Testing testing, 1...2...3...

So we will be heading to Spain for Mark's birthday inFebruary...just testing the blog site

Last days of vacation

We had a marvelous sea food dinner in Ventnor, right on the water, and fell into bed the first night on the Isle of wight. We awoke to foxes running in the yard of our thatched roof B&B, had a wonderful breakfast and then headed out to visit Osborne House. This was the huge manor house constructed by Queen Victoira's husband Albert. It's gardens and rooms were, of course, royal in scope. There was even an entire Swiss Cottage built in which the 9 children of Victoria and Albert received their extensive and massive education. They were taught all the basics in addition to the three Rs: building, hunting, cooking, gutting, gardening and everything else the commoners and royals needed to know in the early 1800s. Albert unfortunately died at age 41 not too long after it was completed. Victoria spent the last 40+ years of her life in mourning, many of them here as a recluse. To get to the island was a mere 4 hour train ride from London, sail across the Solent and landing on their private beach. We also learned that the upper class at that time had "bathing machines," a coach pulled by horses with a heating stove and toilet in which the women could descendinto the water (fully clothed) and get out again once their were done swimming. Some of "Mrs. Brown" was filmed here , with Judi Dench starring as the widowed Victoria, including the bathing machines.

From Osborne House,, we drove to and hiked through the botanical gardens down to Steephill Cove, a private beach owned by just a few families, inaccesible except by hiking or boat. Supposedly great crab sanwiches are made here, with crab fresh out of the water. We, of course, got there late and only after all the crab was eaten...unlucky!

Next to the Isle of Wight glassworks to look for Christmas ornaments, but everything was too elegant or heave to bring back and risk being broken in the flight. We spent our last time on the island hiking to St. Catherine's Oratory, the tallest spot on the island, to view where my Uncle Dix set up one of the major radio signal relay stations during WWII. He was in charge of that stuff for the Allies, all over Europe and North Africa. There was still a big white triangulation monument for measuring distances and signals.

Off the Isle to stay one last night with Suzy and Nick, Suzy's house is approximately 500 years old. It had very low beams and headers over the doors, which I kept bashing into with my already sore skull . A swim in their pool (not 500 years old, with their grandchildren Lauren and Callum thentime out for dinner with Alex, her husband Al, 5 year old Lauren and 10 month old Callum. Lovely BBQ and PIMS #1, of which I have become quite fond.Very much fun to catch up with cousins, first cousins once removed and first cousins twice removed :)
Up early the next morning to try to pack...where did all this stuff come from!! One last driveon the left without denting the car, easy with the Garmin which has become our favorite toy. Off on a short trip to Iceland, Plane left late so we missed the important goals for USA in Iceland. Longer hop to Seattle, Nate topick us up, hugs for Nate, Liesl, Cooper and the dogs and into bed. Nice to be home again, not as nice to be back at work! Mark starts his new Electronic Medical Records next week, so I don't expect to see him for awhile! Hi to all ... over and out...you may not here fromus again for weeks!

Stonehenge and Solstice festivities

We woke Sunday morning and aimed the Garmin at Avebury and Stonehenge. Avebury is a wide circle of diminshed stones. They appear to be attuned to the rise and fall of the sun and the solstices, but archaeologists still debate the true purposes of each. The entire town of Avebury lies within the extensive stone circle.
thatch covered homes and small stone and brick inns nestle next to massive rocks standing upright in the field. The village has adapted to its surround in over 4000 years.Both Avebury and Stonehenge were constructed more than 4000 years ago. After walking the ramparts encircling Avebury, we trekked on down to Stonehenge. Though crowded with people and machinery, the site was still impressive. Stonehenge was actually much smaller than I thought it would be. I envisioned a much larger area being covered by the encircled stones. But as we walked around it, where it is on a slight rise in the rolling hills, we could see how it was actually dominating the whole area. The Avon river in the distance, the path from the river on which the stones were moved, the bird songs and the wind feathering over the grass could easily have been millenia in the past. Of course, the electric lights,masses of police and porta loos for 40,000 did detract a bit from all the serenity. Stonehenge at the solstice is not where I want to be and it was aout to arrive! So we next took off for the town of Salisbury, We had a great lunch at a little shop near the Cathedral and then proceeded to walk around the medieval streets and peer inside the cathedral....then off to the Isle of Wight. Caught the ferry just in time and drove the backroads of the island to find our B&B high on a hill over looking the sea in Ventnor. It feels very mediterranean and we, in fact, have palm trees outside our window! More tomorrow.

