Vacation Pictures
Pictures from the recent trip to England. :) I'm quite taken with a number of these shots, enough to ignore the few blurry ones. ;)
The first place we went to was Oxford's Christ Church on Christmas Eve -- sadly, despite their website saying they were open, they were closing by the time we got there. I got one picture in before we decided to wander the rest of the town and get food.
This is one of the pictures I'm very fond of -- it's a bit dark and that's after I realized I was going to need to set my camera on night time due to the clouds! Still, the place is gorgeous.
Then on Boxing Day, we tried out Stratford Upon Avon -- I'm a large Shakespeare fan so we were going to hit his home. It was, of course, closed. ;) This was soon to be the theme for a few days but we did manage to wander the town and see quite a bit. The butterfly flight place was open though.
Shakespeare's home! Next time, I'll go inside. We did end up doing this rip off of a spooky haunted tour thing down the street and it really wasn't worth the price of admission. I did get a kick out of the dead man's piss in a jar, though. Can't quite remember why it was in there.
Big clock fountain thing. I like things like this.
Random picture of some buildings with the old style look to them.
I like churches, I always have. They've got such character and feel to the buildings and I was pretty taken with this church.
Larger view and though this one doesn't have a car in it, I still like the other shot better.
I really like how you can see the other stained glass through this window.
We were walking down the street when I happened to look left, down a little alley way and look what I found hidden away. :D
On our way to see the Swan Theater.
A liiittle closer. ;)
On one side of the river -- I loved those boat house/shops on the river there.
Crossing the bridge and this was about half way across. This is one of my other favorite shots, I think.
I got to watch this butterfly annoy the one on the leave. And did you know that, yes, it actually does hurt to get hit in the face by a butterfly? I got it twice, actually. Ow. The worst part was having to watch where you walked or else you might step on one. But it was fascinating to have them cling onto you.
My dad and a friend. :D
The same river and boats, just on the other side of the river at night.
Okay, back where we started! *laughs* And this time, it was opened. ;)
An inner court yard.
Blech, first of the few blurry ones. Very odd. But these are the stairs that they filmed Harry Potter on and that doorway leads to the 'Great Hall' -- or the huge dining hall. Also, blurry picture of my sister...taking a picture. :D
Said great hall, a bit blurry -- and out of sorts. They were doing construction on the fireplace so we couldn't actually get close. Which was a shame. A number of things in this room have counter parts in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland': the fire place, the dean leaving through a secret door (the rabbit going down the rabbit hole).
A better picture from a different angle.
Another shot of the stairs and my parents!
The courtyard which was apparently inspiration for Rowling's quidditch field. I can see why.
Gorgeous, isn't it?
I think this is the outside of the church.
If it's got stained glass, my mom is a happy woman. These were breath taking.
My mom and I decided to light some candles and I took a quick picture when she did it.
Standing nearly at the altar, looking all the way -- it's massive. And the silver and dark thing above and in the back? One giant freakin' organ.
So pretty.
The ceiling, a bit blurry but I liked the play of the light.
Outside now, in a little alley.
Stonehenge! Blurry because it felt below freezing with winds strong enough to knock an ox. I have to say...I was damned impressed at the human ability to do something like this. I would have been more impressed had I not been freezing and/or had the ability to go in the circle itself.
A neat picture, taken in Banbury Cross -- this is really close to where my parents are living.
On my last Friday there, I ventured into London itself (not as hard as I feared -- train and the Tube) and met up with ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
alasdair , avariel_wings and nystana and I had an absolute blast. It was great meeting Alasdair and seeing Kate and Jazz (who managed to scare the crap out of me when she appeared ;). This is a picture of the Thames as we were walking around.
I did not take a picture of the fantastic chocolate Alasdair introduced me to and all I can say is nngggh and no, it didn't last until Sunday. :)
Giant spider (and Alasdair's head...) meet my LJ friends. Friends...yeah. XD I was impressed and creeped out at the same time.
We were walking along after lunch when Alasdair suddenly asked how we felt about Shakespeare. I looked up, saw we were in front of the Globe and promptly made with the grabby hands. I'd been there once before but it had been about to open in a few months so it was nice to go back and see everything fully done. Sadly, we weren't allowed on stage like they had done the last time.
The stage represents heaven (top), earth (middle) and hell (bottom)...and they do it very well. Bit blurry but oh well...I am fussy when it comes to pictures.
A view from the boxes on the side.
'Heaven'.
I put the camera nearly on the stage and took a picture. And a good ending shot, I think (I had a few others but they didn't come out).
After that, we ended up at a pub for a few drinks and then a great market where I bought bread and brownies thick enough to beat someone over the head with them. (Seriously, I could have used them for weapons.) I managed to make it out of there right before rush hour. It was great getting together with everyone and talking. :)
Saturday, we went to an auction and then celebrated my dad's birthday (it was on Wednesday but this way the place was open) and a place called "Pudding Face". Best. Pies. Ever. I had wild game pie and the parents both had curry pie. Gnagh.
