...for those who might be interested

It's some of the Canterbury and Kent pics, and I should have said in the first pic at the top that it's the house on the corner, doh.

http://kendaa.crosswinds.net/Kent.html

Enjoy

Lots of great pics! I like the forest-y pics...and the city pics

'shana

Will there be more soon?
Pretty please!

These were GREAT and they're really helping psych me up for my own trip to England coming in less than a month! I'm guessing I'll make Canterbury a day trip out of London.

So much to do and see in Southern England alone, particularly when you're a Yank and the bulk of your history is only a couple hundred years old!!!

Lovely shots!
I'm eagerly awaiting more

-Aquillea

Here's lovely Bath:

http://kendaa.crosswinds.net/Bath.html

shots Kendaa. Just beautiful!!








Hugs,
Shait

More excellent pix! Thanks!!!

Question. Did you find Bath a little large and zoolike in geographical size and/or population? My friends and I are planning to rent a motorhome and head west of London for the start of the trip. My friend says her husband's dad preferred a smaller town near Bath over Bath, itself. He said it also had Roman baths but wasn't as "crazy" as Bath was.

Then again, I don't know how old he was when he visited there either.

-Aquillea

I'm not sure what you mean by that, Aquillea. Bath isn't that big a city, really, and it's very, very lovely, with the people being very nice too. Didn't find it zooey at all. We were there before the peak of the tourist season though, so it wasn't quite as crowded as it gets later in summer, ie now. We all loved it, and I'd go back there like a shot if I had the chance.

However, if you compare it to The Bard's Birthplace... While Stratford is physically a lovely town, I found the people to be rude and condescending, almost to the point of being obnoxious, towards tourists. Which is a shame, as it's the tourists who keep them, really.

...what I mean either since it's my friend's take on what her father-in-law told here (LOL). Thanks for the information. Every little bit is gonna help!

I've got to learn stuff then be ready to change plans when we get there. I'm not sure I'm gonna have much say in where we head in the motorhome (~7 days plus the 1st 3 which will be spent at a race track). The last 6 days we'll have London as home base. I think there's anough I want to see in London to help overcome my dislike of big cities... for about 3 days. So I figure the other 3 days I'll take day trips out of London hitting places of interest we didn't get to on the motorhome trek.

It'll be nice being with my friends early on... but it'll be nice having more autonomy once we get to London and public transportation. One positive about London... and even just non-US, developed countries in general, I suppose, is the importance of busses and trains over personally owned cars. Canterbury, Bath, Stratford, Dover... I think most will be easy day trips out of London... though I'm still holding out some hope we'll hit Bath while motoring.

Anyway, thanks for your help and the great pix!
-Aquillea

I wouldn't, under any circumstances, recommend driving (or trying to) around London - it's hideous. We took what was meant to be a 2 hour combined double-decker bus tour/Thames cruise and it ended up taking 5 hours, largely because the Mall leading to Buckingham Palace was closed due to security for the first Garden Party of the year. That alone, caused a city-wide gridlock (which is usually the state of the city anyway - they've introduced a congestion tax to try and stop people driving in the city itself. Not very successful so far, though), which saw us go around Trafalgar Square at the speed of snails at least four times.

London Underground is excellent, and an easy way to get around. Trains out from London to other areas - at least, to the South-East (ie Faversham/Canterbury/ Dover etc.) can be a bit iffy, but when they're running ok, they're excellent. It's usually around 80/90 minutes from London Victoria to Canterbury East. Best way to go to Canterbury as there's no driving in the city.

If there was one place I'd suggest you see above all else, it's Stonehenge. It's my absolutele favourite place on the face of the earth, for reasons I won't go into here. But if you can do a tour that goes inside the stones after the tourists have left for the day (http://www.astraltravels.co.uk), I couldn't recommend it enough. It's a very, very special place. Even people who go past it all the time on the two highways that currently go close to it slow down and gape. So much so, there are signs for miles on either side warning "traffic queues likely".

It's been very hot over there - to record levels, this past two weeks, so take plenty of sunscreen and a hat.

It's like I'm taking the trip all over again!
Very lovely pics, I just love european architecture, castles etc. But, I absolutely adore all those beautiful statues in Druidstone Park, especially the arch you're standing under! Must have that for my garden! LOL!

This is wonderful! Thanks so much for your efforts, it's very much appreciated!

Hugs- Mermaid

...planning on driving in London. But I hadn't thought about the fact that the busses won't be moving any faster than other vehicles {hee}. Thanks for that tip. Common sense, yet I never really thought about it.

