The Welsh Countryside

Our luck with the weather hadn't changed much - we arrived in Holyhead to heavy clouds, wind and some showers. We were all hoping for some improvement as our tour for the day was taking us to Snowdonia, in the centre of the country, and on a vintage train journey.

Holyhead is actually on the now rather famous island of Anglesey, made so by Prince William and Princess Catherine as they lived there while he served in the Search and Rescue Service. The islanders are very proud of the fact that they were able to maintain the couple's privacy while they were there, especially from nosy international reporters. Our tour guide told us that the locals enjoyed putting the reporters off: whenever they were asked for some details about William and Kate, they would ask 'Is that Smith or Cooper?' or something similar. The other local joke is that the Anglesey branch of the grocery store Waitrose became known as 'Kate-rose' because she shopped there and all the photographers lurked to get photos. As a result of the islanders' protection of their privacy, William and Kate still maintain ties on Anglesey and love to go back.

We set off under cloudy skies, hoping that taking the umbrella and raincoat would hold off any rain during the tour.

A quick leg-stretch and washroom stop in Caernarfon (AKA-Carnarvon) let us get a glimpse of the castle where the Prince of Wales is historically invested, although it sounds like there haven't been very many of them since there was a gap of about 300 years before Edward in the 1930s. This was the Edward who later became King Edward VIII and almost immediately abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson, giving us King George VI, Elizabeth's father. Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales by Queen Elizabeth in 1963, and the next one might just be Prince George if Charles decides to step aside for William when his time comes. Oddly enough it was our local guide who suggested Charles might step aside in favour of William.

Caernarfon Castle - the small balcony you can just see
on the right is where Prince Charles was presented
as the Prince of Wales

After another short drive we arrived at the town of Porthmadog, where our train journey would start. It is quite near Portmeirion, which is apparently quite well worth a visit because of its wonderful architecture, all designed by one Welshman to look like a southern Italian village. Porthmadog is a charming little town, and was originally a port from which slate from the Blaenau Ffestiniog quarries was shipped.

When the tide goes out around here, it really
goes out! Or maybe he just moored his
boat in the wrong place?

One of Porthmadog's more popular attractions is the Ffestiniog Steam Train. It runs through to the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, a 13 mile journey that takes about 1 1/4 hours. This narrow-gauge railway started running in 1836 to carry slate, and started taking passengers in 1865. The trains are all restored from that period, and much of the staff is made up of student volunteers who come from all over the world to work for the season. This little railroad is part of a "network" of steam train lines that connect with each other to form a 40 mile long journey for steam train buffs from all over the world.

In our coach, awaiting the arrival of the engine

Here it comes! It is a 'push me-pull you' style
engine with a chimney at each end. At the end of the
route they just move the engine and hook it back up
for the return journey

And off we go!

The train trip was very comfortable and scenic - except of course for all the trees. We were travelling inside Snowdonia National Park, where many of the trees had actually been planted in a reforestation project in the early 1900s, as many trees had been used to build ships for the British Navy during the many sea battles in the 1800s. Although it sounds like the name of a winter wonderland from a Disney movie, the Snowdonia National Park takes its name from Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, and located within the park. It just sounds funny when you hear the name!

A Welsh chapel and the view beyond

Slate hills left over from the quarry

Wales has a great history of mining slate, and the remains of that history dot much of the landscape. In order to yield 1 ton of usable slate, 10 tons had to be mined and the excess disposed of. These huge mountains of unusable slate are everywhere, and since they've been piling up since the 1830s, you can imagine how many there are and how high. Now they are looking for uses for this material and have recently started mixing it with the asphalt for roadways.

We took the train only one way and were picked up by our coaches to go for lunch in the town of Betws-y- Coed, at a local hotel. After lunch we drove back to Angelsey, with a couple of short diversions for photo ops and local curiosities.

This is the Ugly House, also known as a House of the Night - NO, not the kind you are probably thinking of. In the 1800s in rural Wales, if you could find a piece of land and, in the course of one night, build a house, with a fire in the fireplace by dawn, you could have both the house and the amount of land around it to the extent that you could throw an axe in all four directions. So it may not be the most picturesque little place, but it is still standing after all this time.

