Sam and I returned to Europe this past April, traveling to parts of France, Portugal, and Belgium, but we began our trip with a visit to our friend, Keith, who lives on the picturesque southern coast of England, near Christchurch in Dorset.
(To view photos enlarged, click on photo.)
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| Mudeford Quay |
The day after we arrived, the three of us took a train into London, to see a matinee performance of The Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theater. The show was great, and if you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend it! Very funny and entertaining!
The weather was gorgeous, and we really enjoyed walking the busy streets of London, taking in the familiar sights and sounds of this extraordinary city!
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| The huge London Eye on the River Thames. |
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| Big Ben |
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| The Royal Opera House |
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| The National Gallery |
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| A dying breed. |
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On two other days, we toured a of couple important heritage sites within driving distance of Keith's home: Corfe Castle and Salisbury Cathedral.
Corfe Castle is in ruins, but there is a
lot of historical information on the grounds, which is quite
interesting. The original castle buildings would have been made of wood,
but William the Conqueror rebuilt it in stone during the second half of
the 11th century. The village below is very quaint, and the views from the castle are breathtaking!
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| Corfe Castle |
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| Corfe Castle |
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| English Countryside below Corfe Castle |
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| Fields of rapeseed (for Canola oil) below Corfe Castle |
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| Corfe village below the castle. |
Salisbury Cathedral is a very
impressive and well maintained structure. Built between 1220 and 1266, the original group of
buildings included a freestanding bell tower, which was replaced in 1300 by the
tower and spire we now see. It was a very ambitious project
for the time, and the added weight of the tower has proven to be a
strain on the four main columns holding it up. Although the columns have
been reinforced, from inside the cathedral one can see that they still bow out a bit, a fact that
I found slightly disconcerting as I looked up at that ceiling!
This year, the UK is celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, and of the four surviving copies, the most well preserved resides in the Chapter House at Salisbury Cathedral. Kept under glass in a darkened booth, it is awe-inspiring to see.
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| Salisbury Cathedral |
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| Salisbury Cathedral boasts the tallest spire in England. |
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| Inside Salisbury Cathedral |
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| The Chapter House, where the Magna Carta is kept. |
On our final full day with Keith we
had lunch with his brother, Graham, at a nice cafe out on the Mudeford
Sandspit, just a short walk from Graham and Cath's (his wife) cozy beach hut. It's tiny (less than 220 sq. ft. I think), but adorable. Kinda of like having an RV or trailer on the beach, only much cuter! I'm not sure how many such huts there are on this little stretch of land between the ocean and the harbor, maybe 300? Many of them can be rented for about £1200 a week (currently about $1850 US!). I read that a couple years ago, there was a bidding war on a very nice one, which finally sold for £170,000 – a mere $260,000!
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| Graham opening a nice bottle of wine for a toast. |
Later that day, we all joined Cath and a few dozen members of the community at their community hall, for what the Brits call a "Quiz" night. It's kind of a game of trivia, which is played by teams of six or more players, and is often used as a fundraiser for a local cause. Just the kind of cultural experience with local residents that makes travel so much more interesting!
The evening included a staple of British cuisine, Ploughman's Lunch: a cold meal consisting of bread, cheeses, ham, pickles, fruits/salad, and ours included assorted cookies and cakes for dessert. Everybody brought their own wine and/or beer, and prizes are donated by local artists and businesses. Our team did fairly well, even with two Americans who know little about British trivia, but when the subject turned to American history and such, I believe Sam and I were a real asset to our team! In the end, it was a splendid finale to a perfect visit with an old friend!
If you would like to see more of the photos I took while in England, click on the link to my Flickr album.
