Oban II

Saturday, May 30, 2009 - Today we walked up to "McCaig's Tower" - a coliseum-looking structure at the top of a hill overlooking Oban. An incredible hike, and incredible views from above. Afterwards we headed back into town to catch the sunset. Which took, like, forever. I keep forgetting that it's literally still light here at 11:00PM every night.. But alas, when it finally started setting, it was in fact beautiful.

Brasileiros
Hoje nos andamos para "McCaig's Tower" - um quase-coliseo sobre um morro com vistas lindas de Oban. Depois, nos fomos para ver o por do sol.. Eh estranha aqui porque o sol nao se poe ate as dez a noite. Mas vale o pena; a vista foi linda.

Oban I

Saturday, May 30, 2009 - Oban is very cool.. I really like it here. It's right on the water, but I don't really know whether it's technically the ocean or a loch? In any case, it seems a little richer in Scottish culture (either that or it's simply more touristy). I do think it's the former though. Lots of residents actually walking home, carrying the groceries, in kilts. I also hear bagpipes every now and then.

Yesterday we walked around the city, then took a walk along the shore toward the next town. We could see off in the distance the remains of a castle high ontop of a hill, so we headed that way. It was a tiny bit dicey as we had to walk up a somewhat travelled, very small 2-lane road. We couldn't tell how to get off the road and into the hill area to walk up it. Finally, there was a tiny break in the fence, so we took it and climbed up the hill. And what a reward..

Totally unspoiled, ivy had overtaken the entire castle remains, of which were really in good shape considering nobody maintains it. The walls, roof, and stone staircase all were still standing. The only sign of any indication as to what this castle was is a little sign that said "Private property: enter at your own risk." No idea really what it was otherwise, except beautiful. The view of the towns below, the oceans and clusters of islands on all points of the horizon, and the clear blue sky above were breathtaking.

Brasileiros
Estamos aqui em "Oban", uma cidade no lado oeste de Escocia. Essa cidade fica no mar, e eh maravilhosa (pra variar). Ontem, nos andamos sobre um morro que tem um castelo.. O castelo eh completemente verde, porque eh coberto em plantas. E a vista desde a ca do mar, islas e o ceu azul, foi incrivel. Estou impressionado..

Glasgow > Oban

(Castle on the side of the road)

Friday, May 29, 2009 - We may have a new contender for prettiest bus ride.

Brasileiros

Acho que nos temos um ganhador novo para a viagem mais lindo..

Glasgow II

Thursday, May 28, 2009 - Glasgow is cool. It's a big city, which I'm not usually too fond of, but Glasgow is interesting to me somehow. Maybe part of it is just that I've always had some sort of affinity for coming to Scotland, so I have a feeling I'm going to like everywhere here..

Unfortunately I'd been slammed at work, so I wasn't able to do a ton of sightseeing.. But so far I've just been ejoying everyone's accents.

We did manage to visit the Glasgow cathedral before work yesterday, which was quite entertaining.. We met a fellow traveller there also - Jeff - a Canadian that has been on the road in western europe for 7 months. Everything was free of charge at the cathedral, including the museum, and the folks that worked inside were hysterical. I think they broke the monotony by teasing tourists - especially american ones. One Scottish gentlemen seemed to be lurking around every other corner, just waiting to try and make us laugh somehow.

"I like to tell Americans: the cathedral has been here ever since the 500's." (oohs and aahs from Ana & I) "But that organ up there - now that's brand new. It was just installed there in 1843." (sinister scottish laugh)

There were also underground tombs there, which we checked out. Of course, the Scot was perusing around down there and 'happened' to find us again. He asked Ana "Ar'ya brev?" "....????" "I ask, ar'ya a brev'n?" "....????" I had to jump in and save Ana. "Yes sir, she's brave." "D'ya want'a toouch some bones?" He walked us over to the tomb of the founder of the cathedral, Saint Mungo. There was a little hole in the top of it, which he asked Ana to put her hand through so she could touch his bones. She refused however, and he admitted that he was going to startle her by grabbing her if she started to try. (sinister scottish laugh) "I jost loov teasin' amayricans.."

He also told us that unfortunately we picked the mosquito time of year to come to Scotland. "And ya canna' do anything for'et. Lotions dunna'help. Spreys dunna'help. But ya know one thing that does work?" "???" "Scot-ish whiskey." (sinister scottish laugh)

At the end he wished us well journeys and asked that we tell everyone back home how much we love Scotland - which, so far we do. He didn't leave us much choice anyway..

Brasileiros
Glasgow eh legal. Eh uma cidade grande, e geralmente eu nao gosto das cidades grandes, mas eu gosto daqui. Eu acho que parte da razao eh que eu sempre queri viajar para aqui, entao provavalmente eu vou gostar dos todos os lugares em Escocia.. As pessoas aqui sao engracados demais tambem.. Eh dificil para nao gosta daqui, eu penso.

