Day 28 - October 18, 2016 - Home

We were up and out at 4 am, arriving at Heathrow about 4:45.  Breezed through immigration and left with three hours to kill.  Leisurely breakfast, one last tour of the shops to squander our notes and coins.  Pulled away from the gate early.  Excellent, roomy seats on American, but lousy entertainment.  Eight and half hours later, we are home, everything ahead of schedule.  

Ed and Norah's cousin, Georgia, kindly picked up Norah and whisked her back to Valparaiso, IN. Ed and I luxuriated in the love of our kitties, Sophia and Galina, and the mounds of cat hair that accumulated in 28 days with no vacuuming.  A wonderful trip and great to be home.

Day 27 – October 17, 2016 – Tower of London

One last notch for our London tourist belt – the Tower.  I’m primed for it after reading Rutherfurd’s London, but also amazed by it.  Today it lives in a background of skyscrapers, which only emphasize its squat, broad nature.  The walls were high in the 12th century.  Today, they look like Lego projects.

We anticipated crowds and chose a Monday to try for a lower attendance.  I don’t think it exists.  As usual during the week, crowds of schoolchildren everywhere – most of them way too young to really appreciate anything except the armored horses.  Our London Pass put us right at the front of the entrance and later, my cane got us right into the crown jewels.  We can’t complain about wasted time.

We arrived on the Tube – a short walk and you are within the precincts of the Tower, which sits directly on the north bank of the Thames, a bit east of St. Paul’s.  As blocky and Lego-ish as the Tower, but with fanciful turrets, the Tower Bridge spans from the side of the Tower across the Thames to the wharf district.  The Bridge was built in the late 1800's and is currently closed to vehicular traffic as they rebuild the roadway.
 
The Tower is really a fort that encloses many buildings.  We head to the White Tower upon arrival – the oldest complete building in the compound.  It dates from the 11th century and was the castle royal from the time of William the Conqueror.  We joined a short tour of the royal apartment and chapel.  What a sharp contrast to the size and magnificence of Westminster Palace, Buckingham Palace, Hampton Court.  Huge collection of arms and armor.  Other than that, the royal apartment is unfurnished and Spartan.  The only real changes made over the centuries is the addition of high windows added under the direction of Christopher Wren.

Our nice guide led us right down to the crown jewel display and to the front of the line.  You glide past these beauties on a moving walkway.  There is a step behind the walkway where you can stand and stare – because these are stare-worthy--more beautiful than the jewels of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.  If you watch the mini-series, The Crown, you will see all of them, plus lots of the royal every day tiaras and jewels, up close and personal.

Then we wandered around, visited the Bloody Tower, where out-of-favor folks were stashed for weeks or years.  The “graffiti” prisoners carved in the walls is interesting.  Overall, better than a prison cell, but likely cold, damp and dark.  Only one prisoner is said to have escaped – a cardinal who treated his guards to a feast with lots of wine and stashed himself into an empty barrel to be rolled out with the trash.  In the area where Anne Boleyn lost her head, there is a crystal pillow in a small enclosure – a crystal head would be more memorable.  
As we left the Tower enclosure, we climbed onto Tower Bridge to walk across, 300 stairs to the pedestrian overpass.  All manageable and fun to stand “over the Thames” on the glass floor with a marvelous view of London.

The wharf district on the south side has been renovated with upmarket stores, restaurants and offices.  Our last day in London, so we treated ourselves to an extravagant lunch at Butler’s Wharf Chophouse.  Delicious – the kidneys in Ed’s steak and kidney pie melted in your mouth. And the pie was prepared the authentic way, steamed, not baked.  

We made our way leisurely back to the apartment.  Norah returned later in the afternoon, festooned with shopping bags, as she paid her last homage to the London stores.  Then, we packed…

Beware the archer as you approach the Tower; walking alongside the old moat.

The Shard high rise in the background of the Tower Keep; approaching the White Tower.

The Chapel in the White Tower--still used for services; the location of Anne's demise.

Ravens abound at the Tower; graffiti in the Bloody Tower.

Tower Bridge; The Shard highrise on the north side of the Thames, 40 Fennchurch on the south; down the stairs inside of Tower Bridge.

Steamed steak and kidney pudding with oysters and a side of creamed spinach, celeriac soup, wild mushrooms on toast, smoked salmon and a pint.

Day 26 – October 16, 2016 – Ed to the Zoo, Norah and Ann to Westminster and Tate

Ed and I usually do the zoos together, but I’ve been to the London Zoo and it’s no prize.  So we split for the day, Ed to visit animals and other things, Norah and I for some Church of England splendor and the Tate Gallery.  Ed’s zoo comments follow mine.

We tried to attend High Communion last Sunday, only to learn of the marathon in central London and total lack of public transport.  This weekend was perfect.  We grabbed the bus and 15 minutes later were way too early for the 10:30 service.  They don’t open the doors until ten, so we strolled around the beautiful buildings and spent some time admiring the Houses of Parliament.  Westminster is just a lovely area of London.

We were close to the front of the line when they opened the Abbey, so were quickly ushered to the seating area inside of the Great North Door, where we took seats with a good view of the altar.  There are no pews, just chairs.  Some of the later arrivals sat in the Quire – next time we will know to just go and sit there.  What a magnificent gothic church.  Floor to ceiling measures just over 100 feet.  Windows are mostly clear glass and let wonderful light down to the floor.  We could not take photos inside, but I’ll include some ceiling photos from the web.  It was awesome.

Most beautiful was the service.  We arrived on the Feast of Dedication of the church in 1269 – 775 years ago.  So it was a super-high service with two “Presidents”, six canons, lots of other folks in robes and lace colors.   Best of all was the choir: 16 men and 20 boys.  Celestial.  God was pleased.  Service was in English, all singing, except hymns, in Latin.  The service is identical to the Catholic Mass, except the Kyrie was missing.

The sermon, by The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster, was about the Greatness of God.  Well worth listening to, and you may read it on line.  Best of all, you could clearly understand every spoken and sung word in this huge church.

We leisurely strolled down Millbank to the Tate Gallery, home of all British painting and sculpture.  Norah is a fan of the Pre-Raphaelites and I always find something to like in a good gallery.  The museum is arranged by era and you can progress from early to contemporary, or just go willy-nilly.  We did the later, and enjoyed every room we visited.  Tate also had the Tate Modern, and one visit twenty years ago will last me a life time.  For my taste, it was terribly edited – broken toilets as art, newspapers strewn on the floor as an “installation”.  Spare me. We did not return.

