60) and stay in a hotel. We chose the Radisson next to the airport since it was close. GREAT IDEA! It was the coolest hotel we had stayed in and a decent buy at 99 pounds -- compare with the 100 euros for the crappy hotel at Baden-Baden and I'm sure you'll agree.

In the lobby they had, a "Wine Tower" which was a glass tower of wine that went up about 5 stories. The novelty part was that they had a woman attached to bungy cords who would fly around the tower flying a twirling Peter Pan and retrieve the wines. It was fun.

The best part, however, was that the fun was not limited to the lobby. The rooms, we soon discovered, were theme rooms. Ours was "Ocean" and they had designer furniture, and a cool backboard on the bed which lit up in different colors. It was fun to explore the room's offerings and made for a much nicer flight home, since we were well rested than we would have been sitting around the crappy airport for multiple hours.

]]> Dachau tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.142 2006-08-10T14:57:33Z 2006-08-10T14:57:56Z A note: This is a rather serious post, we noticed upon reading it before posting it. I think it's necessarily so, noting the subject matter. We had wanted to visit, or, felt the need to visit, a concentration camp at... ewass A note: This is a rather serious post, we noticed upon reading it before posting it. I think it's necessarily so, noting the subject matter.

We had wanted to visit, or, felt the need to visit, a concentration camp at some point during our cumulative month in Germany. We had gone to Dachau, about 20 minutes by S-bahn train outside Munich during our time there in June, but it was closed since it was Monday. We decided to go back another time.

]]> We went Tuesday am, before heading to the airport to fly to London. The first time we went we were struck by the proximity of the camp to the City of Dachau and to Munich. It's right in the community. We also learned about the city of Dachau -- how before being known for the hideousness, it was actually a place where a lot of artists flocked because of its beauty. In 1900, it's said that that one in every ten people in the streets of Dachau was a painter.

My grandfather, my mom's dad Herbert Berkovitz was in the U.S. Army during WWII and was among those who liberated Dachau. He never talked about it and after going there, I understood why. What to say? There were images of the deaths the liberators encountered -- nothing you could prepare for emotionally, certainly.

The museum exhibits were really well done - they had bits about the lead-up, the history of the camp as a factory, who was in the camp (early on it was who they called political prisoners. Then later it became thosethey saw as a threat to the state.) It then documented the later atrocities and eventually (certainly not soon enough) the liberation.

It was a sobering experience. One which, at the time I did not want to have, but which I thought was important to visit and which I'm glad I did. I said to Troy during the visit that I reckon that every world leader upon inauguration should have to visit such a memorial site and camp, as a reminder of what greed, power and hatred can rear. With the current state of the world, I saw some definite parallels with the early history, as told in a timeline of how the Nazi regime and Hitler came to power. (ie the underlying needs of a society, the desire for domestic economic stability, nationalism, political parties, voting blocks, etc.) I can almost understand the various elements which led up to the war and such events, but can't get my head around how people can be so inhuman to one another.

Even understanding collective behavior, a bit, and even fear for ones self, duress and brainwashing, I can't still understand how people could succumb to commiting the violence, the hatred or willingness to commit such evils.

It was an altogether sad experience. But one which I think was important and which I "recommend" to those visiting the area.

That was pretty much the last thing we did in Germany. It strangely, perhaps, didn't change my feelings that we had in the previoius months -- enjoying the food, the culture, the eco-awareness, the artists, the landscape and the people. It was a part of the history -- something to be reconciled with the history the nation is currently forging. Something hard, but worth doing.

I think that our German trip experiences were a recognition of history, both global and familial, and a merging of history with a future for the nation which hopefully looks brighter. I hope that Germany's history, and the German people's recognition of it can help the world avoid the atrocities which it committed and which can help others learn from its lessons.

We brought the camera in case we wanted to take photos, but individually we each decided not to take any. Seeing those taking photos, I, myself, was reminded of the photo-takers at the World Trade Center site, who smile at the camera with the pit in the background. They confuse me -- "Why are they smiling?" "Why do they need photos?" Everyone's different, I guess. For me it wasn't something I needed to say I went to, to show photos I had been there, it was more of something I needed to experience. I'm only writing about it, since we made a commitment to write about all that we did on the trip.


