We left beautiful Bath at 7:45 this morning. I didn’t make it to soak in the spa last night. I was too tired and just stayed in my room.
We headed to Liverpool with a stop at Stratford-upon-Avon. We drove for about two hours and made a quick potty stop and then drove about one more hour until we got to Stratford-upon-Avon.
The countryside today was rolling hills and farm land. Lots of sheep and cattle with a few pig farms here and there. They have gotten more than their share of rain so everything is lush and green. Hard to believe it is the middle of September here. It looks like spring back home.
Stratford-upon-Avon was another quaint town with lots of tourist shops. They sure like to sell sweets here as there was a sweet shop or two or three or four in every block. Our guide took us on a short walking tour around city square and then we had 1 1/2 hour to explore.
I choose to go to the church where Shakespeare is buried. I love going into the old churches. The energy is always palpable to me. Just imagine how many baptisms, weddings and funerals have been held over the hundreds of years the churches have been in existence.
After I walked the 10 minute walk to the church, I toured it. I found a little chapel where they invite you to sit for a bit. I took advantage and sat in the beautiful energy of the church. Afterwards I walked back to where we were to meet the bus which was by the Shakespeare Theatre. I found a little cafe in it and purchase lunch and then sat and enjoyed the sites by the river.
We drove into Liverpool this afternoon. A different guide got on the bus and took us to some of the more well known Beatles spots. We saw Candy Lane and Strawberry Fields. He then took us to a pub called Cavern where the Beatles performed almost 300 times. It has live music everyday. You had to walk down about four flights of stairs to get to the music. It smelled like an old British pub – urine, skunk (as our guide calls weed) and dirty bodies. There was a guy playing and singing old Beatle tunes. He wasn’t too bad. We only stayed about 15 minutes as we needed to get to the hotel to check in.
Our guide checked us all in and I have been in my room for about an hour. They just delivered my bag to my room. I should have grabbed it when I came out of the bus. I only travel with a carry-on and it would have been easy to manage.
We are having a group dinner at 7:00 tonight. The room is similar to the one last night but not as clean or as modern. The room was freezing cold when I walked in but I managed to figure out how to turn the A/C down so it will warm up a bit. After being so hot at night in London, I appreciate the cold.
We had light sprinkles and a bit of a drizzling rain most of the day. We never did get too wet when we were out and about though. We were told Liverpool had heavy rain this morning but it had slowed way down by the time we got here. We need rain so badly at home, I can’t complain about rain.
Tomorrow we leave at 7:45 for Edinburgh, Scotland. We make a stop at a farmhouse sometime during the day. Not sure if that is for lunch or if we will stop to grab something somewhere else. We won’t arrive to our hotel tomorrow until 6:30 p,m, so it will be a long day of travel.
We get to spend two nights at the hotel in Edinburgh which will be nice. I need to send some laundry out and that will give me time to get it back before we leave. We won’t get to see much of Scotland other than Edinburgh. Thursday we have a guided city tour and then a castle visit in the morning but will have the afternoon and evening on our own. Friday we go to Leeds and then Saturday back to London. Sunday we fly to Ireland. I will spend the whole next week in Ireland and we will drive around and see different places in Ireland. I fly home from Dublin on Tuesday, September 26.
I remembered today that I am not a good tourist. I am an experiential learner and traveler. I have enjoyed the things that I can have a sensory experience with better than just walking past items or places. I am not big on history and while I appreciate the value of it, I still prefer a hands on experience instead. Walking the Camino and taking Ayahuasca are more the type of vacations I prefer.
I’m grateful I came and have been able to see the things I am seeing. Sites always seem so different then what you see on TV and read about in books.
I sent the insurance adjuster an email today asking why I haven’t heard anything about the direct deposit he was to have set up for me. He told me that would happen Monday. It will all get sorted out eventually but I don’t like when someone says one thing and something else happens.
Still adjusting to the six hour time difference. I’m sure by the end of the trip I will be good to go and then I get to go back through it again. It is hard to wrap my head around the fact that those in in US are getting up about the time we are having lunch. I have noticed how habitual I have become with my emails. I expect them to be able to read at a certain time and with the time change, that doesn’t happen on my expected schedule. I am a habitual person.
Grateful for the beautiful scenery today, grateful for the churches that have survived the ages, and grateful for safe travels so far on this trip.