Rule # 2: Avoid searching for addresses after dark, especially in unfamiliar places.
The biggest surprise about the room, after we triple-backed and found the hotel, was absence of a telephone. We had brought our GSM dual-band cell phone along and bought a local card for it, but my precious one had been dying to check e-mail and spend some time catching up on the latest news on the internet, and for that we needed a landline.
After steamy showers to wash away the grime of the flight and the day, we went looking for dinner, and found that very few restaurants were open in the evening on New Year’s Day; certainly none that we could find. We ended up buying sandwiches from a gas station convenience store for our first dinner in England.
::
Thursday, Jan. 2, 2003
We slept soundly – little surprise in our exhausted state – and awoke reasonably refreshed, if a little disoriented. We had a full agenda for the day and precious few daylight hours to get our sightseeing done, so we could not afford to sleep in; this was definitely going to be a very hardworking vacation.
We finally reached the town of Amesbury, completely confused, and having lost the signs for Stonehenge went round several roundabouts several times each, back and forth, until we finally decided to stop at a grocery store and ask for directions. It turned out that Amesbury is the closest town to Stonehenge, so we did not have too far to go, but what amazed us was that three of the employees of the store did not know how to get there.
The biggest surprise about the room, after we triple-backed and found the hotel, was absence of a telephone. We had brought our GSM dual-band cell phone along and bought a local card for it, but my precious one had been dying to check e-mail and spend some time catching up on the latest news on the internet, and for that we needed a landline.
After steamy showers to wash away the grime of the flight and the day, we went looking for dinner, and found that very few restaurants were open in the evening on New Year’s Day; certainly none that we could find. We ended up buying sandwiches from a gas station convenience store for our first dinner in England.
::
Thursday, Jan. 2, 2003
We slept soundly – little surprise in our exhausted state – and awoke reasonably refreshed, if a little disoriented. We had a full agenda for the day and precious few daylight hours to get our sightseeing done, so we could not afford to sleep in; this was definitely going to be a very hardworking vacation.
 Image of the Westbury White Horse, taken from this site. 
Uffington White Horse, taken from here |
We planned to kick off our explorations with a visit to one of the ultimate tourist attractions, Stonehenge, then move on to Salisbury Cathedral and drop by Westbury for a quick look at the White Horse, 180 feet long and 107 feet high at the shoulder, carved into the limestone of the hill. This ancient carving, thought to commemorate Alfred the Great's victory over the Danes at Ethandun A.D. 878, is a much more realistic representation of a horse than the rather abstract one outside Uffington. But we had arrived in the midst of a series of floods in England and Wales, triggered by unusually heavy winter rains, with a broad swathe across the lower central part of the country affected. As we entered a small town on our way, we were diverted by police because of flooding ahead, and advised that a large part of our intended route would be closed. They made some suggestions for alternates, but we ended up lost and driving mostly on faith in the general direction of south, and hoping for the best. |
Comments (5)
I must admit that I prefer the Uffington horse to the Westbury version - I think it's the feeling of movement.
Posted by Em² | January 3, 2005 3:16 PM
Posted on January 3, 2005 15:16
I got paid!
Enjoyed your blog--which is quite visually engaging!
A.P.
Posted by AP | January 4, 2005 7:30 AM
Posted on January 4, 2005 07:30
Hi Sivani,
It was really so humble of you to give me such a diverse information, which i found very useful. As i'm the first person among my kith and kin to go abroad its really tough to know and decide what to take... anyway, thanx.. and keep in touch. ok?
bye
Posted by Anand | January 4, 2005 11:30 AM
Posted on January 4, 2005 11:30
I agree; the stylistic sense, the sweeping lines -- the general impression seems to be more enticing for the Uffington horse.
And as for the roundabouts: they really are a better way. I say that after having gone through similar, harrying experiences on them, both clockwise (U.K.) and counterclockwise (France; Boston). After getting used to them I began to appreciate the smoothness of traffic flow they afford. But alas! a polite populace is a prerequisite.
Posted by Chrysalis | January 4, 2005 11:44 AM
Posted on January 4, 2005 11:44
AP - great news! And thanks for the compliment :-) I keep checking in the hope that you have had more access to the internet - I find your blog magically engaging.
Anand - you're quite welcome. Anytime you have questions, please feel free to contact me.
Em & Chrys - yes, the Uffington horse also imparts more of a feel of mystery, and is somewhat open to interpretation, I think (i.e. is it a horse, which way is up, etc.)
If only we had had more time...
And yes, Chrys, politeness is a sine qua non.
Although in both these cases - going round and round in Bristol and in Amesbury, the issue was not so much an inability to use the roundabout, but rather being totally clueless as to where we had to go. This way we ended on a roundabout, completed a full circle to look at all the available exits, then completed another circle while debating which of those to take, and finally picking something at the last moment, exasperating the other drivers.
In both places we ended up bouncing back and forth between two roundabouts a couple of times. All part of the fun, I suppose.
Posted by Sivani | January 5, 2005 8:55 AM
Posted on January 5, 2005 08:55