]]> Munich again tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.141 2006-08-10T14:44:54Z 2006-08-10T14:56:27Z After almost nine weeks our European adventure is coming to an end. We have spent the last couple of days here in Munich and really enjoyed our time in the city – there is certainly a different atmosphere here than... Troy Wass http://www.troywass.com After almost nine weeks our European adventure is coming to an end. We have spent the last couple of days here in Munich and really enjoyed our time in the city – there is certainly a different atmosphere here than during the world cup.

]]> Our first morning got up and feed ourselves at the nice buffet that was included in the price – we had gotten into the hotel quite late and hadn’t eaten dinner the night before so it was most welcome. After being in Germany for so long I was actually looking forward to the ham and cheese for breakfast.

Munich is a nice walking city, with some interesting architecture


The Lowenbrau beer garden

Our first port of call on our walk around the city was the new art museum. We walked the mile or so to the building and noticed that it was pretty quiet looking. As we got closer it became apparent that it was closed – seems like everything is closed on a Monday. Why the hotel concierge neglected to tell us (after giving us the map and the walking instructions to the place) is beyond me.

It wasn’t all bad though. Our walk had taken us past some nice looking buildings, artworks and museums.

Not the actual Trojan horse

The twin fountains near the University

With the option of checking out the art gallery gone we headed for the English Garden. That was another of the things we had wanted to do the first time we were here but it was too hot (high 30s) for walking more than the minimum required. This time the temps were much more manageable (low 20s) so we covered about 20 kms on the day.

The arch near the University

The gardens were really nice. They weren’t manicured like Central Park and seemed to have a wild feeling. I liken them to Prospect Park in Brooklyn, not that that will be helpful to most of you. Anyways, we walked around the outer path of the park and that led us to a very nice lake and seehaus (lake house). As it had begun to rain quite heavily we ducked in and had ourselves a nice, albeit really expsenive, ice coffee while we waited for the rain to subside.

IWaiting for the rain to stop at the seehaus

The river that ran through the park

After leaving the gardens we made our way back into the older (touristy) part of town to finish up some souvenir shopping and to try and track down one last meal of goulash. It took some effort but we finally found a place that had the goulash that we liked (served with Erica’s favorite new food – the knoedel) and we were set. This particular place was interesting because they also served beer cocktails. Being the adventure seeker that I am I knew I had to try one. I went for the “Casino” that featured gin, sweet vermouth and pineapple juice. I’m still not sure if I liked it but it was certainly different.

We finally made it back to our hotel and prepared ourselves for our next day trip – Dachau.

]]> The Conference tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.139 2006-08-07T22:17:33Z 2006-08-07T22:27:43Z Finally I’ve got the time to write an update. We’ve just spent the past six days in Baden-Baden, Germany working on the conference that has been in the works for the past two years. I’m really happy to report that... Troy Wass http://www.troywass.com Finally I’ve got the time to write an update. We’ve just spent the past six days in Baden-Baden, Germany working on the conference that has been in the works for the past two years. I’m really happy to report that the conference was a major success – at least that is what the attendees told us.

The Baden-Baden Kongresshaus

]]> Erica laid some of the groundwork for that success a couple of years ago when she started working on www.clinicalferenczi.info As the conference began taking shape she was able to piece together a nice site that numerous people complimented her on.

Another MASSIVE reason that the conference was a success was that our aunt, Dr Ann-Louise Silver, put together a program that was filled with people from all walks of life and not simply psychoanalysts. It felt like many of the people that really enjoyed the conference were those that had never been to one like this – the writers and poets brought something very new and different to the table.


Ann and Erica setting up

While everything turned out exceptionally well there was the occasional hiccup. Thankfully the three of us at the table (Ann’s husband Stu did a brilliant job of balancing the books as the money was flying around) managed to put out the fires before they started burning. How can we dance while our beds are burning??

Anyways, I won’t bang on all day about the conference other than to say that it was a very rewarding experience and that as hard as it was we were glad to help out family and play a part in their success.


