College tour and the Cotswolds

It's mid Fall, we're seniors, we don't know what we're doing next year. So, it's time for college tours.

Oxford

Cambridge

Cambridge

There are a lot of similarities between the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford. Both are actually a collection of multiple colleges, up to 30+ in each place  (Cambridge has 31, Oxford 38) with many same named colleges in both-e.g. Trinity College, Christ's College, Clare College, Magdalene College, King's College and Jesus College.  Both cities are filled with  historically beautiful old campus buildings dating back to 1200's,  Most of the colleges with photogenic/film recognizable central courtyards.  We respected that most of the college courtyards are closed to non students or cost to enter and tour (The cost of higher education). Both towns have lots of bicyclists, but the bigger risk were tourists.  Brought in by the busloads, the streets filled with tourists-all constantly stopping to take pictures/selfies.  We were endlessly photo bombing, dodging and bumping into people who would suddenly stop mid sidewalk.  (Dodging bikes was easier than the hordes of tourists)

So, these definitely weren't our safety schools.

Cambridge

Cambridge

Despite all the overlaps, both college towns felt completely different.  Both had incredibly stunning old buildings, both had small river canals with flat boats for punting (standing with long poles to push the boat along A la Venice), but in Cambridge, the colleges felt slightly separated from most of the town and had more distinct boundaries along the River Cam.  So, the beauty of the  buildings stood out more against greener surrounding parks and quads.

In Oxford the campuses were more incorporated into the town center, muting the striking visuals of the buildings.


As far as next year-the reality is we are not ready for college.  It will probably end up being (another) gap year as we are still trying to find ourselves and figure out what we really want to do.

Oxford

Oxford

As with the majority of English towns, you just feel the history as you walk around, in Cambridge the town was captioned to help out.




There were also a bunch of very idiosyncratic museums to choose from, each with it's own very unique claim to fame.  A lot of choices but we settled in Cambridge on the Fitzwilliam.

FitzWilliam

In Oxford, we had more time so more museums;  Bodleian Libraries -Tolkein exhibit and a display covering the (unhealthy) medical history of the Royal family, Ashmolean (the first modern public museum) and Natural History/Pitts River.  With each museum, we again found new favorites, saw variations of pictures/sketches we saw in other museums/countries and appreciated the differences between each museum and each country's individual take on what belongs in a museum. And as we walked through, periodically, you would just be hit with awe; pages from Mary Shelley's first draft of Frankenstein, mummified Dodo bird face and Venus de Willendorf (figured prominently in our daughters' 8th grade education). While we were very happy to spend a few days meandering through all of these, the Natural History/Pitts River was pretty high on the astonishing list.  Wandering through the collection of old bones and taxidermy coupled with huge sculptures of scientific giants with the sounds of laughing and screaming kids was very enjoyable.  As you walk past the skeletons of giraffes and elephants, you enter the Pitts River museum, which essentially looks like rows of antique store cabinets combined with your grandmother's junk drawer.  (or a garage sale under glass)

After all of the mental stimulation, we decided to take a day-trip to Bath at the southern tip of the Cotswolds for health/spa day.  Famous for it's Roman baths/mineral springs, but our first stop was to a travel clinic (in an sporting goods store) to get flu shots, however the clinic was closed.  Bath had some very pretty areas,  but it seemed to predominately be shops.  The town center felt like an outdoor shopping mall with big box stores and specialty shops.  Once out of the center we were able to see the landmark sites such as the Royal Crescent, The Circus, the River Avon, before stopping at the thermal baths. There the line went out into the street, and we didn't want to be in hot water with anyone we saw in line.  So instead we got ice cream and walked around the shops some more but sadly, there wasn't any Bath House of Pies, or Bed, Bath Bath and Beyond.

Update: We were able to get our flu shots two days later in Oxford.  Here they are called flu jabs, it was done by a pharmacist at a Boots Pharmacy (we were walk-ins and it cost 13 pounds each), she didn't wear gloves or use an alcohol wipe, and called the cotton ball applied after the jab a cotton wool which immediately fell on the floor, but she said that was ok because it wasn't needed because there was no bleeding.

