Day 6 ... highlights beginning of our 5-day bus tour adventure toward Edinburgh, Scotland & the quaint city of York

... began our day with an ever-interesting black cab ride to the wrong location in London ... almost late for our bus tour departure !!

The tour will have us making our way to Edinburgh, Scotland with some key stops along the way. About a year ago I purchased a book entitled "1,000 Things to See Before you Die" and 2 of the 1,000 are on the list! One of them is The Lake District in England where Woodsworth found inspiration for many of his poems ... I hope to be similarly inspired ...

After our harrowing, last minute, dash cab ride to make our tour bus we settled in nicely for the drive to Cambridge / Oxford ... what an amazing and historical place ... again falling in love with the rich architecture and the quaintness and charm. The photo today is of Sabine and I in front of a typical English garden in the City of Cambridge ... not far from the Cam River and down the street from King's College. Took many more pictures today ... somehow I must figure out how to upload an album so my readers can see and experience more alongside me.

The bus then made its way to York, one of the oldest cities in European history [dates back before the Vikings ... there are remnants and history markings from their pillaging ... although we all know Vikings and they didn't leave much behind ... other than the aftermath of their "plundering"] [also remnants of the Romans which pre-dates the Vikings]. We visited the 800+ year old York Minster Cathedral ... spectacular is but a word ... took the narrow, spiral and quite confining staircase to the top of the cathedral to see the surrounding views of the city and beyond [reminded me very much of the prairies ... could see the smog of London and the haze of Edinburgh]. Next took a stroll through "the Shambles" and learned of more amazing history of the area ...

... the streets are VERY narrow and of course were quite conducive to disease spreading hundreds of years ago ... literally people would have "a go" in their chamber pots at night and dump them directly out their window ... next day in the Shambles ~ which was famous for it being the meat and butcher district ~ you'd see meat hanging from hooks ready for carving and purchasing ... AND mind you, hundreds of years ago if one were in any way to speak of the "disease" or germs these actions create you'd have been hanged for being a witch ... thus, ne'er did they speak of such insanities in their short lifespans of 35-45 ...

My eyes and nose are filled with the richness and beauty I experienced today ... I only wish I had more time in York ... another time in the future I suspect I will return to investigate and discover further this part of the planet.

And, of course, my day would not be complete without having met someone new ... although Day 1 brought a bad experience and I should have learned my lesson ... inherently who and what I am is interested and curious about people ... I met Ann from New York on the bus tour today. Ann is a retired teacher who taught highschool for the majority of her teaching profession ... she lives about 60 minutes outside of New York on a hobby farm and has undertaken travel and seeing the world in her retirement ... as I said to Ann, "Good for you! you're living the dream " ...

... for me I just know retirement is too far away and I have a need to see and experience now - and the more I do the more I need to ...

Cheers Mates - RGR

P.S. ... bought 2 pairs of shoes today - yippee! ... and some traditional English toffee for my mates at work