Erica and Stu working hard

What I will bang on about, however, was the smegging hotel we stayed in during the conference. IT SUCKED!!! I’m not sure what the worst part was: the towels that were as hard as rocks, the beds left over from the 1920s, the pillows that were gigantic but had to be folded onto itself at least 10 times before you could consider putting your head on it (meaning that the real size of the pillow was about 3inches by 3 inches), the fact that it stunk, the annoyance of having the staff come into the room about three times a day but neglecting to empty the garbage, the fact that the bloody cleaning lady came into our room at about 10pm (while we were sleeping), the toilet paper that was closer to sand paper, the price tag of 100 Euros a night, the smegging hike up a mountain to get to the bloody thing, the lack of any sort of television, radio, refrigerator or even a bloody clock. Having said that the view of the city was nice and we could hear the concerts taking place in town.


Sunset over the beautiful city of Baden-Baden


...and sunrise

Right now we are on the train, making our way to Munich. We are having two days there and then it is a flight to London, a night at the airport to save money and then our flight back to NYC. I have to say that I’m really looking forward to getting back home. (e’s not because home means work)

]]> Goodnight Bristol... tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.138 2006-08-07T22:13:13Z 2006-08-07T22:17:06Z With that, our time in England came to an end. We had a wonderful time staying with Lyn, Katie and Mark and we can’t wait to catch up with them all again…who knows, maybe it’ll be in NYC. So now... Troy Wass http://www.troywass.com With that, our time in England came to an end. We had a wonderful time staying with Lyn, Katie and Mark and we can’t wait to catch up with them all again…who knows, maybe it’ll be in NYC.
So now we head back to Germany and the final leg of our trip. We feel like we’ve got a good handle on the conference planning and look forward to returning to Baden-Baden.


Thanks for everything guys

]]> Well Well Wells tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.137 2006-08-07T22:03:33Z 2006-08-07T22:12:56Z The last day-trip we took during our time in Bristol was to visit a couple of places we’d been meaning to get to since we arrived.... Troy Wass http://www.troywass.com The last day-trip we took during our time in Bristol was to visit a couple of places we’d been meaning to get to since we arrived.

]]> The first was the Cadbury garden center. Katie had been extolling the virtues of their hot-chocolate since the beginning. I hate to say it but the hot-choc did disappoint a bit. I think we’re really spoiled for choice in the city. The rest of the place, however, was really neat. They had all kinds of things there: animals of all varieties, loads of different plants/trees, paintings and artwork and the best of all was the craft area. You could get pretty much anything you’d want for any craft you may be into.

The next stop on our trip was the Thatcher’s cider factory. This was a cider that Mark had recommended so it was fun to actually go to the place that produces it. The only problem was that we didn’t really know how to get there. We had some instructions from the website but we’d failed to print them…after driving around for about 45 mins we decided to head into the tourist info at the nearby town of Weston (Weston, by the way, was fascinating because it was a beach town but the beach was so long you literally couldn’t see any water) and they sent us in
the right direction.


E’s not sure if she wants to go in…not really…she couldn’t wait to start boozing

The brewery itself was great. Although they no longer allowed people to look around they did have a shop, at which you could sample all of the different types of cider. We tried a few different types of scrumpy (I liked the dry while Lyn, Erica and Katie seemed to favor the medium) and I also tried one aged in oak. The actual samples were huge too, which was a bonus and the guy behind the counter seemed to have a “one for you and one for me” mentality and appeared to be half drunk.

Lyn went home with a flagon of the medium scrumpy and I bought a small bottle of the oak-aged stuff that I’ll be drinking sometime before we head back to the states.


Lyn with the goodies

The final leg of the trip was to visit the town of Wells. It’s wells known (hahaha) for its cathedral and it’s easy to see why – it really it quite nice. We got there pretty late so we had to pretty much run through the town. Even then we missed out on looking at a nice sculpture exhibit in the area next door. We did, however, find the time to show Erica a really cool moat (she loves moats) so all was not lost.


The said cathedral


E and the moat

The day was then topped off by getting some scrumptious fish and chips and you can’t ask for anything more than that really.

