Gloucester

After Bath we headed to Gloucester. We had not heard much about the city and since we needed to get to Birmingham where we were staying Thursday night, we did not have much time. While driving in Gloucester we saw a large gothic Cathedral. Taryn and I looked at each other and decided “What the heck,” we would check it out. Gloucester Cathedral was amazing! It was large..really large. It was the first cathedral we had been in in which you did not have to either "pray privately" or pay so we looked around for a long time. There was one hidden hallway on the way to the bathroom that I had found. I showed it to Taryn and it led to a circular garden. It was not until we returned home that we found out that scenes shot for Harry potter were at the Cathedral.

Here is a you tube video of the Cathedral we were in. How cool!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThHCqLSYy5c

Birmingham and Liverpool

From Gloucester Taryn and I had a small stopover in Birmingham at a hostel to sleep for the night. The hostel was supposedly the top voted in the UK. We were tired and while everyone else partied..we slept. Ahem, we WOULD have slept except the annoying green light on the ceiling kept us awake.

The next morning  after a restless sleep we got in our car and headed to Liverpool. I have always wanted to travel to Liverpool. With the strange accents, Beatles’ history, and the incredible buildings what else could you ask more in a city? Even though we only spent around 4 hours in Liverpool..I felt a sense of the city while I was there. We visited the Beatles history museum, saw another cathedral, went to chinatown, and walked around what felt like the entire city. I loved it!

Here is a famous Scouser, liverpudlian, or if easier to understand, a man from Liverpool. John Bishop.

Great British Road Trip (a.k.a. Don't die while driving in Britain)

Great British Road Trip

Taryn has already gone home and I am already lonely without her here. Our last hurrah in our Great British Road Trip was the most I have seen of England and I am so glad she was here to experience it with me.

We left on Thursday the 16^th of February. After getting up really early (7am!) we walked to the rental office to pick up our car. Luckily, Taryn is over 25 and knows how to drive a stick shift so renting a car was easy. Driving, however, was a bit trickier. You should all know by now that Brits drive on the opposite side of the road. Yes it is confusing at first and I felt like we may crash 10 times in the first hour we were driving but Taryn acclimated quickly.

Our first stop was Stonehenge. It was not far away from Bath so we decided to stop there first. Stonehenge is one of the most famous places in Britain.

Stonehenge is about 5,000 years old. According to www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge,

“The true meaning of this ancient, awe-inspiring creation has been lost in the mists of time. Was Stonehenge a temple for sun worship, a healing centre, a burial site or perhaps a huge calendar? How did our ancestors manage to carry the mighty stones from so far away and then, using only the most primitive of tools, build this amazing structure? Surrounded by mystery, Stonehenge never fails to impress."

Even though Stonehenge’s history is interesting, paying 9 pounds each to walk on one side of the fence where you are not allowed to get close to the rocks is not fun. Taryn and I shot a few pics, took a moment to soak it in, then headed to Bath.

Bath

Bath is best known for its Roman remains. The name Bath originated from its hot springs. During the Roman period, grand temples and bathing complexes were built around the natural hot springs. Taryn and I visited these on our trip to Bath and saw the baths. The history behind how they were made was the really interesting part of visiting the baths. Everything was so complex.

After the Roman baths Taryn and I walked around the town which is very beautiful. All of the buildings were a pretty, peachy colored limestone. The buildings and houses scale the hill Bath sits on and the roads are small and windy. It really was amazing.

Taryn at the Roman Baths

Statues at top of roman baths

The "great bath"





Winchester and Great British Road Trip

Winchester and Great British Road Trip (GBRT)

On Saturday the 10^th I wanted to show Taryn Winchester. As I have stated before in my blogs, Winchester is one of my favorite places to visit that is close to Southampton. It is quaint and lovely. Our friend Harold owns a car and offered to drive us to Winchester. It is about 20 miles or so from Southampton.

We walked the streets of Winchester, went to the Cathedral, visited King Arthur’s round table and ate lunch at a great pub. It was a great day.

Great British Road Trip.

Tomorrow, Thursday the 16^th of February, Taryn and I are heading out on our Great British Road Trip. We are renting a car and driving to Bath, Gloucester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Chesterfield and back to Southampton. We picked out some things we want to do and we will be on our way!

TaryninLondon

London

Taryn and I decided before she came over that we wanted to go to Wicked when we visited London. Wicked, in case you did not know, is a musical based on a book by the same name and is also loosely based on the Wizard of Oz. It is a story of the Wicked witch. Taryn and I both read the book and both had wanted to see the musical.

We arrived in London by bus on Monday, the 6^th of February around 5pm. We headed to our hotel where we would stay that night. Because we are traveling and cheap ;) we stayed at a very small hotel that cost us 33 pounds for our one night stay which is bloody good for London and how close it was to Victoria station and the sights.

We put on our dresses and high heels and headed to the Apollo Victoria theatre for Wicked. We paid 29 pounds for each ticket in the nosebleeds (again because we are cheap) hoping that not a lot of people would show up and we could move to better seats. Luckily, no one expected anything when we moved to the best seats in the balcony during the first part of the show. Then during intermission, we snuck even closer to the second row of chairs in the closest seating. We could see everything! The show was amazing however we realized that we were overdressed. People were wearing sweatpants to the theater, it was shameful! Taryn and I decided that we were definitely going to go to the Lion King in New York for our next musical because well, it would be awesome.

The next morning, we headed into London to the usual tourist sites. I had been to London last November when I first visited Harvey, so I somewhat knew where we were walking. We walked past Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square where we saw the Olympic clock which counts down until the 2012 London Olympics. We walked to the London eye saw Big Ben, the Houses of parliament, and Westminster abbey.

It was a long, cold, and beautiful day.

TaryninEngland

Hello Everyone! It has been awhile since my last post, sorry about that. My sister Taryn has come to Southampton!  She arrived to a bitter cold London on the 2^nd of February and leaves the 21^st. I have shown her around Southampton, we have visited London, and are planning our Great British Road Trip (GBRT) for Thursday through this Sunday.

Taryn and I had last spent real time together last May. It had been more than 8 months since I had seen her face (not counting Skype) and I imagine like most sisters, after a day it felt like we had never been apart.  The difference I did notice is not that she had changed or our relationship had changed but that maybe I have become a bit more English than I have anticipated. Things that seem strange to her seem now, ridiculously normal to me. I catch myself muttering pounds whenever she wrongly asks how many “dollars” a coffee is or how much dinner costs. I know the right price to pay and the good places to go for leggings or a roast dinner. I don’t even attempt confusing people by saying American words when I know full well the English equivalent. Shockingly, sometimes I even forget which words Americans use a z instead of an s. I use s for everything now. Recognise, realise……

Southampton

When I was in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, I found it strange when Harvey’s family would ask me if I was enjoying myself. They did it about once a day. After spending time with Taryn in England, I now understand why his family would question how much fun I was having. It might be a DeMers thing, but I don’t think we wear our emotions on our sleeves. When we were walking around Southampton, I was hoping Taryn would say “That is really cool” or “I am so excited” or “Wow, look at that old building!” It didn’t really happen. Not that I do not think she was enjoying herself, I am sure she was. I think her and I are the same in we might be squealing on the inside with excitement but on the outside we are cool, calm, and collected.

In Southampton, I showed Taryn around the marina walking around our apartment complex. I showed her the Bar gate in the center of town, the cruise ships, the mall, and my school. We relaxed the first night and let Taryn sleep through her jet lag.