France 2021, Day 9, Avignon

The whole affair began so very quietly.  When I wrote, that summer, and asked my friend Louise if she would come with me on a car trip to Provence, I had no idea that I might be issuing an invitation to danger.  And when we arrived one afternoon, after a hot but leisurely journey, at the enchanting little walled city of Avignon, we felt in that mood of pleasant weariness mingled with anticipation which marks, I believe, the beginning of every normal holiday. . . . 

Sur le Pont d'Avignon

England (and Wales) 2018, Day 9

The Clock Tower, Cardiff Castle

Off to Wales!  Our hotel in Worcester did not include breakfast so my niece thoughtfully suggested she go to a shop across the street to pick up some treats before we dashed to the train.  I was busy trying to buy advance tickets online to the Churchill War Rooms as we had been disappointed by the long line for entry the other day. Unfortunately, I had waited too long and the 10:00 am time slot on Tuesday was already sold out. I tried phoning my mother to see if she thought we could make 11:00 am work but eventually had to dash down the hall in my pjs - luckily, did not run into any other guests! However, this purchase took so long I had to throw everything back into my suitcase so we could meet in the lobby at the appointed time, and I left my brand new purple umbrella behind.

The 12-sided Castle Keep

I had spent a lot of time online figuring out our train tickets and this morning's particular route had been one of the trickiest for which to find a good price. I ended up using TicketClever which had us boarding at Worcester Foregate but switching trains at Worcester Shrub, just a couple minutes away, and making another connection before we reached Cardiff. The train ride was entertaining and my mother and I were entranced by lambs we saw frolicking as we sped past. All went well until we got out at Bristol Parkway, which is where we were supposed to make our connection to Filton Abbey Wood.

Looking down from the Norman Keep

I was heading to the monitor to check our platform but happened to ask a station employee instead, and he said there was no train to Cardiff at this stop. I asked if he was sure and showed him my ticket but he told us to get back on the train and go to another station. I dragged my very reluctant mother and niece and all our stuff back onto the train where we were all squashed into those standing. Luckily, someone else was going to Cardiff too and we followed her at the next stop, and only had to wait about 35 minutes for a train. We chatted with a friendly retired couple who were going to a huge flower show in Cardiff.

Looking down: 50 stone steps to the Keep entrance, then more to the top!

Once at Cardiff, we grabbed a taxi to the Tanes Guest House, which was the least appealing of any of our temporary homes. My mother had a single room, I shared a twin with my niece, and there was a bathroom half a flight down. The rooms were dark and depressing, and the bedspread was kind of icky. When there is no top sheet or blanket, one really has no choice but to use whatever duvet or comforter is provided but this was the only one where we really wondered how recently it had been cleaned. And why no top sheets in England anyway?

Another gray day but the bus stop was right outside Tanes and it took us right to Cardiff Castle in the center of town. It was lunch time but I really thought we should visit the Castle while the sun was shining. Remembering my sister's warning to feed my niece regularly, I stopped at a shop that was selling Welsh tea cakes and got everyone a chocolate chip one, fresh out of the oven. They were a little like round thick pancakes but sweeter - quite delicious - I should have bought half a dozen! The Castle itself was not as large or enthralling as Edinburgh Castle but was still entertaining. It had been a Roman fort, then a Norman fortress but in the 18th century it had been purchased by a rich aristocrat, the third Marquess of Bute, who restored it expensively and somewhat gaudily.

We also toured the house restored by the Marquess and his eager architect.  Some of the rooms were furnished, including the library, which was impressive but when have I ever seen a library I didn't like?  The sun came out, motivating my mother to join us for the climb to the Keep and then as close to the top of the tower as possible, where we enjoyed the view.

Cardiff through a narrow keep window

After the Castle, we had a snack at a nearby Caffe Nero, then walked to the National Cardiff Museum, which contains both natural history and art. We stayed there until it closed, then sat in a park across the street to enjoy the improved weather before we strolled back to the Castle area, admiring a very attractive, historic church, St. John the Baptist. My niece and I had been excited about trying a nearby restaurant called Café Citta, which smelled enticing but it was tiny and they told us they were full all night and closed on Sunday. Boo!

Happily, we had seen another restaurant in our wanderings called Gray's that had a varied menu, so we retraced our stops and persuaded them to find us a table even though we had no reservation (oddly, it never seemed all that full, so I wonder why the hesitation - we looked respectable, if casually dressed).  The food was great, and we loved our desserts: Sticky Toffee Pudding and Apple Crumble. Despite being in London since January, my niece had not discovered the joys of a well-made Sticky Toffee Pudding and she was most gratifyingly appreciative.   As we headed back to the guest house, we noticed that the families who had been out enjoying a Saturday were now replaced by a rowdier but harmless contingent who were out on the town.