I might come back and do a fuller actual detail post but right now, here are the pictures. I horribly miss my parents and I want to see more of my friends, but it was a fantastic vacation from start to finish and I can't wait to go back. In the mean time, I get my mom in about 4 to 6 months for a few days (don't know how long) and I'm really looking forward to that.
This is one of the pictures I'm very fond of -- it's a bit dark and that's after I realized I was going to need to set my camera on night time due to the clouds! Still, the place is gorgeous.Then on Boxing Day, we tried out Stratford Upon Avon -- I'm a large Shakespeare fan so we were going to hit his home. It was, of course, closed. ;) This was soon to be the theme for a few days but we did manage to wander the town and see quite a bit. The butterfly flight place was open though.
Shakespeare's home! Next time, I'll go inside. We did end up doing this rip off of a spooky haunted tour thing down the street and it really wasn't worth the price of admission. I did get a kick out of the dead man's piss in a jar, though. Can't quite remember why it was in there. Big clock fountain thing. I like things like this. Random picture of some buildings with the old style look to them. I like churches, I always have. They've got such character and feel to the buildings and I was pretty taken with this church. Larger view and though this one doesn't have a car in it, I still like the other shot better. I really like how you can see the other stained glass through this window. We were walking down the street when I happened to look left, down a little alley way and look what I found hidden away. :D On our way to see the Swan Theater. A liiittle closer. ;) On one side of the river -- I loved those boat house/shops on the river there. Crossing the bridge and this was about half way across. This is one of my other favorite shots, I think. I got to watch this butterfly annoy the one on the leave. And did you know that, yes, it actually does hurt to get hit in the face by a butterfly? I got it twice, actually. Ow. The worst part was having to watch where you walked or else you might step on one. But it was fascinating to have them cling onto you. My dad and a friend. :D The same river and boats, just on the other side of the river at night. Okay, back where we started! *laughs* And this time, it was opened. ;) An inner court yard. Blech, first of the few blurry ones. Very odd. But these are the stairs that they filmed Harry Potter on and that doorway leads to the 'Great Hall' -- or the huge dining hall. Also, blurry picture of my sister...taking a picture. :D Said great hall, a bit blurry -- and out of sorts. They were doing construction on the fireplace so we couldn't actually get close. Which was a shame. A number of things in this room have counter parts in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland': the fire place, the dean leaving through a secret door (the rabbit going down the rabbit hole). A better picture from a different angle. Another shot of the stairs and my parents! The courtyard which was apparently inspiration for Rowling's quidditch field. I can see why. Gorgeous, isn't it? I think this is the outside of the church. If it's got stained glass, my mom is a happy woman. These were breath taking. My mom and I decided to light some candles and I took a quick picture when she did it. Standing nearly at the altar, looking all the way -- it's massive. And the silver and dark thing above and in the back? One giant freakin' organ. So pretty. The ceiling, a bit blurry but I liked the play of the light. Outside now, in a little alley. Stonehenge! Blurry because it felt below freezing with winds strong enough to knock an ox. I have to say...I was damned impressed at the human ability to do something like this. I would have been more impressed had I not been freezing and/or had the ability to go in the circle itself. A neat picture, taken in Banbury Cross -- this is really close to where my parents are living. On my last Friday there, I ventured into London itself (not as hard as I feared -- train and the Tube) and met up with alasdair , avariel_wings and nystana and I had an absolute blast. It was great meeting Alasdair and seeing Kate and Jazz (who managed to scare the crap out of me when she appeared ;). This is a picture of the Thames as we were walking around.I did not take a picture of the fantastic chocolate Alasdair introduced me to and all I can say is nngggh and no, it didn't last until Sunday. :)
Giant spider (and Alasdair's head...) meet my LJ friends. Friends...yeah. XD I was impressed and creeped out at the same time. We were walking along after lunch when Alasdair suddenly asked how we felt about Shakespeare. I looked up, saw we were in front of the Globe and promptly made with the grabby hands. I'd been there once before but it had been about to open in a few months so it was nice to go back and see everything fully done. Sadly, we weren't allowed on stage like they had done the last time. The stage represents heaven (top), earth (middle) and hell (bottom)...and they do it very well. Bit blurry but oh well...I am fussy when it comes to pictures. A view from the boxes on the side. 'Heaven'. I put the camera nearly on the stage and took a picture. And a good ending shot, I think (I had a few others but they didn't come out).After that, we ended up at a pub for a few drinks and then a great market where I bought bread and brownies thick enough to beat someone over the head with them. (Seriously, I could have used them for weapons.) I managed to make it out of there right before rush hour. It was great getting together with everyone and talking. :)
Saturday, we went to an auction and then celebrated my dad's birthday (it was on Wednesday but this way the place was open) and a place called "Pudding Face". Best. Pies. Ever. I had wild game pie and the parents both had curry pie. Gnagh.
I might come back and do a fuller actual detail post but right now, here are the pictures. I horribly miss my parents and I want to see more of my friends, but it was a fantastic vacation from start to finish and I can't wait to go back. In the mean time, I get my mom in about 4 to 6 months for a few days (don't know how long) and I'm really looking forward to that.
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