Only A Silly American Tourist....

I am a picky eater. I don't like many green veggies, I don't eat meat that is served like it lived on earth, I don't like white butterbeans, picky I tell you. Several years ago though, I found myself in Llangollen (pronounced Clan Glocklyn),Wales at the Kings Inn. It was a delightful town and so, we went down for breakfast. All week long we had toasts, cereal, Irish soda bread, jams, and juice and occasionally fruit for breakfast. Not a big breakfast eater...at breakfast time...I would grab a couple pieces of toast, some hot tea, and throw a piece of fruit in my bag for later. Imagine my surprise when...sitting on the table was a new type of toast. It was bigger than a piece of Melba Toast...and looked divine. Also, sitting right beside the toast things was some Braeburn Applesauce...the chunky kind....my absolute favorite. I got two pieces of the toast...smothered it in butter and applesauce, poured my tea and sat down with our tour guide to enjoy my breakfast. Adam Buckmaster peered at me over his morning paper as I took a big crunchy bite of the toast and asked, "is that how you eat them in the states?" I knew I had goofed and needed to save face...so I replied, "of course...how do you eat here?" He replied, "with a spot of warm milk and some sugar." I continued to crunch my new found delicasy with delight...even though I was mortified. My friend, Cindy, came down and looked at my plate and said,"what in the hell is that?" "Breakfast" I said smartly. When I was finished and left the dining area...I stopped the waiter and asked him what the toast things were...."Wheetabix" he said. "Wheetabix? what is that?" I asked. He smiled and told me it was similar to our Shreaded Wheat...only more compact. I could have died. Buckmaster loved my blunder...and brought it up several times throughout the trip...who would have thunk it. Wheetabix...the perfect looking toast like thing...was a shreaded wheat square...made to be eaten like cereal...and here this crazy American tourist was eating it raw with butter and applesauce. Only in America. I will say this...Wheetabix are good with butter and jam on them....and they taste like cardboard (just like shreaded wheat) smothered in milk and sprinkled with sugar. The Brits just don't know a good thing when they see it. Have you ever had one of those embarassing moments...when you did something that seemed to make sense...and it was the stupidest thing ever...tell me yours in a comment...I would love to hear about it. It might make me feel better. :-) Happy Tuesday to all!

It Is All In A Name

If you ever go to Wales in the United Kingdom you would be missing out on a good laugh, by not going to a small town called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Many of the people are very proud of their little town and its name. If you ask one of them to pronounce the name of their town, they are usually quite happy to oblige. Most visitors would have a lot of trouble saying the name and I'm sure the locals have a good laugh at some of the attempts to pronounce the name. Many people visiting are intrigued when they hear the locals say the name. I was utterly fascinated. I have been twice and had my passport stamped twice...just because it is such a challenge to pronounce. Originally the town had a shorter, easier to pronounce name: Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. 'I think I would still have trouble pronouncing that'! Some of the locals simply call the town Llanfair. Now...I might could wrap my mouth around that with little effort. However, in the 1860s, more syllables were added to attract more visitors to the town. It is believed the name was officially conjured up by the village council, intentionally for the privilege and reputation of having the longest railway station name in Great Britain. Llanfair P.G. is not very far from Caernarfon Castle, one of the largest castles in Wales. Believe me it is well worth a visit. I loved Wales. I loved Ireland....I loved the U.K. period. It is the most beautiful place on earth. So lush and green and innocent. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch actually means; "St. Mary's Church in the hollow of white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the red cave." That is quite a mouthful isn't it. But...after a good bit of research....this town does not hold the honor of having the longest name in the world.Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Nope...not even close. Thailand has a town whose name has 163 letters: Try this one on for size. Krungthepmahanakornamornratanakosinmahintarayutthayamahadilokphopnop- paratrajathaniburiromudomrajaniwesmahasatharnamornphimarnavatarnsathit- sakkattiyavisanukamprasit. Now THAT is a mouthful!

Headed to Wales

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We left Dublin early on the 18th headed for Wales. Our first three and a half hours were spent on a ferry crossing the Irish Sea. It was a pleasant journey. We sat in the very back and enjoyed each others company. A few napped and some of us listened to our IPODS and played with our DS Lites. I was one of those. When we arrived in Wales we were met by our new coach driver. I was missing Greg already. The new guy was a little cheeky and made a lot of women bashing statements. Did he not realize he was outnumbered? The Welsh countryside was gorgeous. Our first stop was at the town with the longest name in the world. We stopped there for a bathroom break and to get our passports stamped. BTW...the town with the longest name is: LLnfairpwilgwyngyllgogerychwyrndribwukkiantysukuigogogoch. What a mouthful. After this stop our next stop was at Conwy. We ate lunch, did banking business, and toured the castle. It was a precious town. A lot of internationals came here to summer by the shore. The harbor was laden with boats. It was a picture perfect town and we enjoyed the time in Conwy. AFter this stop we traveled on to Snowdonia Glacier Park. Snowdonia was awesome. The tallest mountain - Snowdan still had snow in the upper peaks. It was so beautiful here. I would love to live in this area of the UK and just write. It was the perfect get away for the artsy community. A photographers dream.

Ireland Here I Come!

I am leaving for Ireland, Wales, and England in the morning. I am so excited. We will be gone from March 13 - 21st. A group of six is going with EF tours. This will be my second time to take this particular trip. It is one of my favorite tours. We will be in Dublin on St. Paddy's Day....talk about the ultimate rush of Irishness! We will be visiting Kilarney, do the Circle of Kerry, kiss the Blarney Stone, shop, see Buckingham Palace, see Westminster Abbey, see the Tower, the Bridge....Abbey Road (my personal choice), I will sing, more than likely, with the buskers in Covent Gardens....this is also where Eliza Doolittle (My Fair Lady) sold flowers....we will see Piccadilly Circus....I was sad when I realized...it was just a place...there was no tight rope walker or such. I did see some circus freaks...people with weird colored hair....dressed funny....and went to a head shop....that really sold 'schrooms. I thought I would die. I got to go to Madame Trousoues (my spelling stinks). The food is interesting....from the fish and chips to the spotted dick....I tried it all. I was not crazy about the Indian food - it turns out that the national food of England is Indian food.....and I loved going to the vault of the original Hard Rock Cafe. I actually played Jimmy Hendrix guitar in the vault...along with Eric Claptons first one. It was an awesome rush to sit on Hendrixes couch, hold his guitar and actually get to play it. We will be visiting Stratford on the Avon and Shakespeares homeplace. I love this thought.....I am a Shakespeare major. From there we will see Oxford....and Snowdonia Glacier Park. The only bad part about this trip...is the 24 hours we will spend trying to get there. Oh it is not actually 24 hours....we leave Atlanta....fly to Chicago...that takes....1.3 hours. Then we leave there....4 hours later...and fly to London.....that takes 8 hours....but not really...there is a 6 hour time change....and 5 hours after we arrive in London....we fly to Dublin...and then to Shannon. Coming back...we leave from London....and fly to Dulles in Washington....then to Atlanta....the whole shabang is 12 hours. I won't be blogging next week...unless I get to an internet cafe or something.....but I will be thinking of you all....be prepared to be bombarded with Ireland tales. Have a great Spring Break Week. God Save the Queen Mum!....Tut Tut...and all that jazz!