Glasgow I

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 - Before we left the US, Ana and I met with a couple that Ana worked with at her old office - Rod and Sheila. They have travelled extensively throughout the world and even better, Rod has family here in Scotland (born-and-raised Scottish family). So he gave us the e-mail of one of his cousins that lives not too far from Glasgow - Jen.

We met up with her Tuesday night at a pub to get a little bit of the lowdown around Scotland. Jen is extremely gracious, and she even took something like a 50-mile train ride just to meet with us.

I learned that there's a whole Glasgow/Edinburgh thing going on here; the East Coast vs. the West Coast.. Just like back in the US.

Brasileiros
Antes de saindo dos estados unidos, nos encontramos com amigos da Ana em Portland (Rod e Sheila), porque eles viajaram para muitos lugares do mundo; e melhor, Rod tem familia (uma prima) que nasceu em Escocia - Jen. Entao, nos encontramos com Jen na Terca. Ela eh simpatica demais e muita engracada. Aparentemente, Escocia tem uma rivalidade similar com o Norte e o Sul do Brasil.. Mas com Glasgow eh Edinburgh.

Haggis
She mentioned "haggis" at one point during the conversation.. I've seen all sorts of stuff on TV about Haggis; Even in movies. Haggis is like the national dish of Scotland. It dates back some time to when Scottish farmers working out in the field wanted to make the most of all portions of an animal for consumption. So basically, Haggis is everything except the meat. Heart, liver, lungs, brains; whatever else can be found. This stuff is then ground along with oats, rice, and spices and stuffed into the animal's intestinal lining, then boiled.

After she mentioned Haggis, I just had to try it. That was some good stuff. It sounds odd but I could say the same thing for sausage. Pretty bad gas the next day. I will likely eat Haggis again.

Brasileiros
A Jen falou sobre "Haggis" aquela noite, e eu vi falar de essa comida.. "Haggis" tem todo das coisas dos animais, exceto carne.. Entao, cerebros, coracao, pulmoes, figado, etc. Eu precisei provar essa. Foi massa velho.. Parece a linguica. Eu vou experimentar de novo.

Lake District -> Glasgow

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 - Some photos from Windermere, as well as some shots from our bus ride through the lake district and up to Glasgow.

Brasileiros
As fotos de nosso utimo dia em Windermere, e tambem as fotos enquanto dirigindo no onibos para Glasgow.

Pub Experience II

On Saturday in the Lake District I went to a pub. Rugby was playing on TV, and most of the people in the pub looked like they used to play for one of the teams on TV. I think I had more teeth than everyone put together there. Therefore, I played it safe and only ordered beer. I didn't want to look like a nancy, especially in a part of the country where people are hard enough to understand even when they have a full set of teeth.

I chilled up at the bar. The bartenders were pretty cool with me.. I talked with one of the patrons (a Scot) for a while who was pretty cool. Finally, some Brit came in with his woman and ordered "A pint and a water." The bartender looked at the guy with rage, put everything in his hands down, and said to him "**ICE** **WATER**??????????????????" As if he just insulted the guy's mom.

The poor patron looked really embarrassed. I was so happy I'd only been ordering beer.

The next day, Ana and I walked around the city a bit. I was exhausted and needed a little caffeine. The only place I could find though that said they served coffees (cappucinos, espressos, etc) was my same pub. I was very hopeful that I wasn't about to order this from the same bartender that verbally lashed that patron yesterday.

Whew - doesn't look like that guy's working today. I go up to the bar and ask if they make mochas there. That bartender looked at me in a fit of rage, put everything in his hands down, and shouted at me "WHAT THE FFFFFFFFFFFF-" I stopped him before he could finish, as I couldn't help myself but laugh in hysterics and said "Forget it! A pint of Wainwright.."


I may have set a personal record for fastest completion of a pint & pub exit that day.

The Lake District I

Monday, May 25, 2009 - On Saturday we arrived at Windermere in an area in north England called The Lake District. We stayed at the Lake District Backbackers hostel, which was jam-packed with an apparent choir from Manchester. They were singing at a church nearby, so they practiced in the common room, while we ate dinner. Not bad dinner music.

It's (strangely) beautiful here.. It seems as mountanous as northern Wales was, but there are lakes everywhere. There also happened to be clear skies for basically the entirety of our stay.

Yesterday we walked down to the lake, which seemed really far away, and very downhill. We later found out that was actually the town of "Bowness". Apparently we walked to another town. After exhausing ourselves walking uphill back home, we happened to see a little church, I happened to notice it was Methodist, we both noticed there was a service at 6:30PM, and it was 6:15PM. We decided to attend, and as in Oxford, there were only 11 of us there. Everyone was elderly, and absolutely hysterical. It was an interesting experience.