]]> More stones, and a white horse tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.135 2006-07-27T17:11:00Z 2006-07-27T17:20:55Z We made it onto Avebury after some confusion. We thought we were heading for Amesbury, which is only about 5 minutes away from Stonehenge – turns out that Avebury is about 45 minutes away. The trip was something of an... Troy Wass http://www.troywass.com We made it onto Avebury after some confusion. We thought we were heading for Amesbury, which is only about 5 minutes away from Stonehenge – turns out that Avebury is about 45 minutes away. The trip was something of an anti-climax because we had it in our heads that this was a town that was full of witches. Turns out there were no witches, but there was a stone circle and plenty of sheep.

Lots o’ sheep but no witches

]]> Just outside of the town we came across a giant burial mound. They had a few of them right near Stonehedge but they looked tiny when compared with the one here. We read that they mound held around 50 people but I would have thought there would be plenty more in there.


The giant burial mound

The stone circle was fun to see because it was actually very large. If you could see it from the air I imagine it would be about the size of a cricket field, with large stones placed every 15 feet or so. The town had since been built in the middle of the circle, making it hard to correctly judge the size.

Katie feeling the vibes from the stones

I think Lyn and Erica may have been feeling the vibes of the stones too because they spent about 3 minutes mimicking the rather deep-voiced baa of one of the sheep. I have a video of the two of them but it’s too big to upload. You’ll just have to trust me when I say that they have no future as animal mimics.


Really happy with this photo


I like this one too...Happy clouds

On the way back to the motorway we managed to get in one more fun site. We drove by one of the famed white horses of Wiltshire. I think that there may be eight of them throughout the county so I’m not sure which is the most famous but the one we saw looked pretty cool and it had the added bonus of being right near a giant obelisk.


The Cherhill White Horse (dated 1780) and Lansdowne Monument


]]> Stonehenge tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.134 2006-07-27T16:31:56Z 2006-07-27T16:46:40Z The first time I came to England, actually it was the second time as I came once as a youngling, I had a few things on my must-do list. One of those things was to see Stonehenge. I went out... Troy Wass http://www.troywass.com The first time I came to England, actually it was the second time as I came once as a youngling, I had a few things on my must-do list. One of those things was to see Stonehenge. I went out and about in Salisbury and saw quite a few of the sights surrounding the henge but never managed to make it the actual site. On this trip we were determined to make it and we did.

We made it!

]]> The trip to Stonehenge was a little more complicated than we had hoped due to road closures. The main road between Bath and Bristol has been partially closed for awhile and it has led to some major delays. To avoid it we drove the long way round but still had to deal with the crazy traffic situation within Bath itself.

Lyn hates driving through Bath as it is essentially all one-way streets and the signage was pretty bad. We ended up taking a very circuitous route through the town. Even so, we enjoyed getting a little drive-through tour of this lovely city.


A nice shot of Bath, taken from the car

Eight years ago E and I spent a day in Bath and had a really nice time. We went on the Bizarre Bath walking tour and really enjoyed it. It was done by a really mad guy and we followed him around the city and he told us bits of history and interspersed it with some wacky gags. I’m pretty sure that the tour is still going so if you ever make it to Bath we highly recommend you looking it up.

Once we finally made it out of Bath it didn’t take all that long to make our way to Stonehenge. Even though you can no longer get really close to the stones (they keep you about 15 feet away) it is still a very interesting site to see. It makes the mind boggle when one thinks about just how the stones were placed originally, given the weight of the stones and the way that they were arranged to sit on top of each other.


Lyn and Katie enjoying the sunshine. It was Katie's first visit too.


You can see how the top stones were held in place

One of the more interesting things about the free audio tour was the fact that they claim to still have no idea of who actually built Stonehenge. Common lore tells us that the druids built the site but science has shown that although the druids undoubtedly used the site there is nothing to suggest that they actually built it.


E, looking for Merlin

Katie and Erica seemed to prefer the folkloric anecdote that Merlin used magic to transport the stones from Ireland while Lyn favored the story of the devil dropping the stones as he was flying over the plain. Not sure which one I prefer although I would really love to know just how they managed to carry the stones for miles and then line them up with such precision.


How the stones looked before they were shaped

Once we had toured the site we decided to head to Avebury to see some similar stones as well as a massive burial mound…

]]> Organization tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.133 2006-07-25T13:59:08Z 2006-07-25T13:59:43Z We've organized the internal pages so that you can sort by countries we've visited if you want to read entries by nation.... ewass We've organized the internal pages so that you can sort by countries we've visited if you want to read entries by nation.

