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Monday morning and my owls are still abed. There is a coffee morning meeting in the lounge here at 10AM. I rarely go to these things at timeshares but decide I may as well. Better than getting over caffeinated waiting for the boys to stir.
It is a small gathering, me, a woman from Toronto, a gentleman from Ireland and a lovely couple that own here at Stouts Hill. In fact they own the unit I am staying in. They have owned here for 20 years and after retirement moved within a mile of the resort.
We chat and get the history of the resort. Have coffee and talk about the walking paths, local sights, ideas for daytrips. A pleasant hour and then I excuse myself.
Finally everyone is up showered and fed and we can go….WHERE? It’s 11:30 so somewhere close by. The folks at the meeting suggested the train to London from Stroud so we must stop there for a schedule and prices and Stroud is mid-way to Gloucester.
So off we go.
It is a lovely drive thru fields and not much else until we come to the Motorway. We have been blessed with yet another glorious day although a pinch cooler than the weekend was. The train station at Stroud has to be one of the most ill-marked things ever. We finally parked in some company lot and walked up the hill to find it. The station and lots are down a little alleyway between buildings. I nearly fell over when I found the trainfare would be almost $200US for us to rail into London roundtrip. OK then. One trip to London it will be.
If you remember from Part 4 I had discovered the horrid thing called a mini-roundabout. The ones painted in the road that everyone with the exception of well meaning tourists ignores? Well to get to Gloucester from Stroud we ran into another much busier one. Thank goodness my husband actually yelled STOP or I certainly would have hit the bright yellow BMW convertible with blonde driver.
The route from Stroud to Gloucester is chock full of roundabouts. Mostly real ones so we navigated our way safely and the sights are also very well marked. We opted for street parking instead of a lot. Although it was a bank holiday we still had to feed the meters. We walk about three blocks to the cathedral.
Talk about impressive! The cathedral was built in 1100AD. The cloisters had some filming for the first two of the Harry Potter movies and the stained glass…wow. The Great East Window c1350 is similar in size and date to the one at York Minister - both vie with each other in their claim to being the largest medieval window in England. The only really strange thing is there are people interred not only in the walls but under the floors too. Feels a bit strange to be walking over graves. King Edward II is buried there
Did I mention it was a bank holiday? It is time to try out one of those uniquely English red phone booths and see if Keith is at home. My very first local call and it goes through on the first try! I am just too clever and lucky as well! Keith and his DW are home and are willing to come in and meet us in the seaport area. Which is very gracious of them considering there was no advance notice.
I have no problem spotting Keith! To me this is the blessing of the internet. You can correspond with folks from all over the world and every once in a while you get the chance to meet them and the meeting isn’t awkward at all!
We did have a problem finding a place to park ourselves but eventually found one. We chatted for well over an hour over our pints. Talking about this, that and the other thing. His DW and my DH agreed that this timeshare internet thing was something neither could understand. Our DS was on best behavior. The fellows at the next table were betting on where we were from and the one was instantly pleased that we were NOT Australians. Maybe there was a bet going on? LOL.
I’m still waiting for that cool reserve that the folks in England are renowned for. Everyone I’ve met so far is wonderfully helpful and outgoing. I also think that New Yorkers in western England are a novelty.
I would have bought a second round but I was still not happy about the BMW incident and anticipating the drive back to Uley! If Keith makes it here the first and second round are definitely on me.
We made it home safe, sound and before dark. What a pleasant day.
It is a small gathering, me, a woman from Toronto, a gentleman from Ireland and a lovely couple that own here at Stouts Hill. In fact they own the unit I am staying in. They have owned here for 20 years and after retirement moved within a mile of the resort.
We chat and get the history of the resort. Have coffee and talk about the walking paths, local sights, ideas for daytrips. A pleasant hour and then I excuse myself.
Finally everyone is up showered and fed and we can go….WHERE? It’s 11:30 so somewhere close by. The folks at the meeting suggested the train to London from Stroud so we must stop there for a schedule and prices and Stroud is mid-way to Gloucester.
So off we go.
It is a lovely drive thru fields and not much else until we come to the Motorway. We have been blessed with yet another glorious day although a pinch cooler than the weekend was. The train station at Stroud has to be one of the most ill-marked things ever. We finally parked in some company lot and walked up the hill to find it. The station and lots are down a little alleyway between buildings. I nearly fell over when I found the trainfare would be almost $200US for us to rail into London roundtrip. OK then. One trip to London it will be.
If you remember from Part 4 I had discovered the horrid thing called a mini-roundabout. The ones painted in the road that everyone with the exception of well meaning tourists ignores? Well to get to Gloucester from Stroud we ran into another much busier one. Thank goodness my husband actually yelled STOP or I certainly would have hit the bright yellow BMW convertible with blonde driver.
The route from Stroud to Gloucester is chock full of roundabouts. Mostly real ones so we navigated our way safely and the sights are also very well marked. We opted for street parking instead of a lot. Although it was a bank holiday we still had to feed the meters. We walk about three blocks to the cathedral.
Talk about impressive! The cathedral was built in 1100AD. The cloisters had some filming for the first two of the Harry Potter movies and the stained glass…wow. The Great East Window c1350 is similar in size and date to the one at York Minister - both vie with each other in their claim to being the largest medieval window in England. The only really strange thing is there are people interred not only in the walls but under the floors too. Feels a bit strange to be walking over graves. King Edward II is buried there
Did I mention it was a bank holiday? It is time to try out one of those uniquely English red phone booths and see if Keith is at home. My very first local call and it goes through on the first try! I am just too clever and lucky as well! Keith and his DW are home and are willing to come in and meet us in the seaport area. Which is very gracious of them considering there was no advance notice.
I have no problem spotting Keith! To me this is the blessing of the internet. You can correspond with folks from all over the world and every once in a while you get the chance to meet them and the meeting isn’t awkward at all!
We did have a problem finding a place to park ourselves but eventually found one. We chatted for well over an hour over our pints. Talking about this, that and the other thing. His DW and my DH agreed that this timeshare internet thing was something neither could understand. Our DS was on best behavior. The fellows at the next table were betting on where we were from and the one was instantly pleased that we were NOT Australians. Maybe there was a bet going on? LOL.
I’m still waiting for that cool reserve that the folks in England are renowned for. Everyone I’ve met so far is wonderfully helpful and outgoing. I also think that New Yorkers in western England are a novelty.
I would have bought a second round but I was still not happy about the BMW incident and anticipating the drive back to Uley! If Keith makes it here the first and second round are definitely on me.
We made it home safe, sound and before dark. What a pleasant day.
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