Greetings from England!

[Eagle]

Hello all! This will just be a brief report today, as my Net Cafe time is running short. Hopefully this is the right section to add travel reports?

So far the trip has been wonderful! I'll provide more detailed information on the Zoom flight and other items when I get back to my own Computer.

I'm almost at the end of a week in London, and have been touring all the 'usual' tourist sites - Changing of the Guard, London Eye, Imperial War Museum, Tate Modern, etc. I had forgotten how tiring this can be, however my feet and my back have been giving me very noticeable reminders! The last day or two have been better, so perhaps I'm getting used to it again.

I'm staying in the Belgravia section of London, close to Victoria station, and really enjoy this area. There's good access to both the Subway, City Buses as well as National Express Coach. There's lots of great Wine Bars, Tapas Bars and other small restaurants, so not hard to find a meal. The 'full English Breakfast' is provided at the Hotel, so I don't have to worry about that.

In addition to the usual tourist spots, I also treated myself to a performance of 'Mamma Mia' last night, and quite enjoyed it! The Theatre district really seems to get busy later in the evening!

Tomorrow I'll be heading for Bath and then the Cotswolds for a week or so, and then head to Dublin to join a Rick Steves tour of Ireland.

The weather has been quite decent so far, sunny for the most part but it's a bit overcast today. I suspect there might be a bit of rain.

I'll post another note in a few days, or whenever I can find another Net Cafe.

Cheers!!!

[me]

London is a great place to be a tourist! the Underground there is so efficient. and, with the Eurostar, the weather can't get so bad for it to be said that "Europe is isolated!"

- d

[herrbert]

I hope your back and your feet, are not giving you too much troubles. I can remember my stay in London, giving me quite a hard time with my feet. I always prefer walking in a city, as it gives me more sense of direction (plus seeing more), but in London I could barely walk on the fourth day.

Have a nice time in the UK and Eire.

RG

[Eagle]

herrbert, for some strange reason my feet have been getting better. Perhaps I'm just getting used to the walking? However, my back is still a bit of a problem, although not as much as before.

I arrived in Bath yesterday afternoon, and so far haven't done too much touring. I plan on taking the walking tour this afternoon, and booking a tour of Stonehenge tomorrow. I had a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant here last night. I have a Car reserved for tomorrow, so will be doing some exploring and paying another visit to the Tank Museum.

I'll be here for several days, and will then be moving to the Cotswolds for two days, then to Dublin. The tour should be interesting. I spoke with a number of people in London that had just finished the RS Tour of Ireland, and they all said it was fantastic! Perhaps the "tour experience" won't be as bad as I have imagined?

I'll try to post another update in a day or so.

Cheers!

[pointofnoreturn]

Hopefully you'll be able to remember the names of restaurants in the places you've stayed!

Can't wait to read your Ireland report!

[Eagle]

PONR, I usually record the names of the restaurants in my trip journal, so hopefully will have a good record of them. The one restaurant that I will definitely remember is Martini's (Italian of course) in Bath. Everything was wonderful!

A short update......

This is the first opportunity I've had to access a computer since my last update. I had a wonderful five days or so in Bath, but didn't see everything that I had wanted to. I DID take the free two hour walking tour, and it was very interesting and informative. One of the people staying at the B&B was saying that he's visited Bath three times, and taken the tour each time. Every tour was a bit different, as each Guide presents the information slightly differently.

I also took an afternoon tour of Stonehenge with Mad Max Tours (with a short stop in the village of Lacock). It was excellent! I found that Stonehenge was a bit smaller than I had imagined, but even so it's quite an impressive site.

One of the reasons I didn't get to see and do as much as hoped in Bath, is that I had scheduled a couple of day trips. One day I went to the Tank Museum in Bovington, and found that a major £18 million renovation is in progress. I spent a good part of the day looking over the various exhibits (they now have TWO King Tigers, as well as a fully operational Tiger I). One of the most impressive machines is the JagdTiger - it's huge! It was captured in running condition, so it's probably operatational as well.

On the following day, I drove down to the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton. That was another very interesting day, and I spent about five hours there. The Museum is at the edge of a working Naval Air Base, so there were Helicopters, etc. coming and going on a regular basis. One of the best parts of the Museum is the Aircraft Carrier experience. It begins with a "Helicopter ride" to the Carrier, which includes simulated vibrations in the floor plates. While the experience is a bit "dated" to some extent ('60s era aircraft, etc.), it was still very well done! It appears that they actually transplanted the control tower portion of an aircraft carrier into the museum, as all the parts (metal beams, control equipment, etc.) appear to be "original". If they didn't use actual parts, it was a really good simulation! I was a bit surprised to find a Concorde inside as well, as it's not a "naval aircraft". That particular Concorde was the second one off the assembly line, and was loaded with test instruments - it was never used to carry passengers.