Saturday June 19 Horses, Lions and Snakes,oh my

We had a lovely day today, riding the train into and exploring Bath (parking is horrific with 2 million visitors annually). We first took a walking tour around town with a knowledgable volunteer tour guide. We spent 2.5 hours being entertained and wore out our feet. Next we climbed the tower of the Abbey. We were in the bell chamber when it struck 4 p.m and sat behind the clock that keeps the city going ....all 12 bells ringing wildly in our ears were awesome and it was a looonggg ways up! I guess you could say I got my bell rung in more than one way! Fortunately, my headache is gone and bruises are fading. The street entertainment was wonderful, opera singers, one man computerized bands, jugglers on 8 foot unicycles with great patter, white coated statues that weren't(!) and Polish snake charmers with 18 year old huge pythons. Where the Cotswolds were idyllic and pastoral, Bath is alive. Managed to lose one camera lens cap, one camera, and Rick Steves' guidebook...found all but the book! After 15 daYS, WE CAN CONFIRM Mark is the only guy in England wearing a baseball cap and I am, apparently, the only one in our family who likes snakes. Except Mason. Mason, you like snakes, right??!! Grandad wouldn't even touch it!! All around town were decorated Lions for auction for charity...much less imaginative designs than the pigs in Seattle and fish in Oly.

The Baths by the way, though built by the Romans, have been here for much longer. They figure the hot water, about 230,000 gallons daily at 120 degrees, has been pouring out for over 100,000 years. The English dudes need to speak with the Icelandic dudes about how to use this good stuff. BAck to "The Swan" in Bradford by train and then a stiff hike up the hills to "The Castle Inn" for dinner. Off to Stonehenge and surroundings tomorrow onthe way to the Isle of Wight.

Friday June 18

Well, this was a fun day in most ways. Woke up to a great "Full English Breakfast" then went back to sleep until 10:30! Drove to Glastonbury, the supposed home and burial place of King Arthur...he was possibly a king in SE Britain in the 500s who united large groups of the population against the Saxon invasions. He is thought to be buried in Glastonbury abbey. Most of the medieval legends about him developed hundreds of years later when the English needed a local hero to rally the population in spirit to repel the French...didn't work! The French liked the legends also, adding a french queen (guinevere) and knight (Lancelot).

Enter William the Conqueror. Glastonbury Abbey is beautiful though only a few ruined walls exist and one complete building, the abbot's kitchen. All others were trashed in the mid 1500s when Henry VIII split from Rome to establish the Anglican church, and confiscated the Catholic lands to pay his debts and other costs agasinst the Pope.
Glastonbury is supposed to be the first spot on which Christianity established a foothold in England...approximately 70 years after the death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea is said to have arrived carrying the chalice,some of Jesus' blood etc. The first church was built in what was then almost the coast due to high waters. Over time, the oceans receded and left a very marshy land with a few bumpy hills. Mark played monk to a group of tourists, making bread in a demonstration...

Mark says I earned a redcard today. My first foul was to catch cold and pass it to him. Then, today, I took a really bad spill. Hurt my knee, one shoulder, both palms and really bashed the side of my head on the street. Spent the rest of today trying to ignore a massive headache. Expect I'll be sore all over tomorrow. Where I fell, someone said "I don't know why they don't fix that, someone falls there every day!"
No litigation for negligence here, I guess! Asumption of risk (walking the cobbles) is alive and well here.

Next we climbed the hill where the Glastonbury Tor stands, 518 feet above sea level. A church has stood on this site for more than 1900 years. Then it was off to Wells and its magnificent cathedral. To be called a "city" you must have a cathedral,and this is the smallest city in England. Marvelously well preserved with buildings which are still being used for their original purposes; especially attractive was the "Vicar's Close" a street of homes in which the choir once lived.

We managed to get in a bit of the US game today and Mark is watching England Algeria as I type. Off to a pub to watch the finish, then to sleep, perchance to dream...

Thursday, June 17

Well, after a 3 mile walk, fish and chips, and just maybe that full bottle of wine it was off to hospital (we both seem to have blossomed with a traveling cold). Up sort of early, packed and off for the South Cotswold’s. Second beautiful day in a row. Slow drive on some very narrow roads to include backing up ¼ mile to let a tractor by and then having a Red Fox cross our path. No hunters following, just the fox. Lunch in a very old small wool trading town, Lacock , complete with a tithing barn, babbling stream, and a stream bed that doubled as a very long ford. Wanted to drive up it but it was for residents only. Then a fabulous lunch at King John’s Garden. Right out of a Jane Austin novel. Had the ploughman’s pie for the first time. Finely ground beef with carrots, thyme, red wine, and the ever-present onion and garlic. Kathie went for the mixed vegitables in a whole grain crumbled pastry shell topped with local melted chedder cheese. Shared our table in the garden sunshine with a delightful elderly English/Welsh couple. He was a navigator for British Air and was in Seattle to pick up one of their first Boeing 747’s in the 70’s. Walked lunch off but, unlucky, ran into an ice cream shop with mango and rhubarb flavors. “Recalculating” (that would be an in joke for those who have a Garmin) Oh well, we eat less for dinner - maybe. “Enter the roundabout and take third exit” 30 or 40 times and you arrive in Bradford on Avon. Found the Swan. A very old hotel right in the center of town and what must have been the silver district since it is across from Silver street. Rest a little and get ready for 2 days of Bath, Glastonbury, Wells, Stonehenge, oh and a full day at the pub with USA and Britain at 3 and 7:30. What are we doing here again??

