The Postcard England

After a great year with loads of travels (Dubai, Southeast Asia and Dublin), this year is looking a bit shy in terms of travels. But believe that it is for a good reason. Maybe the best of reasons! :) A&A are expanding and this is how it is looking now:

At our (very pink) hotel room

Yes, "we" are pregnant! :) And as I move (very) closely to the third trimester, flying is something we are trying to avoid. Exotic destinations (our favourite kind) are also not recommended so this year we looked to explore a bit of the country where we live in! In fact, it seemed only fair given that we have been living in the UK for nearly 3 years and we know very little of England outside of London.

The Lake District was an option, but after looking at the travel time and booking options (all of this was planned quite late :/), we decided for the Cotswolds. Before we went, I was told that it was the typical picture-perfect English landscape with great tea-houses and pubs in small villages. So, how best to spend our English holidays in this so English part of the country?

And what is more British than a green landscape dotted here and there by sheep on a cloudy day?

"Are you taking my picture?"

A sign for the future to come :P

"This is my best angle!"

Andre is no sheep, but I just love this photo! :)

We were even told a (very British, I would say) story about a yellow car of a village-resident that was "ruining" the touristic photos! It all happened in Bibery, one of the most photogenic of the Cotswolds villages, and apparently there were complaints that the yellow car was just too ugly and noticeable to go with the rest of the scenery (more details here). The pressure on the car owner was so big that he actually changed his car for a much less flashy grey version of the same car. We had to go to this town, for its beauty, and for the story! And we actually found the new car which we partly recognised due to a delicious detail: this man could not go without his favourite colour, so instead of having a yellow car, he now has yellow car seat covers, which is quite a rebel move in my view! Loved it! (Yes, we were actually looking for the car in that corner and even peeped inside :P)

Bibery scenery, with no "ugly" car!

"My car may be grey, but the seats... the seats will be yellow!"

As for the rest of the costswolds... well, I managed to understand why so many people like it so much and why some pay so much to have a house in this area. Each village is so beautiful (even with a lot of tourists like us in this long Easter weekend) and so unique at the same time. Each one had its own charm, its own appeal and in each one I thought, "Yes, if one day I would go searching for peace and quiet, this would be a good place for it to happen!".

But better than words, here are some images (only a small sample) of what these days were like.

Our 4 wheels for this trip (yes, that is me inside the car :P)

The killer look

Beautiful (and crowded!) scenery

Priority to green vehicles in the all the green surrounding us

"I can do this, I can... do... this...!"

At the top!

We actually stayed in Cheltenham, a very charming city just outside of the Cotswolds. This was taken in the park at the center of Cheltenham.

Random Dublin

It was a short weekend, but we were able to walk around and feel a bit of what the city is. With a new trendy area around the Canal where a lot of the companies (like Google or Facebook) have their offices, a touristic bar-filled area filled with stag-dos and hen parties, an artistic vibe present here and there, potatoes, whiskey and Guinness! An increasingly cosmopolitan place that is still able to retain its small city feel, especially as you feel like you can walk to most places.

The photos below help to illustrate our experience of this weekend:

A fountain in the city centre that had been "adapted" to the stag do party mood!

The Canal area

Celebrating Autumn in Trinity College

Going for a spin in Trinity College 

Is the true meaning 'stag dos this way'?

Dublin Castle 1

Dublin Castle (the other side)

Guinness - for strengh and maybe anything else

Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey

Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes

A food market right in the middle of Temple Bar

A new kind of self-portrait  

A crash course in recent Irish history

Not so long ago I read an article about how more and more people add to their travels destinations mandatory stops at places that tell a dark-side of human history. Places like Auschwitz or even Chernobyl. A mix of dark curiosity and a want to better understand the good and bad of other cultures (past or present).

We felt that ourselves when we visited Prison 21 in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital. Even after knowing most of the Khmer Rouge history, it was a shocking, intense and moving experience. Especially as it was as recent as it was.

This weekend we came to Dublin. I came here 7 years ago in what was one of the first times I travelled alone. I came for a conference in Maynooth and decided to stay for an extra day in Dublin just for some unplanned walk-arounds. Since then the changes in the city are notorious. And this time we actually planned ahead and investigated places where we would like to go to. Advised by an Irish friend that has lived in Dublin, we booked a tour in the Kilmainham Gaol Museum (i.e. Kilmainham prison). A famous place that, amongst other things, had a relevant role in the recent history and independence process of Ireland herself (we also learned Ireland is a she :)).