]]> Cheddar tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.132 2006-07-23T09:27:15Z 2006-07-23T09:35:56Z We had a great day out yesterday as we visited the Cheddar caves and Gorge. It was quite pricey to get in (everything is quite pricey in the UK) but by the end of the day we considered it money... Troy Wass http://www.troywass.com We had a great day out yesterday as we visited the Cheddar caves and Gorge. It was quite pricey to get in (everything is quite pricey in the UK) but by the end of the day we considered it money well spent.

Katie and Erica ready for the Gorge

]]> With our admission we got to look around a couple of different caves, take a long walk up a 300 odd stairs to see the view from the lookout and then take a bus through the gorge. The major cave was quite similar to the ones that we explored in Wales. I guess it makes sense that the rocks would be similar because the two caves were quite close to each other. The caves we’ve seen here have been less spectacular than others we’ve seen but they have been quite a bit bigger so that made them enjoyable.


The caves were nice and cool too

The second cave that we visited was rather strange. It appeared to be a rip-off of the Lord of the Rings story and although it was designed for kids it was quite scary. Even Katie got a bit of a fright from one of the extras – she thought he was a statue and jumped a bit when he moved.


Weird LOTR rip-off cave

Personally, I had a bugger of a day. When we stopped for lunch (mmmm chips with vinegar) I almost came a cropper when I tried to sit at the picnic bench. As I sat the whole thing started breaking under me. Luckily I only had one cheek on the bench and I could jump up and away before I broke the whole thing. If I had of plonked myself down like normal it could have been pretty embarrassing. As it was I only had to deal with everyone laughing at me for the next five minutes…Olivia decided to draw a picture of the bench this morning…Grand.


The bloody bench

The bus trip through the gorge was pretty fun. It was the last trip of the day and the guide was clearly ready to go home but the breeze was very nice (it was an open-top double decker) and the gorge itself was beautiful.
Oh, we also watched a guy make some peanut brittle and picked up some delicious cheeses (we were in Cheddar after all).


Wave, Lyn

When we got back home my wonderful day continued as I smashed my head on the wall in Lyn’s living room. If you look at the photo of Erica with the scones you can see in the background (on the left hand side) how the ceiling is lower on one side. Being the idiot that I am I was standing just through the walkway and when I turned to walk through I turned right into the wall. Thankfully I seem to have a pretty hard head – been hit twice playing cricket and was okay – and all I really had to deal with was the whole family laughing at me again…Olivia hasn’t drawn a picture of me smashing my head yet…maybe today.


Concentrate Katie


Olivia is hiding


Gotcha this time!

]]> Mmmm…scones, fruit and cream tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.131 2006-07-22T10:25:28Z 2006-07-22T10:27:23Z One of the best things about coming to England is that you get the chance to have a real afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream. I’m not sure exactly what it is that makes the cream clotted but I... Troy Wass http://www.troywass.com One of the best things about coming to England is that you get the chance to have a real afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream. I’m not sure exactly what it is that makes the cream clotted but I do know that it is thick, creamy and delicious…it is also really bad for you. But once in a while it doesn’t hurt, does it?


E, getting ready to enjoy the clotted cream - at least we had fresh fruit ;-)

]]> A day out in Bristol tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.130 2006-07-22T10:13:08Z 2006-07-22T10:28:47Z One of the things we’ve learned since we arrived in Bristol is that it is quite possible to sit around and chat for an entire day. This has happened twice since we arrived. We intended to get out and about... Troy Wass http://www.troywass.com One of the things we’ve learned since we arrived in Bristol is that it is quite possible to sit around and chat for an entire day. This has happened twice since we arrived. We intended to get out and about but just never got around to doing it. Still it’s all good – we only get to catch up with this part of the family every couple of years.

]]> That being said we did manage to get out yesterday to visit the Bristol waterfront and visit a museum. The waterfront was a really nice surprise; it had certainly changed a great deal since I was last here. It is now filled with restaurants and bars and leads to a whole new area that features an indoor rainforest, an Imax and a Scienceworks type thing that would be popular with the kids.