Wed June 16.

Today was the “get lost in the Cotswolds” day where we took every strange turn and lane we could find. We wound our way through many a small village or town-I guess they differ, but I am not sure of the definitions. We first went to Winchcombe where we visited the gardens and gounds of Sudeley Castle. This was one of Henry VIII’s homes and where he first bedded Anne Bolyn (in the garden?) and cast his eyes on her cousin Katharine Howard (I am her namesake as a direct descendant of her brother); strange the two cousins were the ones he beheaded…I’ve always felt a bit strange about being the namesake of someone who got her head cut off! We then trekked through the two Guitings, both Temple Guiting and Guiting Power where we had lunch at The Hollow Bottom, which is owned by the man whose horses have won many of the last major steeplechases in England, Scotland and Wales. The place is papered with many incredible pictures of horses clearing massive jumps. Then we drove through numerous other small villages and narrow lanes to visit all types of places and get a real feel for the place. Back to the B&B to freshen up before dinner and a quick hike to and through the Slaughters…the hike was lovely and the meal there marvelous...basic fish and chips but,oh my, they do know how to make that here! Cheerio till tomorrow when we move to the Bath region.

Tuesday the 15th…

We woke early this morning to a full English breakfast (burp again) and many plans. We drove to see Wyke Ryssington, which was so small we couldn’t find anything but the church, and took a stroll around Stow on Wold. Stow was on the side of a steep hill and, though lovely, was still a bit full of touristy traps. Then we set out for an equestrian center where we hired 2 horses and 2 guides (what, did we look that bad?) for a walk through Lower and Upper Slaughter. There are public footpaths and bridal paths everywhere. The English love their walks…if they tell you it’s a few minutes up the road, take 10-15 at least. After 2 hours on horseback we, amazingly, weren’t that stiff or sore. Of course, we never got a canter…unlucky! Upper and Lower Slaughter were so lovely, with their warm golden houses and small stream and fords, and artists hard at work. After riding, we went on an extended driving tour throughout the northern portion of the villages, trying to avoid the bigger well known towns. First, we hit Chipping Camden, one of the first of the towns when coming from the north. Lovely thatched roof homes (many mansions) and a wide “High” street, as usual. More thatch here as the slate was unavailable unless transported from afar. It survived the decline of the wool era because of its devotion to the arts and crafts of each time it lived through. Therefore, the wealthy kept homes here. On the main plaza, a curving High Street, is a covered stone market hall from 1627. In all the old towns, “High street” was big and broad as it was where the markets were held weekly and the merchants needed (still need) room to park their wagons, tents and wares. The other streets barely fit a car, and certainly not buses! On to Broadway and the Broadway tower. The tower was built on a hill overlooking the town in 1799 as a “folly” for the duke’s wife. It was a beacon to signal between two far flung properties they owned. The town itself is a “show town” with wide greens between the sides of the “broad way” through which sheep were once driven. Lots of antiques, fine jewelry and fun stores, not Subway sandwich type of place. We then took the long way back to Bourton on the water through Stanway and Stanton, getting stuck in little “two way” (HA!) streets and backing our way out of private drives.

Nuvi … our Garmin sat nav system has been an absolute necessity and help while we’ve been here. While in Sicily, it was a reason for cursing and was subject to being forcefully ejected from the car at regular intervals. Here, we love, it, we worship it, and would kill in its defense. Whenever we want to find a town, we plug in the town’s name and #1 High Street (there’s always a High St.) and it leads us straight to where the action is. We find “Daniel” to be much more pleasant than “Emily” in giving directions. Mark insists he is accurate more often…hmmm.