The Welsh kings of Aberffraw adopted the dragon in the 5th century
to symbolize their power after the Romans left Britain

Did anyone notice I posted Day 10 before Day 9?

Castle count: one
Church count: exterior only
Miles walked: 4.0

England 2018, Day 8

Enid Blyton lives as we begin our adventure

In which we travel to the original Worcester:

It was time for my niece to be swept from her studies at IES by two of the family historians (and we could have used my brother Peter on many occasions). We met at Paddington (where we expected but did not see many stuffed bears for sale) and zipped off by train to Worcester, a city of 100,000 in the West Midlands. Why, Worcester, you ask? Not because Simon de Montford, one of my favorite historical characters was killed there in 1245 (I don't recall which Sharon Kay Penman book recounted this sad event but I remember needed lots of Kleenex!)  It was more because I had heard that the Cathedral was beautiful and that there had been two significant battles in the English Civil War in Worcester, including the final battle.

Our luggage had gotten heavier (at least mine had! I wonder why) since arriving in London, and it was great to have additional hands.  We were pleased to find our hotel was directly opposite the train station, the Worcester Whitehouse Hotel. Sometimes the hotels near the stations are seedy but this was very nice - by far the most spacious of the places we had stayed (you could have got about 4 or 5 of our London room into the twin room my niece and I shared) and my mother was pleased to have a luggage rack.

Composer Edward Elgar, native son 

We set off for the Cathedral which was a ten-minute walk from the hotel, and was impressive even on a gray (yet again) day. The two most interesting (non-architecture) aspects of the Cathedral were the tombs of Bad King John (died 1216; you may recall we saw his effigy on Day 1 in London at the Temple Church), younger brother of Richard the Lionheart and, more unexpected, the tomb of Prince Arthur, older brother of Henry VIII. Arthur was just 15 when he died in 1502, having been married to Catherine of Aragon six months earlier. The story goes that his father, Henry VII, did not want to return Catherine's dowry so insisted she marry his second son (later Henry VIII) after a suitable mourning period. Had Catherine's parents, Ferdinand and Isabella of Columbus fame, known what sorrow and humiliation were in store for their daughter, I hope they would have sent an escort to bring her home, no matter how beneficial an alliance between England and Spain would be!

With King John I (more or less)

Next we stopped at the Cathedral Café for a fabulous lunch! I had a Coronation Chicken panini, my niece had a cranberry and brie panini, my mother had mushrooms on toast (this was not a punishment - she requested it), and we shared a slice of Victoria Sponge cake between us (the first of many amazing desserts on this trip) as I had been yearning for one since my last trip. An army marches on its stomach!   Everyone was in a very good mood as we left the Cathedral, and headed for the Commandery, a historic building / war museum that served as Charles II's headquarters during the last battle of the Civil War. It had some good exhibits but is desperately in need of funding and some high-tech embellishments. I did think my nephews would have enjoyed all the weapons!  Some of us may have told the locals we were from the Worcester in the United States, which is only a slight exaggeration as it is barely an hour away and I visit my friend Judith there regularly.

A stool made from the famous Royal Oak that saved Charles II

My niece tries out the 5-meter training pike!

After the Battle of Worcester in 1651, Charles II fled and is reputed to have avoided capture by hiding in an oak tree. I had always imagined a hollow oak with a convenient hole but one exhibit describes him hiding in the branches as Parliamentary soldiers passed below and later a stool was made from the root of this famous Royal Oak.  We were surprised to learn that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had visited Worcester and the Commandery in 1786 (Adams seems to have cheered on Cromwell's victory - I guess not too surprising but regicide is not very nice, John). We stopped at one charity shop on the way back to the hotel (I found a Katie Fforde I didn't have and an Elizabeth Elgin, an author I had not read for years).

No time to visit Edward Elgar's birthplace but I thoughtfully hummed Pomp and Circumstance from time to time so my niece would know what she was missing.

Dessert at Slug and Lettuce

My mother was not interested in dinner after a surfeit of mushrooms (literary allusion) but after my niece and I recuperated for a bit, we set out to explore the Worcester night life. Although most of the city shut down promptly at 5, we found a branch of a chain called Slug and Lettuce (British humor?) that had great food and a lively bar scene. There was one moment when the waitress took my niece's empty water glass away and never refilled it, but we liked the vibe and the dessert was delicious!



Book count: two
Cathedral count: one
Miles walked: 5.0