Site of the Labrador in the "Venice of the Cotswolds"

Cotswolds-we took the train to Moreton-in-Marsh, bus to Stow-on-the-Wold, hiked 4 miles to Bourton-on-the-Water.  Lots of silly names, we by-passed Chipping Norton, Hook Norton, Icomb, Great Rollright and we did see a Labrador in the Water (not a town name, an actual labrador in the water in Bourton-on-the-water) which was kind of a highlight of the trip.

England is full of walking paths and we were excited to venture out, this time aided by an official copy of instructions purchased for 10 p from the Stow-on-Wold librarian.  As with the Yorkshire walk, these instructions, while highly detailed ( "turn half-left through a farm gate then follow the hedge line across three fields") lacked any mention of distance or how to tell which hedge line with there are many  or how to tell when one field began and another ended. Luckily, there were random fence posts along the way with tiny arrows indicating that you were on the Monarch Way or the Heart of England or the MacMillian path. Regardless of our befuddlement, we enjoyed a beautiful day with less aggressive animals then our past walks.

After our day-trip to the Cotswold, we returned to our last day in Oxford to find:

Topless old man? Yes, home from a day at the beach, Antony Gormley piece, Another Time II.

This week's photo of topless old man looking out window contemplating his life: Halloween edition "I'm Batman!"

Scarborough fair, moor or less

The Scarborough Fair, a popular song by Simon & Garfunkel in the '60's is actually an old English ballad.  The song is a dialogue between a man and a woman each asking the other to do impossible tasks before they can win the other's heart.  For example, the woman must make him a shirt without a seam or needlework, and wash it in a dry empty well.  The man must find her an acre of land between the salt water and the sea sand, plow it with a ram's horn and sow it with one peppercorn.

We decided when we arrived in the Scarborough (Yorkshire)  our own impossible task-to find tasty uniquely English food.  Ten weeks into our travels we've discovered that being together 24 hours a day on the road allows a lot of time for conversation, not that we've utilized it.  But, we did discuss that we should take advantage of our trip to sample local cuisine that we couldn't normally get in the US.  So, after further prolonged debate, we finally decided on "fish and chips".  Patricia did extensive research, apparently the North Yorkshire Moors are one of the best areas in England for fish and chips.  Whitby, which is north of Scarborough is considered the best town in the area for fish and chips and had a take away restaurant that also served a required gluten free style.



Usually, when we eat something questionable on our travels,  especially from a restaurant, we say we'll find out in a couple of hours if we're going to survive.  One of us, the one that has been a vegetarian longer, did not tolerate the fish and chips well, research did not include that traditionally prepared fish and chips are fried in beef tallow. 
The local beer however went down well.  Samuel Smith pints for just over a pound, very tasty.

Poppies on a church

Our Airbnb was situated between a cemetery and a Japanese inspired park.  In England, we  constantly, unintentionally ended up walking through cemeteries because they are attached to churches, which historically were the center of town. The cemeteries seem to be  part of daily life full of dog walkers, commuters, kids and cyclists.  Every cemetery has memorials to locals lost in "the Great War" and WWII.   This is our second time being in  England around Armistice Day and it is really striking how strongly it is observed, you see the symbolic poppies on everyone and everywhere.  This is in contrast to the US Veteran's day celebration which  seems to mainly be celebrated as a three-day mattress sale.





The park's Japanese interpretation is apparently well received, the pond was full of people in dragon paddle boats.  Judging by the number of benches, dragon boat viewing appears to be a popular spectator sport.

On past trips, when we have gone to large decentralized areas like the Badlands, the Lake District, National Parks or Los Angeles, there often isn't just one spot to visit.  So, usually we try to take multiple car, bus or train trips thru these areas to see as much as possible, then sometimes stopping off for hiking or walking around towns.  This was our approach in Yorkshire as well, to best see the towns, the coast, and the Moors.

The Moors and the North Sea coast were lovely, We've had good luck with the North Sea coastal towns in Holland and England.  Scarborough and Whitby (other than lunch) continued the winning streak.  Both, slightly cheesy English beach resort towns with their aging seaside hotels, stone-cottages along winding streets, arcades, lots of ice cream shops and English tourists on Holiday, but this time also with donkey rides on the (sandy, non rocky) beach.  Again, spectacular views in every direction - cliffs, statues, castles and ruins.