Monday the 14th…

After waking from a luxurious sleep and experiencing a wonderful breakfast at Fishmore Hall in Ludlow, we spent some time in Ludlow town. A wonderful old town center with a great old castle, where they were showing Othello in the castle grounds that night, and an OLD church with wool merchants buried in the aisles from the 1200s. Had lunch at “deGrey’s” bakery. De Grey is the titular French branch of the family with our ancestor leading a branch of the army who came over in the Norman invasion with William the conqueror. Guess they settled near here? Will need to look that up when we come home. Next, we drove east to Warwick Castle. This wonderful castle is a mix of Disneyland (without the rides) and a historical tour. Built in approximately 1080, after the Norman invasion, it was added to and remodeled over the years. The Earl of Warwick through history played a large role in protecting whatever King or Queen he felt was appropriate. By the Victorian era, though, the Earldom had descended into frivolity and sex, lots of sex…this was apparently fostered by the Prince of Wales. One portion of the tour was devoted to wax statues in various rooms with bits of gossip displayed as if in a note from the Daisy the Duchess, married to the Earl; it was all bed hopping and leaves you wondering about from where the Kings of England really descended! There was a princess tower for the young ladies touring (some got to sleep in the special bed for a prince to awaken), a catapult for the young men to wind and launch, and many other educational displays and interactions for kids.
The English, on this very small island, are very in to sustainability and the 4 “rs”: Reduce, recycle, reuse, and the fourth, which I can’t remember but has to do with minimizing packaging. This educational push for history and sustainability is everywhere we have visited. At Warwick Castle, it was incorporated into almost every display.
Next, we headed to Stratford Upon Avon. What a ticky tacky mess. Shakespeare’s birth home is in the middle of a large pedestrian mall surrounded by gift shops, junky jewelry, Subway and McDonald’s…not even worth a quick drive by but if we hadn’t tried, we would have thought we missed something. The books say Anne Hathaway’s cottage (his wife) is worth a visit, slightly out of town, but we bailed out on Stratford…
Next stop, the lovely little Cotswold towns. Think hobbits and you get the picture. The Cotswolds are, in this area, small valleys with lovely gentle round topped hills. They remind me of the Tualitan Valley in Oregon but flatter. On the tops of hills are often watch towers or other structures dating from Norman times, often updated. The villages with narrow winding paths/roads are nestled in the valleys or the sides of the hills, surrounded by pastures full of horses and sheep. Between the villages and around each pasture are miles of “dry walls,” built from stacking slate flat along the bottom and then upright on the top. Each village here, though slightly different, is constructed from golden, buttery yellow limestone or brick with each home or building topped with old moss covered slate shingles or a reed roof. Both last about 500 years and many were built and roofed in the 1600s. The term “Cotswolds” seems to come from one of two places…beds in the woods or stacks of wool from the sheep. The initial wealth of the area certainly came from sheep and their wool. When cotton and the industrial revolution hit, the area died, which is why it sat for centuries relatively unchanged and therefore preserved. We next drove south to our Cranbourne Hall B&B in Bourton on the Water and had a marvelous pub dinner before falling into bed. Bourton on the Water is a lovely town with well groomed greens next to the Windrush “river” which ambles gently and musically through town and has 3-4 lovely stone bridges over it. A well tended town. The owner of our B&B says it has had a “checkered past,” having been a home, ENT medical clinic, Catholic sisters’ living quarters, etc. It and four others nearby owned by “Sue” are being sold as she is purchasing and remodeling a 17 room mansion in the Lake District, to open next summer, she hopes. She has 8 serious buyers so real estate sales are okay for B&Bs in the Cotswolds.

Batman

Forgot to mention the incident at the lodge in llyn gwynant. The directions say "If you open this window, shut the curtain to keep bats out" ...but it was hot in Suzy and Nick's room. A shriek, a thump and doors flying open with all in their sleeping attire, or lack thereof...who do you call (Remembering, Cell phones don't work here)? The Welsh fusilliers? The local shepherd? No, Batnick! Crawling on hands and knees in his pyjamas with an hawaiian macademia nut can (the poor nuts having been sacrificed) He saves the day, errr, night! Captured, and crying as Suzy says, the poor mini-beast was released. Fortunately, no rabies here!

No man, beast or rodent was harmed in the preparation of this post

Dinner at Fishmore Hall

Got to Ludlow in the pouring rain and decided to eat at the B&B rather than venture out in the storm...very good choice. We shared the following:

1. Seared Scallops layered individually with a very thin slice of cauliflower marinated in olive oil and chips of crisp bacon, served over a cauliflower puree and drizzled with a caramelized sweet onion juice....yumm

2. mackeral stuffed with baby leeks, surrounded by thin slices of marinated cucumber and small red onions, with small cubes of apple jello and cream hazlenut sauce.

3. Very small lamb tendeloins wrapped in bits of bacon and steamed crisp zucchini served atop chopped basil and pine nuts, drizzled with green pepper sauce and a small side of pureed sweet potato Also 3 very small marinated anchovies tucked into the zucchini spiral.

4. 2 types of pork tenderloin, one with a bacon wrap and maple syrup,one just plain, but dressed with pureed carrots and thyme sprinkles, and carmelized onions...

