Chapter 3

Stonehenge, Salisbury

So, here I am writing once again...

We spent 2 days in Bath, and then our tour guide Steve collected us from our hotel, for our final tour in the UK.  We went to his favorite spot in the world (I believe.)  Steve gave us an exceptional tour of Stonehenge, and all the burial mounds surrounding the area.  It is incredible, but some of the stones were actually obtained from Wales!  It is assumed that these huge boulders were log rolled, because it all happened before the invention of the wheel.  Mike thinks these people had better things to worry about...like food, so he has his own theory.

Visiting this site was spectacular.  I could not believe we were actually at Stonehenge.  It was surreal.  I'll let the stones speak for themselves.

The stone monument is in Salisbury.  This is an extremely old town, and my is it gorgeous.  They have a seminary there and our tour guide Steve is considering enrolling to become a priest.

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Views of Salisbury

The stones on this church absolutely glistened..incredible.
Below is the wall (gate to the old part of the city.

I find it incredible that these old buildings are still in use.

 This gated dwelling is located within the original city gate.

Steve and Michael chatting.

Chapter 2

Cardiff, Wales & Bath

Hi again.  It's now 1 Oct, and we are almost finished with our trip.  We left the cruise ship yesterday here in Venice, and spent 2 days here.

I have to back track though, there is so much I haven't mentioned, and so much I don't want to forget.

After we finished touring Cornwall, a new guide named Nick, picked us up from our hotel to drive us to Bath.  I had mentioned that I wanted to see Cardiff, just because it was in Wales, and it wasn't far from our destination.  So on we went to Wales!!!  

Nick, is a driver for the touring company.  He didn't really give us a tour, but that was fine, he told us about his multiple trips to the US and Canada, we discussed Brexit, and generally had a great time with him.  We parked near Cardiff Bay, and walked around a bit.

This building is a Music and Arts center, and relatively new.  They have concerts, movies, and live theater.  Everyone was very hospitable.

This is a view of the Bay.  It was a bit windy and chilly that day.  There is a University in the area, and surprisingly, the population was pretty diverse.  While driving through the streets, I had the impression that that section at least is very blue collar.  Well, goal achieved.  We went to Wales!

Next stop Bath. 

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I am a huge Jane Austen fan, so I couldn't wait to see Bath.  I was taken aback by the architecture.  The buildings are composed of stone from the area, and built in the Georgian style.  They date back several centuries.  We American's have a young country, but some churches in Europe date back to 540 AD.  The hotel we stayed at was the Loch Fyne, and it was in a great location, where we could walk everywhere.  

There is wonderful shopping, but a bit pricey. Perhaps, the greatest tourist attraction is the Circus and Crescent Circle.  These buildings are homes that appear identical on the outside, but quite different on the interior and size (dependent on one's income.) Bath was a place people went to for the spas.  Jane Austen lived here with her family for a few years, and it serves as the site for two of her novels, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey.  There is also a Jane Austen Center here and boy did I have fun in that shop!

Here are some pictures of the Georgian Architecture.  This is the Circle and Crescent.  Truly beautiful.

Curiosity killed us.  We had to dine at the Slug and Lettuce.  They had a nice menu, and it is surprisingly large.  The food was great, and so was the atmosphere.  It was directly across from our hotel.

This was part of our complimentary breakfast.  I braved it and ate a piece (a small one) of haggis.  I also had a bite of black pudding.  The brown patty (11 o'clock) is the haggis, and next at 12 o'clock is the pudding.  the haggis tasted like turkey stuffing, but the pudding tasted like yuck. I couldn't get over the pudding contained congealed pigs blood.  Our waitress talked me into trying them.

This is the Jane Austen museum.  My understanding is she did not live at this residence.

We had tea nearby, and I loved the tea strainers!  Of course I bought one....at the Jane Austen shop. :)

This is the view from our hotel room.  Nice.

Chapter 1 Cornwall, UK

It's that time of year again...vacation!!!
Michael and I once again started in the UK.  We spent 6 days in Cornwall.  I chose this location because of 2 reasons.
One is that it is the filming location of BBC's Doc Martin and Poldark. The other is for genealogical purposes. The scenery was breathtaking.

On my mother's paternal side, I am descended from the Quick family of Marlboro County, SC.  This particular line of Quicks, originated in Cornwall, UK. Specifically, St. Ives, and Towednack.  The Quick family is still present in Cornwall, and have a large presence in South and North Carolina as well.

In the early 1700's, the first Quick (of our line) arrived in the colonies, and lived in Bertie County, NC.  His name was Thomas. He had a son and grandson of the same name. This family participated in the American Revolution, and eventually migrated to South Carolina to Marlboro County. The Quicks soon intermarried with multiracial families, namely Skipper, Driggers, Grooms, Chavis, and Locklear, to name a few.  A very interesting history.

We hired a wonderful historian native to this area, that provided us with 3 days of enlightenment.  We began our touring in Port Isaac, (Port Wenn,) where Doc Martin is filmed  I really wanted the feeling of this place.  Cornwall is comprised of many tiny hamlets, with breathtaking cliffs and beaches.  Apparently fishing, tin, and clay mining supported the population of Cornwall at different points in history.
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Our lodging was spectacular. We stayed at the Alverton Hotel in the Capitol of Cornwall, of Truro.  By American standards, the Alverton is a castle, and was built in 1830 as a residence.  What a beautiful place to stay.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.

The first afternoon of our arrival, there was a marvelous Chamber Group performing on the patio.  Little did we know, a wedding party was soon due....P.S. We met the family, friends, the mother, and finally the bride.