Monday, May 17, 2010
Ghent, Belgium
There is quite a rivalry between Ghent and Bruges, but in my opinion Bruges wins the "charming" prize hands down. Ghent is known for treaties, its Flemish architecture and a cute little castle on a canal in the center of town. Worth an afternoon's visit, but for me, not much more. There's a nice plaza in town where you can have a coffee and admire the buildings (and the construction...).
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Windsor Castle
Who got stopped by police at Windsor Castle for having contraband (pepper spray, illegal in the UK... who knew?)? Who had to wait nearly an hour and then who got to be interrogated by police? Who lost her group of students and teacher in Windsor Castle? Whose name is sure to be on some list somewhere? Yup.
Despite its rough start, our visit of Windsor Castle was lovely. Great and famous paintings, an impressive collection of weaponry and the most amazing dollhouse on the planet (Queen Mary's Dollhouse, worth the visit just to see it) complete with electricity and silver dinner plates. See links below for photos. I didn't take any because you can't (well, aren't supposed to) take any photos of it.
When the queen is present at Windsor Castle, her flag (The Royal Standard) flies on the mast. When she leaves they put up the Union Jack. Queenie was home that day, and for some reason our students got it in their heads that they were going to meet her. They kept asking when we were finally going to meet the queen... the little darlings.
Wonder why it's called "The Long Walk?"
The last time I was here with Mary Patton we did the entire long walk. Guess what? We were tired by the end, haha.
To see Queen Mary's Dollhouse, click the following links:
http://www.victorianstation.com/interior.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Mary%27s_doll_house_at_Windsor_Castle.jpg
http://www.nsrider.com/gallerymain/England/dollhouse.jpg
Despite its rough start, our visit of Windsor Castle was lovely. Great and famous paintings, an impressive collection of weaponry and the most amazing dollhouse on the planet (Queen Mary's Dollhouse, worth the visit just to see it) complete with electricity and silver dinner plates. See links below for photos. I didn't take any because you can't (well, aren't supposed to) take any photos of it.
When the queen is present at Windsor Castle, her flag (The Royal Standard) flies on the mast. When she leaves they put up the Union Jack. Queenie was home that day, and for some reason our students got it in their heads that they were going to meet her. They kept asking when we were finally going to meet the queen... the little darlings.
Wonder why it's called "The Long Walk?"
The last time I was here with Mary Patton we did the entire long walk. Guess what? We were tired by the end, haha.
To see Queen Mary's Dollhouse, click the following links:
http://www.victorianstation.com/interior.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Mary%27s_doll_house_at_Windsor_Castle.jpg
http://www.nsrider.com/gallerymain/England/dollhouse.jpg
STONEHENGE!
Still standing after all these years...
I was really excited to finally visit Stonehenge, though for me even though it was impressive it was a little disappointing-- it's right on the side of the motorway which detracts a little from its mystical nature. And you can't get too close because other naughty tourists have messed up the site by carving out "souvenirs." There are four concentric circles of stones, two of the large dolmens and two circles of smaller stones. What's really impressive about this site, thought to be an altar to a sun god as well as a calendar, is the fact that the large stones come from about 25 miles away in Marlborough Downs and the smaller blue-ish stones from Wales, nearly 240 miles away!
The creators of this marvel hauled the rocks for miles, dug holes and placed (haha, delicately placed) the stones in to keep them steady. For the triliths (2 vertical, 1 horizontally on top), they used stones to carve bumps and wells to make the stones fit together and not to move.
The stone's arrangement is such that at the summer solstice the sun sets directly behind the opening of one of the triliths. Directly across from this about a hundred meters away is the "heel stone," (hence me pointing to my heel) and at the winter solstice the sun sets directly behind that, creating a long shadow.
No Clark Griswold around to knock down the stones...
I was really excited to finally visit Stonehenge, though for me even though it was impressive it was a little disappointing-- it's right on the side of the motorway which detracts a little from its mystical nature. And you can't get too close because other naughty tourists have messed up the site by carving out "souvenirs." There are four concentric circles of stones, two of the large dolmens and two circles of smaller stones. What's really impressive about this site, thought to be an altar to a sun god as well as a calendar, is the fact that the large stones come from about 25 miles away in Marlborough Downs and the smaller blue-ish stones from Wales, nearly 240 miles away!