Brasileiros
No Sabado nos chegamos em Windermere - um lugar no norte da Inglaterra chamada "The Lake District" (distrito dos lagos). Tem lagos em todos os lugares.. Eh lindo (pra variar).

Nos fomos para um bar porque eu queria um cafezinho, e esse bar tinha uma placa que disse "cafe aqui". Eu pedi um cafe e o homem do bar olhou para mim com raiva e comecou a dizer "MAIS QUE PORRRRRA-" e rapidamente eu pedi uma cerveja ao inves do cafe. Eu bebi minha cerveja super-rapidamente e sai antes de levar um tiro.

York II

Friday, May 22, 2009 - Do I even need to say that this place is beautiful? Do I even really need to say that in any of my posts anymore? It's becoming redundant. But, it is.

I can also tell we're getting closer to Scotland, because people are becoming harder to understand. Today I'm working from a super cool cafe + beer garden. Super dangerous for me & my liver. Yesterday was a little dicey for my conference call as I was working from a pub and there was a plastered older Scot singing Dire Straits' The Walk of Life as loud as he could. I'm sure people on my call could hear a really bad rendition of Dire Straits' song in a thick scottish accent in the background.

Today we visited "Clifford's Tower". This was part of the York Castle way back when but, for me, has a very grizzly story hidden in it. In the 1100s, a fire broke out in the city and some of the residents took the opportunity to form a mob against the Jewish bankers there, basically because they owed much money to them. The mob became basically anti-semitical and thus the Jews in the city (at least 150 men, women, and children) took shelter in this tower on the hill - Clifford's Tower. The Jews remained there some days until they ran out of rations. The mob remained and grew angrier and angrier; though they offered clemency to anyone that surrendered. The Jews then decided to kill themselves - men, their own wives, and their own children - rather than surrender to the mob. The few that did surrender were massacred by the mob outside. This is basically the exact same story of the Jews at Masada, just in England.

We haven't really been paying to go inside any of these English Heritage places because, well, we don't have the money to.. But I felt compelled to go in this one simply to pay homage. I have to admit, I was a little upset at the fact that the only history told at this place was regarding the majesty of the architecture. Nothing about this horrific event. Outside in the grass was a plaque with 1 sentence on it briefly describing what happened here and a little hebrew underneath it, but that was it. It's like the city of York is too embarassed to admit what happened here.

Brasileiros
Preciso dizer que essa cidade eh linda? Preciso dizer que qualquer dessas lugares sao lindas agora? Acho que nao. Mais, tudos sao lindas.. E ridiculo.

Aqui estao mais fotos de "York" - o lugar onde estou nao posso entender ninguem.

York I

Thursday, May 21, 2009 - Um, WHAT?

I can't understand anyone here.

Brasileiros
York: Nao posso entender nada aqui.

Llangollen II

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - The view out of our window was of a mountain with ruins of a castle from the 1200s sitting at the very top. On our last day in Llangollen, we decided to try hiking to the top of the mountain to see the ruins. We did in fact make it, breathing a little harder than we should have been, and our legs shaking a little more than they should have been. The view from the top was stupid.

Brasileiros
A vista de nosso quarto era uma serra com um poquinho de um castelo dos anos 1700. Em nosso utimo dia, nos andamos para cima para ver o castelo. A vista em cima foi ridiculo.

Llangollen I

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - We arrived to our first Welsh town on Sunday in the beautiful town of Llangollen, nestled in a green valley on the River Dee with nearby Snowdonia - the largest mountain range in Wales. I think it's pretty safe to say this was the most naturally beautiful place we've stayed in yet.

Our accommodation was the Greenbank Restaurant and Hotel.. Just like it sounds; a nice restaurant with 3 stories of rooms above it. This was also one of the nicest rooms we've stayed in yet.

We visited Plas Newydd, a house nearby occupied in the 1700s by a couple women from Ireland that escaped arranged, and apparently abusive marriages and safely hid in Wales - in Llangollen. The two women lived the rest of their lives in the house, for nearly 50 years together. They took special pride in their gardens, all of which have been since very well preserved. Pretty cool.

Brasileiros
Nos chegamos em "Llangollen" - nossa primeira cidade em Pais de Gales. Tenho certeza que essa cidade foi a mais linda cidade (naturezamente) que nos ficamos. Nos ficamos em um restaurante que tem quartos em cima. Nosso quarto foi lindo tambem.

Nos viajamos para o Plas Newydd, uma casa onde duas mulheres da Irlanda vieram para ca nos anos 1700s, por serem maltratadas nos seus casamentos. Elas moraram la juntas por quase cinquenta anos. Foi muito legal.

Chester II

Saturday, May 16, 2009 - Man, I really dig this place. Today the sun came out and the city became even more glorious. This is definitely a hidden gem in the UK.

