Ruth and I have been gallivanting about England, enjoying sheepies and rolling countryside and cute accents and flowers and tea time and homey B&Bs. We had an informative walking tour around Bath from a man who looked like Christopher Plummer. We learned such interesting things as who built what building and where the local bingo hall is.
We stayed in a very cute B&B in Bath and enjoyed chatting with the other guests in the house. Of course, I think at this point we're glad to speak with anyone who speaks English. One of the couples was from Boston, so we had some nice chats about Boston and New England. They brought jars of peanut butter and Fluff with them so that they could make fluffernutter sandwiches for lunch each day- so funny!
Our tea at the pump room was quite the event. We sat in a room overlooking the Roman baths and had tea that was accompanied by live piano, violin and cello music. It was lovely, and we got to avoid the torrential downpour that was occuring outside.
Yesterday was spent in the Cotswolds, where we explored quaint little villages and went on a hike through fields that should have taken 2 hours but ended up taking 4 because we kept on wandering off the trail. The trail was actually through farmer's fields, so we were walking with cows at times. It was beautiful, even the Slaughters (Upper and Lower), which are two villages that actually have nothing to do with death, despite the name.
Today we took 6 trains to get to Wales, but now we are in Northern Wales on the sea in a quaint little town with an old castle that we hope to tour tomorrow. Ruth and I are planning to speak whales here- maybe it will help us blend in with the locals.
To backtrack- the last thing we did in France before taking the ferry over was to tour the D-Day beaches and visit the Caen War Memorial Museum. It is really sobering and thought-provoking to tour the cemetaries, with their endless rows of marble crosses, and the pock-marked bluffs where so many died and the beaches that saw so much fighting. The beaches were especially jarring, as they are now a huge tourist draw- so people sunbathe and cavort in and around the memorials that mark the Omaha beach! It is an interesting contrast, thinking about men fighting and dying on the spot where people now get a tan and spent their holiday. Anyways, it was an interesting tour, complete with a tour guide who spoke English with an accent straight out of the Pink Panther. Times up, so I've got to run!