So, you went on a Thames trip. Did you like that? That's one of the things on my friend's "to do" list. For me, the biggest London "to do's" are the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. They're not the only "to do's", of course, but the absolute biggies for me.

And, ya know, the 1st thing on my England "to do" list was Stonehenge! Our plan is to arrive at Heathrow on Thurs, pick up a motorhome and head to Chichester for the Goodwood Revival (auto race). It's a vintage/historic weekend (Fri-Sun) and folks in the paddock dress up in clothes from the late 40's - early 60's! My gal-pals and I are excited about that. Should be fun!

Still, I'm thinking 3 days at the track may be overkill. Since we'll be heading west afterwards (at least I've got a 'pretty definite' about that), I've been thinking of taking one day to go to Arundel castle, a short bus trip east. Sorry... rambling now...

When I figured out where Stonehenge was, I announced that was (at the time) my only "high priority" thing to see. And I got a very solid (eyes rolling) "Eric says we'll do our best." Sooooo... unless you do the special tour I guess you don't really get too close to the henge. And I'll hate like heck to make that (perhaps plus Bath) one of my day trips from London when we'll already have been in that part of the country. {sigh} So, like I said... I need to make my "to do" lists but in a flexible way so that what I do at the end of the trip can vary depending what we may or may not fit into the 1st part of the trip.

In a way it'll work out good... if you schedule yourself to death it can suck alot of the fun out of the trip. There's something to be said for going where the spirit takes you. But my ideal would have been to have a general proposed route and then leave the specifics of roads and times you get places up to whim... Ah well. This is definitely gonna be an adventure!

As an aside... wouldn't ya know that my friend had this almost child-like desire to see My Fair Lady while in London. She had no idea if it was even playing there when she mentioned it. So I looked it up on the net and... guess what? Its approx. 3-year run wraps at the end of August and we'll reach London around the 2nd week of September! {pout} I read somewhere that London's version of the Rocky Horror Picture show is The Sound of Music. Maybe we'll be goofy and do that instead! {hee}

-Aquillea

Kendaa! Nice shots and I enjoyed them a lot.

http://kendaa.crosswinds.net/Stonehenge.html

(Assuming the Crosswinds server stays up - it was down yesterday).

{{{{{{{{{{{{Mermaid}}}}}}}}} I'm so glad you're enjoying them. I know what you mean about that archway at Druidstone. It's just gorgeous, isn't it? I'd have loved to have half that place in my backyard! (Well, apart from the insane killer peacock, but thas another story )

Aquillea, the cruise was brilliant. You see the Tower from the water, and see Traitor's Gate, The newly-built Shakespeare's Globe (albeit not on the spot where it originally stood), and so much more.

Riz saw My Fair Lady (with Antony Andrews) before I got there and said it was just wonderful. There are heaps of interesting and lovely shows on in London all the time. I wanted to see Les Mis, but after my adventure in the idiotic hotel I was in for the last two nights, I'm glad I hadn't booked. I wouldn't have stayed awake for the performance, I'm afraid.

Shams, I'm really glad you're enjoying them

Wow! Those look great! And fun! I'm jelous.......!

Kewl, kewl, kewl!
You really have to wonder how in the heck they got those top pieces up on top of the others! Amazing!

Love these!
Mermaid

Those pictures made me want to cry! My soul is there; I just know it. I don't know how or why, but it's there. The pictures are perfect, just what I want to see. I can see postcards of the hot spots anytime, but the real pics of the real places and the real people and the real views are priceless!!

Oh, Kendaa, I'm so glad you went!!

btw -- You look great!! I miss you!

Shhh,
Whisper

On a kind of related note, another place I'd like to visit is Italy. I'd like to see Dante's home. The statue pics you took reminded me of the statues of the Goddesses that he looked at on his grounds every day...

I'm glad you guys like! I'm tossing up whether to scan Ireland or the Buffy con next (esp. seeing my pics of me with James Marsters and Anthony Stewart Head arrived in the mail from Riz today :D )

Whisper says:

Those pictures made me want to cry! My soul is there; I just know it. I don't know
how or why, but it's there. The
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Whisper}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

***And you know what? I know EXACTLY what you mean too.

pictures are perfect, just what I want to see. I can see
postcards of the hot spots anytime, but the real pics of the real places and the real
people and the real views are priceless!!

***Yep, yep and yep. Couldn't agree more. Those kind of pics mean so much more to me than the hot spots.

Oh, Kendaa, I'm so glad you went!!

