Putting Out Fires

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Here Comes the Sun?

England showed its true colors today with a little rain. I knew the sunshiny weather was too good to be true. Not that it stopped me! More fun accounts of touring in England? Yes please!

But first...

"Hi. My name is Amanda. I'm a pictureholic"
"Hi Amanda!"

I'm warning you, this post is going to be as picture-heavy as the last. In the last 2 years or so I've started looking at the world through a lens, and when I'm all on my own, its just that much easier to use the camera as a crutch. My traveling companion. So prepare yourself (although I did take like 100 pictures today, so consider yourself lucky!).

I fit so much in today! I started off with breakfast. Wait! Before you click to another website, I swear I'm not giving you that kind of detail. Just wanted to show you my breakfast companions:

This momma duck and her babies thought my scrambles eggs and 'brown' bread looked better than their own breakfast.

Off we go! First stop Lullworth Castle. I chose this first because I really had to pee when I started getting close, and this was the first available bathroom. Turns out I got lucky two days in a row! Because of the bank holiday Lullworth Castle was having a special event today. They had this massive scale Civil War reinactment going on! 100s of people in period costumes who had set up an actual camp w/ fires for cooking, kids running around with wooden swords, women painting, people playing old instruments, presentation of the troops to the master of the castle, cannons firing... I swear it was like I stepped back in time. Add to it the accents and I swear it was like I woke up today and was back in time. Surreal. Here's some pictures for you:

Here is one of my favorite pictures. I swear it was like I was strolling through the English countryside in 1650 and happend across 2 men and their dog.

Lullworth Castle also had an Animal Park where kids could play with sheep, birds, pigs etc.

After eating in a pub nearby that was full of guys in their costumes taking a break (again, descriptives about a meal, sorry. But it was like eating in a pub full of drunk men in the 1600s! so weird...) I headed to the coast. Last time I was here I kept meaning to go see Durdle Door, a huge rock structure of softer rock worn away by time until it had a little door through it.

It was so pleasant out (read: not raining anymore) that I plopped myself at the top of a cliff with my book and enjoyed the sounds of the waves and the crazy Brits swimming in the freezing ass cold water.

Oh, but we're not done there! Its easier to fill every second of the day so I'm not hanging out in my hotel drinking beer alone (who are we kidding?! that's totally what I'm doing RIGHT NOW). I drove East to visit Corfe Castle. I knew this was actually the ruins of the castle, but I wasn't prepared for how gorgeous and magical it would be. Corfe Castle is 1000 years old. Can you imagine? "Old" houses in Phoenix were built in 1970. America's got nothing on England's history. Corfe Castle survived many attacks over hundreds of years, was lived in by kings, and has in its history poisonings, stabbings, and other scandelous things. In 1646 the Parliamentarians blew it up. I don't know who they are, but that's insane. What a waste. What's left is magical. Again I felt thrown back in time. I was a little girl running through ruins of a castle. With a camera. I wish these pictures were better. I wish they showed how magical it is...

Ok, I'll wrap it up. Its 10:40 here, and I'm 3 Boddingtons and a Pizza Hut pizza in. I'm off to Bath tomorrow. Its one of my favorite places in the world. Too bad its supposed to be pouring... Cheers!

1 Comments:

melati said...: I've been to all these places! I love the little town right by Corf castle. And did you go to Salsbury Cathedral? Thanks for posting pics, they are wonderful. Bath is lovely. You will love it.

And I hope you have time to have a curry and a pint or maybe some meat pie. Pizza Hut. You are so bad.; 12:11 PM

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