Had a nice lunch at the gallery.  Nothing special.  These gallery lunchrooms usually have three hot plates, a selection of salads and sandwiches and yummy desserts.  Reasonably priced for the convenience.  

Raining on the way home, and we had to switch busses at Trafalgar Square. But we were entertained by a celebration of Diwali, the Indian Festival of Light.  Even on a hugely crowded Sunday afternoon, the busses move along their dedicated lanes.  Home to enjoy Ed’s zoo stories, some of which he shares below – and to watch the voting results of Strictly Come Dancing.  
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I agree with Ann, the London Zoo wasn’t the greatest when we visited before, but that was 25 years ago, so I wanted to check it out. They have improved it considerably, so I’m glad I went.
A tube ride to Regents Park station, and still a good walk to the zoo. But it is such a nice walk through Regents Park. To top it off, my Oyster Card (the transit fare card) was too low, and didn’t let me through the exit gates. The one machine to re-charge the card was out of order. Fortunately I found a partly open exit gate and escaped. But I have a day ahead with a lot of walking, and I wondered if I would need to walk home afterward. Oh well.

I arrived about ½ hour before the otter feeding, so had time for a stroll through the aquarium. Some really nice aquatic displays but nothing especially noteworthy. These are Asian short-clawed otters, smaller than our native variety in the USA. But still, terminal cuteness. And voracious! They went after the fish feed like little tigers. Watched, took pictures, then on to other things. Watched the meerkats (more cuteness and frenzied activity). Next was the minimal exhibit of owls and the like. Very few and mostly in hiding. Then the open room with ring-tailed lemurs; a strange combination of cute and freaky.

Walked through the big free-flight aviary - almost all varieties of ibis.  Also a peafowl and a common crane. Then just as I was leaving, I noticed that one of the birds perched in a tree was a hawk of some sort. Incompatible you might think, but the ibis and others were about the same size as the hawk or larger, so wouldn’t interest it as prey. I assume that the hawk was there for pest control - sparrows, starlings and rats would be attracted by the food - but don’t know for certain.

Walked some more and saw various and sundry creatures. A sad pygmy hippo in a very small room. But a bit more space for some larger African mammals. Some giraffe and zebra; a sub-species named Chapman’s zebra. It has alternating wide and narrow stripes, more dark brown than black, a pretty animal. And then a great close-in view of an okapi. This is a close relative of the giraffe that lives in the deepest forests. Rare, and only discovered in the 1940’s. Now endangered of course, like everything else. The one thing I wanted to see were the African hunting dogs, a favorite animal of mine. Well I got a good close look, but they were all asleep. These are usually very active, but all I saw today was a “dog-pile” as they huddled together for a nap. The only activity in their enclosure was a couple of magpies stealing any un-eaten food.
Now for a look through the reptile house. Ann never likes this, so even when she’s along I am always on my own. A lot of interesting reptiles and a lot of good pictures. After that walked past a large free-flight aviary for raptors, and one pair of macaws, all separated of course. These would not co-exist peacefully as the birds in the ibis aviary did. Saw an African harrier, striated caracara, griffon vulture and the blue-throated macaws. There is a huge penguin pool with glass sides for over and under water views. Lots of penguins and all active.  

By then I was more than ready for some lunch; especially for a bit of sit-down Nothing special, fish and chips and diet soda. But the rest was welcome.

I always like to see the big cats, and the zoo had both lions and tigers. In this zoo there are rare sub-species of both, the Asian lion and the Sumatran tiger. But no luck for me today.  Nothing out of the ordinary visible in either exhibit.

My last stop was another large free-flight aviary containing various aquatic birds. Waders and ducks; some of the ducks distinctively patterned. Finally, enough was enough. It was time to head back to the apartment. I walked a good many miles already and wasn’t looking forward to more, but one way or another I still needed to make that long walk back through Regent’s Park. The nearest tube stop is at the south end of the park and the zoo is at the far north. And my transit pass was “empty”. I finally found a station with fare machines operating at Tottenhan Court Road and re-loaded my pass. But by then I was close to Alfred Place and “home” so I walked the rest of the way.

A long day for sure, but enjoyable. Finally at home, we traded stories about our respective days and vegged out.  Strictly Come Dancing – what’s that?

Facades of Westminster Abbey on a rainy Sunday

Victoria Tower and Houses of Parliament at Westminster

Entrance to the Tate - all British art, all the time.

Paintings by Albert Rutherston, Thomas Gotch and David Hockney

John Singer Sargent's Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose and the study for Mme Gautreau, the painting of which is in the Chicago Art Institute

Paintings by Arthur Hackler, Charles Furse and Gwen John

This painting/collage, "Film Star" by John Latham, fascinated me.  These are excerpts, not the full size.  From across the gallery, the view on the left looks so much like a plant we try to grown in AZ called lithops or living stones.  They are pictured in the center.  The far right is a close up of the piece, which is burned books.  Amazing.

Bronze of Athlete Wrestling with a Snake by Lord Leighton.  Note child staring in amazement!

African wild dogs, pigmy hippo, okapi, meerkats, ring tailed lemurs 

An assortment of noteworthy and photogenic birds.

Day 25 – October 15, 2016 – The Wallace Collection

I love sweets!  Imagine a Baked Alaska – and instead of just ice cream inside, you find nuts and fondant and candied ginger and all the goodies you love – well, that is the Wallace Collection. A feast for the senses.

We walked over – just about a mile due west, crossing Regent Street, Hardy Street, passing the Radiant Building, from which radiant heaters were sold.  These replaced coal in many fireplaces.  At The Cock and Lion (hardly an even match) Pub, we turned north and there was Hertford House (the London home of the Wallace family), home of the Wallace Collection.

The Wallace Collection is a national museum which displays the wonderful works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. Sir Richard’s widow, Lady Wallace, bequeathed it to the British nation in 1897.

The Wallace Collection presents its outstanding collections in a sumptuous but approachable manner which is an essential part of its charm.  Yes, you can practically stand on top of Franz Hals, “The Laughing Cavalier”.

The Wallace’s were omnivores.  They bought in bulk, at estate auction of the rich, famous and now penniless.  Their world renowned collections of arms and armor came not from thoughtful acquisition, but the purchase of entire collections assembled by others.  What we see today is only a smattering of their “goodies”, but it captivated us for hours.  Objet d’art we did not know existed – like wax miniatures from the Middle Ages; pieces of glass that should have been shattered centuries ago.  Mallorca ware, something I considered rather tacky, of such beauty that I searched the gift shop unsuccessfully for a reproduction.  The photos will give you a small sense of the awe we felt – and the restaurant was great!