***Thanks hon!

btw -- You look great!! I miss you!

***Thankyouverymuch! :D And I miss you too!!! Not too long ago I was looking at a pic of four of us in that hotel room in San Fran the night we all met. Lovely memories, eh? :D

On a kind of related note, another place I'd like to visit is Italy. I'd like to see
Dante's home. The statue pics you took reminded me of the statues of the
Goddesses that he looked at on his grounds every day...

***Whereabouts in Italy did he live??? I'll bet it was a really romantic place. (But then, all of Italy is sooo romantic, isn't it?)

Hugs,
Kendaa

I believe he lived in the countryside outside of Florence in a good sized villa. I'm pretty sure it's still there, revamped, but there. Dante was a fascinating character. His descriptions of Heaven and Hell are so precise, graphic, and detailed. They are so creative and confident at the same time. I can see why the leaders of the Roman Catholic church thought he was a kook. How can one know so much about the afterlife? Of course he was writing about his own personal spiritual ideas, but that was definitely not encouraged at that time. I'm sure we all have our own idea of what God looks like, sounds like, what Heaven looks and sounds like, but could or would we share them like he did? Could we be as sure of our mental pictures as Dante was? Would we be willing to risk our spiritual lives (as he was told he was doing) to share them (or even have them)?

He was incredible... terrible to understand (thank God for translations and cheat sheets), but fascinating.

Anyway, on the grounds of his villa are supposedly all of these fantastic statues, limpid goddess maidens barely gripping the sheets that have almost fallen from their bodies, eyes that never see, but see everything while their owners are carelessly unconcerned about their naked perfection... I love statuary. I'd love to see them in person.



But..., I'd have to fly on an airplane for a loooooong time, and that *ain't* gonna happen anytime soon!

I'm glad you knew what I was trying to say when I said my soul was there. I don't always know how to express myself, but honestly, Kendaa, I've never felt so strongly that I could be reconnected somehow with my past by standing in those spots... it doesn't make any sense.

Shhh,
Whisper

Shhh,
Whisper

I was there once many many many moons ago. It is a site where you want to just sit and comtemplate, I htink.

Why could you go in the circle on one visit and not the other?? or did I read that wrong??

YOu got a lot of good shots of various parts of the site. thanks, Kendaa!

http://kendaa.crosswinds.net/Ireland1.html

with a link down the bottom to page two of the Ireland pics:

http://kendaa.crosswinds.net/Ireland2.html

Enjoy

Shams, did you get to go inside the circle when you were there? I'm not sure when they did it, but it's now closed off to people going inside the circle unless you get special permission or go with a specially arranged tour in a small group, such as those done by Astral Travels (which are done with the approval of the Stonehenge Trust...or whatever it's called...can't recall). The first time, I went with the group and we went inside. But the second time was during the day on our way back from Devon, so we just paid 5 pound and walked the perimeter, which is what most visitors get to do. Either way, I loved it both times :D


Whisper said:

I believe he lived in the countryside outside of Florence in a good sized villa. I'm pretty sure it's still there, revamped, but there. Dante was a

Oh - that must be beautiful then. Been to Florence, and those lovely, lovely rolling hills around Florence... Lots of gorgeous gardens, etc. I can just imagine it - have to look at it on the net!


fascinating character. His descriptions of Heaven and Hell are so precise, graphic, and detailed. They are so creative and confident at the same time. I can see why the leaders of the Roman Catholic church thought he was a kook. How can one know so much about

Isn't that typical, eh? Anyone who says/thinks outside the square and they think they're nuts or a heretic and do their best to stifle them. It's scary, really. Was then, is now

the afterlife? Of course he was writing about his own personal spiritual ideas, but that was definitely not encouraged at that time. I'm sure we all have our

No, it wouldn't have been. He would have been punished badly for daring to come up with something that didn't "toe the line", eh?

own idea of what God looks like, sounds like, what Heaven looks and sounds like, but could or would we share them like he did? Could we be as sure of our

Oh gosh yes. My own image of God has changed sooo much over the years, for lots of reasons, but I guess largely it's changed because of my own experiences, spiritual and otherwise, if that makes sense? And my own growth and evolution. I think that would be true for all of us, wouldn't it? What do you think? I'm not sure I'd be at all comfortable in sharing how I see God these days, and yes, there is a fear factor in that. But I believe with all my heart that no matter how we all see God, the way we see/experience God is entirely valid for each of us, really, because we won't know until we get There and see face to face.

mental pictures as Dante was? Would we be willing to risk our spiritual lives (as he was told he was doing) to share them (or even have them)?

