Moving along...'til the crash of December 27th.

So, Sunday morning after all the Christmas festivities, Jess got up early, actually later than she usually would and started planning.  Most of the trip has been plotted out and we're waiting to hear back from the places to stay - most will probably B&Bs on this trip.  The last day will be spent in London, probably at a Chelsea game and then some other places depending on the time, etc.

The tentative itinerary is below, sans the places we'll be staying and their prices.  The other prices will help us to determine if there is a pass we can get to gain access to most of those places and if it will be cheaper than paying for each one separately.  The best would be for their economy to take a real downturn over the next month so we can recoup some of the money we spent the last time we were there.

I'm pretty excited because the driving between places will be minimal as compared to our time in Spain and we should be able to see most if not all of the stuff that I wanted to  - especially, Leeds, Dover, Bodiam and Hever Castles.  I'm sure Jess will finish up the planning once she feels better - massive stomach virus today and has been in bed all day.  So has her brother, Max.  Both of those jerks were breathing on me yesterday as I tried to do a word search on the iPad, so I have no doubt that I will be praying to the porcelain gods while down in Florida.  I guess the bright side is that it is a milestone as it will be the first time I puked in a state other than New York (I think).

SATURDAY FEB 19

Hever p103 (london to hever 1 hr 8mins)

Knole (£2.50 parking, or park in town, not open in Feb so we just drive by)

Hever Castle (sent email about hours, £13 pp)

Penhurst Palace (10:30AM-4:30PM weekends only £9.80pp)

Chiddingstone

SUNDAY FEB 20

Canterbury p62 (Penshurst to Canterbury Cathedral 1hr 15mins)

Canterbury Cathedral (12:30-2:30-last entry 2:00 with crypt, £8pp)

West Gate- not open on Sunday

St. Augustine’s Abbey ( 10AM-4PM, £4.50) 

St. Martin’s Church (9:50am-10:30AM only)

Drive to Maidstone (40 mins)

MONDAY FEB 21

Leeds Castle p122

Castle (10:30AM-3:30PM £17.50pp)

Wander in Bearsted (Leeds Castle to Bearstead 8 mins)

Drive Leeds to Dover 46 mins

Walk the White Cliffs of Dover (1/4 mile hike each way up)

TUESDAY FEB 22

Dover Castle p78 (10AM-4PM,  £13.90)

Dover Castle

Drive to Rye (1hr)

Pretty village to see – think easily paired with visiting Battle

Battle p41 (Rye to Battle 30 mins)

Battle of Hastings Battlefield and Abbey

Battle p41 - to Bodiam Castle 15 minutes

DRIVE to: Salisbury & Stonehenge p165 (Bodiam to Stonehenge 2hrs 30mins)

WEDNESDAY FEB 23

Stonehenge 9:30AM-4PM £6.90 pp

Marketplace – poultry cross

St. Thomas’ Church (8AM-6PM, free?)

Cathedral Close

Salisbury Cathedral(715AM-6:15PM, tower tours 2hrs 11:15, 1:15, 2:15-call 01722 555156 for reservations. £8.50

Old Sarum/Stonehenge (10AM-4PM, £3.30pp)

Drive to Bath

Bath p33 (salisbury to bath 1 hrs 8 mins)

THURSDAY FEB 24

Bath Abbey and Churchyard 9AM-430PM , TOWER TOUR£5

Roman Baths Museum 9:30AM-4:30PM £12.00

Pulteney Bridge

Royal Crescent

Thermae Bath Spa

FRIDAY FEB 25

Bath to Eaton Castle (1hr)

Eaton Castle

Eaton Castle to Windsor Castle(1 hr 10 mins)

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle to Runnymede (9 mins)

Hampton Court p97 (bath to hampton court 2hrs 4 mins)

Hampton Ct (10AM-3:30PM, £15.40)

Maybe add Eaton Castle and Runnymeade

London (hampton court to london 37 mins)

Other possibilities depending on time

Stratford Upon Avon

Oxford

Cambridge

Cardiff

Technology...I wonder when I will be able to blog directly from my brain?

Bear with me with the typos...it's Christmas Eve, I'm typing this directly on the iPad and we're on the plane on our way to Florida.

Yes, Internet on the plane and for free from google. Pretty sick. Which means, all along you could have done this and they just didn't want you to. You can probably use your phone too with no ill effects, but who knows. At the rate technology is moving, I think many moons from now, I will be able to actually write this from a chip in my head that automatically posts it along with what I am seeing. Though probably highly unlikely, still a really cool idea. My parents would never have to leave their recliners. They wouldn't even have to leave them to use their laptop on their desk.

I've managed to get Jess to bring the London book with us so she can do some research and planning for the trip. The bad news, the Liverpool game was changed to Sunday, so, we'll have to head back this way again to catch them. Do I sound calm? I was actually expecting for that or something similar to happen to screw me out of seeing them, so while I am disappointed, I am not surprised.