After five hours with the Wallaces, we walked south to Oxford Street, so I could make a quick sox and underwear stop at Marks & Spencer’s.  My only shopping so far has been Tesco and Oxfam.  So even though Ed had to park in the Tea Shoppe for 45 minutes, I snagged just what I was seeking – five knit shirts on the 70% off rack.  Darn, sometimes I wish I enjoyed full-price retail as much as rag-picking for bargains.  As you can see from the photo, Oxford Street on Saturday afternoon is not for the faint of heart.  Home, glass of wine, and it’s Saturday night, so the big two hour “Strictly Come Dancing” show is on.  Joy!

The Radiant Building and The Cock and Lion sign.  The walk was full of interesting buildings.

Whoa, Nellie!  Knights and horses outfitted for battle and jousting.

Knight's jousting armor.  They could really see nothing.  Savage daggers.

Yes, it is Louis XIV.  We always thought Grandpa had a nice roll-top desk.

Miniatures in wax!  Fragile glassware!  How did they survive?

This guy, The Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals, just greets you as you wander through a gallery.  Look at the brush work in this lace cuff.  Ah, the Dutch painters of the Golden Age!

Then there is this Dutch painting by Van der Halst of the Avan Aras Family.  A dead rabbit in her hands, really? And is he looking intently at her or the rabbit?

Oxford Street Saturday afternoon.

Day 24 – October 14, 2016 – Ed visits the Natural History Museum

I’m taking a much needed day of rest – but Ed runs on Energizers.  This is his report.
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Today I’m off to the Natural History museum -- the perfect day for it. Ann doesn’t particularly like this sort of museum, and she is doing an R&R day, Norah is shopping (of course), so I am on my own.

An easy tube trip (they mostly are easy here) to the museum. I get off at the station for the V&A, Albert Hall, the Science Museum and my destination, the Natural History Museum. They’re all clustered near each other and the directions in the tube were clear, unravelling a maze of tunnels leading off in various directions. The walk through the tunnel was over a half mile.  No problems finding my way to the museum as I come up right by the entrance. Even underground here you often walk and walk to get to where you’re going.

The museum is in a great late 19th century building, itself a “museum piece”. It was crowded, but not nearly so much as my previous failed try on the weekend – my mistake.

They have a great diplodocus skeleton in the main entry, holding the place that Sue, the T. Rex, does at the field museum in Chicago. The museum and the exhibits have been completely modernized, but in a good way. Everything is accessible and visible. 

So my route.  First the dinosaur exhibits. Some great fossils from marine reptiles, best I’ve seen anywhere. Then other prehistoric beasts. The mammal and bird halls have a lot of interesting things.  No diorama’s as at the Field, but a nice collection and easy to view. There is a great exhibit on the Thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, a marsupial carnivore that only went extinct about 75 years ago. In the bird exhibit was sad. A big display case full of hummingbirds from late 19th and early 20th century expeditions. Must have been 150 different species, still fairly bright after over 100 years. But nothing like the living hummers we’ve seen in Central and South America.

Then, hungry and ready for a “sit-down”, I went for some lunch in the dining room. This is in another great, old hall. The seating and lunch are ordinary, but the hall itself, beautiful.

Next to the exhibit on Volcanism and plate tectonics. This was the best presentation I've ever seen of the geological evolution of our planet, which of course is continuing today. Great information ranging from the most basic to relatively technical. It was all excellent.

And finally the exhibit on human evolution. Another great one. I always check to see if Homo Floresiensis gets a fair shake. That’s my litmus test for this sort of exhibit. They passed.

Really too much fun stuff (for a Natural history buff) to take in on one visit, but I saw a lot, all very enjoyable. Finally – tired but happy – back to Alfred Place for some relaxation before dinner.
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Ed’s ladies are waiting for him on return.  Norah had a lovely day doing her thing at Harrods, Selfridges and other stores.  Her mastery of the busses is awesome.  

Natural History Museum

Main hall of Natural History Museum

Marine reptile fossils

Giant Sloth skeleton. These were sometimes "game" for early humans in the America's

Ed's foot - Dinosaur foot. That Dino must have a hard time finding shoes that fit.

Ornithischian eggs hatching

The poor hundred-year-old hummingbirds.

Thylacine or Tasmanian Wolf

Mineral showing several geological effects over millennia

How I spent the day - reading on my Kindle - heaven.

Day 23 – October 13, 2016 – Courtauld Gallery, Temple Church, St. Paul’s

We have our first battle casualty today, Norah is taking a day off to rest and relax.  Ed and I beaver on, but we are also wearing down.

First up is the Courtauld Gallery – it’s small and specializes in Impressionist and post-Impressionist art, not a keen interest for us.  But we do enjoy their medieval and renaissance pieces, and the lovely building that houses the collection, Somerset House.  

Somerset House is huge.  The Gallery occupies only a small section in the front.  Somerset House began as the home of the British Academy of Art, then went through various incarnations as government offices was recently remodeled, and is now totally devoted to art history and restoration as part of the University of London.  The square in the middle of the compound must be tempting to developers as it sits right next to Westminster.  Fortunately, the property is protected by the National Trust.

Next we walked back to the Inns of Court, to visit the Temple Church.  On the way we passed the Courts of Justice and dropped in for visit.  Anyone can enter a courtroom, unless it is marked as private.  Brexit hearings were going on, but we could only get into the overflow rooms, viewing a TV transmission.  We did visit an appeals hearing about a media distribution agreement.

Temple Church dates back to the 11th century and is lovely inside.  Like most of the churches we visit, it is active, but this is not a parish.  It is part of the Queen’s churches that report directly to her without management by a bishop.  The chapels within the Tower of London are also part of this group.

St. Paul’s Cathedral, just a short walk back in the direction of Westminster, is our next stop.  We do lunch there – nothing to write home about, so I won’t.  I discover that our London Card does not cover St. Paul’s and it will cost £36 for us to visit.  Normally, I would pay, but we are worn out, so walk around the outside, stick our heads into a side chapel and call it a visit. Home on the tube to rest because we have theater in the evening.

