Seals

Today, our last day in Norwich, England, we spent packing, and in the morning we rented a car and went to see seals.  It was about an hour drive to get there.  I also found out that seals are actually related to dogs(hence, seal pups, and seals barking).  On the beach are around four or five hundred seals.  By Christmas time there will be over a thousand!

  Fun, but a lot chilly!

Onboard was an adorable spaniel.

If we look cold it is because we were!

 Whenever a male seal would come near a mother seal's pup, the mother would scare off the male.

 Quite a few of the seals were newborns.

It was a cold, but fun trip, and a good end to our stay in Norwich.

Final bits from England

Only a few days left here in Norwich and then to London and heading back to Ames.  We are looking forward to heading home, and as with the last trips, once we start getting ready to go home we are just ready to be home! 

 

Touring in Bath, but really this is what we've looked like everywhere, with audioguides stuck to our ears.

 

We've enjoyed the words the English use here that we either don't use in the US, or just don't have!  They use "brilliant" and "dodgy" and both are fun.  I liked the ad for granola bars that read "all natural, nothing dodgy."  "Whilst" instead of "while" feels like they are speaking out of a King James Bible.  And we heard someone use "jiggery pokery" and really want to incorporate it into our own conversation but can't quite work out how to use it!  The speed bumps that are coming up get their own signs that read "Humps next 500 feet."  And today a man used "krikey", as in "Krikey, that was a bad accident.  Let's get you sorted."  Did I mention "sorted?"  Another favorite.  And people really do say "Cheerio" here!

When we went to Bath we heard all sorts of stories about how phrases got their start.  We saw a jail cell for drunks that didn't allow any light in and so when drunks were thrown in there and woke in the morning they thought they had gone blind - so "blind drunk."  Windows were taxed so people accused the government of "daylight robbery."  And so on...

Moving on from language, I suppose I could go to the food but then I would do nothing but complain.  But I do have to mention that there is an item on a menu that we would consider something to hide, not brag about, "mushy peas."  And evidently this is something people like since there is a sign for a stand called "The Mushy Pea."  And they are not being sarcastic!  Everything that I've heard said about English food, I would say is true.  They really do have sauce called "brown sauce."  I think that says it all.

The weather is not great but no real surprise.  And Ames will be colder!  But we will be able to wash our clothes in under three hours and have a dryer so that is something!  Actually, having our own washer in the apartment is great so I really can't complain about the lack of dryer.  We have a drying rack and it goes nicely with the living room decor.

Tomorrow we are going to Marston Quay (pronounced Key, which maybe you knew but I did not) and on a boat trip to an area of the beach where seal pups are born.  There are over 500 pups there right now so it should be fun.  And cold.  And nerve wracking getting there in the car driving on the wrong side of the road in a car with the stick shift to the left!  Hopefully we won't have any excitement!

I'll try and get a few pictures of that posted before we leave, otherwise the last write up will be from the USA! 

 Yep.  Even in Norwich.  

Roman Baths

On our last day in Bath we visited the Roman Baths.  The Baths were 7 meters underground due to the fact that the ground level increased as a factor of time.  There was a large central bath called the Kings Bath, sadly it was unsanitary so we were not allowed to touch it.  There were a number of side baths one of which was called the Tepidarium which oddly enough was the hottest room in the whole complex.  Next to the Tepidarium was the cold pool where you went into to cool off.  The water in the baths was not that clean according to most texts.  At the end of the baths there was a water from the springs that you could drink, it was not bad but I think I prefer regular water.

 The King's Bath

The Tepidian

 Those tiles were located underneath the floor so that hot air from the furnace could flow under the floor.

Mad Max bus tour in Bath

Our first stop on the Mad Max bus tour was Stonehenge, which was really cool, but smaller than I thought it would be.

 There's a lot of chalk in the hills, and hundreds of years ago a horse was carved out.

 The second stop was Averbury, which is like a spread out version of Stonehenge, and measures a mile in circumference.  Underneath the rocks is a ley line, a line of energy, so that if you hold two metal stick while standing next to a rock they cross over each other.

 Another huge stone there is called the Devil's Chair.

Across the road you can see the Silber Hill, which is actually a giant pile of white chalk with a flat top, covered in soil, built thousands of years ago.

 Then we stopped in a little town for lunch and saw Harry Potters parent's house.  Afterwards we checked out the rest of the town.

 After a delicious lunch we went to one last town, with a population of 80.

 Visited a small church.

 It was a typical old fashioned town, and neat to see.

It was a really cool tour.

Arrival in Norwich

We arrived in Norwich one week ago.  We unpacked and started to look around.  We knew previously that there was a library in Norwich and we went and had a look inside.  I found a lot of books, some Star Wars and other science fiction but Kegan struck out.  There is an outdoor market in Norwich which carries a variety of things from food to clothes.  We started homeschooling on Monday and afterwards I usually head down to the library for a couple of hours.

