So as you have all being complaining about my lack of blogs I have written a really long one to bore you all and hopefully it should keep you quiet for while. So you might not want to read this in one sitting or even not read it at all. This blog is also for me to look back on one day and reread the adventures that we had. So for those who do make it through let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy it.
Day 1
So wed afternoon I pulled myself away from the xbox and amped 2 and headed over to Harlow train station and picked up our 2nd visitor to England, Ryan Chin. We brought him back to Hatfield Heath where Megan cooked us a great roast dinner which really hit the spot. Following this we took Ryan out for a drive in the Countryside down some small roads unitl it got dark. We settled down onto the couch with nahcos and the movie "Cube Zero". Once that was out of the way it was Amped 2 on the xbox until the early morning.
Day 2
Started with a little xbox yet again and then we were off to Greensted Church which as you might have read from a earlier post is the oldest Wooden Church in the World. Ryan was it top form taking more photos than me and even pulled out the video camera putting me to shame.....lol. Keeping in the church theme we were off to Ely Cathedral where we had a nice picnic on the lawn behind the church. Even had some monster munch crisps (Curt knows what I am talking about). Within the last 4 weeks Ely has started charging £5.50 to get in so we decided to save the money. Not before going inside taking a few pics by the admission desk and walking out again.


Since we didn't go inside we walked around the town and the market which was on while Ryan and Megan took turns filming the stands selling fruits and vegetables. Should make for some exciting footage.... As it started to rain we took refuge in a Starbucks and had a hot drink before heading back to Hatfield Heath to have fish and chips. Ryan being a trooper ordered the large fish with large chips. I don't think he was disappointed. At first they were out of the large so we got a medium instead (which looked like a small) and brought it back to eat. As I was moving it to a plate the batter ripped and all the fish inside fell onto the floor. Running back to fish and chip shop we got a large cod for Ryan so it all worked out for the best. And as you do after a nice meal of fish and chips it was the movie "Shredder". Now Ryan had never seen this movie and we all know you never forget your first time. I believe he said "best movie ever". Once again of course some Amped 2 before going to bed around 2:30 yet again.


Day 3
A bright and early start (about 10am) we loaded up the car and drove out of Essex and on to our destination of Bristol. Of course their are a few stops we had to make along the way. After 3 hours or so we arrived in the town of
Avebury. Avebury is one of England's largest Stone Circles and was voted 3rd in the most spiritual place in England. Once again we didn't find any vibrating rocks but it was still a good time. About a 30 min drive south of Avebury is perhaps England's most famous tourist attraction.
Stonehenge was built around 5000 years ago and no matter how many times I go I am still amazed by it every time. Luckily we had 3 free passes to get in so we ended up saving about £17 which was great as we were all trying to do this trip on as little money as possible. After spending 45min or so at Stonehenge we took to the road again took the very very long way (yet again) to Bristol stopping off at McDonalds for a quick bite to eat.



Day 4
Once again my Dad's cousin Lynn and her husband Richard were kind enough to put us up for 2 nights in their house in Wraxall which is just outside of Bristol. The following morning we were up and out by 10:15am (pretty good for us) and we drove the 45min to a wonderful town called Bath. The town of bath is just stunning in the architecture and history. The town is so picturesque and it will be stop I will take you all to if you decide to come out and visit in the next few years. We took to shortcut through the pump room again to get to the balcony for a free view of the roman baths that are still bubbling and steaming today. The water comes from thousands of feet underground in hot springs. The nice thing about the view from the balcony is that it was free and once again saved us a ton of money. We took a nice walk around the town stopping in at Bath Abbey (not paying yet again and only taking photos and leaving), Pultney bridge, and then walked along the river Avon.

As we only had a the rest of day to take in more sites we went back to the car and drove to the
city of wells. Wells is a great town for many reasons. First the cathedral there is like no other and second it is the only city I can think of that does not have a single fast food restaurant in it. So we took Ryan out for his first Traditional Cornish Pasty which is a pasty filled with steak, potatoes, and a few other things. Fantastic though. We must have spent about 2 hours walking around the cathedral along and had to drag Ryan out almost kicking and screaming so we could make it to Cheddar gorge before nightfall. Don't get me wrong I love looking at Cathedrals but we were in a bit of a rush to fit everything in.


At cheddar gorge we skipped out on the caves there as they were closed. Not that it mattered though they wanted £11.50 a person to get in so we wouldn’t have in anyway. We drove though the gorge stopping twice to take photos of the cliffs and to take photos of the goats that were on the road and walked around our car. It was getting dark now so we decided to take a quick drive around Bristol to show Ryan where I will be working and a bit about the city we are going to living in for the next few years. Unfortunately Ryan was extremley tired and slept right the way through Bristol. So we went back to Lynn and Richards where we had lasaugna before Ryan and I went off down the road to a pub called "The Barn". This pub is a farmers barn that has been converted to a pub. Next door the farmers house has become a B&B. It is a great local pub and even though it was small and cozy Ryan and I enjoyed a nice pint of Carling before heading back and sinking into the sofa to watch a few movies before falling asleep.

