"Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?"

After our time in Oxford, we spent the rest of Wednesday driving to our next hotel, which turned out to be in Wales, of all places! During our time on the bus, Paul directed the students in dramatic readings from Shakespeare, which was preferable over listening to them sing Disney tunes for the umpteenth time. What a unique activity for a bus ride!

I was happy that I got to at least see Wales, even though it meant a bit of time on the bus. As we crossed over the River Severn there was a sign saying "Welcome to Wales" in both English and Welsh. Our driver, Owen, said it for us in Welsh; very cool.

en

"O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space"

On Wednesday, March 17, we began at the end with a visit to Shakespeare's grave at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. It was funny: we were taken into the church by our guide, who sat us down and told us all about burial customs and Shakespeare's grave, and then told us that since we were pressed for time we wouldn't actually go see his grave. WHAT??? Make a short shrift: he longs to see your head. Fortunately, noble Paul stepped in to be sure we were able to go see the actual burial place rather than just hear about it.

We also toured Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Shakespeare's birthplace, both very interesting. Since we were in a bit of a hurry, we grabbed sandwiches to have on the bus for lunch (chicken, brie and cranberry from a place called Food of Love).

From Stratford, we went on to Oxford, where we rambled past the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library (I poked my head in the door), and into Brasenose College. It was very interesting to see the actual inside of the college. Finally I was able to get inside the Eagle and Child, the pub where the Inklings (including JRR Tolkien and C S Lewis) met. They didn''t have Strongbow so I got an Irish cider called Magners. Very nice.

"and when you're only halfway up you're neither up nor down..."

Tuesday, March 16, Owen and the orange bus took us to York. We had a tour of the York Minster, first built as a wooden church around 626. The stone church was begun after the Norman conquest but was not finished. Work resumed in 1220 and it was finished in 1422. It's incredibly beautiful.

After the tour we stopped for a light lunch at the Cornish Pasty Bakery; I got lamb and mint. Then we wandered around The Shambles, an old narrow street with interesting shops. I bought an alpaca scarf and then some yarn so I could crochet a hat to wear with it.

Then we walked to the York Castle Museum, which was great fun, with recreations of Victorian streets. We strolled along the ancient city wall.

I think some of the kids were imagining themselves to be archers or swordsmen in long-ago times. I was just trying to keep up! Knee was hurting.

Our trusty driver Owen got us safely to our hotel, a Brittanica out by the Leeds airport, so we could get some rest for the next day's adventure in Stratford-upon-Avon.

"Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last." C. Bronte

On Monday, March 15, our trusty coach and Owen drove us up to Hadrian's Wall! It was a windy and cold day; just imagine being there in the winter back in the days of the Romans. EEK! This is one of the places I've wanted to see for ages, so it was a wonderful surprise addition to the itinerary. After romping on the wall and surprising some sheep, we went on to Haworth, home of the Bronte sisters.

We visited the Bronte Parsonage Museum and saw the rooms where the Bronte sisters did most of their writing. This is a small but interesting and informative place with many original artifacts..

After we toured the museum, we spotted a post

office so ran in to buy stamps. The man asked where we were from and when he learnt we were Texans, he told us that there was a man from Texas running the apothecary shop just up the road. Of course we had to go there, where we met the wife (British) who told us that they had lived in Texas for 20 years and that her husband was a retired Fort Worth police officer. Small world. We chatted with him for just a moment and bought some Kendal mint cakes for Paul. We asked the lady for a lunch spot recommendation and she sent us just up the road to Cobbles and Clay, where I had a Wensleydale cheese sandwich with chutney and a dandelion & burdock soda.

Next we drove through the Yorkshire dales, where I saw pheasants just hanging out in the fields. We made a brief stop in Harrowgate where my ladies and I went to Betty's Tea Room (cocoa and cake, yum!).