 Us in Norwich

The Cow Tower in Norwich (odd name)

First trip to London

Yesterday, Mama, Logan and I took a day trip to London.  We took a two hour train , and then a subway to Trafalger Square.  On the square are huge statues of lions, as well as a giant, neon blue chicken.  Apparently a German artist won some sort of prize, and got to put up a statue or something on Trafalger Square.  Why she chose a giant neon blue chicken is anybodies guess.


On Trafalger Square is the National Gallery, but no pictures were allowed.  Afterward we had lunch, and went to the Tower of London, where we went on a walking tour (led by a guy in a funny costume), saw the bloody tower, and guards whith huge fluffy hats.  At the tower eight ravens are kept, because there is a myth that says  if a raven is not always kept there, than the monarchy will fall apart, and now it is actually a law!
 



Then we saw the crown jewels, which were quite impressive.
Afterward we went to the Museum of the City of London, which was quite cool, but unfortunately it closed before we had a chance to look at everything, so we'll go back later.
It was a long day, but fun.

Random leftovers about Greece

We are now in Norwich, England and as I look out at rainy skies with 45 degree temperatures I am remembering Greece more fondly than is probably realistic!  We spent 2 and 1/2 days in Athens seeing the famous sights and museums (lots of large structures and statues).  Logan described the Acropolis but we also saw the Museum of the Acropolis where they have the friezes that no one had destroyed or, to quote the museum video "those that Lord Elgin violently removed."  Major campaign to get those back from the British!  Lots of years of temples at the Acropolis and surrounding area meant lots of leftover pottery that had held offerings.  It was interesting.  We also saw the National Archaeological Museum and the Byzantine Museum (everyone was museumed out when we left Athens).  Athens is a crowded, noisy and somewhat smoggy city that is fascinating and beautiful. 

 

So when Reuben and Kim tried for coffee in Athens this is the size they got!  Needless to say, the next morning we had to hit Starbucks!

The state religion is Greek Orthodox and there was a whole street with stores that sold all the stuff you might need to stock a church or dress like a priest or have cool religious stuff.

 

The athletic stadium in Athens which was built and used by the Greeks for original "olympic" games, had marble seats put in by the Romans and used, then refurbished for the first modern Olympics in 1894, and refurbished again and used (for archery and the end of the marathon) for the 2004 Olympics.  

 

 If you zoom in on this picture you can see that they were tired of answering questions about the stadium and just put every piece of data on this info board!

 

 The guard outside parliament in Athens at the tomb of the unknown soldier.  This is a formal, elite guard that does a changing of the guard which we watched.  It was overseen and inspected by a guy in regular army clothes.  But the clothes worn by this formal guard included a skirt with 400 pleats and pom poms on the shoes.  Logan said this did not seem like an elite formal unit but rather where one would be sent for punishment!

Visiting the island of Rhodos was more in the nature of a vacation.  Our all inclusive hotel made everything easy.  All inclusive meant three meals, a snack bar that was open from 10 - 6, three bars that were open from 10 am - 12 midnight which served all types of beverages, organized "sport" activities throughout the day, and evening entertainment (Greek dancing and music one night, two different "skit" nights, jazz one night, and a Mr. Lindos Princess contest which I am grateful neither Reuben nor Jonathon participated in).  When Kegan wrote that we had to dress formally all that meant was no bathing suits in the dining room, and for dinner no flip flops or shorts.  Not exactly formal...  Most of the guests at the resort were German, then quite a few British, and then some from France, Italy, Eastern European countries.  Earlier in the summer apparently there were a lot of Russians whom the locals were not pleased with because they don't spend much!  The entertainment was conducted with English as the "main" language but translated into German, Italian, French and Russian.  Very impressive language skills (and skill choosing things that didn't need much speaking!)!

 

Reuben at mini golf at the resort.  We were pitiful.

 

We "escaped the compound" for two days and took trips around Rhodos.  The town of Lindos was built for pedestrians and donkeys with all the "roads" being 10 feet wide winding between stucco houses built against each other and all having sun awnings so it was cool and shady everywhere.  Gorgeous setting that looked like a movie setting.  Of course most of the lower floors had shops for tourists or restaurants for tourists...  The tourist season was coming to a close (really, most things closed til April by the time we left!) while we were there.  That meant that George's Car Rental just had a phone number on the door.  When called, George's mother answered and passed onto George that we wanted cars!  When George came to rent the cars we found out that after tourist season he has a bit of a break then harvests and presses olives.  That is about the extent of the economy in Rhodos.  In Greece overall the unemployment is 28% but youth unemployment is almost 50%.  Lots of talk of leaving to go to the US to work because there is family there.  Many people we spoke with had lived in the US at some point already.  As we drove around we saw an enormous number of partially built structures that were started when the economy was good but abandoned when things went bad.  Lots of rebar sticking out of concrete.  The landscape overall was more arid than I had imagined it would be.  And lots of goats!  Along the side of the road there would be the yellow caution signs that indicated to watch for deer and some signs for cattle, neither of which exist on Rhodos but apparently there are no signs made that have pictures of goats on them!  Greece was an interesting place to visit, with good food (especially the restaurants we ate at when we "escaped the compound") a relaxed culture and friendly people, and stunning landscapes and art. 