This is the first span bridge built in Wales. It is in another photo earlier in this post, and you can see the extent of the tidal difference in the Menai River when you compare them. Our driver actually took us across the bridge in our bus not long before we stopped - a feat in itself when you consider that the bridge was originally built to carry horsedrawn coaches and, although the road surface has been improved, they haven't done a thing with the rest of the structure.  Our mirrors just barely fit through, two inches to spare on each side. And each mirror assembly costs $3,000 to replace if he misjudges the sides!!!!

This little house in the middle of the Menai River was also in an earlier photo, and it is interesting just as much for the rocky area around it. This is actually a fisherman's house, but he doesn't have to take out a boat. The walkway surrounds a fish pond of sorts. The fish swim in during the high tidal periods and as the tide goes out they become trapped and the fisherman harvests them.

Our final photo stop was in the small town whose name is almost as long as the main street: Lllanfair....goch. This is the longest town name in the UK, and has quite a story to go with it. Apparently the man who owned the local post house, where the men riding with the mail would rest, eat and change horses, wasn't too happy when the first roadway to Cardiff didn't go through his town, which at that time had a rather pedestrian and forgettable name. He took his sons to the top of a local monument, commemorating a local military man who had been on the battlefield with Wellington at Waterloo, and identified everything that he could see in all directions. His plan was to change the town's name to make it a curiosity that people would want to visit. You can figure out what he saw by reading the translation. He would also be very pleased to know that this little town with nothing to speak of but an almost unpronounceable name now has over 1.5 million visitors a year. The locals, by the way, drop most of the middle letters so it sound more like 'Lanfairgoch'.

So ends our day in Wales. We're off to Scotland next. We'll see if the weather holds - the captain's forecasts haven't been too promising so far...

A Slight Deviation From Plan

Dover, once we arrived there, looked just as we remembered it, except that the White Cliffs had a lot more greenery growing on them. Our tour bus guide from London had already remarked on that during the drive, telling us that it has been increasing over the past 15 years, ever since the opening of the Channel Tunnel. Those who wonder about things like this figure that it is because the smaller number of cars using the ferries have left the Dover air cleaner, so the chalk hills are more able to sustain the plants that take hold there.

It seems that ferry service between Dover and Calais might actually be even more reduced - or at least it is right now, and not because anyone wants it that way. Our drive to Dover took us about 3 hours (our last trip to Dover only took about 2 hours from Southampton, which is farther out than London!) because of issues on the French side that have most of the ferry service and the cargo train service from England disrupted to a huge degree. Cargo trucks and trailers can't get across because of blockades by ferry workers in Calais complaining about the current owner selling the ferries, and the Tunnel has a problem with migrants from eastern Europe and northern Africa wanting to get to England by any means possible, including sneaking into, under, and on top of trucks, trailers and even the Chunnel Eurostar passenger trains! The net effect of this is that the M20, the main motorway to the Channel Tunnel entrance and Dover, has been closed off more often than not, and has become a parking lot for trucks waiting to get across to Europe. Everybody is waiting for the French government to step up and do something about both issues, but nothing is happening so far except that everyone outside of France is getting really fed up with the French government. So right now there is no easy way to get from England to the Continent on wheels, and drivers have to take some inventive detours to get around the problem.

Since that was one issue we would avoid, we did finally manage to get to Dover and on board. The first person we saw as we boarded was Guiseppe, one of the section headwaiters in the Dining Room. So far it has been like old home week (as usual) with the crew, but we've seen surprisingly few regular guests. We already knew that Keith and Anne Marie would be on board, but we usually see more people we have cruised with before.

Sailaway was delayed a bit because of the traffic issue with later flights transferring in, but in the end we got everyone on board and left Dover while we were having dinner.

Our first port stop was supposed to be St. Peter Port, Guernsey, but we already knew that there was some windy and unsettled weather coming in from the Atlantic. The first night in the Channel was quite rocky-rolly, and when we got up in the morning (panicking because the alarm didn't go off and we would have only a half-hour before our tour) and looked out the window, all we could see was fog and rain and waves - and the ship moving. A quick glance at the TV showed that we had already passed Guernsey, and a few minutes later, Captain Vorland made an announcement to confirm not only that we had an unscheduled sea day, but also that we would not be going to Wateford on Monday, also because of the weather. But Crystal, being Crystal, had scrambled around and managed to get us into Cobh (pronounced Cove for those of you who don't know anyone named Siobhan) and arrange excursions into and around Cork.