In order to get to the Museums, I rented a Car in Bath and so far haven't been having too much trouble adjusting to driving on "the other" side of the road. Unlike my last visit, this time I'm using a GPS unit to find my way around, and it's been working reasonably well for the most part. I'm still trying to figure out how the thing works, as it sometimes chooses very "odd" routes (such as one lane country roads). I've taken wrong turns on a couple of occasions (usually coming off a Roundabout), but it always re-calculates.

At the moment, I'm in a small village in the Cotswolds called Stow-on-the-Wold. I just arrived this afternoon, so haven't had time to really look around yet. It's a beautiful and quaint place, with lots of old houses, thatched roofs, and LOTS of gift shops! Not a good place for someone on a budget! I'm hoping to do some exploring in Chipping Campden and some of the surrounding villages tomorrow.

I'll be heading for Bristol Airport on the 28th to get a flight to Dublin. This will be my first experience with Ryan Air, so hopefully everything goes well?

One note regarding Internet access. Both my Hotel in London and the B&B in Bath offered free Wi-Fi. A lot of people that I've encountered have been travelling with Laptops. I'm still not convinced that's a good plan for me to adopt, but I'll certainly consider it. I'm using a computer in the Library in Stow right now, and it's FREE, so sure can't beat the cost. The YHA Hostel here also has public Internet, but it's £4.00 for an hour.

While on the Tour, I'm not sure how much time I'll have for Internet access, but will try to update when possible.

Happy travels all!!!

[pointofnoreturn]

Gah, 4 pounds an hour is highway robbery!

I think I'll be bringing my laptop (a few years old) next time I travel. I'll be looking forward to getting the restaurant info from you later!

[herrbert]

pointofnoreturn said:

I'll be looking forward to getting the restaurant info from you later!

I think we should have a restaurant or food thread, so everybody can share their tips for good restaurants.

I should also take notes, were I eat, because I always forget.

It seems like you (Eagle) are having a great trip, I hope everything keeps going well. Is it just as wet in the UK/Eire as it is in the Netherlands?

[madamtrashheap]

Great to read the trip is going well and you're enjoying your exploring...and eating! I keep names, addresses and details on how to reach places I've enjoyed, be they bars, pubs, restaurants or clubs - great to revisit or to pass on to others.

Hope the lure of the souvenir in the Cotswolds isn't too strong!

[Eagle]

MTH, No, the lure of souvenirs in the Cotswolds wasn't too strong. I had to mail a bunch of brochures home while in the Cotswolds, as they were just getting too heavy. I thought I might be able to escape the dreaded Ryan Air baggage surcharge, but wasn't that lucky! I got nicked an extra £5.50 for my main Pack. To top that off, they cut my Lock off and didn't bother re-sealing it with a plastic tag, nor did they put a notice inside to indicate that they had inspected the bag. Oh well, at least they got me to Dublin.

The trip is going great so far, but I'm with the RS tour now, so don't know how often I'll be able to check the Net. We're in Dublin tonight, but will be leaving for Kinsale tomorrow. So far everything is great!

I'll post again when possible.

Cheers!!!

[madamtrashheap]

Ryanair are just getting worse, not better! And for the sake of GBP5.50...they owe you a lock worth that much too!

At least you've made it to Dublin and onto the tour - enjoy! And keep us posted!

[Eagle]

Just a quick update this time. I had some trouble getting logged on to the GFE site, but I have to say this Internet Cafe in Dingle is perhaps the best one I've ever visited. They are VERY knowledgeable!

I'm about half way through the tour now. The group has a free day in Dingle, so I'm getting caught up on a few things (including Internet time). It's beautiful and sunny, so I don't want to spend too long sitting in front of a computer.

The tour has been fantastic so far, and I think it was the right decision (for me) to take a tour in this case. There's 28 in the group and everyone has been getting along well. Since leaving Dublin we have covered lots of different historical sites, including the Gallarus Oratory (yesterday) and the site where Michael Collins was assassinated. I visited Killmainham Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin on my own, before the tour started. At this point, everything that we've seen is a bit of a "blur".

