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| Joanne & Richard with Jane & Andrew Parker, Cornwall FF |
I was
approved to bring 14 “Ambassadors” (club members) and I began recruiting. I received an enthusiastic response and
before I knew it, many signed up. I
decided to organize a “Pre-trip” to Wales, a “Post-trip” to Scotland and later
added a few days in Paris, France to meet our daughter, Michele, and check out
the fantastic renovation of Notre Dame Cathedral. Below are highlights and pictures of this
fantastic journey.
Pre-trip
to Wales – 5 days Great Rail Journey
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| Us riding the railroad |
I wanted to see Wales from the time I dated Richard. He read a lovely poem to me by Welsh poet, Leslie Norris, called Sea Growth. It inspired him to sail his boat and discover life on the water. In discussing this lovely work he mentioned he would love to visit Wales. For 33 years it has been on my ‘Bucket List’ and it was time to check it out. I researched Leslie Norris and discovered he was from south Wales in the area near Cardiff where coal and other minerals were mined long ago.
In
researching the area, I came across South Wales by Steam Holiday
from May 11 to 16. It would give us a
look at Welsh culture and it was centralized to one hotel in Swansea (next to
Cardiff) and affordable for all. It was
an optional ‘add on’ that most decided to join.
I’ve
condensed some FaceBook posts of the highlights of this area.
The second
day was a free day and was spent exploring Cardiff’s remarkable castle and art
gallery and met the famous Paddington Bear.
Richard opted for a hike on the cliffs but the wind made it less than
optimal! In Cardiff by the castle I discovered “Cawl”,
a lamb, carrot and potato stew for lunch.
Sampling the local cuisine was a treat!
On Day 3 and
4 we rode the Gwili Railway and made our way to Mumbles, a quaint seaside town,
where famous Joe’s Ice Cream Parlor served us the most delicious cones. On board the train we tried ‘bara brith’
bread, a tasty fruit and spice blend accompanied by tea and it was great.
On Day 5 we
wrapped up our tour of Wales with visits to St David’s and the quaint town of
Tenby by the sea, located on the western shores of Carmarthen Bay. The spring flowers were out and sunshine
delighted us.
Making
our Way to Cornwall via train by way of Bristol
We purchased Brit Rail Passes in the US because we had to
cover a lot of ground in the UK. We had
a few more days before we had to be in Cornwall so we decided to stop in the
lovely city of Bristol.
We enjoyed 2 days here: discovered Banksy and funky street
art, went on a great walking tour, explored the Cathedral and listened to
lovely music, traversed Clifton Suspension Bridge with a fun local bus ride and
strolled on historic docks.
The
Cornwall Journey
We were
picked up by Andrew and Jane Parker at the Truro train station and the fun
began. We were greeted with homemade
scones on their gorgeous sunroom porch and met the dog and cats. We were surprised to be on a beautiful farm
and our lovely accommodations were a B&B room with a comfy king-size bed,
ensuite and sitting room attached to their home. Jane and Andrew are accomplished retired
veterinarians and surgeons, having built a successful practice. The beautiful farm spans 50 acres where
Andrew oversees a small specialty cattle herd for meat production. Jane’s skills include making homemade yogurt,
bread and pastries and managing a B& B and rental homes on their property.
First up was a wonderful Welcome Party with an
excellent variety of main dishes, salads and desserts. We all introduced ourselves to the warm
people of the club.
On Monday,
Day 2, we toured the Eden Project, a remarkable property under huge domes that
was developed out of an abandoned mining pit.
We had a lovely time admiring the gorgeous plants that thrive under all
kinds of controlled conditions. We also
enjoyed a delicious lunch at the facility.
The next day
we enjoyed a visit to beautiful Port Issac on the North Shore, the renowned
filming location of the PBS series ‘Doc Martin.’ The great weather and our tour guide, who had
a role in ‘Fishermen’s Friends,’ made the day even more enjoyable. We loved riding on the one lane Cornish roads
where cars back up to let each other pass.
Surprisingly, it all works out!
One evening
our group mastered the art of making Cornish pasties, delicious meat pies. It was fun visiting the little farm with
horses and everyone had a try at rolling out the dough and stuffing the pies.
Other
highlights of our trip were visiting St Michael’s Mount and the historic Minack
Theater. We took a boat ride out the
English Channel for the hike up up to the castle navigating the rocky
‘Pilgrim’s Path’. Our effort was
rewarded with terrific views and a castle tour.
Later we drove to the most unusual theater by the sea – the Minack – we
could not believe how it was built and the productions taking place there. What a wonderful day!
We concluded
our journey at historic Falmouth, home to the world’s third-largest natural
deep-water port. Following a guided tour
of the National Maritime Museum, a scenic boat ride took us to St Mawes, a
charming village where we feasted on crab sandwiches.