Apparently I was right, the city is in fact enclosed within the original roman walls constructed around 70AD. They've gone through renovations over the years (and by years, I mean some time around 1000AD and again around 1500AD), but they're still there. So today we took advantage of the good weather and walked all the way around the walls; basically the entirety of the city. We are exhausted.

Our First Hostel
So far, I really dig it. The atmosphere is way laid back, and we've met lots of cool people. Everyone is kinda responsible for their own deal, and everyone seems to take good responsibility for themselves. We even have a kitchen to finally cook our own meals in - a huge welcome for us. We met a super cool dude that reminds me a lot of Jerry Joseph (one of my favorite artists back in the states). He's just a bit of a wanderer, who spent some time walking here from southern england and camping it up on the way. We also met a group of guys here that just cycled 70 miles here today from southern england.

The City
I've been pretty surprised by this place.. This is a city, but not one that's too big to overwhelm you. It's beautiful, and it's super old, with structures dating back to 70AD. Today I had a beer in a pub opened in 1269. We'd planned on taking a train to Manchester while we were here, but because of how much we've liked it here, we decided to just stay put and enjoy.

At one point Ana said to me that she felt like she was in Disneyland.

Tomorrow, we head into Wales, to the town of Llangollen.

Brasileiros
Essa cidade eh maravilhosa.. Eh grande, mas nao eh grande demais. E eh linda, e velha tambem. Essa cidade tem paredes romanas originais toda em torno dela. Eu gosto da essa cidade, com certeza.

Amanha, estamos viajamos para Pais de Gales, na cidade "Llangollen".

Chester I

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - We spent yesterday travelling from Cirencester to Chester - just on the border of northern Wales. Tuesday was pretty challenging. My stomach was a little messed up, we had a total of 4 legs to get to chester (bus + 3 train stops), it was about a 3 mile walk with my 2 marvelously heavy backpacks and Ana with her luggage, it was easily the busiest day of work I've had since I've been here, I couldn't find a good internet connection, and the phone I did buy here in the UK was spotty at best.

The older gentlemen that sold us our tickets at the train station put a smile on our faces though.. They could see we were worn out, and we also had about a 3 hour wait for our next train, so they brought us some yummy tea that felt quite nice.

Chester is really beautiful.. From what I've heard, it's the only town or city in the UK to be fully enclosed by Roman walls. The architecture is very unique here.. It almost seems like it has Swiss influence. It's really weird walking past a pub and seeing "Established 1296"..

We spent this morning looking for a cafe with WiFi so I could get to my daily call at work. Unfortunately, the only place I could find with free WiFi was a pub - The Shropshire Arms. Very unfortunate.

Brasileiros
Ontem foi dificil.. Nos viajamos o dia todo, levando nosso bagagem pesado, andando muito, etc.. Mas finalmente, nos chegamos em "Chester" quase meia noite. Chester eh uma cidade linda quase em Pais de Gales. Em nosso primeiro dia, eu procurei um cafe para trabalhar, mas o unico lugar que nos achamos era um bar. Problema nao!

Mewn Argyfwng

Edrychwch o'ch cwmpas. Os nad oes perygl uniongyrchol, disgwyliwch am gyfarwyddladau gan staff Ar y Tren.

Evidently, we're near Wales.

Oxford

Wednesday May 13, 2009 - Oxford: Wow. What a joke. We took a train from Cirencester to Oxford because we were only like 40 miles away, and unfortunately were only there for the day. Oxford is a labyrinth of neverending beauty though.. I liken it to Bath, but just on an even larger scale.. Because we were only there for a day, it seemed like no matter where we turned, no matter which street, alley, nook or cranny; it was majestically beautiful. Literally every street we turned down had some marvelous, historic cathedral. The streets were lined with old walls, some of which had doors. We ventured into a couple of them, and behind them would be these 1 or 2-acre courtyards surrounded by medieval buildings and churches. The most ridiculous was when I saw a tiny alley between a couple pubs and decided to meander down it. Just inside of was a famous structure - the "Radcliffe Camera" - a gigantic, old, domed structure used as a "reading room" for a nearby divinity college (if I remember right).

In an alley? Apparently the alleys here are a little different than the alleys in the states.

We wandered into another gigantic church area - the Christ Church. We then noticed as we were walking around that a man by the name of John Wesley grew up and went to church here, and if I remember right, was ordained here. John Wesley and his brother started the Methodist Church. I was raised going to a methodist church, so this was especially freaky for me.

As we were marvelling inside this gigantic cathedral, Ana mentioned that it appeared a tiny church service was starting and she asked if we should attend. I affirmed. There were only 11 of us there (including the priest), and it didn't take too long until we both noticed that everyone there were priests. It was a short communion service. After it was over, the officiating priest asked where we were from. We chatted a bit, and he then told us "Well you were just a part of the bishop's meeting, just to let you know this wasn't a typical service of ours." Heh.. Whoops! Ana felt embarrassed, but I told her we should feel more welcome at that than any regular church service. A very cool, welcoming experience indeed.