The creators of this marvel hauled the rocks for miles, dug holes and placed (haha, delicately placed) the stones in to keep them steady. For the triliths (2 vertical, 1 horizontally on top), they used stones to carve bumps and wells to make the stones fit together and not to move.
The stone's arrangement is such that at the summer solstice the sun sets directly behind the opening of one of the triliths. Directly across from this about a hundred meters away is the "heel stone," (hence me pointing to my heel) and at the winter solstice the sun sets directly behind that, creating a long shadow.
No Clark Griswold around to knock down the stones...
Winchester and Arthur's Round Table
We had a great day in Winchester visiting the Great Hall and the Round Table, the West Gate Museum and the Winchester City Museum. Winchester is a good place to take kids for hands-on activities that gets them interested in the history of the place such as dressing up in costumes and doing brass rubbings.
West Gate Museum
Everybody got to dress up in costumes, including Miss Myers!
The West Gate was used as a prison for several centures then closed off. Here you see etchings by prisoners that have been perfectly preserved. This wall has not been cleaned or restored!
Ceiling in West Gate Museum
Winchester City Museum
Winchester Castle dates from William the Conquerer (1066-1077). The Great hall (late 1200s) and Round Table (also about 1270 but repainted in the early 1500s under orders of Henry VIII, hence the Tudor rose) were neat to see- 24 names for Arthur's 24 knights on a round table symbolizing equality. In the back of the Great Hall, which is was where the first court of justice in the UK was held, are all the names of the justices throughout the centures. Beautiful.
King Alfred
West Gate Museum
Everybody got to dress up in costumes, including Miss Myers!
The West Gate was used as a prison for several centures then closed off. Here you see etchings by prisoners that have been perfectly preserved. This wall has not been cleaned or restored!
Ceiling in West Gate Museum
Winchester City Museum
Winchester Castle dates from William the Conquerer (1066-1077). The Great hall (late 1200s) and Round Table (also about 1270 but repainted in the early 1500s under orders of Henry VIII, hence the Tudor rose) were neat to see- 24 names for Arthur's 24 knights on a round table symbolizing equality. In the back of the Great Hall, which is was where the first court of justice in the UK was held, are all the names of the justices throughout the centures. Beautiful.
King Alfred
Jane Austen Tour
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Pride and Prejudice, first sentence.
Great book. Jane Austen was from Bath and later in her relatively short life moved to and died in Winchester. We didn't stop to visit the Jane Austen Center with our 90 6th graders, but we walked by her house in Winchester and saw some "JA artifacts" in the Winchester City Museum.
Great book. Jane Austen was from Bath and later in her relatively short life moved to and died in Winchester. We didn't stop to visit the Jane Austen Center with our 90 6th graders, but we walked by her house in Winchester and saw some "JA artifacts" in the Winchester City Museum.
The Circus, Royal Crescent and Pulteney Bridge in Bath
Two impressive feats of architecture in Bath: The Circus and The Royal Crescent. Designed and built by John Wood the Younger, the Royal Crescent is now high-end apartments. The Royal Circus was the brainchild of Wood's father, John Wood the Elder (obviously). Both are excellent quality Georgian architecture from the mid-to-late 1700s.
Pulteney Bridge in Bath
Pulteney Bridge in Bath
Bath
The last time I was in Bath was 2003 with the Pattons. Originally Bath was a thermal springs used by the Romans when they invaded Bittania. They named the site aquae sulis after the Celtic goddess of water Sulis and built a bathing house around the spring. The naturally warm/hot water is the only hot mineral spring in the UK, and what's more it's naturally carbonated! The warm bubbly water lets off steam and looks like its boiling, but in fact it's not hot enough to boil. The original building had a roof and the baths were clear. The roof has since crumbled and the sunlight feeds the bacteria in the water and the green is the resulting algae.
Bath Abbey
There was a lovely series of illuminated manuscripts on display in the abbey, this is just one beautiful example:
Fish 'n' Chips for lunch!
Bath Abbey
There was a lovely series of illuminated manuscripts on display in the abbey, this is just one beautiful example:
Fish 'n' Chips for lunch!
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