Now, finally, we'll get to some photos! We chose the option of going to Midleton and to the Jameson's Whiskey Distillery.  Our tour was over an hour long and took us through both the history of Jameson's (established by John Jameson in Dublin in 1760) and the particular whiskey-making process that they use. At the end there was, of course, a whiskey tasting. A few of us also volunteered to do a comparison tasting between Scotch (Johnny Walker Black), Bourbon (Jack Daniels) and Jameson's Original. Any guesses as to which was everyone's favourite???

One of the old malt grinding wheels

The Master Distiller's 'Cottage' - with 26 rooms!!

An old delivery truck

Jameson's triple distills its whiskey, which is why it tastes so much smoother than many others, and also why it is so different from Scotch (twice) and Bourbon (once). The main difference in taste from Scotch comes from the malt being dried over a clean fire that doesn't impart any flavour or aroma into the grain, unlike Scotch where the malt is dried over peat fires. The triple distilling process is also very interesting. It is literally that the alcohol fumes created when the malt and water are mixed with yeast and heated that move from the still into a condenser and are turned back into a liquid state with a fairly high alcohol percentage. This liquid is heated again, creating an even higher proof alcohol, and then for a third time, where the product is about 160 proof (80% alcohol) and much 

purer. It is then placed into casks and aged before being mixed with ultra-pure water to bring the alcohol content to a level fit for consumption.

The cooper's room, where barrels would be
made from American Oak. Spanish casks are
also used after they've held sherry.

A look at the barrel aging process as the years go by. The
final concentration has a very high alcohol content
and needs to be cut with demineralized water.

No, there are no worms in this tub! It is actually the
old condenser, where the alcohol vapour was sent through
a large number of tubes to cool down. The tubes
apparently look like big worms.

Larry at the Distiller's Academy

The comparative whiskey tasting. Jameson's
remains Monica's favourite

Larry found a really, really big bottle of Jameson's

Even though the distillery is in the centre of Midleton, we didn't have enough time to take a walk around before heading back to the ship. Even though it was a replacement stop, Daniel and the Shorex team did a really good job of making alternate arrangements for us, and everyone we talked to had had a great day.

Back in London

For this flight we thought we'd try Air Transat to see what their premium Club Class was like - just as much so Larry could describe it to his clients as anything else. Considering the size of the aircraft, there were only 12 seats in Club Class, right at the front of the plane. Now we weren't expecting a full business class since Air Transat is a charter carrier, but we had hoped that the seats would recline quite a bit further than they did, and that there would be at least a little more legroom...We're writing this while sitting in a highway bus on the way to Dover to meet the ship, and it seems like there is only marginally less space between these seats than on the plane. On the other hand, the service was very friendly and the food was quite good.

Our arrival at Gatwick was smooth and quick, and our transfer driver was there to meet us. The first part of the drive was nice and fast; then we got off the motorway into the southern outskirts of London and straight into traffic. Once into Central London, our driver had a little trouble finding the actual front entrance of The Savoy Hotel so we drove around a rather large block (which included the River Thames) three times before he finally got us to the door.

The Savoy Hotel is now managed by Fairmont and recently went through a huge renovation project. The hotel itself originally opened in 1889 and has been an icon in Central London for more than 100 years. Actually, the hotel is on the site of a palace built in the 1200s by order of Henry III that was also named Savoy.  It is located on The Strand, right beside the Thames, down the street one way toward Trafalgar Square and The Mall, and the other way to Fleet Street and St. Paul's Cathedral. Here are a few photos of the hotel:

The main entrance

In the courtyard - this is where breakfast and tea
are served

The Savoy has its own tea shop - tea, pastries, chocolate
and petits-fours

In the American Bar

Not having had much rest on the plane, we were both tired and hungry by the time we reached the hotel. Our room wasn't quite ready, so we left our bags and set out to find lunch. Simpson's-in-the-Strand is a very famous restaurant known for its roast beef and other British specialties, also established in the late 1800s. Since it was virtually next door to the hotel we decided to eat there. Roast beef sliced tableside (thin slices, but you get three) with a HUGE Yorkshire Pudding and side of what Monica called 'Deconstructed Bubble and Squeak' - roasted potatoes and lightly cooked savoy cabbage. It certainly was delicious, but we were both fading fast by the end of the meal. Good thing the hotel had already phoned to tell us the room was ready...