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” is as good a play as it was a book.  It’s difficult to make a book into a two plus hour play because of the need for radical simplification.  Usually a narrator is involved and in this case, they have Christopher’s teacher reading from his journal to drive the plot.  It all works.  The sets are magical.  The dramatic arc is plausible and the ending is sad and realistic.  The National Theatre is touring this play in the U.S. from now through the end of the year.  If it comes to your city, don’t miss it.  

Somerset House, home of the Courtault Gallery

Paintings from the top: Daddi's Crucifixion with Saints, Rubens's Moses with Serpent, Seurat's Woman with a Powder Puff, Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergere, Lucien Freud's Girl with Roses. Freud is a favorite artist of ours.  This is a very early work painted in 1942. He was active until he died in 2011.

Somerset House staircase.

Courts of Justice buildings at the London Bar.  We could not take photos inside.

Temple Church, from top: outside, inside and view of the rotunda from the balcony shows graves of the Knights Templar.

Fabulous staging at The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Norah enjoys her day off.

Day 22 – October 12, 2016 – Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

The idea of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre did not excite me.  After all, it’s a reconstruction.  But the experience of it blew me away -- one of our best days in the trip.  The original early 16th century theater district was on the south side of the Thames, the swampy side, populated with bars, brothels and warehouses.  But, it wasn’t long before even Queen Elizabeth 1st was barging across from Westminster to enjoy the plays.  And even though the original Globe burned down, it was quickly rebuilt and thrived until the Cromwell’s Puritan government shut down all theaters, Catholic churches, and brothels – or tried to shut them down.  Brits ousted the Puritans after ten years due to their inability to govern effectively, and British theatre has thrived ever since.

Today, Shakespeare’s Globe sits almost hidden amidst plane trees on the banks of the Thames. London has become a city of flagrant skyscrapers that thrust upwards from the horizontal plane of six to ten story buildings.  Where does this three story theatre figure when the eye hits The Gherkin, The Shard, 20 Fenchurch – even the first skyscraper, Centre Point, that is getting a massive overhaul?  This theatre fits beautifully because just as the buildings emerge, so do Shakespeare’s plays.  This is not a museum to the playwright.  It is a breeding ground for vibrant theatre using the DNA of the 16th century and producing experiences as striking and engaging as modern London.  

We purchased tickets for a play called Imogen.  Shakespeare did not write Imogen.  He wrote Cymbeline.  Imogen is Cymbeline’s daughter, just one of the characters.  Globe Artistic Director Emma Rice and Director Matthew Dunster created a whole new play.  As the review in The Observer said, “Go for what this says it is – a play called Imogen – and you will hear a taut, disturbing and intelligent melodrama, shot through with some of Shakespeare’s most neglected beauties: “melted from the smallness of a gnat to air”. You will see crystal-clear action and, pumping behind it, the emotion that fuels the drama, some of the best dancing on the London stage.”  If you went expecting the authentic Cymbeline, you would leave disappointed.  We were walking on air as we left.

Getting to and from Shakespeare’s Globe is a beautiful journey.  You leave the tube at St. Paul’s, continue half-way round the Cathedral to St. Paul’s Passageway.  That joins to Millennium Bridge (pedestrians only) that deposits you at the feet of the theatre.  We lunched at a Turkish restaurant, Tas Pide.  Good food, reminiscent of our Turkish holiday, but made me long for the pides of Anatolia.  A pide is a boat-shaped pizza.  We retraced our journey home, full of the marvels of London.

Through St. Paul's Passageway towards the Thames

Crossing Millennium Bridge - foot traffic only

Approaching Shakespeare's Globe

Norah and Imogen

Tas Pide - Yes, we ate it all.

Interior of the theatre set for a more traditional play.

Our view, sitting just behind the groundlings, who stand.  The "shower curtains" surrounding the stage were used to good effect, giving an industrial feel to the production.

Montage from Imogen:  Imogen and her husband, Posthumus; King Cymbeline and the Queen; war scene effectively used flying to give more action on the small stage; the ensemble. 

The seats are hard benches with no backs.  We rented cushions and seatbacks.  Comfortable.

Thames at low tide

Heading home - what a wonderful day!

Day 21 – October 11, 2016 – Museum of London, Inns of Court and Wyndham Theatre – a day of overkill

We arrive at the Museum of London as it opens at ten am.  Forewarned by the attendants, Ed and I head for the special exhibit on the London Fire of 1666 before the school children arrive. Norah delves into other parts of the Museum.  Good exhibit, especially the part that illustrates where the fire began and how far it spread. Then the children arrive – probably third or fourth graders – and they are set free to roam the floor because it’s a “discovery” exhibit.  Yikes, they invade like William the Conqueror and his Norman hordes.

The book London by Rutherfurd is the Museum of London brought to life.  He wrote it with their guidance.  It was so informative to see the Museum’s relics and interpretative displays. And, as you go through the Roman section, suddenly there is a large window and you are overlooking the original Roman city wall.  Ok, is was rebuilt from rubble, but the effect is stunning.  For any history buff, this museum is a must.  Like most museums organized on a chronological basis, the modern detritus lacks the editing of time, so to me is mostly junk.  It’s always interesting to see what survives hundreds of years.  Not likely to be videos of pop stars.

 
We lunched at a nice restaurant next to the museum, fortifying ourselves before our walking tour of the Inns of Court.  The Inns were a revelation in so many ways.  They are BIG, covering acres.  We walked through all four: Gray’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. You would never realize the complexity of their quarters viewing the small gateways off Chancery Row or Fleet Street. Every bit of the tour enlightened past reading and all future reading.  Though I suspected that Rowling based Harry Potter’s Hogwarts on the Inns, it is clear to see how cleverly she used the history of the Inns to create the four houses, represented by their emblems.  Now I need to find a contact in the US who has a barrister contact in the UK who can invite me to dine at one of the halls.  We did not have time to go through the ancient church at Middle Temple, originally founded by the Knights Templar, so we will return.

We are so exhausted, that we cab home, as we have theater tonight.  Quick dinner and Ed and I walk down Tottenham Court Road to the theatre. Norah is not feeling up to yet another outing, so she puts her feet up for a good rest. Tonight it’s Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart in Pinter’s “No Man’s Land.”  Excellent.  The play is not for everyone.  A bit of Samuel Becket shows through this 1974 revival.  There is malice, humor – just one set and four actors.  What a pleasure to watch fine actors deliver well-crafted lines, and we had great seats.

From the Museum of London, clockwise from upper left:  view of the Roman city wall, first bridge over the Thames, wooden pontoons that floated with the tide, polished mace-head (probably sacrificial) found in the Thames, elephants used by Romans conquering the Celts - like Pizarro and the Incas only bigger and scarier than horses. 

