Half-Term Road Trip Part 3: Jane Austen and Canterbury

 

Our final UK destination was Canterbury, but, since we were driving through "Jane Austen Country" (Bath, Steventon, Winchester, etc.) we wanted to stop and visit Chawton, the little village just outside of Alton where she spent roughly the last decade of her life, revising and publishing her novels.

 

We've had no mishaps with the van so far. We can't get enough of the countryside; it's still green and gorgeous. Often the country roads are lined with trees that overhang the road on both sides, forming a kind of green tunnel. Lots of sheep, hay bales, hedgerows, and these pheasants. They are fairly large and easy to spot in newly mown fields. Beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chawton is a tiny little village, but a magnet for Jane Austen fans. Chawton Cottage, where Austen lived with her mother and sister, is nevertheless surprisingly untouristy and unpretentious. It doesn't feel like a stuffy museum; instead, you get up close and personal with the sparse remains from Austen's life -- furniture, fabrics, pictures, letters. It's almost heartbreaking in its littleness and modesty.

 



 

 

 

 

 

This is the small writing desk on which Austen is reputed to have written/revised Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. Wow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last stop in England, and jumping-off point for France, was Canterbury in Kent, the most southeast of all the counties. Canterbury is famous for various reasons, especially its great and ancient cathedral and the fact that it is home to the Archbishop, the highest office in the Church of England.

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We dropped off the van at Enterprise just in time and again with no mishaps. Since we had a late-night bus ride to Paris, we had to "kill time" in Canterbury. This was not a problem in this charming, still very medieval city. We had some delicious fish and chips, saw a Halloween-inflected performance of some of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and curled up by a fire in a charming pub of the same name.

 

 

 

Stay tuned for the last installment!



Road Trip Part 2: Bath and Stonehenge





 

Only a few miles from Bristol lies the extraordinary city of Bath. In a country full of spectacular architecture and rich historical sites, Bath is really special. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with gorgeous 18th and 19th c. stone architecture.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

The takes its name from the exquisite Roman baths which are the best-preserved natural hot-springs from Roman times (the Romans called it Aquae Sulis) and still a very popular spa. Actually there was much more to Aquae Sulis than just the baths, impressive as they are (there are sauna rooms and multiple pools of different temperatures, etc.). There was a temple, for example, and the excellent museum, much of it underground, displays and interprets Roman artefacts

 

 

 

I love when museums have exhibits that invite you to touch!

 

 

 

 

 

The Roman engineering that went into the construction of this place was incredible. The heating and drainage systems alone were ingenious.

 

 

 

There were some signs indicating that you should not touch this steaming, green-blue water, but how could we resist dipping in a finger? At the end of the tour, we were invited to taste the water, touted in by-gone days for its medicinal properties. The boys said it tasted like "warm, salty hot dog water".  

 

Next to the Roman baths is Bath Abbey, a beautiful gothic church with fluted columns and a lace-like sculptured ceiling.

 

  

 

  

And as if Bath wasn't amazing enough, later the same day we drove to Stonehenge north of Salisbury.  Stonehenge is around 5000 years old, a mystery in every respect -- why it was built, how it was constructed, etc. We've seen pictures of this stone circle all our lives, but it really is incredible to see it for yourself in person. Astonishing.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Just to prove that we were there!

  

 

  

 



 

 

 

A picture-perfect day.

Half-Term Road Trip Part 1: Bristol

Students in the UK get a "half-term break", a week off, at the end of October. This was a great opportunity to get out and explore England and further afield. The first stop would be Bristol, in the south.
Wanting to look in nooks and crannies, and see the countryside at a slower pace than the bus or train allows, we decided to rent a car. We requested a small car, and an automatic: it would be difficult enough to drive on the left side of the road on narrow cobblestoned streets without also shifting the gears in a standard with the opposite hand! Unfortunately when we got to the rental agency, the car they had designated for us was broken down and so the only other automatic was.... an 8 passenger van! Stress. We decided to try it out, and with one of us navigating (and making sure we're on the left side) and one driving, we set out. I dreamed about crashes and scratches all night.

 

 

At least the boys had room to spread out their games and snacks, and a seat between them if they argued!

 

 



 

 

The driving went well, once we got used to the many roundabouts where we often had to  make split-second decisions about which lane to be in. There's a fair amount of "assumed knowledge" in the signage -- you have to sort of know where you are going. But the countryside was stunning, especially from the roadway. Even in late fall, it's still quite green, though we saw some nice fall colours as well.

 



 

 

Our first destination was Bristol, a port city of about 400,000 on the southwest coast, near Wales. We'd heard some great things about Bristol from Chris Short, and we were not disappointed. It's home to the excellent Arnolfini art gallery.

