Differences

23 Aug 24

08:45 hrs

     When you are on a journey that covers multiple locations and many stops you will soon notice differences especially in the places you lay your head at night. Sure, all are good hotels but the rooms will surely vary in size, the washroom will have various benefits such as towel warming racks, a shower and a tub, a tub so deep you need assistance to enter and exit, safety bars or not, bottled water or not, extra pillows or not, sound proof walls or not. All of which adds to your experience and often to your expenses. 

     Yesterday, we went from our hotel in Chester to visit Caenarfon in Wales. Lovely place with a gorgeous castle right on the waterfront. We had time to wander the town and listen to the Welsh. On the way back our guide, Andreea, and Steve-Oh, our coach driver, took us through the Welsh countryside. Wales is famous for its slate stone that was quarried and shipped globally for various purposes. What truly fascinated me was the miles of stone walls, made of both field stone and slate that defined and quartered the land up hill and down. And all by hand. Some of them nearly two centuries old as in the case of Hadrian's Wall, which is 73 miles long by 15 feet tall and 12 feet wide with encampment every 13 miles and multiple observation platform between them and was completed in seven years!

     We are on to Stratford upon Avon and then Oxford before hitting London in a day or so. My Lobster and I discussed what we would like to see in London and with both agreed on the British Museum. Just to be safe she went online and pre-booked free tickets. One of the You-Alls had said that she had seen it and the London Library where there were just so many books! Privately, I sent a text to my Better Half wondering if we would have to get tickets to see the book in the Lone Star State Liberry.

     Stratford was pretty interesting. It has a population of 30k but has 2.7m visitors annually. The Bard can really draw them in. We wandered about the town taking in where Willy was born and it was pointed out to us where he was buried. My Lobster and i snagged at lunch at a pub. Good burgers but in my opinion mine had double the amount of the Special House Secret Sauce. We visited a number of shops and purchased a few items. Books, mostly. One can never have too many books. Supper, which was impressive, was served at the Royal Shakespeare Theater. 

     I think, or rather thought, that our room was haunted. Earlier, we had been playing a game of cribbage - I've lost just about every game on this trip - and we heard this weird gurgling sound. It happened several times. But, according to our trip director the building is so old, the 1600's, that the renovations over the years that some of the pipes are likely to have some blockages which gurgle on occasion. But, that doesn't explain the rapping on the door with no one in the hall.