I highly recommend that anyone visit Oxford. Here are some pictures, but it was rainy that day, so I forewarn you that these pictures will do no justice to the place.

Brasileiros
Na quarta nos viajamos para Oxford - a faculdade mais velha no Unido Reino. Essa cidade eh maravilhosa.. Ridiculo. Toda rua tem uma igreja enorme e incrivel.. Fiquei supreso demais, todo dia. Sou parte da igreja Metodista (protestant - sinto), e la nos achamos a igreja onde o criador da igreja Metodista cresceu. A ficha ainda nao caiu.

Pub Experience I

I had my first official pub experience yesterday in the little town of Cirencester. And it was different.

This pub here was like someone's house (in fact, for all I know it very well may have been). Just like a house near where you grew up where friends & family kinda come and go all the time as they please.. Carpet everywhere, what looked like a little living room with a couch. Wallpaper. A dog walking around. So when I walked in there, I got some pretty strange looks.. Just like you would if a semi-stranger just walked into your house to have a chat.

I ordered a Real Ale (see my review of Arkell's for a little description of a Real Ale) and just sat at a table. It was completely silent in there.. No music, only a few people up at the bar - but nobody talking at all.. Complete silence, and odd stares at me. You seriously could hear a pin drop. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. I think I sweat some.

Finally someone asked somebody else about poker. At long last: noise. Then silence again + odd stares back at me. I had to do something to stop feeling so uncomfortable so I asked them what kind of poker they were talking about.. Texas Hold 'Em: cool, my way in, since I'm from texas (even though I suck at texas hold 'em).

Then they became super chatty, super nice, and hilarious. It was funny, even the dog came up to me and had me pet him.

They wanted to know about my travels, where I'd been, where I was going.. They gave me suggestions.. Even invited me to a poker tournament on Sunday.

Very different than in the states, for sure.. Tough to get used to. I need to do that more often to brush off that uncomfort.

English word of the day: Carry-on. In the states when we say "Go for it" - ie "Mind if I sit here? Go for it." Replace with "Carry on!". "Mind if I sit here?" "Carry on!"

Brasileiros
Ontem eu fui para um bar em Cirencester.. Esse bar parece como uma casa (e talvez realmente eh - nao sei). Estava estranho - nao tinha musica, somente tres ou quatro homens, e estava silencioso. Todo mundo estava olhando para mim, quase que esperando para ver o que o gringo ia fazer.

Finalmente, um cara abriu sua boca e falou para uma outra pessoa sobre Poker.. Ahh, finalmente... Um oportunidade para falar com eles e terminar o silencio. E quando eu falei, eles estavam tranquilos demais. Estava estranho inicialmente, mas foi legal para entender a cultura aqui.

Cirencester I

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - We've been here in Cirencester a couple days now.. The house we're staying in is horribly nice - great owners as well.. The town and area are undeniably pretty as well. I think we're just a little.. I hate to say it.. bored. I kinda feel like Colin Farrel in En Bruge.. It's beautiful, but there's not a ton happening about. I'm really not complaining - I'm still thrilled to be here. But I am excited to see some new places.

Later today I will be going to a local pub however to try a Real Ale. From what I've read, these area ales that are served directly from vats where fermentation is even still occuring. This should be interesting..

Brasileiros
Nos estamos aqui en Cirencester para dois dias agora.. A casa aqui eh linda, os donos sao tranquilos demais, e essa cidade eh linda tambem.. Mais.. Estou um pouquinho entediado. Eh lindo aqui, mas nao tenho muitas coisas para fazer aqui.

Mas, estou indo para um bar aqui que servem Cerveja Real - "Real Ale".. Eu li que essas cervejas sao servidos enquanto a cerveja esta ainda fazendo. Eh diferente. Estou animado por esse....

Bath -> Cirencester

Sunday, May 10, 2009 - Today we left bath and head for Cirencester - a town in the Cotswolds area of England. We've just arrived but haven't yet really seen the town, but the drive in was a joke (surprising). Below are a few shots out the window of the bus; I also posted some older pictures from a visit we took to the British Museum in London (entitled "London V" a few posts down).

Brasileiros
Hoje nos saimos de Bath e fomos para "Cirencester" - uma cidade do interior. Eu nao vi essa cidade ainda, mas a vista ate aqui era linda. Veja as fotos do onibus.. E tambem, eu escrevi da uma viagem para o museu do Londres, chamada "London V" tres ou quatro posts em baixo.