5. Gin and tonic granita to cleanse the palate

6. 6 different types of cheese: Ragstone goat cheese, St. Eadburgha (almost a brie), Livarot, Cider ripened Celtic Promise and a marvelous Celtic Blue...with fig and almond cake, quince jelly and warm fruit and nut bread.

7. Last but not least, a triumverate of green apple desserts: Warm green apples souffle with crumbbles on top, green apple custard in a thin cup made of sugared vanilla crisp, a light green apple sorbet with a thin sliced apple crisp.

The wine, of course, was comparable....off to bed, burp!

Sunday, departing Wales

We tried to visit a sheep dog exhibition on our way out of Wales. It was, unfortunately, closed down and had become an ATV mountain adventure...no puppies! Instead, we visited Llangollen and took a nice walk along a canal to see waterfalls and eat lunch, then drove on to Ironbridge Gorge. The Gorge is an amazing place. It is where, around the time of the Revolutionary War, the English perfected the means to make cast iron. They built a massive bridge out of iron, spanning a river at the bottom of a very steep canyon. There are ten museums in the area, all focusing on the cast iron, industrial revolution or other Victorian times (including a complete Victorian village like Williamsburg). Lovely working class village well preserved for the tourists and people living there. On to Ludlow where we are staying in for dinner tonight at our lovely manor house B&B

Harlech Castle

Mark and I decided to climb Snowdon again on Saturday, by another route. Every parking place within 3 miles of the trailheads we aimed for was taken...Sunny day brought everyone out! Instead, we drove SW to Harlech Castle, this pristine perfect little castle and town on a big bluff overlooking the sea. It was, 800 years ago, right on the sea. The wind and tides, however, have changed and it is now set back from the shore with big dunes separating the towers from their supply line. It has withstood at least 5 sieges over the centuries, more than any other castle in the iron ring. We had lunch at a small "sweet shop", drinking Pims with veges and fruit in it. Then we returned to Beddgelert to watch the US/England match, being the only americans in the joint. If there had been any Welsh there, we might have had some co-supporters. Unfortunately, the majority of the guests at the pub were English tourists...unlucky. One said "Both teams were rubbish!" We thought the tie was a win; the English probably didn't agree! Pictures above are Beddgelert (arched bridge), lunch at and castle by the sea.

Snowdon

Today, Nick and Mark decided to hike up Snowdon...about 1900 meters. I, with a sore foot. and Suzy, with a sore knee, took the train and met them up the top. We rode in the fog, they hiked in the sun till the last 500 feet. Then it is icecream for us and a rest with a good beer for them. Lovely views once the fog cleared. I have also included a picture of our cottage on the lake!

Castles

Portmerion

PORTMERION
Thursday we headed out of the foggy cold and down to the coast to visit a small village called Portmerion. An architect, Clough Williams-Ellis, was looking for a home for “old abandoned buildings.” He started with an old manor house, which he turned into a fancy hotel to support his endeavor. Then he started creating an Italianate village from old temples and buildings he collected from around the world. All painted in bright colors with hidey holes, luscious plants, and hiking trails throughout the area. It is very much a fantasy world…some buildings look marvelous in a perspective and then when you get next to them you realize they are half scale or something like a playhouse. Some have rooms to let behind them, even if the bed doesn’t quite fit! A rich eccentric’s dream!
Then we hopped into the car and trekked up into the mountains for a few miles and a view of the lake just south of our cottage. Throughout Great Britain and Wales, for hundreds of years, there are footpaths that connect every town and village. These are public right-of-ways even now and everyone has a thing about hiking daily, it appears. They pass through large otherwise private tracts of valuable land and million dollar homes may have strangers passing by their dining room window. There is no way to limit the use of these paths since they have been open to the public for centuries. They also pass through villages, over hills and mountains, and ford streams. Our intent has been to hike daily on this trip, and it seems we will succeed with it!

