Ireland

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Grimes Grave

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Erin and I went to the English Heritage site, Grimes Grave. Despite its name, it is not a grave, or burial place, but a flint mine worked between about 2200 and 2500 BC. Some of the shafts are sunk as deep as 30 feet below the surface - a remarkable accomplishment when you consider that the Neolithic miners used antlers for picks and animal shoulder-blades for shovels. English Heritage has opened one of the shafts for the public to descend. Erin and I made our way down the latter into the pit. It reminded me a lot of going down Kuna Caves in Idaho. 

Here is a tunnel.

Down in the mine. 

It looks like a grassy lunar landscape. The anglo-saxons in the middle ages thought there was no way this was man made, concluding that it was the work of the gods. 

Erin chasing after sheep... as usual. :)

A covered pit.

Spain: Week 28

Platja Montrog 

Our home for the week

Tarragona

On the outskirts of the city was a Roman Colosseum. Because we were visiting from America they let us in free. My imagination wandered all over that place! The gladiators fighting wild animals and men.  

We also spent time wandering around trying to find food. Of course, I found fries. They were good and hit the spot as they always do.

One day we went for a drive and found some neat sights.

Barcelona

I loved Barcelona!!! We started off at a market. They had all sorts of food including fish, candy, and fruits.

 Even a whole booth for OLIVES!!!

Most of our trip was on a bus. It was so nice to be able to just sit and get a tour of the city. Learning as we rode. We got off at a couple of stops. Barcelona is famous for a few things. Gaudi's work is ALL over this city.

A monument to Christopher Columbus. 

Gaudi designed his own "neighborhood" for the upperclass called Parc Guell. It was beautiful!

It is now an open park that anyone can enter. Street vendors bring their products to sell in the Marketplace. The walkways and all the mosaics all over the place were incredible. I would have lived in this neighborhood if I could. 

I just LOVED the Barcelona balconies.  The house on the left is designed by Gaudi.

The Sagrada Familia. The never ending cathedral.

One of the last days we went for a drive and found an old aqueduct built by the Romans. Kelli also found a snake... or so she says.

 

 

Other images from our trip.

England: Week 27

Erin and I made it back to England!! Took us a whole day but it was a very smooth trip. I am grateful that I've traveled here before. I knew exactly what to expect and how to proceed. It was great! I wasn't nervous at all. I did notice though, that with my previous experience I was also not as excited about seeing all the very English things.

I am still very excited to be here. It is surreal to be home. In England. It just isn't as new and exciting.

A few things I noticed today. People are all so different and yet we are all so the same. We are each individuals and different in our physical, emotional and mental characteristics. Yet we are all children of God. We all have good in each of us. I had a lot of time to watch people at the airports. I loved it.

Immigration today is so much easier than it used to be (back in the early 1900s). Thank all that is good!

England is GREEN!!!! And warmer than Provo was (when I left it - now that I'm gone it is all warm).

Jet lag isn't as bad... yet. Though I haven't slept a whole lot in the past 3 days.

The light switch on the outside of the bathroom still throws me off. Why would anyone do that?

We are leaving for Spain tomorrow. Time in the sun. I'm excited. Pictures to come.

England: Week 20 - Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day

November 11, 2010

One thing I really love about the English is their respect for those who have served in their military. Two weeks prior to Veteran's day and Remembrance Sunday everyone pinned paper poppies to their shirts to remind them of the sacrifice of others. We decided to take time to look at a local RAF WWII airfield. My other post about Remembrance Sunday is here.

That night Erin, Kelli and I went to Norwich to see Boys Like Girls in concert. It was so much fun!!! They opened for an English band called Kids in Glass Houses. On the way home we saw Boys Like Girls' limo and followed them for a while. 

England: Week 19 - Germany

Germany Day 3

We took a lot of the day and traveled around Belgium.

Our focus was several WWII sites.

It was awesome!

Random German church

These markers show the path that General Patton took from Utah beach onward. We saw quite a few of them in our journeys.

This memorial called Mardasson Memorial was erected near Bastogne, Belgium to honor the memory of the American soldiers wounded or killed during the Battle of the Bulge.

Girls in the pretty leaves.

Foy, Belgium

For those of you who know Band of Brothers, and those that don't, this is a monument to Easy Company. Amazing to see the forests that these guys fought in and to see fox holes they dug.

The cemetery pictures are of German soldiers that died around Bastogne. Each marker has several names on it. The tank is from the city of Bastogne.

Belgium bakery

One of our last stops was the Luxembourg American Cemetery. Each cross represents one soldier. This place touched me greatly because of the living that were present. Soldiers from Ramstein AFB were there in uniform on a field trip of sorts. I was struck by the awesome moment it was to see current soldiers honoring those who fought for them.

Some soldiers of note that are buried here include General Patton (yes that's right). He died in a car accident in American but wanted to be buried with his men. Thus here he lies. Also a Day G. Turner (Medal of Honor recipient) To learn about his story (which is awesome) click here.

At the end of the day we went to Emma's to get dinner. They served MASSIVE portions of everything. We don't look very cute but oh well. 

To view a map of where we went... Click Here.