England continued

Ernie graciously pointed out that I posted photos in my last posting that were of Cardiff Wales without any explanation. So....we have now visited all countries in the United Kingdom along with Ireland. That is not to say that we have thoroughly explored each one but it means that we have set foot in each one, explored to a degree and had a bite to eat and a cuppa. We laugh abbout this because Ernie and I had a discussion a long time ago about the places we each had visited and Ernie was claiming airport changes as a visit to that state.After much discussion about what truly constitutes a visit to a state, we set ground rules - must set foot on the land of that state, explore some and have a bite to eat or a drink. So scratch this off our bucket list!

So back to Cardiff, we spent a lovely day there just exploring the town. It was about a 45 minute drive from Clevedon, across the Avon River to the park and ride outside Cardiff (which is the capitol of Wales). the bus ride into town was quite interesting as it was a 9% grade down and the roads were quite narrow. It made for some hairy moments.

Pier in Clevedon

Clock tower on Cardiff castle

Castle keep in Cardiff

Pond by the car park in Cheddar

Had cream tea here

Cottage off the gorge road

Candy maker in Cheddar making winter mints using a 100 year old hand crank molding

machine. Got a free sample afterwards

Oh, while in Bath, we did have the requesite pasties for lunch. I do so like them!

On Saturday, Angela and Barry had a birthday party for their youngest granddaughter so we put on our rain jackets and wandered to the seaside. Wait till you see the photos of the pier here. Clevedon is a victorian seaside town and the pier reflects that. It was opened in 1869 and has the distinction of being the second highest in the world. On Spring tides, there is a rise of over 47 feet from low tide. Unfortunately I will not be able to provide a picture of low and high tide since high tide occurs around 2 in the morning - just not happening!

Of course after stolling in the rain and cold, we just had too stop at the Moom and Sixpence pub for a draught and a fish and chips. They do make the very best fish and chips in England. Angela and Barry's son and his wife, Howard and Vanessa, came over for dinner that night and we had sizzling for dinner. For those not familar with sizzling it is cooking on a hot stone (just like raclette but called sizzling in the UK). The hot stone appliance has a space under the stone and heating element that you can place small pans that hold various foods with cheese on top of them allowing the cheese to melt. So our meal consisted of sirloin medallions, chicken, shrimp, Italian spiced beef patties, various salamis, mushrooms, onion rings, pepper rings, cooked potatoes and salad followed by a dessert of crumbled cookies topped with raspberries mixed in whipped cream. Of course brandy and port followed. What a great meal and conversation and were thankful to be part of the Smith family.

Sunday morning was laundry and then a trip to the village of Cheddar and Cheddar Gorge. The village of Cheddar was already involved in cheese making in 1170. Of course we had to taste and buy  some of the only cheddar made in Cheddar. The cheese makers there still use the caves in the gorge for aging and storing the cheese. Cheddar Gorge is Britain's biggest gorge with cliffs rising up 450 feet. For whatever reason, I just didn't expect that. We also tried scrumpy which is the local cider, rough cider, that is not filtered. I must admit that scrumpy is an acquired taste and I haven't acquired it yet.

We ended the day in Cheddar with a cream tea - a scone with jame and clotteed dream and tea. I am totally in love with clotted cream! Got back to the house to get ready for Sunday roast. The youngest Smith son arrived with his two young boys and their mother. Ollie is four and Harvey is almost two. They are two of the best behaved young men we've met in years. Kudos to their Mum! Roast was a great pork roast with the best crackling. The potatoes and parsnips were oiled and then baked. Oh my gosh, they were so great. Angela also had broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and brussel sprouts. What a feast. Of course, the crowning glory was Barry's trifle - with clotted cream. Jen, the boy's mother, felt the neeed to bring some dessert, so she brought Australian crumble (like Anzac cookies and oh so sweet) along with meringue cookies - with clotted cream. I have eaten so much cream over the lastg four days, I need to go hiking for 3 days to work it all off. Again, great food and company.

That brings us to today. A leisurely day drying clothes in front of the fire and over the radiators, showering and packing for a late afternoon flight to Madrid.

So adios until Spain.