Our Farewell
Dinner was really special. It featured
homemade pizzas cooked in our host’s wood-fired oven and entertainment provided
by local Cornish singers. We sadly said
our goodbyes, invited the club to visit us here and set off for our next
adventure.
Visiting
Liverpool, Home of the Beatles
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| Us with The Beatles in Liverpool |
We took the train from Truro all the way to Liverpool checking into the Liner Hotel. What fun to spend a day in Liverpool! We began by visiting the ‘Beatles Story’, an audio-guided tour of their beginnings to a world-wide phenomenon. We loved the ‘Magical Mystery Yellow Bus’ ride, viewing Strawberry Fields, 3 of the group’s childhood homes and of course, iconic Penny Lane. We finished by having a drink at the underground Cavern Club, where they were discovered. The next day we took a train to Edinburgh for an 8-day coach tour of Scotland.
Post-trip
Tour of Scotland with Wingbuddy Tours
Richard enjoying Loch Lomond
“Pure dead
brilliant” is a Glasgow way of saying that something is exceptionally
amazing! Ad, it was visiting
Scotland. We began our tour in Edinburgh
and drove via coach to Stirling Castle
and later to Glasgow’s Cathedral absorbing all the centuries old history,
ancient artistry and stories of kings and queens’ legacies. We had a terrific dinner together at a
wonderful restaurant.
Loch
Lomond was probably
Joanne’s favorite stop of the trip. The
weather was so pretty – brilliant sunshine on a gorgeous lake with a lovely
cruise boat & informative guide! Our
guide pointed out the geology of Scotland – the lowlands give way to the
highlands, a different tectonic plate with hill mountains called Munroes. We saw where episodes of Harry Potter were
filmed and got a nice video of the steam train. So pretty!
The next day
was misty and cloudy with intermittent rain.
That seemed to the the weather pattern here. A rain jacket, hood or hat was the order of
the day. As we entered into the
highlands, we motored to the ferry boat crossing to the Isle of Skye. We snapped some pictures while we crossed the
windswept Sound of Sleat via ferry boat.
Our guide related that Skye is now a popular destination with hotel
rentals exceeding 350 pounds a night. We
cruised around taking in the lovely scenery through the raindrops, stopping for
‘Cullen skink’, a delicious cream soup made with smoked haddock, leaks and
onions. Later we checked out Eilean
Donan Castle and had a close encounter with a ‘coo’, Scottish Highland
cow. We stayed in a nice hotel near
Inverness.
Our Scotland Travel Group of Marci, Kathi, Mindy, Mary, Richard,
Lisa, Joanne and Nancy - Note: Castle in background!
The next day
we set out to spot the legendary ‘Nessie’ at Loch Ness, although she remained
elusive. Despite this, the natural
scenery was so pretty. We then traveled
to Urquhart Castle, where we watched an informative video about its storied
past and met a Scotsman clad in his traditional kilt. After lunch in the busy city of Inverness, we
visited Elgin, where we learned about the cathedral’s history of
misfortune. It was then time to head off
for our hotel outside the city of Aberdeen.
After a
short coach ride looking at the slate buildings of Aberdeen, we were off
again. An ancient Scottish saying,
“Enough blue skies to make a pair of sailor’s trousers,” proved accurate with
sunny weather at Dunnottar castle and St. Andrews, the home of golf. The beach
adjacent to the course hosted the ‘Chariots Beach Race,’ a fun event paying
tribute to the film “Chariots of Fire.” The little children receiving the
applause of the crowd at the Finish Line was so fun to watch. Sadly, our trip was almost over.
We wrapped
up our Scotland tour in Edinburgh with a visit to the castle and lunch at the
Elephant House, the super famous café where JK Rowlings supposedly penned some
of her early Harry Potter books or possibly just ate scones, who knows! In the evening we took a walking tour called
‘Edinburgh Ghost Tour: Mysteries, Legends and Murders’. We sadly said goodbye to our travel
companions.
Paris,
France with daughter Michele
Joanne, Michele & Richard with
Notre Dame in background
We took an
easy jet flight south to Paris the next morning. We met Michele at our hotel and set off to
see the recently refurbished Notre Dame post fire. Paris remains a breathtakingly beautiful
city, even after years since our last visit.
We rented head phone tour guides and took our time looking at
everything. I really enjoyed the new
“Crown of Thorns” sculpture behind the main altar – it is a round gold modern
circle that is breathtaking. We then
took a scenic Seine River boat ride and Michele treated us for dinner at one of
her favorite places. The next night we
dined at Les Invisibles, a recommendation from our friend, Marci. The time flew. Michele departed and we had one more
day. We took the
metro to Paris’ Musee d’Orsay and had a very nice time looking at the
spectacular Monet art and famous sculptures.
It was time to return home to our temporary condo, courtesy of our
Friendship Force friends, Bev and Dennis.
We have to find a home in the Sacramento, CA area and relocate. We are trusting the Holy Spirit will help us
find the place we are meant to live.
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