That's a very good question.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{Whisper}}}}}}}}}}}}}

I suppose we can be as sure as our faith and trust allows us to be, but that still doesn't preclude a certain...fear, no matter how we see God. For us, now, in this life, it's only based on faith. We can't know for sure, and I guess that's the risk we take - the risk in believing that the particular image of God that we have - or have come to have - is the one that is right, even in the face of others telling us we might be wrong - but then...how do THEY know? Have they been to Heaven and seen God face-to-face to be able to denigrate the way others might see God? I've always felt that God isn't particularly worried about how we see Him/Her at all. He/She's more concerned with what we do with our faith and how we treat each other. (Does that make sense?)

He was incredible... terrible to understand (thank God for translations and cheat sheets), but fascinating.

Anyway, on the grounds of his villa are supposedly all of these fantastic statues, limpid goddess maidens barely gripping the sheets that have almost fallen from their bodies, eyes that never see, but see everything while their owners are carelessly unconcerned about their naked perfection... I love statuary. I'd love to see them in person.

I so hope you get that chance some day, Whisper.

But..., I'd have to fly on an airplane for a loooooong time, and that *ain't* gonna happen anytime soon!

I can understand that - those long flights are SO not fun.

I'm glad you knew what I was trying to say when I said my soul was there. I don't always know how to express myself, but honestly, Kendaa, I've never felt so strongly that I could be reconnected somehow with my past by standing in those spots... it doesn't make any sense.

Does it have to make sense, intellectually? It's what you feel in your soul that matters, hon. See, I felt reticent in sharing what I felt at Stonehenge, because it WAS so overwhelming, and it DID touch my soul, and I've never felt anything like that before in my life EVER. Riz hadn't either. So yes, I understand very well what you're saying. I felt that a lot in England, and I don't understand why either.

Hugs,
Kendaa

:D:D:D:D:D

LOVE THOSE CASTLES!

Don't think you're the only one who doesn't like Guiness! BLEH!

A good mate of mine went to Lreland a few years back and sent me a post card of a cat in a pub window with a smaller version of the "...it's good for you" sign in it!

Still enjoying the slideshow...
Mermaid

LOL - Guinness...it's soooo yucky!!!! (And I have the after shot when I tried it too - I look like my eyes have gone glazed and I'm going "This can't be as bad as it tastes, surely?" LOL.

I know that very postcard!!! I saw that and others like it in Dublin (the Irish have such a kewl sense of humour :D ) and was sorely tempted to get them all, just because they were so much fun.

Yep, gotta say, the castles and ruins...well, really enjoyed them! :D

Hey Grrls!

Back 4 the mo...

Firstly, KendaaBabe--Gotta say, I'm kinda jealous, and my mom would be positively olive over your trip to the Emerald Isle...

Everything just looked so beautiful and historical...

<*Wistful*>

Now, onto my opinions on topics slightly more O/T...

[quote]Whisper: I've always felt that God isn't particularly worried about how we see Him/Her at all. He/She's more concerned with what we do with our faith and how we treat each other. (Does that make sense?)
[/quote]

Makes perfect sense, and thank you for articulating that.
Someone else who agrees w/ me...

[quote]My soul is there; I just know it. I don't know how or why, but it's there.[/quote]

If you wanted to hear [i]my[/i] feeling about the Acropolis, that's it.

I can't say it better. I've said it before and I'll say it again--I've said it since I was a kid, Greece IS my spiritual home. It IS my home, I belong there. I live there, but survive physically here, if that makes any sense...

(It's late, I'm dopey on Melatonin...Gonna get some serious keyprints on my forehead in about 3 seconds...Zzzzzz...)

Greece is my spiritual home, as I assume Ireland is my mother's, and Stonehenge is yours, Whisper.
It is that spiritual home principle, I think, that drives one's desire to travel to a place--

Subconsciously or otherwise, it is a certain inexplicable, indefinable tie, impossible to verbally articulate, better defined in words that speak of what this tie is not than of what it *IS*, nevertheless, that feeling is there that a certain place IS one's home, wherever it is you "live" now.

<bold>Hey Grrls!</bold>

Hey you! It's lovely to see you back here - how goes all the study????

Firstly, KendaaBabe--Gotta say, I'm kinda jealous, and my mom would be positively olive over your trip to the Emerald Isle...