The Lindos Acropolis and some of the town of Lindos (astonishing that we could get a picture here that did not include a cat!)

The Acropolis

We (us and the Gershenzons minus Jonathon who was away for work reasons) hiked up to the Acropolis (the word acropolis actually only means a presidio on top of a sheer cliff) on our first full day in Athens.  The hike up was about 20 minutes long but the grand view of the Proplyeae (a fancy word for the gate) was well worth it.  During the entire hike I listened to a Rick Steve's podcast describing the Acropolis in detail.  

Papa also listening to Rick Steve's guide on the monument of Agrippa (second time I am typing this because Mama did not believe I actually knew this and deleted it)  The monument was topped originally by the winner of the 178 B.C. chariot races later Marc Antony replaced it with a statue of himself and Cleopatra on top, however when the Roman general Agrippa conquered Athens he modestly replaced it with a statue of himself.

There used to be a 30 feet high statue of Athena Promachos (the protector form of Athena) but it was moved to Constantinople and was destroyed by a mob who thought it was beckoning to the crusaders (very odd considering it was a Christian city).   Behind the statue would have stood the temple of Athena Polias (patron deity of the city of Athens) but it was destroyed by the Persians in 480 B.C. 

Kegan in front of the Parthenon

(Just for the record Kegan took an astounding 48 pictures of cats, dogs and turtles while we were in Greece and a pathetic 2 of the Parthenon, both featuring herself I might add)

The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena Parthenos (the maiden).  I though the coolest thing about the building was the fact that they understood the illusion that when two parallel lines intersected two other parallel all four lines have the illusion of bending outward.  The architects of the Parthenon countered this by giving the columns a slight outward lean to counter the illusion. Inside the temple there was a 3 sided room that contained the statue of Athena Parthenos the statue was over 50 feet tall and gilded with an astounding 1,100 kilograms of gold.  The Parthenon was framed by friezes around the top however some of them were destroyed by the crusaders and the Muslims.  Later Lord Elgin carried off the some of the more impressive friezes and shipped them back to England where he sold them to the British Museum (the Greeks want them back but it is unlikely that the British government will ever return them).

 Us in front of the Erechtheion.  This was a temple to Athena Polias and Poseidon and in legend is where Poseidon and Athena gave their gifts to the city of Athens (for those who don't know the story the two Deities competed to become the patron of the city) and supposedly you can see where Poseidon created the spring.  On the other side is the Porch of the Caryatids which is a porch with a roof supported by 6 statues of women used as pillars.

 The temple of Athena Nike

(it is remarkably small compared to the other buildings on the Acropolis)

Me with fruit and ice cream, everyone else just with ice cream

View from the Parthenon

Rhodes

Before we came to England we took a holiday with the Gershenzons, a family that also lives on the Park Platz(Julia, Camille, Kim and Jonathon), to Greece for a little over a week.  First we spent a few days in Athens (which Logan’s writing about).  Then we flew to the island Rhodes.  There we stayed at a resort called the Lindos Princess.

In Greece cats and dogs are pretty much treated as wild animals, and one cat (we called him Christopher), would stop by our room every day.
 
For breakfast, lunch and dinner there was a huge buffet to eat at (much to Logan’s delight), and they required the guests to dress sort of formally, especially for dinner.
 
Also, every night their would be some sort of entertainment, either a play put on by the staff members, or music and dancing at one of the bars.
There were three outside pools at the resort, but they were all even colder than the ocean.  Luckily there was also a indoor pool that was heated.  Other than that we hung out at the beach, played ping pong, pool, vollyball, and there was also soccer for Papa, zumba, water arobics, basketball, tennis, mini golf, water polo, and many other activities.  Sometimes we also just hung out in our hotel room.
 
 
 


 
 
One of the days Julia, Papa, Jonathon and I went on something called the crazy couch, which is a big blown up couch thingy that gets pulled by a boat, and was really awesome!
 
Another day we rented kayaks and peddle boats and explored a little rocky point.

 
We also rented cars one day and went to visit a little Greek town, saw an old olive press, and then to another beach.
 
 
Another time we took a bus to see the Lindos Acropolis, and Julia and I rode donkeys up to it.
 
At one point our donkeys escaped the guide, started running, and mine attempted to pass Julia’s in a very, very small alley way.  Anyway, once at the top, the view was quite impressive.
 
 
 

Then we walked to the square, ate ice cream, and caught the bus back to the resort.

It turned out to be a truly awesome trip!