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Published: November 16th 2007
Wales
This was a short trip of four days. AS usual we hired a car which we picked up from Heathrow and drove out of London. We stayed in a cute old fashioned home on a farm in South Wales. The farm was large and had many animals and some fairly rabid looking dogs locked up in barns and trucks. I assume New South Wales was named after this area and in fact there were some similarities to the area south of Sydney. You can see for yourself what you think.
It was mostly for a relaxing holiday as everyone was quite exhausted from their hard and busy weeks lately. We spent a lot of the time playing games and reading but we did force the kids to visit a castle or two. We went to the local town to visit a castle and ruins and stroll along the river but it was cold and Chrsitine had a little asthma. The trip turned into visiting a cafe...not much more to say really.
Oxford.
This trip was actually a couple of weeks ago but I've been too busy to do these travel blogs lately. Oxford is another 'small town
South Wales
We chose this area beacuse it is on the English, Welsh border, close to Cardiff if we felt like a drive and right in the middle of the beautiful Brecon Beacons. (Nice big hills and stunning views) feel' university town which is full of students and academic looking people. You can just feel all the intellectual energy and brain power as you walk along the streets. It is lively and kinda groovy. It is home to the oldest colleges in England and walking along the street, you cannot be unimpressed with the stunning architectural features of the buildings. All spires, gargoyles, cloisters, double vaulted courtyards, arches and flying butresses in that lovely yellow-ochre coloured stone. Oxford is much like Cambridge but more interesting (to us) because we visited Christchurch College (the oldest of the lot, founded in 1525) and saw some more Hogwarts (Harry Potter's school) movie sites. The dining hall and library are shot here and some of the corridors from The Philosophers Stone and The Chamber of Secrets.
Air.
Saw Air last night. A French pop electronica band. Great music in general although some songs are pretty dull. This is a good one from last night:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=L6W5ZH-JwSg
Went to The Hammersmith Apollo which is just a 10 mins stroll (albeit in sub zero temperatures!). I had bought stalls standing tickets but found that all the ground area was seated. Seemed strange that
Tine in Cwymdu
This town, believe it or not is pronounced cumdee...go figure. a very popular venue is all seated. Still, it's pretty awkward trying to bop to the difficult-to-dance-to ethereal tunes. Air wasn't bad live, but their music isn't the type that's flattered by live performance. Electronic in nature, it plays better coming out of the CD player. Much of the concert was programmed and consisted of the two of them hitting a few keys or strumming a few chords while all sorts of computers played pre-programmed loops. Lighting really made the show good. There were three people with them: guitarist, keyboards and drums (real drums).
Been cleaning and scrubbing the flat for end of tenancy, teaching, and preparing for stuff coming up. (Rome tomorrow). Today we woke up to minus 2 degree temperatures. It doesn't feel so cold as you would expect but my hands do start to get pretty numb and you need a good jacket. The sky is clear and blue but as usual the sun is somehow less...sunny.
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mum
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clever girl
I wish you were here to help me send a musical birthday card to L auren for next Friday. My lap top is waiting for you to operate. Dad says we may have visited the castle on our bus trip. It certainly looks spooky. Looking forward to your next trip.