Inside view of Simpson's

In the evening we decided to take advantage of the good weather and go for a stroll up to Trafalgar Square. From there we couldn't resist walking under the Admiralty Arch and along The Mall. Before we knew it we had walked all the way to Buckingham Palace.

We were still full from lunch, so we visited the American Bar (also iconic) at the hotel before heading upstairs. Monica was introduced to a new drink called the Corpse Reviver No. 2 (No. 1 being more well-known, more potent and made with different ingredients).  And that was it for the night.

Friday morning looked pretty bright through our window (which faced a small laneway between wings of the hotel), but by the time we finished breakfast it had clouded over and was raining lightly. Oh, well, we were planning on going to St. Paul's Cathedral anyway and had brought our rain gear just in case.

As we walked along we remembered the recommendations made by our friends Michel and Judy - the Twinings Tea shop and the tucked-away Temple Church were not to be missed. It was a good thing that Larry recalled the church, for there is only a small sign pointing down an alleyway to tell you where it is.

The Temple Church is actually named after the Knights Templar, now (in)famous for possibly having possession of and hiding the Holy Grail, the chalice Jesus used. The order of the Templars was charged with establishing the Catholic Church in England, and in the early 1200s began to build this church. The  so-called 'Round Church' portion was built to replicate the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, that houses the tomb of Jesus. In London it is the burial ground of some of the most important figures involved with the Magna Carta, as this particular church played a pivotal role in the negotiations up to its signing at Runnymede in 1215, and after that, William Marshal, the First Earl of Pembroke, was the guardian of the young prince who would become Henry III. Both William and Henry were imperative in ensuring that the rights of the people and obligations of the King set out in the Magna Carta became firmly entrenched in the common law, as they continue to be today. For those not familiar with the Magna Carta, it is the document that establishes that the King is not above anyone else, and is subject to the same laws as his people; it also sets how decisions on taxation would be made, so the King could no longer just create a tax because he felt like it or needed some extra cash.

Outside the Temple Church

Looking toward the altar. The Royal Family
have visited here on many occasions

The tombs of the First and Second Earls of Pembroke

This was a very interesting stop, and we have to thank Judy for letting us know about the Church. We would definitely have walked right by otherwise.

Our target for the day, St. Paul's Cathedral, is almost as impressive as St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and seems to be almost as big.

 Unfortunately, no photographs are allowed inside, so once we get a chance, we will 'borrow' a couple from the cathedral's website and post them here. Anyone who was old enough to see the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981 would have seen some of the inside. All we can say is that the aisle is long enough for Diana to have had second, and third, and fourth thoughts before she got to the altar!

Some of the most impressive parts of the cathedral are the memorial to Wellington and the mosaic ceilings over the Quire and High Altar (photos to come, we hope). The cathedral was designed and built by Christopher Wren, an amazing feat when you hear about how the cupola was engineered. The other feat was that the building was actually completed during Wren's lifetime; something not very common in any part of Europe at the time.

The audio tour also included a visit to the Crypt, which is the same footprint size as the main floor, and among others boasts the tombs of Christopher Wren, Admiral Horatio Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and others who became important and well-known in their fields, like artists, lawyers and doctors. Although Winston Churchill's state funeral was held here, there is only a monument to him in the Crypt - he is buried at his family's ancestral home of Blenheim Palace.

We spent a lot of the afternoon here, but the rain had only let up a bit, not stopped entirely, by the time we were done.

Our stay in London was capped off by a dinner at the Savoy Grill, which is once more under the Gordon Ramsay umbrella. It was everything we had expected and more. We had Beef Wellington for dinner and a Cherry Crepes Suzette for dessert. Of course, we could resist taking some pictures here, but we didn't:

Beef Wellington with peas and cauliflower cheese

Our dessert prepared tableside

Saturday morning would bring a short trip to the hotel where Crystal's bus transfer was picking us up, and the drive to Dover.

Off Again!

It doesn't seem to have been very long since we got back from Germany, and we're ready to go again. One of the other consultants in Larry's office asked if our clothes don't just jump into the suitcases on their own! And in this case it would have been nice if they had. We've been quite busy and are looking forward to relaxing aboard our favourite ship, Crystal Serenity.

Franklin has, as usual, been studiously avoiding the suitcases, so we'll give up trying to get a bon voyage photo to start the blog.

This cruise will show us more of Ireland and Wales than we have seen before; we're looking forward to seeing it and sharing our experience with you. Hope you enjoy following along!