NEW YEAR'S!
12-31-02 in Taunton, Somerset.
My first day in England! That's me on the left wearing the poodle. Next is Miss Corrie of Kent and Vicki of Bridgwater. Finally, the guy who looks like the Hippie from The Young Ones is Robin, our totally gracious host. Robin, who RESCUED me from the bowels of Heathrow after a 25-hour travel nightmare. He's got a nice lil' spread. You should see the conservatory.
January 3, 2003
One of those beguiling English buildings. It's a castle ... yes and no. It's a Victorian Era hotel built on top of a real castle from the 16 or 1700s (it's a blur). Taunton was "significant" during the Revolutionary War, Oliver Cromwell, etc. Yes, England's had several revolutions. If you look at this pic, you can see that the bricks/rocks at the base are older. Home to one of the only Michelin restaurants in all of southern England. No, I didn't eat there. After I gave the bureaux de change hundreds, they gave me coin and some lint.
January 4, 2003
Lonely Planet's 2003 Guide to Britain had this to say about Taunton: "Coming to the Quantocks ... you're likely to arrive in Taunton, Somerset's disappointing administrative centre." Humph! I thought it was fantastic. Just the right size, plenty of countryside, friendly pubs, a smattering of historical buildings. Many have complained that England is a geriatric country. All I saw while I was there, were herds of teens and college kids; anything but geriatric. If you're single and between 20-40 this IS the place to live.
Southern England is this green.
In 'Merikun, they're all split-level duplexes or fourplexes but in the UK, they're castles.
Despite its small size, I got sooo lost on several occasions. I mean, the houses don't look similar, they're identical. And WHERE are the street signs?
These are common in the countryside. Hardly any in London because of a big fire way back when. Basically, Tudor means Shakespeare or Pre-Shakespeare, so Tudor architecture is usually 300 to 400 years old. This is what's referred to by Brits as old versus Victorian architecture which is kind of old because it's only 150 to 200 years old. Didn't drink here, it was closed. It had a real estate sign out front. Probably slated to become a law office, or even more ironic, a real estate agent's office.