Day 5
The following morning we were treated to a wonderful English Breakfast of sausages, eggs, beans, and toast before we packed up the car and drove to Ogmore Vale in South Wales. As we do we had to make a stop on route to check out a amazing castle just across the England - Wales Boarder in a place called Chepstow. It is a well kept castle in comparison to some of the other ruins we have been to and it is a lot bigger as well. We must have spent a good 2 hours walking around all the parts of the castle (that yes once again we got into free or have price with the English Heritage cards). Check out the photos on
my msn space from Chepstow castle and the rest of the trip with Ryan.


From Chepstow we drove down the M4 to Bridgend and then 20min north in the valley to Ogmore Vale where Megan has relatives. Their hospitality was amazing once again and we are both luckily to have families all over England and Wales that take us in so often. We went for a drive around 4pm down to a place called Porthcawl where we walked along the coast of the English Channel for a while. We were taking pics of the waves crashing into this pier when Ryan decided to walk out on the pier to get a good photo. As I looked up I saw this huge wave forming and coming right at him. I tried to yell to him but he was in his own world. At the last second he looked up and actually managed to get away from the water without getting that wet. But the good news is I managed to capture it in the following photo. hahahahaha.

Once we got back to the car we drove up to the valley again although we then drove up and onto the mountain north of Ogmore Vale which is know as the Bwlch (pronounced "Bulk" but throw a "achh" on the end and you kind of get the way the Welsh say it). From the top of the mountain you get a wonderful view of the valley. Also their are sheep everywhere. We parked the car and sat there watching 2 sheep head butting each other for a while and Ryan got it on video. We drove down about another 20 seconds to a lookout point and got and started taking photos. This is when the real fun started. One sheep was looking at us from across the road and started making his way over to us. Ryan, Megan, and me but the big cowards we are started to run away from it. The sheep followed us around the car until we were on either side of the car again. As we turned around about another 10 sheep were making their way over. We all jumped into the car and started filming and taking photos. Within a few min the car was surrounded by all these sheep peering into our windows looking for food. It was one crazy site. We will have to show you all the video of it as it was probably the funniest part of our whole trip. After 20min we started the car to scare them all way. This had absolutely no effect and they eventually just wondered away on their own.


By now it was getting dark and we made our way back down where Ryan and me were taken off to the ex miners club for a few drinks and a couple of games of skittles. Skittles is a bit like bowling but there are 9 pins and they make up a diamond shape. The game is a lot harder than it looks but a lot of fun. A few games and few pints later we were ready for a more serious game. Ryan and Kevin took on Lloyd (Kevin’s brother in law) and myself in a best of 5 series. Ryan and Kevin put up a good fight but we just managed to beat them in the 5th game winning 3 games to 2. It was definitely an experience neither Ryan or me will forget.
Day 6
Up early and into the rain (yet again) and off to the
big pit today but not before another great meal at Kay and Kevins of bacon, eggs, sausage, beans, and toast. The big pit is old Welsh mine that you can go down in. After a short wait we put on our hard hats, turned on our hard hat lights, and took the plunge down the elevator shaft to a depth of 90 meters. Now some mines did go down 1500m or more but this one had access to the coal much closer to the surface. Before we went down the shaft though we had to hand over cameras, watches, mobile phones, and anything else that had a dry cell battery in it. The reason for this is that the big pit is still classified as a working mine and any spark can cause an explosion in some areas of the mine due to the gasses down there. So unfortunately no pics from down there. The tour lasted about 45min and took us through the underground stables, the tracks, the engine rooms, and much much more. We even got to hold iron and coal in its pure form as it would have being mined. The tour guide even gave us a quick history of the mines in Wales. There is only one mine working in Wales now after the mines where all shut down as it was bought up and is run privately.


We had a great time and managed to keep out of the rain for a few hours. As we made our way into Cardiff we got a little lost and decided to leave Cardiff for the next day as it was getting late and pouring with rain. We made our way back to the valley where Kay and Kevin (Megan’s relatives that live down the road in Nant-y-Mole) took us out for a superb meal at a pub called "The Farmers" where I tried a dark beer called a hobgoblin. It was fantastic. Kay even managed to get me a glass to take home of it for my collection. Following this fantastic meal of calamari and chicken in Barbados sauce we went back to the valley for some more drinks and then off to bed.

Day 7
A 10am start this morning and off to Cardiff with great weather and for once no rain. Kay and Kevin came in with us (actually they drove us in) and the 5 of us spent the afternoon shopping and walking around downtown Cardiff. Cardiff is so unlike any other capital city I have been to as it has the feel of a much smaller town. It is a very large place but their are no skyscrapers and most of the modern shops are in old buildings giving it a great feel. It also has a great castle right by the shopping district.

We had another wonderful meal with Kay and Kevin yet again....who are always so generous when we stay with them. We will have to return the favor when we get our own place in Bristol. The meal we had was in a Spanish restaurant in the shopping district of Cardiff where we had pork, fish, soup, and chicken. After the meal we did a bit of shopping picking up a few things and we made our way back to the Valley. We said our goodbyes and then we were on the road again traveling back toward London which took us about 4.5 hours. Oh yea it rained all the way. Just as it did most of our trip. It was a great trip none the less and one that none of us will ever forget.