A Welshman and His Hedgehog

This post was written for Saturday, the 19th, but I fell asleep before getting to post it. So I am posting it now, with only minor changes:

Location: Exeter, England

Yes, Jazlin and I have left Wales and are making our way to Tintagel in Cornwall, England. But before we left, she and I went to St. Fagans, a 100-acre Welsh history museum just a short bus ride outside of Cardiff. The open-air museum has free admission, beautiful gardens, a castle, and artisans who are working to share centuries of Welsh history. We happened by just before a group of men and women in period outfits sat down in one of the cottages for a lunch that one of the men proudly informed us was created from historic recipes and made fresh with local ingredients (apparently one of the women had just cleaned a fish for it and everything.) I'd have loved to get a picture, but I would have felt a bit bad disturbing their meal.

The weather took a bit of an unfortunate turn, and as we darted from one exhibit/building to another to avoid the moisture, we stumbled into a building where bark was once stored for the winter. Directly opposite was an assortment of large rectangular holes set into the ground (I can't remember their purpose - I'm sure Jazlin will straighten me out tomorrow.) In any case, there, scrabbling around down at the bottom of one of these pits, was a little wild hedgehog. He appeared to have fallen in and gotten stuck. While Jazlin and I looked on, a random Welshman who proclaimed himself fond of hedgehogs ducked under the fence separating us from what was technically an exhibit, climbed down into the pit, and scooped up the hedgehog. He gave it to Jazlin for safekeeping while he climbed back out of the pit, and then another lady released it into a nearby field where it eventually suspiciously scuttled off. The picture at the bottom is Jazlin holding the little hedgehog. 

As a minor coincidence, the museum was also the set for two Doctor Who episodes: "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood." We weren't just there because of that, honest! But it was neat, because a couple of the places we went were easily recognizable when you look back at the episodes.

Commence the Day of Geekyness!

Location: Cardiff, Wales

It's going to be a short one tonight, I'm afraid; I'm writing this even later than usual. Jazlin and I spent a fun day indulging in our purpose for coming all the way out to Cardiff: Doctor Who. For those of you who don't know, Doctor Who is a british sci-fi show that Jazlin and I both watch, which is based out of Cardiff. Many of episodes have been set in locations in and around the city, and the Doctor Who Experience is kind of a semi-interactive exhibition/museum, if that makes any sense.

The experience itself was fun, but not as exciting as what we managed to squeeze into afterward: a visit to the actual studio where Doctor Who is filmed. They brought us to the only permanent set used in the show; the Tardis (which is the main character's "vehicle" for traversing space and time.) They actually took us into the Tardis and let us walk around and gawk at it... without touching anything, of course, as it is a working set which will be used to start filming the christmas special episode in just a couple of weeks.

The studio does not just film Doctor Who. In fact, our tour guide informed us that the largest green screen in Europe was just next door in studio three (the Tardis is in studio four, in case anyone is curious.) We were very lucky to be able to visit, as after filming resumes in a couple of weeks, they aren't sure when the set will next be available. I would ramble a bit more, but this has already been a longer post than it probably should have and I once again, should really get some sleep (12:54am, anyone?) Enjoy the pictures!

(That last one is the lovely little hostel we are staying at. There aren't any of the actual set that we went to, but I'll see if I can get around to that later.)

Comments are spiffy! :D 

Pictures!

Location: Oxford, England to Cardiff, Wales

Hey everyone! First I want to say thanks for all your comments - I've been receiving and enjoying them. Just a note: if you don't say who you are somewhere I have no way of knowing. If you're fine with that, then no worries. Otherwise it's always nice to know who you are :) (almost every comment has said, so good job.)

Anyhow, today Jazlin and I checked out of our hostel and headed to take a tour of Oxford Castle. We had a fun tour guide who proclaimed himself to be a 250 year old former inmate (the castle was used as a jail all the way up until the 1990s) who had escaped using lock-picking and horse-thief skills he learned from fellow inmates. After our tour of the castle, we climbed the Mound (a big grassy hill next to the castle which was created from dirt dug up by Saxon slaves building a fortification wall that used to encircle the entirety of Oxford.)

We also found a little electronics shop and got a card reader so that we could offload our pictures onto the computer and post some more on here. During our train to Cardiff (which is in Wales: east of England but still part of the UK) we got everything off of both my cameras and Jazlin's camera, but I haven't had too much time to sort them, so I'm only posting some highlights.

We're now staying in a little place that's more like a B&B then a hostel (but for a hostel-like price) along the edge of Cardiff 's river. It's quite nice, and has a pretty big variety of people and age groups staying at it. Less party atmosphere and more low-key hang out atmosphere. Which is cool. Less cool is the fact that there's no WiFi in our room, so right now I am being forced to be social down in the TV room. That said, I'd better get to bed soon (it's 11:11pm here!)

As always, try to leave me a comment :)

(All these are from places I've listed in my blog somewhere - sorry for the lack of individual captions.)

When in Oxford...

Location: Oxford, England

After a bit of a late start Jazlin and I spent the day today roaming around Oxford. First we wandered around a cute little church near our hostel, then eventually we found our way to the actual University of Oxford and the Divinity School, which is its oldest classroom (it's got the gorgeous stonework pictured below to the right.) Next we meandered into the University Church of St Marys, which was also quite lovely! Apparently it had been the site of a church for over 1000 years, and much of the part we were in was very similar to how it looked in the 1400s. We walked past the Bridge of Sighs (and took some pictures that didn't turn out very well) and the Bridge of Magdalen (resisting the urge to try punting down the river in one of the rentable boats.) 

