Our First Castle: Chepstow. It's in Wales. So now we have been to Wales too! Pretty much the same as England but don't tell them we said that.
 |
| Chepstow Castle |
 |
| Steep steps to the top of the tower |
 |
| Worth it |
 |
| Oldest Castle Doors in Europe |
 |
| Family Photo |
 |
| Tintern Abbey |
 |
| Near this place? Kinda vague but we'll take it. |
 |
| The river Wye |
 |
| We were hiking up a hill in search of the Devils Pulpit- where the Devil tempted the monks or something? And it was supposed to have a nice view of the abbey. But we never found it. |
 |
| Time to go. I shouldn't even post it that face is too sad. |
So cool! The green green hills shock me every time
ReplyDeleteYou all look so beautiful in England. Seriously, Liz, you are gorgeous. You're making me want to do my hair and go somewhere new and exciting!
ReplyDeleteThank you! The green-ness here reminds me a lot of Maryland, you just need some castles! There's gotta be some blow-up ones nearby, right?
DeleteThe River Wye. I've heard of it. And coincidentally, I was reading in BYU Magazine today about a partnership between BYU and Wordsworth Trust. Some quotes in the magazine from Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey".
ReplyDeleteAlso, regarding the Welsh. We got the definite sense that they harbor some resentment toward the English, still. We were told that the Welsh are poorer and not as successful at running businesses, so the English come in and buy them out. In the town we stayed in, some stores didn't speak English, only Welsh. Grandpa thought it was a thumb in the eye to the English speakers and refused to patronize them. He thought they could speak English, just chose to be proud instead. Funny. And we got the impression in Scotland that they Scots consider themselves a cut above the English and two cuts above the Welsh. Possibly they are generally more prosperous and think they fund the UK? I don't know what the Irish think about all this. Regional differences. Completely irrelevant tangent. Thanks, Liz, for letting us explore Britain from your pocket.
ReplyDeleteI have also heard that about some Welsh stores. We did not have that experience but I think it happens. There's a toll bridge into Wales, you have to pay to get in, but "you're free to leave."
DeleteSo cool. I love the family pic.
ReplyDeleteDon't you love "way out" instead of exit, "give way" instead of yield, "no overtaking" instead of no passing? Grandpa said that the place names intrigued him, i.e. "Aston-under-Lyme", which means Aston is south of Lyme, because when you look at a map with north at the top Aston is "under (south)" of Lyme.
ReplyDeleteLiz, I'll be interested in your take on Scotland. I really fell in love with it, and received some mild joshing from the other members of the party. I love their history of fighting for freedom. At Edinburgh Castle, there is a room with large books listing names of Scots killed in various battles, handwritten at the beginning, then typed when you get to Desert Storm, Iraq, Afghanistan. Makes it very personal. I would love to see the Military Tattoo held in August at the castle. Love the bagpipes. You will love Edinburgh (be sure and say it right). I think the Scottish blood must run very strong in me because I felt at home. Grandpa said a lot of the people look like Grandma Tippetts, who is our Scottish line.
ReplyDelete