The Second Day… a day of transit

Having gone to bed embarrassingly early, we were well-rested when we got up at around 8:00 this morning. As if it were a divine blessing for our trip, we woke up to a glorious, clear-blue sky and sunshine. How fortunate! We didn’t want to loiter too long, however, because we had a long drive ahead of us and we still wanted to stop by the Exeter campus again to see it in the sunshine. And then, of course, there was the little matter of Stonehenge, which we had so suddenly stumbled upon yesterday on our way to Exeter. We came over a slight hill and then BOOM, there it was, in a field right next to the highway! Since we were both very fascinated by Stonehenge in our “youth”, we would have to make time to see it.

So, we went downstairs for an early breakfast. I, of course, had to have the “Full English” which usually consists of back-bacon, sausage, Heinz beans, fried egg, and a broiled tomato. Along with English tea and toast. Kristen had two fried eggs and toast. There is something about England that makes her actually like the taste of traditional tea (but take the same tea to another country and it just doesn’t taste the same)!

If we had a good feeling about the University of Exeter yesterday, today could be considered a revelation! The hilly campus with lush greenery everywhere is a sight to behold. The students and faculty of this university must all have at least this one thing in common: giant, muscular calves! The campus is nestled into the folds of a hill over-looking Exeter, the estuary and the river Exe. Many of the buildings are classic and tasteful, but there are also some more “modern” buildings that have a bit of that 60’s institutional look to them. There is a huge variety of flora covering the campus, which really gives it an inviting feeling. On this sunny, Saturday morning it was quiet and almost desolate. We were reluctant to leave this “sanctuary”, but our time was limited and we still wanted to drive around the town a little bit before heading back on the road.

Exeter is a nice little town. There are a lot of cobblestone streets, cozy pubs and English architecture. The city was very clean as well. Maybe not a hotbed of activity and night-clubs, but that doesn’t bother us (more of a concern for all the undergrads hell-bent on binge-drinking every Friday and Saturday night).

After filling our Peugeot with “petrol”, we headed back out to the highway and drove towards Exeter. The plan was to take it semi-easy: stop at Stonehenge, drive on the highway for part of the way, take some smaller roads for a change of scenery, and get to Norwich by late afternoon while it was still light.

Stonehenge was a popular destination today; far more people ambling about than when we drove by yesterday. At first we were exited that this national monument (and one of the Seven Wonders of the World) was so accessible and hadn’t been turned into a tourist trap that you had to pay for. However, when we walked down to the entrance area, we saw that we were a bit wrong on that notion. There was a line to get in and a charge of 5 GBP per person (unless you were a student, then it was 3.80 GBP… Kristen had her student card from the University of Kent). They gave every entrant an audio-guided tour device that resembled a small headmaster’s paddle, which you held against one ear after punching in the number at 7 different spots around the Henge. We spent about an hour here, listening to the audio tour and just standing there, gazing at this bizarre sight. It wasn’t a let-down, but it would have been fun to be able to get closer than 20 feet to it. There was a cold wind blowing steadily the entire time, but it is easy to ignore when you are fixated on this monument. It was about 2:00pm when we left. Kristen got a giant chocolate chip scone from the snack-shop while I said hello and goodbye to the sheep in the field next to the ‘henge.

The rest of the day was pretty much spent behind the wheel, but road-tripping on a day like today was not nearly an exhausting experience. Unfortunately, it took a little longer to get to Norwich than we expected. Or, at least, we should have left earlier or not stayed as long at Stonehenge. It was twilight by the time we reached the B&B across from the University of East Anglia’s campus, so we had to reschedule our private campus walk-through for Sunday morning. Not a big deal because we didn’t have any appointments anyway and the university offices are closed on both Saturdays and Sundays. The proprietor of the Arbor Linden House B&B was a very kind and talkative lady. As soon as we got there, she immediately started running through the layout of the town and advising us on where and how we should go. She gave us maps and ran through all the rules and customs of the B&B. After her “presentation” we lumbered up to our room on the 2nd floor. It was a nice size, but highly quirky. The bathroom was in a converted closet basically, with slatted doors. To turn on the faucet, you had to pull a cord (to turn on hot water) and then turn a dial on a box attached to the wall. Then water came out of the faucet (the handles on the faucets didn’t actually do anything). I’m not sure what the purpose of this elaborate system is, but it must have something to do with saving water and energy.

Though Norwich seems to be more of a “car town”, we decided to walk to the city center because our B&B hostess said it would only take about 20 minutes and after spending the day sitting, it would be good to get a little exercise. After hearing on the news that there was a freeze on the way, we bundled up and headed out. It took about 30 minutes to get into the active part of the city center. Our first impression of the city was a bit un-inspired. Looked a bit more run-down and dirty. However, we knew already that most towns would have trouble comparing with Exeter.

There was quite a bit of activity downtown. Lots of college students milling about, on their way to clubs and pubs. We were craving Indian food, so we navigated to a restaurant our B&B lady had recommended. The brochure map we had was a bit crude, so it took us a while to find the place. The journey was worth it, though. I had a scorchingly spicy Chicken Masala dish, two lagers from India (Kingfisher and Cobra) and we split some rice, nan bread, and papadums w/ three kinds of chutney. Kristen had a sweetly, mild Chicken Curry and a ginger ale. Satiated and full, we headed back out into the cold to see a little bit more of the town. The headwaiter said, “thank you” about 10 times as we were leaving.

For about an hour, we ambled around the city, trying really hard to find reasons to like it and vaguely trying to find this one pub I had heard about which has 25 cask ales available at any given time (we never found it though… the map was poorly detailed). Norwich has a few nice parts and lots of restaurants, shops, etc. Definitely a lot more activity than Exeter, but the city officials should definitely hire a few street-sweepers because there was a lot of litter lying around everywhere. This usually seems to be the case with the more car-oriented cities. They look pretty good from a vehicle, but when your outside you’re seeing everything up close and it’s a bit dreary. LA is a great example of this.

So, feeling a little bit defeated and disappointed, we headed back to the B&B. Decided to walk again which took a lot longer than we thought it would. The temperature had dropped considerably, so we were both thoroughly chilled by they time we got back. Weather like this seemingly has little effect on the yoots (youths) in England. We’re bundled up in jackets, scarves and gloves, but here they are running around in one layer of clothing. The girls in mini-skirts and blouses, the guys in jeans and a button-down. Why they don’t get pneumonia is beyond me. Apparently, it is a drag to have to take care of a jacket when you’re going clubbing or doing a pub-crawl. (I think we’re getting old!)

Another full day behind us, we settled down in our hotel room, leafed through a couple of issues of British tabloids while Poltergeist played on TV. Then we went to bed, quiet and exhausted.