In Whitby, the big ruin is the Abbey.  It was here, in Whitby, looking at the sea and the Abby that Bram Stoker created Dracula  (one of Patricia's favorite books).  As with most English (and Irish towns) the literary links are well publicized and Whitby is not only famous for those fish and chips and ocean-front donkeys but also for their Dracula inspired Goth festivals.

But, the big Yorkshire literary attraction is the Brontes.   Anne, the "forgotten, least famous" Bronte,  is buried in Scarborough separated from the rest of the family's graves 70 miles away in Haworth.  Signs all over town direct you to her grave.  We got within 20 yards, but never bothered to check it out.  It would be similar to getting free tickets to a Tito Jackson Concert getting to the parking lot and not going.

If you really like the color of grass, you would love the Moors.   Also, there were lots of sheep.  In the last few weeks we have seen thousands of sheep, and one observation from all this viewing is that it is rare to see a sheep move.  All they do is eat.  I guess we should have tried the local grass.

Our last full Yorkshire day we took another scenic bus ride into the southwest portion of the Moors to visit the towns of Pickering and Helmsley.  Helmsley was fine, but not terribly distinct.  Pickering, however, was a highlight.  We ended up hiking following some very detailed directions which included "walk for awhile then turn left at an elegant house" and "pass a kissing gate but don't turn at that one, go through the sturdier one further down". We meandered (the directions had no distances noted) through a wooded area into a field of sheep, and flushing about 30-40 pheasant and grouse from the underbrush. It was very entertaining watching them scatter across the fields.  Our Wild Kingdom experience continued as one renegade sheep did not appreciate us disturbing it while it was eating some choice grain. It  stood it's ground stomping its feet , with a slightly hostile  stare down, before remembering it was a sheep and trotted back to the flock who were watching it all in disbelief from a few yards away. Then they all went back to eating. Apparently, it's not recommended to make prolonged eye contact with sheep.

The bus ride back continued our flirting with danger as we were the only adults on the top of the  double decker bus with a full load of boisterous adolescents returning from school, but we just averted our eyes and looked out the window at the green fields and rolling hills and made it back safely.

This week's photo of a topless old man looking out window contemplating his life

Note: Topless old men are endangered.  They are elusive, camera shy, and sightings are becoming rarer.  They only seem to be active and spotted at dawn or dusk.  We will continue to try to document their existentialism and hope for a grant to further our studies.

Liverpool

our hostel

The first thing the clerk asked us as we checked in to the hostel in Liverpool, "Do you like the Beatles?", but what was strange was as we walked down Lime Street, we kept hearing different Neil Young songs being played from the bars.  Neil Young, the 5th Beatle?  Well actually, everyone thinks they are the 5th Beatle.

Liverpool, is a port town perfectly situated at the mouth of the Mersey River as it flows into the Irish Sea. Historically, since most jobs centered around the shipping and the sea (there's even a part of town called the Rope Streets where the streets were designed for ropes to be laid out while being braided) It really has the feel of a blue collar town, which all locals seem to identify and have a great pride of their roots. They like to call themselves "Scousers", scouse is a contraction of "lobscouse", which was a type of stew (Norwegian in origin), once popular among sailors, and is still eaten in Liverpool today.
It was the site of mass Irish immigration in the 1800's due to it's proximity to Ireland and job opportunities, and still has the largest Irish descended population in England.  Antwerp, Belgium  had the Red Star Line, Liverpool had the White Star Line, both were major carriers of emigrants primarily to The Americas. To it's credit, the White Star line, was the first to have more humane accommodations for third class passengers.   Due to it's significant strategic port and shipping business Liverpool was heavily bombed in WWII  which affected almost every family, and shaped the collective psyche.  The Titanic and Lusitania were built here, so those disasters also were personally felt by many neighborhoods in Liverpool.  

We learned all of this from visiting a bunch of rather unique (and free) museums, each effectively portraying Liverpool's  significant role in major world events over the past 200 years.
Everywhere we went there was this balance of pride in showcasing the city's achievements (shipping, music, early abolitionists, first schools for blind/deaf) while honestly acknowledging shame in their participation supporting the slave trade, racism and abject poverty.  We left almost every museum with pretty strong emotions; often sadness although usually tempered with an appreciation of Liverpool.

