Made what Bird estimates to be our second longest drive yesterday (four hours in all including Costco) traveling from Stratford to Conwy in North Wales. Prime sights for us are medieval castles constructed by Edward I to subjugate the Welch, although there are other attractions, including a Roman Fort on the Irish Sea. We did, in fact, visit the "Roman Fort" that was actually little more than a wall that had obviously been over restored. Didn't even take a picture. During one of Edward's trips to the continent along about the 1270's or early 80's he met a master architect in one of the German states and secured his services. This fella had many years of stable employment in Wales. Our first castle to visit is the one he constructed in Conwy. There is an adjacent ... read more

Out of England for a couple of days arriving in south Wales after a quite nice stop at a Costco just before crossing the border purchasing the cheapest gas in the area for 1.7 pounds per liter or $8.40 a gallon. Also a few items from inside. Only pics we can show are of a very impressive bridge and Cardiff Castle, so we'll combine these with some from Cotswolds. Must note, here like most places we visit, the Romans arrived a bit before us. They constructed a fortress at the very site of Cardiff Castle. Unfortunately, like much of Britain, Cardiff being something of an outpost, the construction was not as substantial as on the continent and nothing remains. Ah shucks. Arrived at Stow-on-the Wold, which is our base in the Cotswolds, on Monday afternoon. The ... read more

Departed Windsor on schedule in the am with stops in Winchester to view the cathedral (I'm sure everyone recalls the snappy tune Winchester Cathedral where the singer complains of the Cathedral letting him down). A right amazing place is the Cathedral. Ditto the one in Salisbury, which is a full twenty-five miles away. Two massive and beautiful medieval cathedrals this close. Amazing! However, some airhead deleted the outside picture of Winchester. Sorry bout that. By the way William began Winchester in 1079 with completion occurring fourteen years later, I think. At any rate we arrived in Bath about 4pm on 4 June after circling around the area several times where our apartment is located. Followed a similar lost tourist procedure in procuring a few articles from the grocery store as we remain here a week. Finally ... read more

Okay troops, you have enjoyed a four-year reprieve from Bird and I; we conclude you are sufficiently recovered to tolerate more of us, so again off we go. Yes, we know there remains a COVID threat out there, but we will be in Europe where people are a bit more rational about mitigation than the U.S. Furthermore, we are fully vaccinated with two boosters, and we are careful. At any rate we are off to England, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland on 31 May, returning 25 July. The itinerary is noticeably less ambitious than in the past-remaining a full week at some places and close to a week in a number of others. We ain't spring chickens any longer! Perhaps as an added benefit accruing to our long-suffering readers, there will likely be fewer posts per ... read more

Your trusty travelers had two exhausting days in St. Petersburg. A ton of walking, but most thankfully the city is flatter than a pancake. Pete usurped the land upon which the city was built from the then powerful country of Sweden who attacked him through Poland and the Baltic countries. He eventually defeated Sweden during the summer campaign of 1709 and continued construction of his magnificent city. Indeed the city is magnificent. The roads are wide and arrow straight. Buildings majestic, yet we wonder their condition and use during the soviet era. Our street is the very long Nevsky Prospekt, which is filled with commercial enterprises interspersed with historical buildings and monuments. These capitalistic shops were not here in 1955, we feel sure. We have a couple of pictures as we walked "a gazillion miles" according ... read more