One of many amusing costumes in the Museum of London.  Yes, some lucky lady wore this.

Model of the St. Paul's Cathedral prior to the fire.  Note the early Romanesque small original churches on the left.  The new cathedral, which will you see in future photos, was designed by Christopher Wren and is huge and austere, not Gothic.

Staple Inn, built in mid 16th Century and still in use on Holborn Street.  Originally lodging for visiting wool merchants (staplers), it became an inn for law students.  Today, it's offices.

Entrance to Gray's Inn is portal in white facade on right.  You walk right by these if you don't know what they are.

Interior Gray's Inn - like all four Inns, hundreds of chambers housing barristers and students are built around interior courts.  The Inns provide all school and OJT for barristers in the UK.  They also house all the judges.

Dining hall, Middle Temple.  All Inns have chambers, dining halls, chapels and gardens.

Entrance to Gray's Inn Garden.  Public is allowed entry at midday.  Lovely urban oases.

Crypts under Lincoln's Inn Chapel.  A place to bury the deceased barristers and judges from the Inn, conduct private discussions with clients and colleagues, and for some impoverished women, a place to leave babies who were adopted by the Inn, educated and placed in sustainable positions.

Temple Church of the Inner and Middle Temple dates to the 12th century and the Knights Templar.  This was originally their UK HQ, until they were dissolved in the mid-14th century.

Temple courtyard, two Knights Templar riding one horse, their supposed practice of economy. Pity the horse.  The London Bar, rising from the middle of Fleet Street, represents the divide between the royals in Westminster and the protected wealthy merchants of the City of London.

Symbols for two of the Inns - griffin for Gray's Inn and Pegasus for Inner Temple.

Obviously signs for uninformed Americans.

Where you purchase your wigs and robes - gently used ones available at a shop round the corner.

Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart in Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land".  

Day 20 – October 10, 2016 – Hampton Court Palace

We planned to take the train to Hampton Court and the boat back down the Thames.  First thing we found on arriving is that the boat trips ended the first week of October.  So I miss the opportunity of pretending that I’m a 16th century member of court, leaving the palace and returning to London, being rowed in a small barge.  Pity.
 
The rest of our visit was magical.  This is how the royals lived at leisure.  Henry’s rooms are large and brash, just like the king.  William of Orange’s rooms are more refined, looking onto lovely gardens.  The art collections are splendid.  There are more notes on the individual photos.  

Home on the train, dinner chez nous.  

Norah enjoying the free newspaper they give our morning and evening at all transport stops.  A different paper each morning and evening.  Print media still has lots of legs in the UK.

Approaching Hampton Court, on the Base Court 

Ceiling of the main entrance gatehouse.  Most of the rooms from Henry's time have magnificent carved wooden ceilings.

Henry's Great Hall, surrounded with huge Flemish tapestries.  This was where the staff and lesser visitors ate; the king usually dined in his quarters.

Elephants from one of the Flemish tapestries next to the elephants from a huge Rubens painting at the National.  They were both created in the late 16th century.  

Beautiful painting of a page looking through a window, artfully displayed in shadows.

The Queen's Staircase (Queen Mary, wife of William), cobbled together by me to show the size and beauty.  

Willam's dining room - intimate, refined.

Door handle with monogram of William and Mary.

Down the alley outside the enormous kitchens that served the palace.

Like the royals, we ate well, but surrounded by the hoi polloi.

Alas, not a Tudor red rose, but a lovely pink with a hint of scent.

Commuter bikes outside our flat.  Every morning the rack is empty and by ten am, it is full, then empty by seven pm.  Santander (national bank of Portugal) purchased the naming rights, so their name is everywhere in a positive way.  

Day 19 – October 9, 2016 – Almost to Westminster Abbey and Liberty of London

I’ve never been to Westminster Abbey, but am not interested in a tour of all the famous dead people.  Would rather go to Church there and enjoy the choir, organ, sermon, etc.  So, we charted our bus route – one bus from near Alfred Place all the way to Westminster.  As we went to board, the driver said, “Only making two more stops, ma’am, then all the transport into that area stop for the rest of the morning.  Half-marathon, ya know.”  Welcome to the weekend in London.

We dragged ourselves home to read The Sunday Times.  Then Ed headed out to Kew Gardens while Norah and I walked over to Liberty of London – one of my favorite stores.  We arrived a bit early and while enjoying a coffee across from the entrance, were entertained by a couple “sleeping rough” right out of our cafe window.  They didn’t appear to be roughing it too much – mattress, duvet, bags of food, ciggies, folks bringing them cups of coffee – and a Jack Russell terrier who spurned offers of food because he seemed to be well fed.
 
Liberty is such a beautiful store – inside and out.  In years past, I’ve been able to purchase clothes, fabric, tchotchkes, at reasonable prices for the quality.  Now, it’s way upmarket, the least expensive thing I found being a small box of plain paperclips for £4.  Not that I need to purchase anything.  When I return home, I’ll enjoy all of past purchases that are still lovely and used often.  

We had a mediocre lunch at the Liberty Café.  Norah had eggs benedict with tough bacon and I had a bowl of soup – leek and potato, not exciting.  After, we strolled (really fought our way through the crowds) up Oxford, picked up a few groceries at the M&S Food Court, which is a lovely, and as chock full of goodies, as I remember.  Then home, because Sunday evening, all the UK watches the weekly dance-off on Strictly Come Dancing.  

The busses around city center are new, clean and run constantly - except on the weekends.

Sleeping rough, but upmarket

Interior of Liberty of London - what a beautiful store.

In my "good old days" at Liberty, there was a cafeteria in the lower level that served beautiful food at reasonable prices.  Had my first summer pudding there.  You never forget your first summer pudding...

Ed enjoyed Kew Gardens.  I went twenty-five years ago and that will hold me for a lifetime.

We haven't a clue who these contestants are, but they dance so much better than the U.S. contestants, have more fun and the show is not so repetitive.  No wonder it's such a hit.  

Day 18, October 8, 2016 – Royal Court Theater – welcome to the weekend in London

With the working crowd hopefully doing family things at home, we look forward to having the city to ourselves – wrong.  Weekend London is thronging with families and tourists.  Everything is packed.  We took the morning to relax, heading out to the Royal Court Theatre at Sloane Square for a one pm booking in their Café and a 2:30 curtain time.  Ed headed out for a batchelor visit to The British Museum where he enjoyed the Sunken Cities: Egypt's Lost Cities.
 
