October 21st
We awake far too early on the ferry. I put in a wake-up call for 6am. We could have gotten another half-hour of sleep (you need to be out of the cabins 45 minutes before arriving in port. I have no idea why). We shower, which is quite an experience (the shower has no curtain or stall or anything, it's just the corner of the bathroom, with a hand-held shower-head) on a rocking boat.
The laundry's still a little damp, too. Instead of just being the jeans that are damp now though, it's the entire bag of stuff. I really should've spent a few more minutes drying things yesterday.
The "Swansea-Cork Ferries" aren't as plush as the Stena ferries were. The Stena had more area, but there was only one passenger deck. The ferry we're on now has six decks, and I'm not sure how many of them are cars. We only explored decks 4, 5 and 6. Anyway, I expect the reason that they aren't working as hard at taking our money here as they were on the Stena ferry is that here we're on-board for nine or ten hours, whereas we had less than two on the Stena.
Just a passing thought: It was pointed out to me (as I was ogling an Irish lass) that Faraway fields are greener. Well the fields in Ireland were certainly quite green. We'll see what England holds.
Another thought as the caffeine begins to do its work, the day-planner I'm carrying on the trip has been well worth the money. I've usually had a map for the area we're in, even if it's only something I printed from "mapquest" before leaving, and most of the other information I've needed has been in my hands. Also, I've been writing a lot about the trip, and while my hands are unused to writing with a pen on paper, it's very refreshing not having any computers with on the trip. When we've had some idle time, I either write in here, or write a postcard to someone at home.
We're starting to get announcements about what to do. I guess we're getting close to port. The
announcements would probably be more useful if they weren't being given by Charlie Brown's
Teacher. ![[Footnote21]](images/foot.gif){kind=small}
Coming through customs at Swansea, there are signs asking "Purpose of visit? Work? Holiday? Terrorism?" I think of taking a picture of one of the signs, but decide I don't want to do that until I've cleared immigration and customs. As it is, Brian gets random-checked anyhow, but we're beyond the signs, and I don't have an angle to take a picture of them. Drat!
We're back in England. As we walk out of the ferryport, it becomes obvious the train station isn't immediately adjacent, and we're going to have to figure out a way to get to the train. There's a bus that many people are climbing onto, and the sign on the side of it says something about getting into the city centre for £2.50. I stop by the cab-stand where there's a line of taxis, and it's only £4 for Brian and I to get taken directly to the train station. It doesn't take long to make that decision.
We're in plenty of time for the train we're trying to catch, so I decide to try and give Gerry a call. We're planning to meet him in Bristol for lunch, and need to work out the details. Brian and I have both worked with Gerry before, and it'll be good to see him. As I make another phone call and leave a small credit on the phone, I realize I probably should have bought phone-cards in both England and Ireland, but it's too late now. It seems every time I make a call, I leave at least a 20p credit on the phone, and there's already been enough of them that it would almost buy me a beer. That and I've had to fumble for change more than once. Oh well. A note for next time.
Once we're on the train, we end up sitting in standard class instead of in First Class. Standard was closer to the end of the platform we're on, and it's a short ride anyhow. No free tea this time, though. And once again, the guard didn't stamp our tickets, or even look at them particularly closely. This happens again going from Cardiff Central to Bristol Temple Meads.
Transferring in Cardiff Central, we get a quick look at the Cardiff Millenium Stadium where they're holding the Rugby World Cup. I'm glad we're in Cardiff when the game is in London, and vice versa. Especially here in Cardiff, the stadium is close enough to the train station that it would be very convenient for folks to get to it by train. I'd also be tempted to go watch a game if there were one near us. So far, the only night that happened was our first full day in Dublin, and I hadn't figured out I'd like to go to a game. Probably just as well.
I'm not sure whether it's the case or not, but Wales has seemed to be an older country. I'm not sure if the college-age kids are just in school while we're passing through, or if they've all moved off to the big cities, but we haven't seen many. There have been a few, but they've been more restrained acting than those we saw in Ireland. Then again, in Ireland, we were in the two biggest cities in the Republic, both of which have universities. I dunno. Just another thing I noticed.
We're in Bristol now, and there's Gerry. We drive a little then park, and walk a little. We're along the docks. This area has undergone urban renewal since Gerry went to school in Bristol, so he's not anymore sure where to eat than we are. We eventually settle on a place and get some lunch and a few pints. It's good enough food. The most notable thing is the gents, which has more steps up and down than seem necessary. I can see where it would be a real drunk-trap after a longer stay.
Gerry gives us a quick driving tour of Bristol, mostly of the University area, and then it's back to the train station. We've missed the train to Salisbury by two minutes, and the next one doesn't go for an hour. Gerry offers to drive us around some more, but he's got to get back to work, and the time in the station will give us a chance to catch up on the news and write a bit.
The train ride to Salisbury is shorter than the wait at the station, but that's okay. I've mostly finished the newspaper and written a bit. I also find the free map that BritRail send me with my pass. As it turns out, the free map I picked up in Swansea is better and more useful than the one we were sent.
We reach Salisbury, and the cathedral appears to be about a mile off. Since I know we're staying pretty close to it, we decide to take a cab (even though we've got directions should we choose to walk) in order to spare our feet. We're going to spend plenty of time on our feet anyway.
|
The Red Lion |
(68K) |
|
Plaque Describing the Hotel |
(25K) |
At the Red Lion Hotel, there's a small snag. We'd reserved a twin
, but the room
we've been given is a double. When we go back to the front desk, we're told that it's really a convertible
that can be made up either way, and the trainee at the front desk made a mistake. I don't care about
the why of things, I just want to put down my luggage and stretch out on a bed for a few minutes.
The fact that there's some sort of convention going on here doesn't help, since there are a lot of
people around the front desk. After a bit of waiting, we're given a new room, and this one appears good.
After a bit of rest, we decide to go try and catch the walking tour of Salisbury, but we've missed it for the day. We decide to go look at the cathedral and get our bearings. At least we know where the tourist centre is now. As we're walking around, I think to myself that Salisbury seems to be an even bigger tourist-trap than I'd expected. After a look at the cathedral, it's back to the hotel to drop off the stuff and out for dinner (the food at the hotel is more expensive than we'd like). We end up walking past a number of places, some of which are too fancy (Dress Code Enforced) and some of which just don't have anything that looks good to us on the menu. We end up at a place called Chough, which has good enough food, and since it's started to rain, we stay put until the rain passes. There's a group of college-age kids having a birthday party for two of their mates. Since they're all dressed up for the evening, the bird-watching is pretty good.
Previous -- Vacation Home -- Next