Stonehenge

Saturday, May 9, 2009 - Yeterday we went to stonehenge, about an hour bus ride from Bath. We drove on a highway through gorgeous scenery and a few towns, when all of a sudden to my surprise were a bunch of stones on the side of the road.

Stonehenge is ridiculous. Apparently whoever built it (over 5,000 years ago) dragged stones, some over 40 tons, some 240 miles from southwest Wales. And why?

We sat there in the grass right in front of the stones and ate the lunches we'd packed.. I imagined one of the builders of this thing after they finally finished. "YES!! (fist pump) We're finally done." Then scratches his head and asks his buddy "Wait, why did we do this again?"

Brasileiros
Nos fomos para o "Stonehenge" ontem; foi massa. E estranho. Atualmente, eh ridiculo. Aquelas pessoas levaram pedras mais pesadas que vinte mil kilos, mais de 400 kilometros desde sudoeste de Pais de Galles.

Bath II

Friday, May 8, 2009 - This place is ridiculous. Today the sun came out (even though the temp remained somewhere in the low 50s, at least it felt like) and shone on the entire town.. Everything was even beautifuler than yesterday. This place is aesthetically perfect; and the people are horribly nice. When we first arrived and were wandering around lost, a couple actually went out of their way to come over and ask if we were lost and needed help finding something.

Today we visited the Roman Baths here, of which of course the town is named after, and of which date back to 44AD.

- An interesting theological note (feel free to ignore if uninterested).. Many "curses" were found here in one of the roman pools. Inscribed on these little pieces of iron were early romans asking one of their gods to avenge the thief that stole their property. One of them pleads with their local god and asks to bring down the perpetrator, "whether they be pagan or christian." What's interesting about this to me is that they mention a Christian at all. What that leaves room for in my opinion, whether it be probable or not, is that it's possible that as early as 44AD, the "Christian" movement was already common knowledge, and outside of Israel.. Which means that the gospels had to have been in circulation by the time that little note was written. Many biblical critics argue that if the gospels were written so far after the events described (ie hundred(s) of years later) they couldn't be credible. But if this little curse were carbon-dated back as early as 44, it could put that whole issue to rest. Maybe they already have been carbon-dated and just fail to mention it at that museum, but I found that to be a provocative thought nonetheless.

We also visited the Bath Abbey, which dates back to like 800AD. Completely ridiculous, and completely majestic. Very serene inside.

Below are various pictures around the town today..

Brasileiros
Hoje nos fomos para o "Bath Abbey" e os "Roman Baths". Foi in-cri-vel. E tambem hoje, estava ensolarado, que fez a cidade ainda mais linda. As fotos em baixo:

Bath I

Thursday, May 7, 2009 - The bus ride to Bath was a joke. I unfortunately nodded off a couple times but whenever I woke up and looked out the window it was fairyland.. Everything was beautiful. Nothing was not beautiful.

We arrived in Bath and I wandered the two of us around, lugging our stuff for probably a couple miles whilst I slowly came to the realization that I read our directions wrong. Oops. Hehe!!11!!1one

I should maybe have prefaced this blog post by noting that I'm working from a pub.

We finally found our next lodging - The Lynwood House; a bed and breakfast. This looks like the real deal. We actually have a menu by which to indicate what we want cooked for breakfast by the owners. I am so excited to actually eat something..

Ana was exhausted after our travels so she decided to embrace her Brazilian roots and take a nap. I was/am tired as well, but I can't sit still. I decided to go wander around aimlessly with my camera..

I must say, I am quite blown away. The natural beauty of this city is completely ridiculous. And my pictures are going to do it no justice. I don't even know where to start... But I'll try.

The view to the right from our B&B is of steep green hills littered with old houses and mansions. The view to the left from our B&B is of a beautiful street culminating at a cathedral. I walked into town and noted a canal running through the city and decided to follow that. To my right are green misty mountains/hills with exquisite houses abounding.. As I follow the canal, I see that it eventually has some sort of tri-level depression in it, where the water falls down these 3 gradual steps. An old stone bridge (stone-covered) spans it.

I then note that there are windows along the bridge. I wonder, this must be some sort of pay-to-walk type of bridge. As I near closer, I see shops & restaurants within the windows. Ahh, must be one of the most expensive restaurants in town. As I near, I note that one of them is a coffee shop.. With free wifi.. And the best mocha I have tasted so far. Right ontop of the water? Are you kidding me? I huddled down there for a while. The view out of the window of this incredibly regal canal, with little boats floating up and down and great green hills & mountains behind just made me laugh every time I looked. What a joke.

I can't believe I'm here..

Brasileiros
E ai. Estou no bar agora, 'trabalhando'... Essa cidade eh in-cri-vel. Eu gosto daqui: muito.. Tem beleza natural, pessoas sao tranquilas demais, etc. Nao sei.. Acho que esse eh que eu sempre achei uma cidade da Ingleterra vai ser. Veja os fotos..