The museums could be divided into ones that were in those stately, beautiful old buildings that are beautiful even without anything in them (The Walker Gallery, Victoria Gallery) and the museums housed in more modern buildings that are only there for their contents (Tate). Liverpool had a lot of both, interesting for a town we did not really associate with fine museums. Diverse buildings and pretty diverse exhibits but all were related to Liverpool

The Victoria Gallery, on the campus of the University, is one of those beautiful buildings museums. But what was unique is that you entered through a lovely food hall (campus meal hall?) and smelled peas and roast beef the whole time. Mix of art (old and modern), biology (history of dentures), social commentary (history of the Rathbone family-abolitionists and progressive MP, great video on Russian treatment of ethnic groups) and botany models. They also had an exhibit on Audubon who had a short stay in Liverpool (supported by the Rathbones) which dove-tailed with The Central Library permanent display of one of the few remaining original copies of Birds of North America . This was not the only inter-museum collaboration, almost every museum seemed to have something on display from the World Museum.  The stand-out at the World Museum was the extensive ancient Egypt exhibit as the pyramids at Thebes were excavated by Liverpudlians 1902-4.  Maritime (all about the Titanic and Lusitania) and Slavery museums shared a building at the historic Albert Docks. The Slavery museum seemed a bit different then most as it not only presented the history but also the continued influence on modern life such as products and street names associated with slavery and the roots of racism as related to slavery. Slavery rebellions were highlighted- primarily in that they happened and never publicized.

Hit the "Liverpool Biennial" at the Tate (could of skipped) although there were these cool "constellations"  linking artists which reminded us of the character charts our kids used to make in middle school- both effective.

Then moved on to the Liverpool Museum.

This museum and the MAS Museum in Antwerp were by far the best the "city" museums, although this one was by way simpler and more low tech then the MAS.  This is the museum that really showed Liverpool warts and all while managing to display a degree of pride.  While we skipped 99% of the Beatles heritage spots, we did go to the Yoko Ono and John Lennon exhibit at the Liverpool Museum, it was surprisingly touching- both how far ahead of the times they were and what a tragic loss.

The extended stay allowed us to also catch up on accumulated dirty laundry.  Note: washing clothes in the sink or shower which we have done not infrequently makes clothes smell like bad shower body wash gel, so on day 4 we actually ended up using the washer at our Hostel.

Liverpool continued to be full of surprises, we unexpectedly turned the corner and saw this.

The Catholic Cathedral finished in 1967, was all that you would dream to be in an English sixties Cathedral.

I

It rivals "St. Maytag" in San Francisco (actually St. Mary's Cathedral) in terms of 1960's major-appliance inspired church architecture.

All these back stories of Liverpool we learned,  further enhanced our interpretation of what we saw on our first day in Liverpool.  Not knowing the route details, we decided to walk toward our goal to the sea along the River Mersey.  Unexpectedly, the walk, rather than being scenic, covered the entire industrial zone of Liverpool past metal recycling, water/sewage treatment center, abandoned port buildings, active loud port sites and weirdly a Costco (damn, forgot to bring the card). 

Now we know why Google maps did not present this as a walking option.

The goal of our 7 mile industrial tour was to get to Crosby Beach, and every cautious step, every noxious smell and every ugly sight was well worth the trip.  see below

This week's photo of topless old man looking out window contemplating his life: A day at the beach...with friends.

This is why we walked to Crosby Beach. A hundred sculptures of the artist are widely spread across the beach, some as far as 100 yards into the sea, are collectively and aptly called "Another Place" by Antony Gormley, they were originally exhibited in German in 1997, then Norway and Belgium, before finding a permanent home here in 2007.  With Liverpool's history of Immigration and Emigration; as the home of the Titanic and Lusitania; with its losses with the "Great War" and WWII,  these hauntingly beautiful statues staring out to sea, seemingly reflecting on life, welcoming or saying goodbye to family, friends and dreams or waiting for those who will never come home, completely captures Liverpool's enduring history of hardships and longing for the better, making it the perfect location for this art. http://www.biennial.com/collaborations/another-place