North Wales

NORTH WALES
We arrived at Manchester airport just before noon, jumped into the rental car and headed toward north Wales. We drove along a typical motorway for a while and then dropped off the north coast highway and descended into the narrow valleys of the Wales mountains. Picture a lot of green cauliflower (just do it, don’t argue) placed onto a plate with a few other pieces of cauliflower on top. Those are the round hills draped in different colors of green. We are driving down the valleys in between the heads (mountains), next to tumbling shallow streams and periodic small waterfalls. Once in a while we drive over an old roman type bridge…steep peak in the middle, single lane, with no way to see if another car is coming at you. Pretty soon we pass through Betws-y-coed and head up the hill to a mountain pass and then drop down a narrow winding road till we come to a placid lake in a simple valley, slightly rippled by wind. The gatehouse lodge we are renting is 0.3 mile along the lake. Cousin Suzy and her husband Nick are ready to go and we are off on a hike around the lake before dinner; appetites are stimulated. The next two days we spent hiking castle walls, visiting Gelert’s grave (see Wikipedia!), and riding steam trains through the valleys. First we went to Bodnant Gardens, a private estate where every kind of flora (and some fauna) awaited our camera. I can’t wait to try to grow the brilliant blue poppies and some other interesting things. Lots of gorgeous Rhododendrun here; they are considered weeds by the locals and they try to pull them out whenever possible. They fill the gentle mountainsides with cascading waterfalls of purple and pink blooms. Then we moved onto castles. Edward I, King of England, had some trouble controlling the Welsh and he tried to solve the problem by building a number of castles encircling the North Wales area, each one with water access and many with a walled town surrounding them. The “Iron Ring” of castles were each a days march from the next. The castles each protected a walled town which was settled by English citizens, providing the King of England with troops. The first we visited, Conwy Castle, was built in 1283 and is Fairly well preserved. Located at the mouth of a river, it was well situated for protection of the town its walls encircled. The short narrow streets are lined with very old well preserved building and the town enjoyed some prosperity in the past from trading, and now from tourism.
Next we drove by Beaumaris castle; it is quite beautiful and controls one end of the Menai straights between Anglesey (an island) and mainland Wales. It is only one level tall, but was surrounded by a moat which added to its protection and its picturesque quality for tourists. The town is a lovely English conclave with timbered buildings and a lovely marsh area and open straits beyond, now with sailboats.
The next day brought us to Caernarfon castle, where the title “Prince of Wales” is bestowed on the heir to the English throne. Edward I, after conquering Wales in the 1270s, promised his son, who would become King after him, would be welsh to the bone, born there and speaking only welsh. Prince Charles was invested with the title at this site. This castle stands at the other end of the Menai straits and is the strongest in the Iron Links. The structure itself is honeycombed with tunnels, stairways, murder holes and tall towers overlook everything. Edward I tried to tie it to the Arthurian legend to make it invincible with round table celebrations. Ultimately he succeeded, but the Welsh dragon still flies over its ramparts.
Finally, we rode a steam train through the hills from Caernarfon to Beddgelert, passing sheep, hill and dale (yes, those words mean something), sheep, slate and copper mines, sheep and more sheep. By the way, there are lots of sheep here; they have really long tails and look like weird dogs when they run away from you. They have more brains, though, than silly cows and get off the road as soon as possible. Off to the house for dinner, wine, wine and more wine. This IS vacation!

dregs of Iceland

Sunday we decided to lay low and just visit around town. We got a late start (up real late the night before) and started with about a 3 mile walk to “Perlan,” the pearl. This is a dome built atop 6 large hot water tanks on a hill overlooking downtown. The dome has four floors with an observation deck and restaurant. In one of the tanks is the Saga Museum in which the history of the saga era in Iceland is told. Each of the figures in the museum is literally molded on a citizen of Reykjavik, so you may see the actual person walking around town. They tried to get descendants of the historical figure to model for the figure…interesting. Then we walked another 3 miles or so to watch The Volcano Show which is presented by an individual filmographer who has been filming volcanoes in Iceland for over 40 years. The film showed islands forming offshore, villages being buried in ash, spectacular “fissure” volcanoes that shot volcano fountains hundreds of feet in the air over 10-15 kilometer lines…impressive. After a short nap, we headed out to dinner at the “Fish Company” where I had what must be the best salmon dish I’ve ever tasted. The salmon was crusted in crushed cashews and smothered in a miso sauce with anise seed, salvia, and ginger. Then it was baked, but probably in a pan of water as it was still very moist. Then it was served over steamed shitake mushrooms and bok choy leaves. Surrounding it on the plate were small samplings of three variations of corn: pureed steamed corn, corn Salsa, and popcorn. There was also mango sorbet with a scattering of crushed cashews on top. A marvelous presentation and fantastic taste! Off to bed and an early plane to Manchester in the morning.

Waterfalls, fishing villages, and geysirs

The Guillfoss was amazing, the village desolate!

Weekends in Reykjavik

Well, you read about the nightlife, of which we partook slightly...more as observers than anything else, but it did lead to some late morning starts. On Saturday we headed out to the golden circle for visits to a southern coast fishing village (desolate and beautiful), majestic waterfalls, geysers, and a bit of political history. We first headed south and passed a geothermal steamplant, which we visited. The bore holes for hot water go about 3 kilometers into the earth, right down to the hottest rocks the pipes can manage. Up comes the HOT mineral laden (read corrosive) water from which the dry steam (go figure, but that is what they said), which is used to turn turbines for energy. Then the hot water remaining is used to heat cold fresh water which is used to heat water for the homes of Reykjavik 20 miles away. That water flows through insulated pipes to flow into showers, radiators, under flows and streets etc. The typical utility bill here for a 3 room apartment is no more than $25 for heat, electricity, water and so on. Once the heat exchanger takes much of the heat from the corrosive water, it is pumped back into the ground to start the cycle over...very sustainable. There are numerous earthquakes (daily) and so the pipes carrying the water are laid above ground in zig zagfashion. It is said they "dance" when the earth moves...I guess so! The plant supplies all of the country's person needs for electrricity and water. There are seven of these plants;the rest of thep ower goes to industry such as aluminum smelting.