London -> Bath

Thursday, May 7, 2009 - Today we left London and are now en-route to the town of Bath as we speak. London was very interesting and very beautiful - everywhere. I have to be honest though, I am excited to get out into the country a little more. There are plenty of things about cities I like, but only for short periods of time.


The town of Bath Spa is said to date back possibly 2,800 years, however I'm not sure how accurate that is. But what is known is that the Romans established a city here in the 40s AD. It was re-colonized in the 900s, and then in the 1800s was turned into more of a posh getaway for rich folk. People have always come here because of the natural hot springs.. For me, I can't wait to catch my first glimpse of Roman history.


English Fun Fact of the Day:

- The British seem to ask themselves rhetorical questions at the end of all their sentences: "Isn't it?" I love it. The penultimate was when I saw a kid on the street semi-harassing/giving a hard time to a woman. Very angrily she told him "Listen you, you shut your mouth, isn't it?" I'm going to come off like a real tourist if someone says that to me because I'll probably try to respond. "Oh.. Uh, yeah I guess it is."



Brasileiros

Hoje estamos viajando para a cidade do "Bath", tres horas oeste de Londres. A cidade de Bath foi fundada no ano 44 pelos Romanos. Porque essa cidade tem fontes quentes naturais, pessoas tem vindo aqui para sempre. Estou animado demais para ver as estruturas Romanas, finalmente...

London V

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - Yesterday before work we went to the British Museum.. I was a bit pleasantly surprised here; there were rooms and rooms of vast relics from ancient & biblical eras that I've previously studied. Now you will be bored by my listing of cool things I saw, but this is my blog, so you will read every word I have to say. An exhibition came through dallas a couple years ago that I went to see - Ancient Relics of the Holy Land.. What I saw in the British Museum easily matched that exhibition, and in fact, I think beat it.. And what's even more: this was 100% free.

- I was absolutely shocked to find that the actual Rosetta Stone is here. No Aaron, not the software. History lesson - for so long we (modern humans) have had in our possession artifacts written in hieroglyphics.. A language that for so many years scholars couldn't make heads or tails of. The Rosetta Stone was a stone that archaeologists uncovered that had a decree written on it in 3 different languages: hieroglyphics, modern egyptian, and greek. With these two other languages translated for us into greek, we could now decipher hieroglyphics. At that instant basically, all these artifacts around the world that never made any sense, now did. One of the most important archaeological finds ever sat right in front of my face. And about 100 other tourists snapping pictures of it.

- Assyrian relics.. Some stones of Assyrian kings and their conquests. Of special note for me, many of these stones mention Jewish kings by name, dating back from the same time period.

- Relics from "Ur". Tablets, medical notes, tools. By the time the Old Testament was written, the country of "Ur" was long lost, and long forgotten. Through oral tradition passed down over the years however, the name remained in the minds of the Jews, who then began the Torah & Tanakh (our Old Testament). Ur was the country where Abraham was purportedly from. Thousands of years later, archaeologists uncover relics from this land that end up corroborating many of the towns & names from Ur. An interesting attestation to the accuracy of the Jewish oral tradition.

- Relics from Akkadia. Obelisks still in tact here, that, though I may be wrong, are some of the actual "Asherah Poles" mentioned all throughout the OT.

Afterwards we checked out a really cool pub/beer garden recommended to us by Karine. Alright, I'll stop there. I don't know why I wrote all this.. I guess so I wouldn't forget, and also because I'm on a 3-hour bus ride now and am bored. Cheers!



Brasileiros

Hoje, nos fomos para o museo da Britania.. Fiquei surpreso - esse museo tem itens historicos importantes.. Itens culturais dos tempos da biblia, que sao importantes demais para mim.

London IV

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 - We slept a little better last night, though not fantastic.. But we'll take it - it's better than nothing. Work was a bit busy today; I worked from a cafe near the Tower of London while Ana re-did her Putty impression, then she went for a walk while I pounded away at work. We finally got to take off for lunch and check out the Tower of London, as well as the Tower Bridge. Spectacular.. The Tower of London looks like a castle, but was apparently where King Henry sent folks to be tortured for information and finally beheaded. We came back to the hotel and found Manchester United v Arsenal on TV, so I then promptly left for the pub & a pint. I can't remember what I had but it was strange.. It tasted like champagne. Note to avoid that again in the future.

Brasileiros
Nos dormimos melhor ontem a noite, mas ainda, nao muito bem. Nos fomos para o "London Tower" hoje.. Trabalho foi movimentado hoje, entao a Ana foi dar uma volta enquanto eu trabalhei. Finalmente, trabalho diminuiu e nos fomos ver o London Tower. Foi incrivel. O King Henry mandou pessoas para o London Tower para torturar, e para matar. Horrivel historia, mas esse lugar eh lindo - e velho demais. Depois disso, nos voltamos para o hotel, e eu discubri que Manchester United estava jogando com Arsenal na televisao. Entao, eu fui para um Pub por uma cerveja e para ver Ingleses fans de futebol - foi engracado..

