Cambridge, England to Pyle, Wales

Today was a day full of travel and adventures. We had breakfast at our B&B and were on our way by 9 am.  We entered the address of our next B&B, in Wales, and were informed that it'd take about 3 hours to get there. It's now 7:30 pm and we've just arrrived. Traveling today was a challenge and had some tense moments. Much of the trip was driving for less than 2 miles, entering a "round-about", driving for less than 2 miles, entering a round-about....  You get the picture.The speed limit is often 70 miles/hour but you rarely can get going  that fast before you slow down for a round-about. The driving in Wales is even more exciting. They're VERY concerned with speeding. Every 1/2 mile or so there's a speed limit sign which is soon followed by a picture of a camera - which indicates photos are being taken of speeders. When driving in town, they throw in the digital signs which report exactly how fast you're going.  Now add Flo constantly telling us to "stay left and take the third exit in the round about". Add many drivers, the fact we're still not totally comfortable drving on the left hand side AND watching for signs to things we want to see. There were moments of tension that would dissolve to fits of loud laughter. I suppose I should mention that we'd only been on the road for 30 minutes when we pulled over (there aren't any shoulders on the roads in England - just the odd "way by"). A quick nap was in order. Still adjusting to the time change and the intense schedule. :)

About 1ish we decided to pull off the road because there were so many wonderful little roads heading off into the country and we just couldn't drive by one more. We found ourselves in Northleach - a cute village where we had hot chocolate in a pub built in the 1700s. A friendly fellow in the pub said we just had to go see the church. On our way there, we passed the smallest door. It used to be the jail many years ago. (You have to see the picture to appreciate it.) The church is called The Cathedral of the Cotswolds and was built in 1350. One section was built, then the tower across the way and then they were joined to create a "complete" church by a very wealthy man that wanted to be sure he'd get to heaven. He thought building this great cathedral would do it. Wonder how that worked out for him.

Back in the car, which I'm starting to refer to as the "18 wheeler" or "the tank". It's about the size of Laura's car - Pontiac  Vibe - which isn't big at home but here it's huge. It's a struggle to fit it into parking spots, take tight corners etc. Anywho...... 90 minutes later we saw a sign for Roman ruins near Newport, Wales. Couldn't miss that! We saw the amphitheatre (built in 90 AD) which seated 6,000. We saw the bathhouse and the dormitories. This was a massive settlement in its day. Only small parts have been excavated. I wondered about a lot of things while wandering around but one was "how did the soldiers keep warm wearing those mini skirts in the winter? 

By this time it's 5 pm and since we didn't have anything to eat since breaky, we went into a very old pub and had fish and chips. They were amazingly good - and cheap! Two orders and a beer for 10 pounds - $13.00.  As we're heading back to the car, there are a bunch of guys practising for rugby. Dave wanted to join them - which I discouraged. It just happened that one of the balls went over a hedge very near us and so Dave got a chance to kick the ball. It looked good, the ball went over the hedge and he smiled broadly at the rugby guy and then....turned to me with this intense look of pain on face. I, of course, found this most amusing. I guess the ball is very hard. One kick was all he needed. :)

Another 30 minutes driving, stopping to get directions from a couple of local guys (some folks are difficult to understand) and we're off to our B&B. We're way out in the country on an old farm with stone buildings - barn and all. It's very pleasant. The only guests are us so as we sit in the family room, we have the place to ourselves. The next two nights we don't have any lodging in place. We're off  to see castles tomorrow. Someone told us today that today was going to be the last nice day for awhile. Let's hope he's wrong! Today was cloudy, sunny, warm, and cool. 

Tonight the plan is to get to bed early and wake up refreshed and be done with the jet lag. Update on debit card situation. It dawned on me last night that I only talked to the lady at the bank about my card and not Dave's. Therefore, his still isn't doing what it should but mine is! Woo hoo!

One thing I learned today: In Roman days (in Wales) sponges were kept in pails of vinegar in the bathrooms  and were the toilet paper of the day.

One new thing I experienced today: I stood on the bench in the pub to get a good photo of the fish and chips. For somene who's very concious about "being proper", this was huge for me. Of course there wasn't anyone who could see me, but still......

Most powerful moment of the day: Standing in the amphitheatre where so many were forced to die in one way or another. 

One pleasurable moment: Watching the stoplights go from green to yellow to red and from red to yellow to green. We need to get that in place!