AFter the steam plant, it was off to the village of Stokkeryi and some fabulous lobster soup. A simple cream bisque with broth, a slight amount of cream, miniscule amounts of red peper, salvia and chunks of lobster, all to be soaked up with wonderful loaves of bread. The village isliterally on the edgeof the oceanwith largeberms piled up to protectthe homes from bad storms. All on lava, with little soil around. Many many horses and foals to watch, very lovely, in the fields. Sleepy after lunch, we attempted to drive the back roads upto a waterfall called Guillfoss. Though it looks fine on the map, it took us to the wrong side of the river so we had to back track to get to where we could actually see the amazing falls. Certainly no litigation here as the death defying path to the falls edge was inhabited by more than af few people...yes, us too.
After the waterfalls,it was a short tripup the road to see the "Geysir" from which all others take their name. It was, however,out to lunch so we caught the next one "strokkur" on camera. Thenit was off to Thingvellier. This is a magical valley with a small river running through it surrounded on both sides by large cliffs,all of which are easily accessible. The first icelanders began gathering here (The Althing) annually over 1100 years ago for political and legal purposes, the first parliament and legal trials in the world, 100s of years prior to any other country. Since most inhabitants here were escaping the tyranny of kings, they were making an effort to be fair.
We ended the day with dinner (about 10p.m.) at a restaurant Thrir Frakkar, where we ate smoked puffin breast and other unimaginably delicious dishes. We decided the "ugly american"is now the British tourist who can be amazingly loud and rude. Bed by midnight after watching the partiers outside for awhile. Fortunately our room is sound proof! Snore

Nightlife

The Icelanders are ready to party on the weekends. But partying is expensive, so they start at home with their own home made moonshine..which they can make but not sell! The pre-functioning continues in their cars and the sidewalks of oldtown on Laugevegur (street) where they carry their glasses, beer, and troll for the opposite (maybe) sex. Then they head to the swishy bars and fancy night clubs where the music and noise levels are high. Did we mention this starts at about 1 a.m.? By 2:30 a.m., the streets are full and the party is in motion. It doesn't stop until about 6 in the morning. This is not just the kids, but includes the old folks too! What we are impressed with is how the majority of people on the streets in the early hours are groups of men, far fewer women until about 3 in the morning..then the women come out. The women are dressed to the nines, with fancy shoes in multi colors and 4-5 inch sturdy thick heels (not your stiletto). They are also dressed for summer, sleevelss tank tops and short skirts. Many women are dressed in black, so the nylons and leggings are fancy colors and designs. The men, even the older groups, patrol in packs and by the later hours,the numbers of men and women balance out. Then it looks like fraternity row or the quad at Notre Dame after a night of partying, with the occasional reveler sleepingon a bench. Then, in the morning, the streets are quiet and these large golf carts with giant vacuum hoses drive down the streets and sidewalks sucking up all the debris, cups, cans etc. By 9 a.m. it is clean. Those brave souls who went to sleep early, or haven't gone to sleep yet, then gather at the bakeries to break their fast and drink coffee to get them through the day. By the way, it is light all night, even though the sun sets at midnight and rises at 3a.m.; it never drops far enough below the horizon to get fully dark. Also, the temperature is around the mid-50s all day and night, such as night is! No need for sunscreen as the sun is so low on the horizon all day, it filters through all the atmosphere...just like early morning or late aftrenoon for us. More later...

Katarina Norrisdottir & John Johnsson

The mud was white silica!

didn't your mom tell you not to play in the blue water?