Chelsea is playing Birmingham City so we are going to try to score some ticketed to Stamford Bridge and see at least one match. Hopefully I won't get screwed again.

On a side note, bizarrely, my goddaughter Deanna is going to London the same week - and possibly on the same flight, we're just waiting for confirmation.

As Jess starts the planning, I will start the blogging and let you know what's going on. Slagg should be getting a new uniform soon -so watch out!

Typical Planninig

There are about 70 days until we leave for London. I'd like to tell you what we're doing but I can't because a certain young lady is in the holiday mood rather than the planning one! I have plotted out a bunch of places that I would like to go see. We will be heading east and then going clockwise around the south from there and then back to London. Leeds, Hever and Dover Castles for sure. I've also got the site of the Battle of Hastings, Cantebury, Bath, Stonehenge and some of the other cool small towns plotted out for the trip. With any luck after we spend some time agreeing on what to paint what in the front porch, I'm hoping to have everyone's favorite vegan slaving away on the laptop and finding us places to stay and go when we are there. Chances are, I'll be updating this in February and telling you we leave in three days and still haven't heard from one or two of the places and I am totally stressed! Argh!

How well thought out travel decisions are made.

Many of you have asked, "So how do you guys choose where you want to go on these trips?"  

Well, it's not really as complicated as you think.  While in Australia, we had already begun the process of deciding where we would like to travel next.  Though the place I'd like to see most right now is Japan, we knew that after last February's trip to Northern Spain we wanted to go back to Europe.   Europe in the off-season was a great and relaxing experience.  We rushed when we wanted to.  Maybe it was just laid-back because it was Spain, but either way, traveling at that time to those places was really nice and beautiful.

Traveling to Japan for only a week would not have been a good option - too long of a flight and if I don't sleep, forget it, I'd be screwed the entire week.  So we discussed where in Europe we'd like to go.  There is a strong possibility that we will be going to Germany and Italy again this summer to meet up with Jess' parents, who are going on violin business.  Well, her mom is going for violin stuff.  Her dad is going because her mom is going.  He'd much rather stay here and watch baseball but I think once he's there and seeing cool stuff he's gonna love it - especially all the history.


We both loved Scotland and talked about that being the place to go.  There are a ton of places in the north - Inverness and the Highlands that we did not see when we were there in 2006.  So after some further discussion, we agreed to start looking for cheap flights to Scotland.


So how the hell did we end up deciding to go to England?


While Jen, Jess' teaching assistant from Western Australia was here in October (as I write this it's still technically October.  Ok it is October) they were traveling on the train from the city.  I was at work, which makes you wonder who else should have been at work and since Jen was on vacation, you can guess who I'm talking about. 


Well, I'm cruising through my day at work - and for those of you who know, that's just an accomplishment in itself.  I get back to my office and my pants start buzzing.  Jess is frantic on the phone.  I'm thinking they're involved in some sort of terrorist attack or something and Jess is like, "Quick, you got a minute? Quick, I'm forwarding you an email from cheapfares.com, there's a really good deal on the UK and I can't see it on my phone."


Without breathing, I sit down and start looking and click the link and go to the British Airways site.  There it is, what we're looking for, along with the message:  Book now only 3 seats left!!!  That stupid sign is flashing at me.  I'm trying to check the dates to make sure they are the ones I'm looking for.  I have two seats, it matches and we're looking good.  

Then there's something about the two free hotel nights that come along with it.  But they're attached to a package of like seven days all in London.  Shit, if we go I don't want to spend the entire time in London.  There's tons of cool shit around there that I want to see.  Well now I'm saying no, I want the flight but not the room and I click some other button and I think we're good.  So I start filling in all the necessary information and press to go forward and it's gone.  What the f*ck!


I call Jess back and now I'm frantic, "I don't know what the fuck just happened but all that shit is gone and it said there's only three seats left.  Goddamn!  I hate this shit!  Why do you have to call and drive me crazy here at work?  The deal is I tell you where to go and what I want to do and you do the planning!  Shit!" 


Well, I should have known that that deal was also off when the original deal of, "I'll make you lunch everyday if you clean off my car when it snows" deal died a horrible death when we moved in here and I'm still cleaning off two fucking cars in the snow!


So I go through the whole thing again and the flashing sign is still there, which makes me wonder if it's just horseshit anyway.  Oh wait, is Liverpool playing and where?  So I have to check their site and find out that that the second Saturday they are playing - in London against West Ham - so, I gotta change the dates and hope the fares are good.  Normally I like to come home a day early just to chill out but screw that, there's a chance to see them play, and even though it's not at Anfield, it's Upton Park, I don't care!  I go through it all again and I'm waiting for it to process.   I'm stressed the hell out, the bell is ringing and we need to get down to the lunchroom - it's like a heart attack victim, any delays and there can be a major catastrophe!  


And, we're good.  We have the flights and we're going to London.  Friday to Sunday of February break.


Didn't we agree on Scotland?