London III

Monday, May 4, 2009 - Today we headed toward St. Paul's Cathedral. Apparently this is more or less the financial district of London, and strangely enough, it's beautiful. Cafe's were abounding there, so we spent the day in one while I worked. I told Ana today that she reminds me of Putty from Seinfeld. She's perfectly content to just sit there and look at things while I work.. She really is incredible.

For dinner, we headed over to a pub called The George. I had some sort of meat pie that was like comfort food - it really hit the spot and I have no idea what was in it. Ana had some seafood pasta that tasted scrumptious.

Fun facts:
- Everything is beautiful. Nothing is not beautiful.
- Reality has still not set in yet.
- I am tired.

Para os Brasileiros:
Hoje nos fomos para a Catedral de Sao Paulo. Foi linda. Estranha, nao eh? Nos comemos numa bar ai chamada "The George".. Eu nao sei que eu pedi, mais estava massa.

London II

Sunday, May 3, 2009 - Well, as you could tell from my last post, sure enough we didn't sleep at all on Saturday. Don't ask why; I guess we're still getting adjusted.. I read for a few hours, posted on the blog, stared at stuff. But not a chance sleep was coming for either of us.

Instead of sleeping during the day though, we decided to get out and see stuff, hoping we be utterly exhausted by night. For sure, we were walking zombies during the day.. But we took the train to Buckingham Palace, saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and London Eye. We stopped for a coffee and our view out the window was of Westminster Abbey - quite ridiculous.

Everything is still completely surreal.. It really isn't hitting me still that I'm in England. I wait patiently for reality to set in..

Some fun facts:
- The majority of people here speak either French or Italian.. We don't hear a ton of English.
- Our hotel room is a closet with a bed in it (see picture below).
- Everything is beautiful. Nothing is not beautiful.
- I am tired.

Para os Brasileiros
Nos nao conseguimos dormir ontem a noite - nada.. Mas ainda, nos fomos para muitos lugares ao inves de dormir. Nos vimos o Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, e o London Eye. Foi incrivel. A ficha ainda nao caiu.. Ainda nao acredito que estou no Inglaterra.

Alguns fatos:
- Geralmente, pessoas falam Frances ou Italiano.. Eu nao ouvi muito do Ingles.
- Nosso quarto no hotel eh um armario com uma cama (foto em baixo)
- Tudo eh lindo. Tudo.
- Estou com sono.

London I

Sunday, May 3, 2009 - Hello. Welcome to my mind at 3:45AM in London.. Obviously, we're having a little trouble getting adjusted.

We left Houston around 5:00PM on Thursday and arrived in London about 10:00AM Friday. Last time we travelled to Brazil, we spent nearly 24 hours travelling and it didn't seem like that big of a deal to my system. This time, we spent 17 hours travelling, it's the end of day #2, and we're still way screwed up.

But we've still been getting out and doing stuff. Today, I had my first pub experience. While I went out alone to find a cel phone store, I spotted a pub across the street. Bullseye. The interior of the place was so different; I felt like I was in somebody's living room. It was very small, carpeted, had a fireplace, sofas, curtains, and.. Beer. Everyone there knew everyone that came in by name (except me). I sat and just listened to everyone's conversation. Hearing all kinds of words that don't make any sense to me. A jolly good time, isn'it?

Mo and I then strolled around; we walked to Kensington Palace and Notting Hill, finding a pub afterwards to eat & drink at.

Everything here is beautiful.. Nothing is not beautiful; it's ridiculous. But at the same time, none of it is really hitting me yet. I'm in London? Seriously? Nah. Everything I see just seems like I'm looking at a photograph. When it does start to hit me, I'm going to flip out.. And hopefully get some sleep finally.

Brasileiros
Bemvindo a minha cabeca as quatro na manha no Londres.. E lindo aqui, mas nos nao podemos conseguir dormir ainda.. E estranha.. E acho que normal.

Hoje, nos fomos pra os lugares famosos - Kensington Park, Kensington Palace, e Notting Hill. E tambem, eu achei minha "Pub" primeiro. Foi legal demais.. Pubs sao tao diferentes aqui.. Eles parecem como casas. Sao comfortables demais. Tudos dos lugares aqui sao bo-ni-tissimos.. E ridiculo. Mas ainda, a ficha nao ciau! Nao acredito que estou aqui no Reino Unido. Eu vou acreditar logo; e quando eu souber, eu vou ficar louco.. E espero conseguir dormir....

Brilliant

Friday, May 1, 2009 - We are here.. Exhausted, and going to sleep. More to come tomorrow..