Finally, we took a leisurely stroll through the Oxford botanic gardens. Of course we walked by and photographed all sorts of neat buildings that I didn't catch the names of as well, but unfortunately the two pictures below are all you get, because Jazlin and I still haven't figured out the whole camera downloading situation since the card reader and cord are both absent-without-leave in my long-lost checked luggage. We made sure to take a couple of pictures with Jazlin's iPad so I'd be able to post something.

Anyhow the last thing we did was stop for dinner at... the Eagle and Child Pub! A nice lady in the table across from us volunteered to take the picture below on the left after noticing the two of us attempting to awkwardly take pictures of one another in the cramped little space that was our table. The Eagle and Child was where J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to meet with their writing group. We didn't sit in the same room that they did (that one was full) but we did order some tasty pub food as well as the first alcoholic beverages we've ever been allowed to buy! Despite the nagging sensation that we were getting away with something illegal, our Ciders were pretty good (still not overly fond of alcohol though.)

Remember that I love when people leave me comments!

Misadventures in Minneapolis

Location: Oxford, England

I've always had warm feelings toward Minnesota, because it is where my dad is from and much of my extended family still lives there. But now Minnesota means Minneapolis, and the Minneapolis airport means headaches, tears, and the uncontrollable desire to avoid flying altogether.

It was in this airport that we came about as close as humanly possible to missing our flight. We had an hour from the time our first flight landed until the next one took off, and we had to go down three flights of stairs in this airport maze and take the lightrail to a different terminal and then go back through security to board the second plane. Only, there is more than one lightrail.

It wasn't until we had already gone through a different security check point (shoes off, laptop out, and are we traveling with any liquids today?) that we realized our mistake, and a nice security guard escorted us to the lightrail we were supposed to take. But by then the damage was done. After getting off the lightrail and rushing to the other side of terminal two we encountered the slowest, most disillusioned looking security checkpoint people yet (shoes off, laptop out, stare suspiciously at the bulging carry-on backpacks.) They expressed mild disbelief at Jazlin and my gasps that no, the flight to Iceland was not supposed to have taken off yet.

We ran to the gate (which we had to hunt for because it was not listed on our tickets) and were greeted by a bored-looking official who informed us that the plane had taken off. At our dismayed expressions, he turned toward the window, as if to assert his point. A big white airplane was parked there. He looked surprised.  The boarding people were radioed, the doors were reopened, and we were ushered onboard by a cluster of patronizing faces which informed us that we had been paged quite a few times, and had we been any later we would not have been allowed on board.

In any case, a nice stewardess found us a cozy nook at the back corner of the plane where we could sit together (our original seats were aisle seats a row apart) and thus began our six-hour flight from Minneapolis to Reykjavik, Iceland. We splurged on some curry chicken and snacks to go with our complementary drinks. We were also given pillows, blankets, and free use of the entertainment consuls installed in the back of the seats in front of us. We watched The Bucket List and Ice Age 3. It was a pretty nice flight, and it's really neat to get to watch the sun rise from above the clouds.

We had approximately the same amount time to transfer to the next flight in Reykjavik as we had in Minneapolis. Fortunately, this would mostly just involve standing around zombie-like for about twenty minutes, because the little airport in misty Reykjavik was a friendly place with few opportunities to get lost and no apparent desire to put us through any more security checks.

This post is getting pretty long and I haven't gotten to actually sleep since Seattle, so I'm going to conclude by noting in less detail that we got to Gatwick airport in London alright but that my bags were  not there to greet me. Presumably they were back in Minneapolis, and were never loaded onto the flight with us. So they are going to send them to the very kind and helpful B&B that Jazlin and I are staying at on our last day down in Southampton. The lady says not to worry at all and that it's no problem. Which was very sweet of her, because I was of course quite worried.

Anyhow, two trains later and Jazlin and I are sleeping in a hostel in Oxford for the next couple days. On the outside it looks like an iffy little place (no windows and you have to ring a buzzer to get let inside to check in), but once you are inside it's  quite nice and comfy - there are windows, the rooms are nice, and the check-in guy was friendly and showed us around. I really have to get to bed now!

The visas are in, the luggage is packed, and I have hit the road!

Location: Seattle, Washington

The official first entry in my blog is coming from Seattle. Barb and Vi have been kind enough to let us spend the night with them so Jazlin and I can head out bright and early tomorrow to get on a series of flights which will culminate in our arrival in London, England! We'll backpack around England (and a smidgeon of Wales) staying in hostels and B&Bs until I board the MV Explorer on the 24th in Southampton and officially begin Semester at Sea.

I'm feeling pretty well for someone who was up until 4am engaging in a mad last-second packing frenzy. Patti let me borrow her backpack (isn't it lovely?) and thanks to my awesome aunt I have these beautiful blue suitcases which I finally get to take on a trip! (Aunt Shirley, If you're reading this, thanks so much!) 

Jazlin wants me to include a small quibble in regards to the prevalence of summer road construction and its subtle yet  unwavering quest to sabotage the navigation plans of travelers everywhere. Most specifically ours. I think she is being silly, and that the slight inconvenience has been greatly ameliorated by the entertainment value I derived from trying to integrate as much superfluous and unnecessary language as possible into the relatively small and innocuous paragraph describing said phenomenon.... You know, I think I may have been more effected by my lack of sleep than I previously let on. I find it likely that this paragraph will be deleted in the near future, so bask in its absurdity while you have the chance.

Fun factoid of the day: I fit inside my largest suitcase. Seriously. Watch the movie below if you do not believe me. Don't ask what prompted me to see if this worked. My indignant exclamation about the stubbornness of the filmmaker is in regards to how much time I spent crammed in the suitcase before she figured out what exactly I meant for her to film. Love you mom.

Don't forget to comment! It lets me know I'm not just talking to myself :)

Testing 123

I am now testing out the blog posting by email function. This ought to
be interesting...