Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Less than a Month to Go - a calendar!!

I have packed and unpacked my suitcase several times (I think it will all fit!) and the lists continue to be rewritten and revised. Every two things I stroke off one list becomes three more "to dos" on another!
I am going to attempt a calendar so, if I can't find a computer, you will at least know where I have been and can imagine what I might have done!

Tues. Sept. 11th - Flight leaves Pearson at 5:40 p.m.

Wed. Sept. 12th - Happy Birthday to me!! Arrive at Gatwick at 5:45 A.M.!!??? It could be a LONG day! Shopping, city tour and getting bearings!

Thurs. Sept. 13th - Day trip to Windsor Castle via Runneymede; cream tea at Hampton Court

Friday Sept. 14th - Day trip to Leeds Castle; Canterbury and the White Cliffs of Dover (I may even sing!)

Saturday Sept. 15th - Day trip to Bath, Salisbury (see the Magna Carta!), Stonehenge

Sunday Sept. 16th - A "quiet" day in London - 9 a.m. service at St. Paul's Cathedral; Speakers' Corner (Hyde Park); Britain at War Experience?; Evensong at Westminster Abbey

Monday Sept. 17th - A trip to Portobello Market in the morning and a tour of Buckingham Palace (inside!) later in the day! "The Merchant of Venice" at The Globe Theatre - in the pit!

Tuesday Sept. 18th - Leave London. Pick up rental car at Gatwick and drive to B&B in Mumbles, Wales (birthplace of Catherine Zeta-Jones - near Swansea) for the night.

Wed. Sept. 19th - Ferry to Ireland!! Drive to Dublin.

Thurs. Sept. 20th - Dublin

Fri. Sept. 21st - Leave Dublin and drive to Dingle (southwest corner) via Tipperary, Cashel, Limerick. Spend the next two nights at Murphy's Pub (rooms above the pub!).

Sat. Sept. 22nd - Tour Dingle, Ring of Kerry, Killarney and area

Sun. Sept. 23rd - Travel to Rosslare via Youghal, Ardmore etc. for 3 p.m. ferry back to Wales. Rental cottage (Cwm Bach) in Newport for three nights. Tour southern Wales for the next couple of days.

Wed. Sept. 26th - Drive to Llangollen via Harlech etc. Oakmere B&B. for 3 nights.

Thurs. Sept. 27th - Sightseeing - Isle of Anglesey; Caernarfon, Conwy, Llandudno. Concert by the Trelawnyd Male Choir (7:30 p.m.).

Fri. Sept. 28th - More sightseeing in the area. Pub sing with Llangollen Men's Choir in the evening!

Sat. Sept. 29th - To Glasgow via Blackpool, Lake District, Gretna Green, Ayr and PAISLEY!!

Sun. Sept. 30th - Aberdeen via Loch Lommond, Stirling; Linlithgow. Three nights in Aberdeen with Liz, David, Martin and Rachel. Sightseeing in and around Aberdeen. Loch Ness? Balmoral? CASTLE TRAIL!!!!

Wed. Oct. 3rd - To Edinburgh via St. Andrew's and Kirkaldy (Aunt Ella's birthplace). Overnight in Edinburgh.

Thurs. Oct. 4th - Holy Island (Lindisfarne Castle - open subject to tides/causeway...but of course I've already checked the schedule!) Hadrian's Wall, Durham. Four nights in Barn Cottage (rental). Trips to York (for evensong), Harrogate, Goathland (Heartbeat Country!), steamtrain trip...

Mon. Oct. 8th - To the Peak District via Bakewell, Huddersfield, Lincoln (see the Magna Carta!), Nottingham. Day trip to the Cotswolds. Two nights in The Reading Room cottage (rental).

Wed. October 10th - To Salcombe (in Devon) via Melton Mowbray, Carlton (my grandmother's birthplace). Two nights at Primrose Cottage (thatched cottage - rental). Sightseeing around Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor, Restornsel Castle. A PROPER Devon tea!

Fri. Oct. 12th - To Penzance via St. Michael's Mount, Land's End, Mousehole and other little villages enroute.

Sat. Oct. 13th - Ferry to the Isles of Scilly. Three nights on St. Mary's Island. Hopefully side trips to some of the other islands.

Mon. Oct. 15th - Overnight at Star Castle - built in 1593! Shelter for the Prince of Wales (later Charles II) in 1643)! Last stronghold of the Cavaliers! Finally I can be a princess!! Spending the night in a "guard's room"!!

Tues. Oct. 16th - Leave St. Mary's (p.m.). Overnight in Newquay.

Wed. Oct. 17th - To Marlborough via Tintagel, Glastonbury, Bradford-on-Avon, Avebury

Thurs. Oct. 18th - To Gatwick for 2:15 p.m flight : ( Back in Canada at 6:50 p.m.)

Fri. Oct. 19th... SLEEP!!!-