The new Bristol waterfront

The museum, on the other hand, was pretty disappointing. It really felt like we were walking around the house of a really eccentric collector. In one room it was possible to find pianos, a gypsy wagon, stuffed otters, insects and rocks. They did have a stuffed Thylacine (Tassie Tiger) which was good to see and the rock and mineral area was quite good but that was about it.


The Bristol Cathedral


The green area near the cathedral

We got home and then chatted a bit more (we really do enjoy a good natter) and then we sat down and watched the Fellowship of the Ring. Even when it finished at 11.15pm Lyn was asking if we should watch the second movie right away. For the few of you who haven’t seen the Lord of the Rings films they average about 3 hours in length. I guess we would say then that Lyn enjoyed it. We’ll have to watch the remaining two films at some point during the week…can’t wait, especially as Lyn and Katie haven’t seen them.

Today sees Mark’s daughter, Olivia, come and stay with us for the weekend. On Sunday we’ll be off to visit somewhere nearby for the day so that’ll be fun. We’ll be sure to take loads of photos.

]]> Bowling Bowling Bowling tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.128 2006-07-19T16:41:25Z 2006-07-19T16:43:39Z On Saturday Sarah and Andrew had invited MA (and us by proxy) to Sarah’s birthday party. It was unusual because we were going to go lawn bowling and then have fish and chips at their place. We were certainly game... ewass On Saturday Sarah and Andrew had invited MA (and us by proxy) to Sarah’s birthday party. It was unusual because we were going to go lawn bowling and then have fish and chips at their place. We were certainly game for that.

]]> Neither Troy nor I had played lawn bowls (that what the Aussies call them.. I think MA called them Crown Bowls). It was fun. You throw out the little white ball (the jack) then you try to get your teams’ “balls” closest. The balls aren’t perfectly round, so you have to figure out where you’re going to throw and then line up the inverted side so that it’ll curve in the right direction. See the Aussie film Crackerjack for further explanation.

We played on separate teams and none of us were consistent but T and I and MA had a couple of good shots.
Troy didn'y take his camera (d'oh) but we'll post some pics when they are forwarded to us.

The fish and chips for dinner were tasty and we enjoyed meeting and chatting with their other friends who attended the party.

Somehow the days passed by and MA had to go back to work, so we were back on the bus to Bristol. Good thing Bristol’s been so much fun or we’d have been sad.

]]> Spelunking we shall go tag:www.addressingtheworld.info,2006:/troy/euroblog//21.127 2006-07-19T16:27:01Z 2006-07-19T16:41:05Z On Monday morning we arose and left town to explore Southern Wales. We did a little hike and fed ducks at an old castle, then hiked to Southern Wales’ largest waterfall. It was a bit of a curtain trickle, the... ewass On Monday morning we arose and left town to explore Southern Wales. We did a little hike and fed ducks at an old castle, then hiked to Southern Wales’ largest waterfall. It was a bit of a curtain trickle, the summer heat wave is even taking its toll on nature, but it was still lovely.

Feeding the ducks

]]>
Beautiful Wales


The said Waterfall

Afterwards we went to some caves and dinosaur park which was fun as well. We first had a picnic in the shade which was tasty and relaxing. There is nothing quite like sitting in the shade and munching on some fine Welsh cheddar. Refreshed, we then walked up the hill to the attractions.

Dinosaurs in Wales?

I haven’t seen any such dinosaur park in the U.S., but here they’re quite popular. They educate you about various dinosaurs and have life-size replicas dotted throughout the landscape. It was quite good. The caves were some of the longest we’ve been in and the second cave had a really high ceiling with waterfalls and classical music playing in the background.

Is that a hard hat or a beret?


MA hamming it up

We then decided to circle around back to Cardiff instead of going back the way we came so we could go through the lovely city of Brecon (cities are so designated if they have a cathedral… if we saw it we’d have called it a “cute little town”.) We went to the cathedral which was neat and had a cool wood ceiling on part of it. We had a traditional afternoon tea at the cathedral teahouse – scones with clotted cream (imagine heavy cream, then make it heavier) and strawberry jelly/jam and a nice cup of tea (although I had a coke because it was so bloody hot).


Brecon Cathedral


Wales, photographed by me from the car

We then returned home (me for a nap) before our exciting evening activities.

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