We were to take our local tube to Embankment, change for the District or Circle lines and voila, Sloan Square – wrong.  District and Circle Lines closed at Embankment all weekend for repairs.  We hopped on a bus heading for Sloan Square, and it gets slower and slower, then stops and the driver announces he is getting off to make way for the new driver who is on his way.  Hmmmm, so I ask how long a wait and am assured it won’t be more than five minutes, but there are diversions around Sloan Square, so we will be further delayed.  We hop a taxi, who takes a most circuitous route and we arrive 15 minutes late.  So much for public transportation.  Nice enough lunch, nothing to write home about.

The play, Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1,2,3) by Suzan Lori-Parks premiered at The Public Theater in New York in 2014.  Ms. Parks won the Pulitzer Prize for theater in 2002.  The London reviews called the play imaginative, playful and theatrical.  We found the first two parts long and somewhat contrived.  However, Part 3 was wonderful, mostly because of the introduction of a talking dog.  The main protagonist is Hero, a slave who fights for the South, serving his master.  He fears freedom because he is literally worth more as a slave than as a freeman.  Hero is not much of a hero and the play ends with his fellow slaves leaving the farm to head North while Hero remains.  Parts 4 – 9 have not yet been produced.  A good, but not great, afternoon of theater.

Norah and I call our friend, Addie Lee, for a car home.  Lucky for Ed, The British Museum is a five minute walk from our apartment.  

Bus selfie - we think we are home free.

Trotters and sulkies passing the bus and further tying up traffic on Saturday.  Never could find anything about them.

Royal Court Theatre on Sloane Square

Norah enjoys the largest and sweetest apple cider at the Cafe.

Good, but not great, theater.  

Day 17 – October 7, 2016 – Highgate Cemetery

Ed always raved about this cemetery and how “creepy” it was, with trees growing out of graves, ivy covering everything – the stuff of horror movies.  He visited almost 30 years ago.  Well, no more.  

We took the tube north to the appropriate stop, knowing it would be a long walk, first uphill, then downhill to the cemetery.   It is “Highgate” after all.  Grabbed a quick lunch at an Italian restaurant and began our climb.   It’s a quick turn at the top of the hill onto Squires Lane and back down the hill to the cemetery.  Lunch all worked off.  We could have grabbed a bus, but we hadn’t sussed (all of my British colloquialisms are coming back to me) those out yet.

You must book a tour to enter and we did that well in advance.  Nice volunteer guide, older gent (ok, maybe five years older than I), who led us through the various parts.  Highgate was founded around 1830, along with six other cemeteries spread across London to handle disposition of the middle-class dead who could afford to pay for a plot.  Aristocrats are usually buried in chapels or crypts on their estates; no one could tell me how they disposed of the poor (dumped in the Thames?).  Interesting factoids about the depth of the plots, as families are buried six or seven deep, and some markers seemed to have even more names.  The cemetery is still in use.  Anyone who can afford to pay (Upwards of £20,000) can purchase a plot, and there are even a few spaces available in the large multi-alcove crypts that hold cremated remains.

The families of the deceased, if any remain, maintain the cemetery, and volunteers for The Friends of Highgate Cemetery, who now own it.  There aren’t many creepy sections today.  It’s lush with trees, shrubs and wildflowers, all naturally grown.  Originally it was grass and gardens.  But, if you looked down the many paths, you would see that overgrowth still obscures the graves.  The Friends have hundreds of bird houses throughout and encourage all the wild things that now call Highgate home.

Since we passed entrances to Waterlow Park on both our journey up and down, I asked the attendant if we could cut through the park on our way home.  Takes away over half of the climb and the descent.  You would think the directions to Highgate would mention this, but they don’t.  So now you know.

Home in time for our favorite telly programs, dinner, reading, etc.

Walking up and up Highgate Street.  You can barely see the City of London in the distance at the bottom of the street.

Do they sell a Mitsubishi Barbarian in the U.S.?

Entrance to Highgate Cemetery

Walking down typical path between graves.  They stretch many ranks back from the path.

Entrance to Egyptian-style mausoleum 

One of many individual crypts.  This one owned for a former Jewish family.  Only Christians allowed in the cemetery, with a special plot for reserved for those not Church of Christ.

This man owned many traveling menageries - perhaps the lion looks content because he ate his master???

One of the newer graves.  Famous name, but not the composer.

Down a path on the west side of the cemetery, where many the famous communists, including Karl Marx, are buried.  We didn't pay them a visit.  

Home through beautiful Waterlow Park.

Day 16 – October 6, 2016 – National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery

Today Ed and I are up and out for the National Gallery and Portrait Gallery at Trafalgar Square.  Simple tube ride down to Leicester Square.  I visited the National 30+ years ago – my sole memory is the huge, fleshy Rueben’s oils. So this was like a first visit and everything was to my taste.  It’s actually a manageable space.  You could trot through it in three hours or so, but I’m a pokey museum person.  Because we visit museums differently, Ed and I split up and agreed to meet at the entrance two hours later.  I’ve assembled a montage of my favorites below this post, so you will know what appealed to me.  At the end of our two hours, when we compared what we liked the most, our lists were almost the same.  

St. Martin in the Fields Church is right across Trafalgar, so we popped in for a look around and then down to the crypts below for an excellent lunch.  

Then back across the street to the National Portrait Gallery.  Having just read "London" by Edward Rutherfurd, this was a visit with all my Tudor and Stuart friends.  We only made it up to the Victorians and I was finished.  

Can’t remember what we did the rest of this day.  Certainly we saw the Antiques Road Tour and whatever Strictly Come Dancing insights were on the telly, ate, read, and collapsed in bed.  

Ride up from the tube stop - dizzying heights.

Buskers in front of the National Gallery.  I still can't figure out how Yoda is supported.

Klempt and Rubens

Rubens 

Bellows and John Wright of Darby

Rousseau and Rosa

A favorite painter - Zurbran's St. Francis

Seen many times in books, first time in person - Manet's Execution of the Emperor Maxillian

Scenes at St. Martin in the Fields

Pondering the greats at the National Portrait Gallery

Early 18th century portrait of the Sharpe family orchestra.  So much fun.