A genial hearth, a hospitable board, And a refined rusticity,

March 14 we arose and boarded our orange coach for Rydal Mount, home of romantic poet William Wordsworth. It was a lovely day and I enjoyed the countryside dotted with sheep and lambs. It was a touching experience to be in the house where Wordsworth lived and wrote. I did feel that I could maybe be inspired to write poetry if I lived in such a lovely setting and had nothing to do all day but reflect in the beauty of nature.


Next our coach took us to the village of Grasmere, where I enjoyed a hot bowl of parsnip soup and a seeded roll at Greens Cafe before going over to the famous gingerbread shop. There was quite a queue of gingerbread fans waiting for the shop to open, enjoying the wonderful aroma of baking gingerbread. It's delicious! Then our bus took us to Ambleside where most of us got a boat to cross Lake Windermere to Bowness.


There, some of us went to the Beatrix Potter Museum! It was pretty cheesy but sort of cool anyway, with a nice gift shop where I found a Mrs Tiggywinkle keychain. We drove through the Lake District back to our Carlisle hotel, enjoying the view of snow on distant peaks and sheep grazing everywhere. For dinner we went to the Chinese buffet again, where I commented on how lovely it would be if there were a nearby 7-11 where I could buy a can of Strongbow to enjoy before bed in my room.

Later, I was just about ready for bed when there was a knock on my door. Our ever-thoughtful T.D. made a special delivery of Strongbow! I slept like a baby that night.

In such a jocund company

Before it all fades from my inner eye, here's a summary of the AP Literature Tour of England, March 12-21, 2010.

We arrived at the Manchester airport early in the morning on March 13. There was no one with an EF sign waiting to meet us, so we found the toilet and gathered at the official meeting point. Shortly, a young man came up and asked if I was Lucy. Yay, our tour director found us! Paul gathered us up and took us on the train into the city of Manchester, where we wandered around a bit, took some pictures, and stopped for a traditional English breakfast in a pub, which was a very nice way to spend our first morning.

After we made our way back to the airport, the group from Canada arrived and we all boarded our orange bus driven by Owen, from Wales. He took us north to Carlisle, where we checked into our hotel, the Ibis Botchergate. After settling in, we walked through town to Carlisle Castle. As we were returning we discovered that the town was preparing for an evening event to light up Hadrian's Wall in commemoration of the 1600th anniversary of the Romans leaving Britain.

Residents and tourists joined the parade – accompanied by a band, costumed characters and musicians – to Bitts Park, where flaming beacons marked the line of Hadrian’s Wall.
The event saw the wall lit from Segedunum Roman Fort at Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway.
The parade, which started at 5.30pm in the city centre, followed an airborne heliosphere to Bitts Park for a firework display and lighting of the beacons.
A spokesman said more than 300 torches had been sold online – from the Go Lakes website – and hundreds more were available from Carlisle’s Tourist Information Centre.
They were also sold on the night at stalls and cost £3 if bought in advance and £4 on the night. Profits will be donated to local charities.
A spokesman for Carlisle Tourism Partnership said the event was a huge boost for tourism in the city, and county, with many city centre hotels fully booked.
Organisers of the event said they were inundated with people applying to light one of the 500 beacons at stages along the 84-mile wall, with 4,000 applications submitted.
They increased the number of illuminators from 500 to 1,000 by doubling the size of illuminator teams and hundreds are expected to go out and watch at the 250 sites. http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/hundreds-take-part-in-carlisle-procession-as-roman-wall-lit-up-1.683237?referrerPath=home

like a pendulum do

I leave for England this Friday. I have a throat which yesterday felt like I had swallowed razor blades and today is downgraded to ground glass. The physician said that she has seen a lot of this and it often turns into a nasty bronchitis. I explained that I can't have bronchitis because I fly to england Friday. I am taking medication now.

The trip to England will be a literary tour. I found out today that our optional excursion to Canterbury and Dover will not happen, so we have a free day in London which is probably a good thing. Harrods, maybe the Victoria and Albert. Despite this small disappointment, I am excited about seeing the Lake District, Yorkshire, Stratford on Avon, and Bath. I am very excited about plans to see friends in the London area.