UK

 

Weekly Update 10/3/2023 Travels to UK

The overseas flights were ok. We arrived in London 8 am (3 am my time) on Monday. Lisa picked us up at the airport. After settling in a bit at Dave and Lisa’s lovely home, Kay, Lisa and I went into Porthcawl for drinks along the water, but it was quite windy as they were experiencing the tail end of Hurricane Lee. We spent the rest of that day laughing and getting caught up. 

Dave is a gourmet chef, and the meals he made for us were outstanding. It’s going to be difficult to get back to pumpkin spice cheerios and Marie Callendar Mac and Cheese.  Dave also proudly showed me the work he is going on his model railroad setup. It has taken over his entire garage and is very creative. 

We spent more than one evening watching terrifically amusing British comedies on tv. I especially liked Motherland and the Cunk series. Cunk on Earth is available on Netflix in the US. If you have the kind of strange sense of humor I have, you might like to try it. 

The first place Lisa took Kay and me was to the center where she volunteers. It’s a lovely facility that is a drop-in place for people with medical issues (primarily cancer, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s) and their caregivers to meet and have coffee, work a jigsaw puzzle, swim or work out, or just relax. We met several of her fellow volunteers and friends. It was impressive. After that, we went to Tredegar House, a manor house that was built in the 17^th century (but with foundations dating back to the 15th century) and for years was the home to the Morgan family, one of the most powerful and influential families in the area. It has been managed by the National Trust since 2011.

Lisa’s walking friend, Soo, whom we had heard many good things about, joined us for one of Dave’s wonderful meals one evening. She is delightful, and because Lisa has talked and written of her frequently, we felt as if we already knew her. I was glad to have a chance to meet her in person. 

We did some shopping for a few days in little town I had not been to before, Llandelio, and we went back Hay-on-Rye. In Llandelio, there was a church, St Teilo’s, that had a lovely graveyard next to it. The town itself is very quaint and lovely. While at a Hay, we split up for a while so everyone could browse the bookshops at their own leisurely pace. I did minimum shopping (I did get two mysteries in one bookshop), but had time to tour the castle. I’d not done that on visits before. Hay castle was a medieval fortification and 17^th century mansion. Organically constructed as part of the Norman invasion of Wales, it was build in the late 11^th or early 12 centuries. In the 17^th century, a mansion house was built along side the medievel keep and the property became a private home. We each were on our own for lunch, and I found a charming little old pub, where I ordered Welsh rarebit and a Guinness.

We visited Llancaiach Fawr Manor. Thought to be built about 1530, it is considered to be one of the most important gentry houses to have survived from the 16^th and 17th century period. Charles I visited before he was deposed and beheaded. The guides were fabulous, and kept in character for the whole visit. For example, when asked about King Charles III, the headmaster denied that there was more than one King Charles in England, and didn’t know what we were talking about. 

Porthcawl has the worlds largest Elvis Fest in the world. And we were lucky to be there on the exact weekend of the festival. Lisa got us tickets to the Saturday night concert. I enjoyed the music, and could sing along with some of the tunes, much to Kay and Lisa’s horror.

On Sunday, we had a nice day driving around to see wonderful valley views the quaint small village of Cowbridge. We stopped at an area overlooking the Bristol Channel, spread a blanket on the ground and had a picnic. We spent quite a bit of time helping each to stand after and struggling to get upright (when you do that as first, you don’t really add to the scenic views!). It was another windy day, but that will be a forever memory for the three of us. 

We drove toward London on Monday morning to take Kay to stay at her aunts house for the next week.  She has aunts and cousins in Hampshire and that’s a big reason she likes to go to UK. Lisa and I missed her immediately, but Lisa had big plans for us. We drove to Portsmouth on the Channel coast where the British Navy has a large presence. There’s also a marine museum. We saw the Mary Rose, a ship from King Henry VIII’s navy that was sunk in battle in 1545, and remained undiscovered until 1971. Only parts of the ship could be recovered, but the museum has many other artifacts that were found as the ship was raised. It reminded me very much of the Vasa that Ishy and I visited in Stockholm many years ago. We also were able to got onto the HMS Victory. That was captained by Admiral Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar and he died on the ship after being shot. The museum aboard the ship today is a tribute his greatness. And, the ship is the world’s oldest naval vessel still in commission.  That's impressive.

We stayed in a hotel for the night, then boarded the fast ferry for Caen France. The ferry was very much as I remembered the Rochester to Toronto ferry was when I made that journey long ago. We had a B&B on the Main Street in Bayeux, France. We had a delightful view of the main street from the balcony of the B&B.

One of the major things to see in Bayeux is the Tapestries. Believed to have been created about nine centuries ago it tells the story conquest of England from the point of view of the conquering Normans, and for centuries has been preserved in Normandy. The tapestries tell of Harold, king of England, and William of Normandy and the battle of 1066. It was originally created to tell the story to a people who were illiterate, and unable to read. It’s 230 feet long and 20 inches high. It was truly amazing. 

We spent the next day immersed in WWII history. We went to the beaches at Normandy, where D-Day happened. There are several museums, markers, monuments and gift shops. We also went to the American cemetery - row after row – over 9,000 in all, burials of Americans who died to liberate Europe. Very moving, very sobering, very humbling. 

We spent a day driving around Normandy, and stopped at chateau de Saint German De Livet. The chateau was built by the Tournbu family between 1561 and 1578. It’s undergoing an interior restoration, but we were able to walk and around the gardens (complete with peacocks, one of which was white) and had a guide give us a history of the chateau. We stopped for lunch at another little town where we enjoyed a fresh mozzarella cheese, tomato and basil salad. And wine. 

We ferried back to UK and drove back to Porthcawl. I had a few more days with Dave and Lisa. We went to the Porthcawl History (which was a delight) and did some shopping near Cardiff (two new shirts and a sweater for me, but no luck finding a Nutcracker at the Christmas Store). There was a street fair in Porthcrawl, and shops had racks of clothing on the sidewalks, there were wonderful displays at the green grocers, and an Old Geezer band was playing such fan favorites as Sweet Caroline. That was fun. At the museum, I learned of Porthcawl’s part in the wars, including RAF training and Victory gardens, and about a disastrous shipwreck of the Santampa in 1947. Not only were all crew members lost, but a rescue team was also drowned. The museum itself is located in the old police station, and that made for interesting displays in the original holding cells.

Lisa and I were going to pick up Kay, who was spending the second week of out trip with her relatives outside of London, and go to the airport. But, we left Wales a day early and we had time to visit another National Trust House, The Vyne. Built in the Tudor style by the Lord Chamberlain to King Henry VIII, William Sandys, the estate was owned for generations by the Chute family. The gardens were impressive, as well.

After picking up Kay in the morning, Lisa dropped us at Heathrow. We had a lot of time before boarding, so what did we do? Ate and shopped. The flight home full, so there was no room to stretch out or try to get comfortable. I think there were so many travelers because many had attended the NFL game in London the day before. 

So, that’s the whole adventure. It was wonderful. I was so happy to have time with my besties. I’m back to my boring life again, but am so thrilled to have these memories!