Sunday, July 8, 2007

HENLEY.


HENLEY. Unique Tudor style architecture.

HENLEY. Construction lines were not always straight.

HENLEY. A pre-school outing.

HENLEY. Ice Cream Shop shows off the distorted architectural lines. That's not lens distortion.

HENLEY-IN-ARDEN. This explains it all.

HENLEY. It seems that every alley way had a front door to somebody's house.

HENLEY. If its not a Red door, its a Blue door and bay windows.

HENLEY. This is somebody's street. People live back there.

HENLEY. Line it up and nail it down. Maybe it'll be straight. Apparently it didn't matter that much.

HENLEY. When gasoline is $8/gal, bicycles are very practical.








Sunday, July 1, 2007

Bradford On Avon


The Bridge. This was really a surprise to have stumbled upon Bradford on Avon, not to be confused with Stratford on Avon. Stratford is a real tourist trap. Bradford is the real deal. Need to spend more time here and just hang out. It pays to get off the beaten path. We were on our way to Bath and got off the main road. Glad we did.

Everything is on the river it seems. this is the back of somebody's apartment.




Narrow windy streets. Who's watching who?




It makes you wonder just how long people have been shopping down this narrow alley-way or street... whatever its called.






The main square. The alley way led into this square. as you can see, Bradford square is a busy place.


Even the church is on the river, just to the left. cool.



The Bridge from the other side.



























































BELBROUGHTON


Belbroughton. This is where the Waldrons' hailed from. It, naturatlly, was on our list of places to go and see.

Belbroughton. Inside the old church. It had been added to several times over several hundred years. This part is the original santcuary dating back to the 12th century... its been here a while.

Belbroughton. One of the Locals. She does look familiar.

Belbroughton. View from the cemetary. picture perfect.

Belbroughton. Waldron Sythes were the best in the world... world reknown. Nash bought out the Waldrons' but kept the name Waldron. The plaque is a tribute the sythe makers of Belbroughton.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

STONEHENGE

Stonehenge. 1
Stonehenge and 2 Druids enjoying the moment
Stonehenge 3. dang birds.
Wolverton. This ws the main street of the village of our first Bed & Breakfast. cool.
English Countryside. too cool for words.
Windsor Castle. This lady kept following me around. Always popping up to get her picture taken. Now she's famous.
Windsor Castle. A cool door. but what's really cool is the red car fender that was removed from the image!
Windsor Castle. The Captain of the Guards must live here. Apartments were all over the place. WC is big.
Windsor Castle. Even the peasants have to get close. . .
Windsor. The streets of Windsor are narrow and winding. shops and eateries.

Windsor Castle. the mote (sp) now is a pretty nice garden. (i don't know what they did with the crocodiles and parrana.
Windsor. Old Boy Toys says it all.
Windsor. Right across the street from the castle main entrance... Burger King, McDonalds and other eateries.
Windsor Castle. One of the many gates that you had to pass through to get to the interior. The stone mortar was covered with tar and held flint pieces with the sharp edge facing out. purely defense. don't touch the wall in passing or you might just get cut.
Windsor Castle. There's Sharon again. It was a very nice day.


Sunday, June 24, 2007

First Day in London

Westminster Abbey. Its across the grand boulevard from Big Ben. Coronations, weddings, funerals and other state ceremonies have been performed here.
That's the Buckingham Palace behind those two stunned, wind blown tourists.
This is St. Paul's Cathedral. Mary Poppins' 'Feed the Birds' was shot here. Its in London's financial district.
This is Trafagal Square. That statue atop the pilar is Lord Nelson. He was victor at the battle of Trafagal and was killed in the battle. Normally, sailors killed at sea are buried at sea. Nelson was different. Reverred and well respected in England it was decided that a state funeral was in order. With no ice to preserve his body for the long voyage home, it was set in a barrel of brandy; basically pickling it as a preservative. When the ship arrived in London it was discovered that the barrel of Nelson brandy was half empty! hmmm? To this day British officers toast with the call to 'tap Nelson' in tribute to the man and his memory. This photo was taken from the base of the steps of the National Art Gallery.
This is the Parliment Building. Big Ben is the bell in the clock tower.
After a long flight and a nights rest at a hotel, we were ready to go. It was cold and breezy.

Saturday, June 23, 2007