Coming in I was not really sure of what to expect. But what we experienced, surpassed my expectations.

First, it was the crash course on the story of the birth of Ireland as an independent state, a story of resistance and political persecution, with all the blood and sacrifice behind it.

The hearing room

Waiting f or the tour

The old West wing section

"Beware of the risen people"

The flag of Ireland in the yard where many prisoners of war were shot to death

Then, the building itself, in particular the newest part - the East wing - is quite incredible. Being such an impressive place and no longer in use (it was closed in 1924 as it was attached to so many bad memories) it has been used as the set of numerous movies such as "In the Name of the Father" or the "Italian Job" (the old one).

The West wing

The East wing

An image from the "Italian Job"

And finally, our tour guide. As Andre called him, a true story teller that let his powerful words reverberate in the air, and his stories sink in along with the images they created in our mind. And every time he told us "You can walk around, take pictures and explore before we move on. Please meet me by that gate/door" he actually meant "You have the time that it takes me to slowly reach that gate/door to do whatever" - this was about 30 seconds in total!

Our storyteller/guide

I don't know if it was solely the advise from my friend that convinced us, or if the above mentioned morbid curiosity for the darkest moments of a country's history helped. But coming out of it, it was the sensation of being richer with the knowledge of all the events that happened between these walls and outside of them that made this such an extraordinary experience. Thanks CS for the tip :)

A Shower in Bath

The Easter long weekend arrived and with the flights to Lisbon were overly priced. So our choice was to look at the British map and find a destination. A few options came up, but we had heard so much Bath and how great it is, that we (me, ALF and PN) set up the route to Somerset!

I say, we set up the route, because for the first time, we actually drove in the UK! Even though there were no interesting (possibly lethal) stories, it was really weird to keep seating on the "wrong" side of the car and there are rumors that the driver's door got a bit of attention at the beginning of our ride!

Andre on the wrong side of the car :P

With a few greetings (honks!) from other drivers, tonnes of traffic and a great sunny day, we arrived at our destination. Because we were so late in our booking we had to stay in Bristol (a nice city on its own), a few kilometers away from Bath. But this also meant that we had to wait for a new day before we could finally reach our main destiny.

Next morning, it was Bath time! Parking on the edge of the city, we were able to have a privileged view right from the beginning! Unfortunately, we had spent all our sun credit hours the day before, so the background was more dark and grayish than light and blueish! But the scenery was still beautiful and proof that this was a great choice!

The city of Bath as we first saw it

Our first stop was a recommended place to ease our stomachs which also served perfectly to get away from the rain that was threatening to fall on us. Sally Lunns! A bakery/tea house/restaurant that dates back as far as the XVIIth century! The buns were good, but what really captured our attention (and taste buds!) was the lemon curd and, specially, the cinnamon butter! Hmm, that was something worth coming again for!

Sally Lunn's, opened since 1680

The reception

The buns!

Apparently life was harsh for misbehaved boys back in the day

On the stairs to the museum

On the stairs to the museum - part 2

More comforted, we could then walk around and enjoy the city! And we did try! But the rain, wind and cold were a bit too harsh for 3 summer-loving Portuguese and we ended up hoping from store to store, from Eating House to restaurant, from tourist office to bookstore! Curiously enough, was the fact that it looked like we were the only ones to be phased by weather as the streets were full!

Near the entrance to the Roman Baths

Even the pigeons showed their presence

But we were determined to enjoy the day, and wanted to witness one of the landmarks of the city - the Royal Crescent. So fighting our instincts, we climbed up in search of the curved building, which is indeed, quite impressive! It was mid way through that the rain started to come down more heavily and, at some point, it felt a bit like a shower! We were having a "free" shower in Bath... how ironic! :P And here are the photos of that!

"It is about this size!" - what is, I have no idea!

The Royal Crescent (about a third of it!)

Yikes! 

Who needs shoes?

Laughing in the rain!

Royal Crescent, part 2 - walking casually

Envious, so envious!

After the rain stopped, we continued walking around and got to the canal. The city of Bath is indeed quite beautiful and the Roman Baths (that we actually only visited the next day) are totally worth it! And if I say this after a visit on a winter-like day, it is something to be taken quite seriously! ;)

River Avon and the traditional boats

:)