Day 15, October 5, 2016 – Cardiff to London

Up at 4 am to be on our way by 5.  We were actually underway at 5:30.  It’s a three hour drive and we must have the car back to Enterprise by 10 am.  We allow lots of time for getting lost and a bite of breakfast at the services stop just after we leave Wales.  Well guess what?  Most of the shops at the stop don’t open until 7 am and we arrive at 6:30.  I was able to snag a salad in the news shop, Norah a tea and crumpet at the coffee shop and the breakfast buffet took pity on Ed and prepared a fried egg and ham bun for him.  We all came away happy.
 
All uneventful until we approach Heathrow.  Our navigation system wants to take us to terminal three, though the rental cars are by terminal five.   Finally a kind Enterprise employee guides us in via phone after several “Groundhog’s Day” passes around the terminals.  We make it exactly at ten am!
 
Addison Lee (fondly called Addie Lee) is the recommended car service and they have a nice mini-van to us in ten minutes and we are off for phase two of our journey – London.
Our flat is just off Tottenham Court Road, up from Oxford Street and the tall City Centre Building.  I feel comfortable here because it is close to where I used to work and stay when with Video Arts.  One block from the Goodge Street tube stop.  The flat itself has wonderful large windows overlooking the intersection of Albert Place and School Street, thankfully pretty quiet.  Living, dining, kitchen all in one el and two Spartan, tiny bedrooms and similar baths.  These flats get tired in a hurry as they change occupants weekly, none of them with pride of ownership.  But it is fine for our purposes and the management company is attentive to our needs.

First stop is a grocery store, this time Sainsbury’s, just to mix it up.  It is not nearly as nice a Tesco – and there is one of those just a block in the other direction.  We won’t starve… and there is also an M&S nearby.  

Though we spend most of our down time reading, writing and sorting photos, we have become hooked on Antique Roadshow Tour.  Monday through Friday at 4:30 to 5:15.  Strictly Come Dancing rules the airwaves.  There are associated shows every day of the week, interviewing stars, watching rehearsals – the UK is still besotted with this.  We have “real” TV at this flat, with loads of worthless channels.  In St. Lythan’s, we only have about five semi-worthless channels.  

We retire early to our monastic cells, thankful that Ed won’t have to drive anymore and that we returned with car with nary a scratch.  

Like a band of gypsies outside the Enterprise Car Rental at Heathrow

Our Addie Lee chariot

View of 38 Alfred Place - ours is the first floor with the large windows

Living room, kitchen, dining area

Monastic bedrooms

View out our window - great neighborhood, close to everything.

Day 14, October 4, 2016 – Dyffryn Gardens, St. Lythans

Just a short walk down the lane from Southwinds is this magnificent stately house and gardens.  Wendy, our hostess, recommended the gardens, but did not mention the house.  It was not open on the day we were there, a shame.  History of the location dates back to the 7th century.  The current house dates from the late 19th century and the gardens designed and constructed in the early 20th century.  The owner, John Cory, was a famous amateur botanist who collected species the world over.  His landscape architect was Thomas Mawson. The gardens are the best I have ever seen.  They represent a grand combination of formality and planned rambling masses of flowers, shrubs and trees. 

That’s our only outing for the day as we are preparing for our 4 am “up and out” drive back to Heathrow tomorrow to turn in the car and head into London.   

Approaching the house - the back side

Flower alleys

Dahlia beds

Dahlias

Brugmansia - a favorite

Funny sign - garden hazards

Grounds are host to many farm animals and kitchen gardens.

Italian garden

Lots of inviting pathways

Huge elm-like tree in the forest area

Day 13, October 4, 2016 – My apologies to Cardiff

When we took the bus tour around Cardiff on our first visit, I dismissed the city as bland and lifeless.  Our second visit totally reversed that image.  Busses cannot enter the city center.  It is a huge pedestrian area – teeming with people, packed solid with eating places – truly designed for metropolitan living at its best.  Surrounding this old area is all the new, reclaimed Cardiff Bay area, featuring new and converted buildings that house all the offices.  Population boomed in the last ten years, adding about 40,000 for a total of around 350,000 within the city.  We did not see much of an immigrant population in the city center around lunch hour, but as we drove home, there were many school children of black and brown color.

Norah and I spent the morning shopping.  Cardiff is the arcade capital of the UK.  Lots of lovely shops and I scored a  scarf at the Oxfam Store.  Love those bargains.  We did mid-morning tea and Welsh cakes to pick ourselves up from shopping.  Ed spent his time learning that most things he wanted to visit, The Cardiff Museum, the Tower at the Cardiff Castle, close on Monday.
 
Lunch at Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant.  Lovely food.  Ed ordered a starter of mushrooms fritte, Norah a nice bread assortment.  I had quinoa and lentils, this time with beets and avocado.  Norah ordered shrimp scampi and Ed a pasta with veal ragu.  Dessert was the sweetest small strawberries with just a touch of frozen yogurt.    

Three scenes of Cardiff City Centre:  from left - down an arcade, street buskers, view down to St. John's Church

The modern area that surrounds the City Centre

Jamie Oliver's Italian at St. David's Mall

Wonderful eats at Jamie's

Back to the Fishguard legend of Jemima.  Found this model of a late 18th century redcoat.  It's possible that starving French soldiers could have seen Jemima as a soldier.  She certainly acted the part.  

Home again to Southwinds where Ed got this shot of a tiny wren who has been serenading us each day - taking a bath in the mossy birdbath.  Look for a small bird head in the center of the photo.

Day 12, October 3, 2016 – Lazy Sunday

Safely home from our trip, we only venture to Tesco, purchase The Sunday Times, and hunker down for a glorious day at Southwinds.  We love this place.  It is home. 

Our favorite store, Tesco

Two stories of fabulous shopping and a tea shoppe

Wonderful political cartoons, this one of Ken Clarke

Day 11, October 1, 2016 – Around Fishguard, aborted kayaking and back to Southwinds

Goal today is to kill time until our 2 pm kayaking.  Leisurely breakfast, then hanging around Pentower, trying not to become pests.  We head a few hundred yards into town.  Our first stop is City Hall, where the 30 meter long tapestry of the Last Invasion of Britain – 1797 - is mounted.  The project commemorates the bicentennial and is the work of 20+ local stitchers.

The tapestry is full of folklore and humor.  The two sections in the photos show the starving French troops raiding the local homes and the farmers coming to the aid of the infantry.  The second section shows Jemina, local folk heroine who captured twelve French soldiers.  Seems the French mistook her for a British redcoat, her local costume so resembling the military garb.  And, she is fearsome.  The British were ultimately victorious.  We hit the Saturday Market on the first level of City Hall and score a bounty of homemade Welsh pastries and quiche.