Our Guide is incredible, and there doesn't seem to be any question related to Ireland that he can't answer (he's Irish, but lives in Burgundy when he's not leading tours, so he's fluent in French). He is also fluent in the Irish language, and has been trying to teach the group a few words, but it's a difficult language. He has an excellent voice, so has been filling in time on the Bus with some Irish songs.

Our Bus Driver has also been awesome, and deserves a medal! We had one occasion yesterday travelling around the Dingle Peninsula to Dunquin, where he had to back up a full sized Coach, downhill and around a corner, as there was a large truck in front of us and the road was only one lane wide!

Most of the group attended an optional Irish Folk Music concert last night, and it was awesome! There were two girls performing, one with an accordion and one with a Bodhrum (correct spelling?), and they sang as well. There were also two guys, one with guitar and one playing Flute and Illingspipes (again, correct spelling?). By the end of the concert, there was lots of toe-tapping going on, and they treated us with one encore.

Of course, after the concert I had to check out some of the performers in the Pubs and sample a few pints of Guinness or Murphy's as well.

We head north towards the Cliffs of Moher and County Mayo tomorrow (Sunday), and I'm sure there will be lots more interesting experiences. I'm want to get some good photos today, so hopefully it doesn't cloud over this afternoon.

Will post again when possible.

Happy travels all!

[madamtrashheap]

Eagle, that's great to hear that you are enjoying the tour so much and being able to see so many things.

I'm glad you got to travel around the Dingle peninsula too - my favourite part of Ireland. Enjoy the Cliffs of Moher (no doubt you'll have a quick stop in the Burren too) and keep us posted on the next leg.

[Eagle]

MTH,

Yes, we did stop in the Burren for a bit, and walked across them to have a look, making sure not to get our feet caught in the "grikes". We stopped in Galway for a tour and went to the Aran Islands for the day. Most of the group decided to take the optional MiniBus Tours rather than the Pony Carts, as the weather was less than ideal. A few chose to Bicycle around the Island, and by the end of the day they were soaked!

We had lunch at the base of Dun Aengus and then most climbed up to the fort to have a look. What a rugged land and an incredible view! Our Minibus Driver (a "local) enjoyed showing us the Leprechaun houses and describing the families that lived in each one. He also mentioned that they had a "10,000 year old Fort on the island and next week we're going to take some of the rock and build another 10,000 year old fort". The tour was very entertaining! Of course most of us had a look in the largest sweater shop in Europe, but I didn't buy anything as I don't wear sweaters too often nor do I have the room to bring anything back.

We stopped for lunch in Leenane today and did some "bog hopping" outside of town. We also stopped for a short time at the National Famine Memorial, which is close to the mountain that St. Patrick climbed. We're in Westport tonight and head for Derry and Portrush tomorrow.

There's so much information and knowledge on this tour, it's a bit of a blur. I hope I can make some sense of it all after I get home and complete my trip diary.

I'm now more firmly convinced than ever that a Tour was the right decision for Ireland. I've spoken with several people who have rented Cars and had nothing but problems. One person in Galway took out a tire (a curb "jumped out" at him) and it took him two days to get it replaced; another visitor took out part of his front suspension and had to get another vehicle from the rental firm. Finally, picking up the newspaper today the headlines described the terrible toll on Irish highways in the last 24 hours - 5 dead in an 8 hour period (in one of the cases, the car was sheared in half)!!!

We've had some rain but for the most part that has taken place when we were on the Bus. The weather in Westport was beautiful this afternoon. Hopefully my photos are all "masterpieces"! One of the tour members is going to set up a photo website, so that everyone from the tour can share photos.

That's about all for now. I'm thinking it's about time to check the local Pubs for music and of course a Pint.

Cheers!!!

[madamtrashheap]

eagle said:

Our Minibus Driver (a "local) enjoyed showing us the Leprechaun houses and describing the families that lived in each one.

Leprecians! At least I think that's how you spell the name of the leprechaun houses! Are they not cute?!!! Did he point out the leprechaun crossings around the Burren?

Sounds like you're having a ball, which is exactly what you should be doing! Shame to hear about the issues with those who have driven themselves around - I have done bus and self-drive tours of Ireland and had no troubles on either (except for those leprechaun crossings! ), but I guess it's luck of the draw. The reason I like driving myself is the timing factor - leave when you want, stay as long as you want, drive at different times of the day...and all without at GPS!

Enjoy you next Pint! I'm jealous! But in a good way! ;D