So, the plane ride was relatively short -6 3/4 hours- and very smooth, though no possibility of sleep because the seats were small and didn’t recline much. On our flight, it was amazing to watch the cloud layers. Instead of one ceiling, there were at least 3 distinct levels of clouds, all of them moving in different directions. I guess this has to do with how far north we are and the arctic wind patterns. The sun never set and it was always on the north side of the plane moving back and forth in the sky as it circled around behind the earth! Met a very nice older couple on the plain from Iceland, Katarina Norrisdottir and her husband John Johnsson. They had been to many of the same places we have been and it was fun to talk to them.
We landed in Reykjavik at 6:45 a.m., had a quick bite to eat and set off by bus for the Blue Lagoon. This is a geothermal pool (105-110 degrees), quite large, with a spa and psoriasis treatment center attached. The water is milky white and about 2.5% salt plus many other minerals – easy to float in! All around the lava lined lake are small wooden boxes full of silica ash for white mud plasters on your face. You could tell where the hottest spots were by where the people congregated. Around the pool are lava caves you can sit in, water falls you can sit under, assorted steam rooms and saunas. This was a very nice way to soak out the stiff muscles from the plane ride…even better, though was the long massage I had. It had to be one of the best deep pressure therapy massages I have ever had. She found nearly every past injury to muscle or tendon I have had and worked around those areas thoroughly! I slept through much of it until the pain of a pressure point would wake me…once she eased off, I was back to snoring. Great jet lag cure! While I was getting worked on, Mark visited the psoriasis treatment center…he will comment on that. Ran into Icelandic couple again.
About ½ mile walk from the Blue Lagoon is the psoriasis rx center. Residential center where 12-15 patients at a time can stay for “all natural psoriasis spa rx with no side effects”. Treatment would include 2 soaks in the lagoon each day for one hour each, and a wrap with spa minerals, plastic wrap and a warm towel and then sitting in sun room solarium. Oh, and there is a Narrow band UVB session thrown in there which could have something to do with the results. Most patients stay for 3-4 weeks and sounds like they quote the same response rates we used are to with in-house Goeckerman. Spent 1 hour with the clinic nurse, Ester, and manager, Heather. Got the low-down on where to eat in town from the chatty receptionist.
Then it was back to the bus and a trip to downtown for lunch and check in to our “Apartment K” (B-2) home away from home for 3 days. The room has all sorts of tree rounds and branches glued to the ceiling…we feel underground! Must be what the view is like inside a groundhog hole. Comfy beds with lovely thin down comforters, beds fully adjustable on each side to slip down, sit up, bend in half…any position you can tolerate! Took a much needed 3 hour nap. Woke up in a stupor. Surrounded in white plastic tables, chrome sinks, black wine bars, Mac i-TV’s, lime green floors, Jersey cow rugs, and 22 head steam showers; it is like you fell asleep and woke up in Ikea after it closed for the night.
RECIPE NOTE: We just had a great dinner at a local restaurant. Appetizer was chunkcs of deep fried Camembert with red currant jelly. Mmmmm. I had lamb with Bernaise sauce, arugula salad and potatoes. Mark had a fabulous tagliatelli with chicken chunks, bacon or salt pork, garlic and fresh strong grated parmesan. I think the sauce might be approximated with Campbells Cream of Chicken soup diluted with chicken broth – perhaps some carmelized onion/garlic and a bit of sherry…very very yummy!
We will head out soon tonight to see the town party. We understand it starts getting busy after dark, in about 2 ½ hours…it is now 10:30 pm…and continues until at least 6 in the morning…hmmm, guess we’ll have the bakery to ourselves in the morning!
We have a car rented tomorrow to head out toward the location of the world’s first parliament (Thingvellier) , biggest geyser, waterfall and, possibly, the volcano, though it appears to have gone silent. This is called the Golden Circle tour. We will likely also try to head south to some small coastal towns. More later

Packed and ready to go

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go, we're standing here, outside our door.....

and it's pouring down rain everwhere:in Oly, in Iceland and in Wales. Guess we won't have to do much to get acclimatized! We've made plans for our first day in Iceland. The "Flybus" will pick us up at Keflavik airport and deliver us straight to the Blue Lagoon where I will get a soothing massage for an hour while Mark tours the psoriasis clinic. We'll also spend time in the relaxing 110 degree pools before heading into downtown Reykjavik and our Apartment K rooms. More when we get there, including pictures!

Where to Start

So, where to start. Rather than struggle to write e-mails while traveling, and then fight for access to public computers, Mark and I are (once again) struggling to join the current networking world. We just bought a new netbook to use while traveling. We hope to type in our normal communications at our leisure and then send them to a cloud somewhere rather than send bounteous e-mails every day. Those who are interested can read our stuff here on the cloud...hope you don't get rained on!

We are planning a trip to Iceland, Wales and Cornwall this June. Iceland looks fun and different. We have an apartment in Reykjavik for 3 nights in the beginning of June and hope to spend three days in and around the SW corner of Iceland. We are excited about the recent volcanic activity. We'll see if the island of fire and ice is still accepting visitors in June! Then we fly and trek to Wales for 6 nights with my cousin and her husband, Suzy and Nick Vincent. We then have another 10 days and are still trying to decide whether to hang around Devon or head to Cornwall Obviously, we'll keep you posted!