LOL - I never, ever thought I'd get to go there, as that's where my family came from, so it was such a joy. I'm 5th generation Aussie, but I grew up in such an Irish cultural structure. It's funny, because I always thought the plane would touch down in Ireland, I'd leap off and go "Hi honeys!!! I'm HOOOOOME!!!" And a million Irish people would jump for joy, etc. Well, I wasn't prepared for what actually did happen. I've always considered myself Irish-Australian, and felt to go to Ireland would be like coming home, you know? The people are just so lovely and warm and welcoming, but...I never really felt any connection at all, and no sense of belonging, really. It was a surprise after a lifetime of thinking it was my real home, for whatever reasons.

Everything just looked so beautiful and historical...

<*Wistful*>

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Aquila}}}}}}}}}}

Now, onto my opinions on topics slightly more O/T...

[quote]Whisper: I've always felt that God isn't particularly worried about how we see Him/Her at all. He/She's more concerned with what we do with our faith and how we treat each other. (Does that make sense?)
[/quote]

Makes perfect sense, and thank you for articulating that.
Someone else who agrees w/ me...

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Aquila}}}}}}}}}}} 'ave anuvver 'ug.


[quote]My soul is there; I just know it. I don't know how or why, but it's there.[/quote]

If you wanted to hear [i]my[/i] feeling about the Acropolis, that's it.

I can't say it better. I've said it before and I'll say it again--I've said it since I was a kid, Greece IS my spiritual home. It IS my home, I belong there. I live there, but survive physically here, if that makes any sense...

Makes perfect sense to me. Even more so when we let go of all the intellectualising we tend to do and just accept it and let it be there for us, eh?

Greece is my spiritual home, as I assume Ireland is my mother's, and Stonehenge is yours, Whisper.
It is that spiritual home principle, I think, that drives one's desire to travel to a place--

Subconsciously or otherwise, it is a certain inexplicable, indefinable tie, impossible to verbally articulate, better defined in words that speak of what this tie is not than of what it *IS*, nevertheless, that feeling is there that a certain place IS one's home, wherever it is you "live" now.

Have to say that Stonehenge is my spiritual home. And Riz's too, I think. You know, we both were so torn when we had to leave there that first time. Then, when we were driving across England to Devon (it was Riz and me in the front, and her mum, sister and Alex in the back), we knew we'd at least go NEAR Stonehenge again, and we were sooooo hoping. Her mum and sister hadn't seen it at all. So we were driving along, and there were signs indicating it was close and we were like:

"D'ya think...???"

"Maybe we might..."

"God I hope so..."

And then, we came around a bend in the motorway and there it was - right in front of us. I looked at Riz, and she looked at me and we were both in tears, and I'm getting all teary just typing about it even now. It's something so special, so God-given, and I grieve that whatever it's for, we've forgotten. The energy there is so enfolding, feminine, loving and nurturing it just can't BE anything except from God. It's a place to be still and just be.
(And guys, I don't share that lightly, either).

It's lovely to see you here Aquila!

Devon pics are up:

http://kendaa.crosswinds.net/Devon.html

Ooh, I just want to run my hands over that ancient
building to get a "feel" of it's history! Just to imagine all those who passed through those doors and touched the stones HUNDREDS of years ago!

Wow!
Mermaid

(Loved the view of the town from the beach. Very pretty!)

{{{{{{{{{Mermaid}}}}}}}}}} I'm right there with ya! Just knowing all those places were sooooo old - had to do the touchy feely thing. :D

Wollecombe (I'm probably mis-spelling that too) was very lovely. And sooooo hot. I couldn't (cough) wear a bra for three days after that, LOLOL!

Hugs,
Kendaa (and may I just say ALL SNAPE ALL THE TIME! :D) bouncing and jiving the housework away to Santana

The Oxford, Stratford and Cotswolds pics are up.

Enjoy

http://kendaa.crosswinds.net/Oxford.html

(Just two lots to go now - London and the Buffy convention)

Meant to say, just two lots - London/Buffy con and more Kent (with Dover and Calais). Doh.

I love Stonehenge, make no mistake, but the pictures that made me gasp were in and around Canterbury. So strange, but I feel like I've been there... as though I knew what was around the next corner in each picture, what was just missed by the camera.

Shhh,
Whisper

Deja Vu? {{{{{{{{{{{{{Whisper}}}}}}}}}}

Kendaa,

These pictures are fantastic! They really capture the moment of each stage of your trip! Everything is so green! And not just the Emerald Isle!

Alex is quite the charming fellow, and you can tell by the expressions on your face that this whole adventure must have just been sublime! I don't envy you - but I'm thrilled for you!

Thanks for sharing! And I can hardly wait for the rest.

mallenia