TRAVEL: The Road Trip on the Royals

Being the weekend of the Royal Wedding between Kate & Willy we decided to take full advantage of its best offering to the people.  The free day off before the long weekend... well every day a free day off for me at the moment technically which made it double-free.  Even better.

Wilson (Berlin, Koln and Amsterdam blogs) was the organiser and also invited some new friends, Inge, Marcus and his sister Candice, all recently moved from NZ as well.  This was great as it doubled my tally of friends made in London, instantly.  After introductions we got into our nicely sized Vauxhall (beautiful car compared to the Houdini Beamer (see Edinburgh blog)), and were underway.

Road crew from left to right (Marcus, me, Inge, Wilson & Candice)

The first stop was...

Stonehenge
Always been a fan of rocks, so was happy that our first destination was Stonehenge, probably the most famous rocks in existence.  Photos you would've seen don't do it any justice at all.  In real life, they are massive.  Most impressive when seeing them for the first time from afar over the the final rise towards.  The reason why photos fail, is that the borders that guard them, don't allow people to get close and in turn, act as a frame of reference to their size.  Fact, qualified by 4 years studying Screen Media (paying itself off bit by bit).  Still don't understand how they got those top slabs on.  They reckon guys hoicked them up ramps (ridiculous).  I reckon tractor beam.

Yohei and the stones

Bath
The city of Bath was next, appropriately named as the place is famous for its Roman Baths.  Can't quite remember how long the Romans were there for, but they influenced the place enough as the entire town is dominated with their architecture.  The absence of the usual cottages and taverns almost leads you to believe you're out of the UK... but then you see a Greggs and mmm.... pastie...

The Museum constructed around the Baths was well done.  Quite remarkable how well intact they were.  Romans knew how to make things last (Colosseums, Pillars, Sandals).  A cool thing was the little vendettas the Romans used to scribe onto metal sheets and toss into the Baths in hope for God-assisted vengeance.  Things like "Someone stole my towel, make him die"... and that's not an exaggeration,... unless the translators themselves were exaggerating.  Seemed right for the time.

Brother and Sister by the Bath

Being in Bath we decided it right to try one, so we went into the fancy and pricey (£25 entry) Thermae Bath Spa complex.  Was okay.  There were heated pools at the bottom and top levels, and a series of scented steam rooms (the mint one was weird) in the middle.  Where we really got our monies worth, was with the 2 Asian girls who were expressing their affection for one another rather intimately in the rooftop pool.  Wilson, demonstrating great powers of indiscretion, spent most of the time (96%) floating about 2 meters away from the girls, mouth gaped & eyes frozen.  Not that he was the only one, by any stretch.  In my own poor form for which I am ashamed, I didn't notice them for a good 20 minutes.  Time lost forever.

Newport
Our lodgings for this trip were at various Travelodges in the South West of the country, and the deals were pretty good.  There were 5 of us which equated to about £15 per person, split between 2 rooms.  The only issue was that in keeping the family together (Marcus, Inge & Candice), Wilson and I had to share rooms for the 3 nights.  The first night in Newport, the pleasure was compounded by the fact that our room was a double.  I discovered that night that nothing pulls you out of a sleep quicker than waking up centimeters away from another man's face in a semi-conscious state.

Cardiff
On our way to Cardiff the next day we stopped at Caerphilly Castle.  It was £4 entry but we got in for free as there was no one at the gate to take our money.  Ended up being the best value for money deal in Wales.  Reason being, was because there were no guards or workers anywhere, so you pretty much got to run around and play knights and princesses (I was a knight) as much as you wanted.  Where Edinburgh Castle was more like an exhibition of a castle, this was like you had the castle to yourself.  It was wicked.  If only I had brought my sword.

Marcus being funny in front of Caerphilly Castle

In Cardiff we were there mainly to see the Millennium Stadium for Wilson's sake because of its retractable roof.  He's an Engineer so he's into that sort of thing.  Would've been cool to see it in action, but there was nothing going on.  Didn't seem to be much going on in Cardiff full stop so our tracks were made to Birmingham.

Birmingham
Birmingham is a big familiar sort of city, similar to that of something in NZ or Australia.  Its CBD is open, unlike London which is intense & congested.  We got there late again so took a walk for dinner.  From our window seated table at the Chinese place, we got an interesting view of the passersby in the pub/bar district we were in.  A bit like how I imagine Essex might be at night with the garb being displayed, mostly by the girls on scene.  It was really cold too so not sure how they were managing it.  I think girls just don't feel the severity of conditions as much, a bit like the Woolly Mammoths.  Wilson and  I got our own beds this night which was much a relief.  Also discovered a new game through the others being that of Monopoly Cards (an actual game) and was incredibly addictive.  Much better than the real game as the average match lasts about 20mins, so you can play over and over again.  Highly recommended.  Wilson and I got bossed as we hadn't played it before... actually I think Wilson had, but he was just rubbish.  Girls are more predatory (like feral dogs) so naturally dominated the game.  

Oxford
Immediately felt stupid as soon as I stepped out of the car into this place.  No location has ever had that effect on me before, but was something Oxford achieved.  The whole town itself is setup for prodigals only, and with its history, you really feel it.  The only types that seemed to be living there were badly dressed students.  By quick observation I found that the worse dressed the individual, the more genius the individual.  Was quite thrilled to walk past the Oxford Magdalene College (winners of University Challenge).  This is my favourite show here where the top student minds from various Universities face off in a battle of raw intellect.  You get great characters like Chan, Clemo and Donnelly.  Brilliant.  They also filmed Inspector Morse and Harry Potter here, but we didn't get to do the tours as it was too late.

Wilson doing his best to bring down the  IQ of Oxford

We were at the Travelodge again that night, just outside of Oxford.  Room issues once more, unfortunately came to the fore.  The twin room booked, was actually a double.  Having endured it once, Wilson and I decided enough was enough and requested a room change, which we received.  The only problem was, as soon as we got into this new room, we noticed a particular aroma,.. aroma being a euphemism for chronic stench.  It was horrible.  It was like someone had laid a giant turd on the carpet and danced it in.  We tried to sit it out for a few minutes to see if it would dissipate, but it seemed to rather pick up strength in our presence.  The decision was made and we got our old room back, but I put myself on the sofa.  I would've slept on nails.  We also played Monopoly Cards again where Wilson and I did much better, Wilson especially having studied after the previous evenings drubbing.

Stratford            
Proudly proclaimed as the birthplace of Shakespeare, Stratford is a busy wealthy little town.  Was a beautiful day so the crowds were in.  There was a Shakespeare Museum but we decided to give it a miss and enjoy the rays.  There were a few stalls and street-performers to see, adding to the buzz.  Also found a good pub where they served Kirin on tap.

Best mime ever... this guy was awesome!

Woodstock
Came here for Blenheim Palace which was supposed to be great, but again was a bit costly so settled for a Tea Room with Scones, Jam and Cream.  Was my first Tea Room experience in England and it was jolly good.  Felt proper English sitting there, cup and saucer in hand.  The ding we heard waiting for our cakes lead us to believe they were probably microwaved, but the homemade jam made up for it.

Inge sharing in privileged conversation with the boys

And that was it.  Nearly a thousand km's in 4 days and so much seen.  We also drove through a national park in Wales and saw some old Dams (Wilson = Engineer).  Think I've technically seen more cities & towns in the UK than I have in NZ and pretty proud of it.