Lunch at local pub, then down to the Lower Harbor to meet with Kayak King.  Cancelled!  Wind too strong.  I’m not disappointed.  It’s one of those things that I will enjoy once underway, but don’t look forward to struggling into an ill-fitting wetsuit, fighting the current, etc.  Ed is disappointed.  Norah was going to read in the car and laugh at us, so she is content.  And, we don’t have to make the two plus hour drive back to St. Lythans in the dark – a real bonus.

Easy drive, in and out of rain showers, as we chase rainbows leading the way East.

French or Bigleaf Hydrangea in front of Pentower

Ed and Dizzy

Down the road into Fishguard

Fishguard Tapestry celebrating the bicentennial of The Last Invasion of Britain 1797

Lunch pub

Today a half pint of Brains, the local brew.

Sign on the women's loo, seems to indicate this is the place to give artificial respiration to a torso, or other deviant behavior...

Unused kayaks

Rainbows lead the way east on the A40

Day 10, September 30, 2016 – Around Fishguard and St. Davids

Mary’s breakfast at Pentower is splendid.  Perfect poached eggs with lightly brazed cherry tomatoes for me, preceded by an assortment of perfect fruit: sliced peaches, kiwi, papaya, topped with smashed raspberries and a dab of yogurt.  Tell me how does she have each piece of fruit at the perfect ripeness?  Norah and Ed did a more traditional English breakfast with bacon, eggs, toast, sausage, potato cakes, then the fruit, cereal, etc.  We were good to go for at least another two hours before we eat again.

We retrace our steps about ten miles to the little town of Nevern and the ancient church of St. Brynach, a Christian missionary who arrived from Ireland in 540 CE.  He started a monastery on this site, lived a holy life, and converted lots of local folk.  The church we visit today is from the 13th century, beautifully tended inside and out, a working Episcopal parish.

Then we are off to honor the pagans.  Stone circles and burial mounds are found throughout England, Stonehenge being the most famous and the largest stone circle.  Though today’s Druids like to celebrate at these sites, they are not Druidic, but date from unknown people far, far earlier.  We visit Pentre Ifam, a large burial site set on a high hill with a distant view of the sea.  Today, we see only the gigantic stones, but when created, smaller rocks covered the entire skeleton we see today so they were a burial “mound”.  The bodies were interred in the large constructed cave.  They are thought to be “group burial sites”, not royal.  Impressive.

Back to the Christians and a visit to St. David’s Cathedral, in the town of St. David's, further down the coast beyond Fishgard – one of the finest in England, and a pilgrimage site since the 12th century.  David was born in 500 CE, founded a monastery on this site, lived such a holy life that when he died, the church was “filled with angels”.  The cathedral is huge, with glorious additions that all seem to harmonize with the early construction.  And, we were lucky enough to walk into the organist practicing on the pipe organ.  What wonderful noise in the praise of God.   

In the afternoon, Norah opted for the local coffee shop while Ed and I did a mini-hike along the coast.  Breathtaking scenery, ancient ruin of a church, mud, and it felt good to really stretch our legs.

Rain off and on throughout the day, gentle, and did not interfere with our sightseeing.  Most folks here just wear a mac and don’t bother with umbrellas.  In the country, wellies are the foot fashion.

Dinner at Peppers, the local fine-dining place.  Excellent food.  Norah and Ed enjoyed cheddar soufflé, sea bass and I had a vegetarian concoction with lentils and carrots.  Best was the sauvignon blanc – pleasant change from beer and worthy of a second glass for dessert.  Norah enjoyed chocolate fondant and Ed a blueberry cheesecake.  We don’t lack for good food.  I don’t even remember where and what we ate for lunch today, but trust me, we did enjoy it. 

St. Brynech Church, Nevern

9th century Celtic cross St. Brynech's

600 year old yew trees at St. Brynech's

Rock wall in Nevern

St. David's Cathedral

Pipe organ and ceiling, St. David's

Gothic parts of the Cathedral

Tomb of a royal Welsh knight - St. David's

View down the cliffs on our coastal hike

Cheddar souffle at Peppers

Time out with Dizzy, the Pentower cat

Day 9, September 29, 2016 – Conwy to Fishguard

We retrace our path through the Vale of Conwy and Snowdonia, as beautiful as ever.  Today, it’s sunny, so we see higher peaks and broader vistas.  We are heading south on the A470 till it meets the A487 and we begin our swing west, towards the Irish Sea.  We stop for lunch at Aberyswyth. (pronounced abe-res-weth, I think.  The beginning A is short, accent on the second syllable.)  Nothing exceptional we could find about the town, though there is a National Portrait Museum that we should visit another time.  It seems to be a university town as well.  

We are continually boggled about directions.  Stopped at a petrol station, coming off a two lane road.  When we went to leave, we could not remember which way we were going and had to meekly go back to the cashier and ask for the direction to Fishgard.  Ed does a great job driving, but, as we all would, reverts to the U.S. driving reflex of pulling to the right rather than the left when confronted with a potential driving crisis.  Norah survives by riding in the back seat with her eyes closed.  I try not to nag…

One of the highlights was passing The Man with a Cross.  http://daibach-welldigger.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-man-with-cross.html
We found him complete with entourage of piccolo player, Scottie dog and pilgrim-looking fellow.  A welcome break from the green vistas and sheep.

Our first glimpse of the Irish Sea is beautiful, and we track it most of the way south, arriving early evening at Pentower, our B&B in Fishguard.  Beautiful place.  We have been so fortunate with our accommodation thus far.  I trust Trip Advisor and try to go with their top picks.  Pentower was the highest recommended and with good reason.  Beautiful location overlooking the port, lovely rooms and Tony and Mary are gracious hosts.  Our first dinner was sandwiches we packed from Conwy, relaxing in the sitting area overlooking the Sea.  Perfect!

Typical roadside beauty in Snowdonia

The only graffiti we have seen in our entire trip.  On the side of an abandoned caravan.  Roads are in remarkable condition.  Rarely do you see litter and even rarer is a roadside ad or billboard.

Man walking across Wales with the Cross

Lord Beechings Pub in Aberysryth

Norah at Lord Beechings Pub

No, I'm not likely to trespass on the utility substation.

The Irish Sea

Our bedroom at Pentower

Norah's fireplace with a peek into her loo

Dining room and sitting area overlooking the port at Pentower