Bristol is bursting with character and maritime charm. There are ancient, twisting passageways, like the Christmas Steps, that are reminiscent of the merchants, adventurers, and pirates of yesterday.

 There is also a nice Newfoundland connection; Bristol is home to the Matthew replica that sailed to Bonavista for the Cabot celebrations in 1997. We also learned that the Bristol dialect has similarities with Newfanese, like "Where is the museum to?"

At the same time, some of the architecture has a contemporary edge to it.

 

At the M-Shed, a museum about Bristol's history and present, we learned about some of the cool folk who were from here, many of whom, like the graffitti artist Banksy,  have been unconventional and progressive thinkers and activists.

 

The only downside of the visit was the pouring rain and the difficulty of getting on and off the M-5 motorway without ending up in Wales. Still, we had a grand first day.

 

Next stop, Bath.

 



What's for Tea?

Though we're living a very different life here in many ways, life here settles down into a routine as well.  Part of my daily routine is getting groceries, I'm delighted to say! I have always enjoyed this chore. It's even more fun when the shops offer different things than what you're used to.

I go daily because the bread tastes so yummy when it's fresh, and because my groceries come home on this trusty fold-up (notice hinge in middle) bicycle, and so I can only carry so much.  I even brought home our Thanksgiving turkey in that basket on the front. There's only been one mishap--my newly bought quiche jumped out of the overly full basket as I went over a bump and landed on the pavement. Oh oh. Felt a little odd picking up chunks of quiche off the road.

 

We were delighted with the choice of cheese! 

 

Temptingly inexpensive! We could gain a lot of weight on this stuff.

 

 

 

Many varieties of pot pies,

 

 

 

and honey.

 

But no "Aunt Jemima" for Ken's pancakes, so it's either the real stuff or molasses!

 

Still can't resist a bargain, especially if it involves ingredients we've never tasted.

Move over, ketchup, we've taken a shine to brown sauce. It's a bit



Move over ketchup. We've discovered brown sauce. It's like a mixture of barbecue, ketchup, and worcestershire. Yum.

 

Some things never change, though. We are on our fourth jar of peanut butter in six weeks.

School Britannia

In As You Like It, Shakespeare writes about "the whining schoolby with his satchel/ And shining morning face, creeping like snail/ Unwillingly to school" (2.7.144-146), no doubt reflecting on his own school-days in Stratford. Fortunately, Daniel, Ben, and Levi don't feel this way -- yet, at least -- about their school experience here.

 

Looking sharp in their uniforms. Daniel and Ben have learnt to tie a tie. Felt like a preview to their weddings watching Ken supervise the tie tying on the first day.

 

 

 

 

We have a 1 km walk to school, a nice way to start the day.



 

 

 

 

The boys have made some nice friends and joined after-school "football" and trampolining.

Bouncing boys are happy boys.

Nancy is impressed with the schools' homemade, healthy hot lunches. If you have a magnifying glass, you will see some choices like chicken and vegetable curry, pork medalions in tomato sauce, margarita pizza. Maybe Jamie Oliver has been to town.

 

 

 

 



Here are some "reviews" of the English school system by our resident experts:

LEVI: "My class is called the Mrs. Jefferies Jaguars, and I'm in Ash House at The Willows Church of England Primary School. The other houses are Beech, Elm, and Oak, all different types of trees. You can earn House points by doing good work in your tasks. There are two school councillors for every class, a  boy and a girl. We elect them, and they go to meetings and make decisions for the school. There are also House captains. The system for lunch orders is different because there is a red or green choice every day. In the morning when the teacher takes attendance, if you want a hot dinner, you state your choice, and she throws you a red or green band. Then, at lunch, you go to the gymnasium and collect your lunch and sit at a table and eat. You have to pay for hot dinners; the rest of the pupils sit in their class and eat their packed lunch. I have a friend here named William who is in my class, and we are both new this year."



BEN: "I go to Stratford-Upon-Avon High School, and I'm in year 8. I'm in Shakespeare House (the other houses are Hathaway and Arden, like in Harry Potter). The kids are sort of like normal except their names are different from Newfoundland names. For example, there aren't many Ryans, Kyles, or Brandons; instead they have names like William, Henry, George, and Jack. There are more after-school activities than in Corner Brook like football, rugby, and trampolining. The school sorts the students by how good they are at the subjects so there are many teachers and the school is about the size of Corner Brook High. The technology is very good because everyone has their own bank account for school lunches and you use finger scanners to pay for your lunch rather than cash."




DANIEL: "I've been having a great experience so far at school. Everything is so well-organized. It seems like schooling is taken very seriously by everyone, teachers and students. I miss my friends but I've made some new ones."