I'm back. A 9.5 hour plane ride on "Can you give me LESS space for my legs?" Saturday was followed by "Who am I and what is my name?" Sunday. My first day back at the office was Monday. Strangely, people seem to expect me to "produce" results of some kind during my hours at the office. Crazy, right? Meanwhile, I … Continue reading VACATION DEFLATION
Cardiff
WE ARE NOT MOUNTAIN GOATS
See Wales Tours picked us up this morning and we drove with five others, and our guide, Adrian, to Langland where we were let off the bus to take a leisurely 30-40 minute stroll along a paved walkway high above the sea. And just like in the movies, that's when it got weird. The walkway … Continue reading WE ARE NOT MOUNTAIN GOATS
TIPPING AND TOWERS
Today's plan went a bit wonky, but we easily caught the train to Caerphilly and toured the castle there. The weather is crazy gorgeous, so there were a few more folks out and about, making photography without people wearing fanny packs in the shots a bit more trying on our patience. We succeeded pretty well, … Continue reading TIPPING AND TOWERS
FROM MAX TO MAXIMUS
Good news! We went to bed an hour earlier last night. Bad news! We got up an hour earlier to get in a cab from the hotel to the station, to catch the train to Newport, to catch the bus to Raglan. Once in Raglan, we walked and walked, and found the dirt road that … Continue reading FROM MAX TO MAXIMUS
MY LEGS (AND FEET) ARE IN RUINS
Today, we slept in a bit and Sandy, our navigational expert, studied maps and trains and bus schedules so we could find Chepstow Castle and Tintern Abbey. Here's the decision of the day: I refuse to visit any other towns built on hills as steep as any you find in San Francisco. Plus, the so-called … Continue reading MY LEGS (AND FEET) ARE IN RUINS
A CASTLE FULL OF CHEESE
As I begin this post, I am on the terrace deck at the hotel, sipping a Chardonnay and thrilling to the fact I am off my feet. We arrived at the infamous Cheese Festival around 11:00 AM. A drizzling rain was falling, which allowed me to wear Sandra's fabulous rain cloak with hood. I felt very dramatic as … Continue reading A CASTLE FULL OF CHEESE
CRUISING CARDIFF
Bad news last night: Our tour of Romans & Ruins was canceled. We will regroup and arrange to see those places on our own now. Plan B was to attend the Cheese Festival. We decided to skip to the previously non-existent Plan C, due to the chance of rain today. Plan C turned out to be AWESOME. … Continue reading CRUISING CARDIFF
PLANES, TRAINS AND WELSH HOOCHIES
We have arrived! Hello, Cardiff! Most of the plane awakened around 5:30 AM in preparation for landing at 6:30. Sandy and I stumbled off and somehow made our way through customs without incident. We then found the Heathrow Express (not to be confused with the Hogwarts Express) and arrived at Paddington Station. There, we began … Continue reading PLANES, TRAINS AND WELSH HOOCHIES
WALES WATCHING
It's time to prepare myself. I am actually leaving the country. And amazingly, it's not because of the impending elections of 2012 and my inability to comprehend how on earth ANY of those people can be for real. I believe our political system has been hijacked by a BRAVO TV series, and the whole thing is … Continue reading WALES WATCHING
Diary of Ann Franks 