Around Lincoln

The next stop on our England tour was Lincoln. This was our longest part of the stay, mostly for the wedding. I was pretty surprised as when I told folks who lived in England that we were going to Lincoln they usually replied with a resounding... why? Or "ugh" kind of noise in the back of their throat. I have to say that I was pretty surprised and happy with the time that I spent there. Kiyomi and I were finally joined with our baggage there, and were able to relax... well after a bit of a shock that we didn't have a hotel room booked for the day we arrived. That was all smoothed out and as we found a hotel with a room basically right next to the main one called the castle. The castle also had a great view of the the Lincoln Cathedral.



The cathedral really dominates the Lincoln skyline. It is at the top of the hill, and is basically viewable from almost anywhere in the town. I've been around some pretty impressive Cathedrals in my travels around Europe, and have to say I think I may have liked the one in Lincoln best. The settings around it are well preserved and the fact that Lincoln is such a small town accentuates the size of the Cathedral.



Opposite from the Cathedral is Lincoln castle. Actually this dates back to the Romans... I don't think any of the structure does (but there are old roman roads and ruins that do dot the Lincoln landscape). The castle has some great views as you walk along its walls. Kiyomi and I were really blessed to have some good weather for this day out on our own, walking around and just chilling. I guess for me anything like this is just so different from Tokyo... even if you find something historical or interesting it is often crowded with thousands of other people with the same idea. In Lincoln though, Kiyomi and I found ourselves often to be the only folks in the area of the castle. Our own personal little walking tour!



The city itself has some really amazing little streets and buildings that have survived hundreds and hundreds of years. It is really an interesting little place, and I would say is worth a day or two. If you at all like historical sites and towns that is. If you are in your mid 20s I would guess that for some nights of the week Lincoln has a pretty surprising night life too, there were a lot of clubs and bars (and pubs) mostly due to the University I think.



If you want to learn more check out Wikipedia.
For a history of Lincoln check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%2C_Lincolnshire
For a history of the magna carta check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_carta

Hull and The Deep

We spent the next day walking around Hull and going to a large Aquarium that they had in the area called The Deep. Actually The Deep was pretty cool, and it reminded me a lot of the place that Kiyomi and I went to in Okinawa. The Deep though probably had a little more of a focus on the environment and what we are doing to our oceans... anyhow it is a pretty cool place, and if you are interested in a good half day out definitely worth it.




After goin got the Deep we did some walking around Hull. Hull is a pretty ancient town, and was really quite interesting for me. We had a good walking tour of the town, seeing much of the downtown. I guess there are some rough areas in Hull, but really did not see any of them from where I was. Seems that it has a long and full history and is the kind of place that everywhere has a story. Wouldn't mind to go there again. One thing that was a shame is that all the museums were closed, as the staff were out helping those who were affected by the flood. Bad for us, but really I think any help that they could give to people at such a trying time would be really appreciated. In otherwords... I did not mind, and understood.





After walking around Hull for the day, we had a great little tour of the bread factory that Paula worked at. That was a real treat and I think that Kiyomi would have loved to have gotten some of their recipies!

Trip to England

Kiyomi and I returned safely from England, and we had even received out luggage by the time we left. Way to go british airways!

During our trip we were able to see a whole lot of northern England. It was great to cover so much distance and see so many places. Really have to send out a big huge thank you to Paula and Dan for all the organization that they did for us. For all the driving they did for us. And of course... for all he Full English Breakfasts that they did for us.

Our first stop was Manchaester... it was great to see it again. We spent some time with Uncle Tony and Aunt Ellen (again.. thanks for the breakfast!) In the last few trips to Manchester I really did not recall seeing the sky, well here it is. Nice blue sky near Ellen and Tonys!



After a quick trip to the trafford center we headed out to Gilberdyke to stay at Dan and Paula's. It was a beautiful drive, seeing parts of the country that either I had never seen, or was too young to remember. In Gilberdyke we headed up to the pub for dinner and I had that great British meal, Fish and Chips (the green stuff is Mushy Peas - great!).



We stayed for a few days with Dan and Paula, which was great. Although their place was flooded out in the floods last month, they made us feel like home. We had some rain during these days, but overall we had some beautiful nights sitting in their conservatory and relaxing. During this time we also got to know one more member of the family. Liniker chan... He is a wonderful and friendly soul.

British Airways Lost Luggage

Well, we arrived pretty much on time and with out too much hassel on the planes to get to Manchestter. Only to find out that our baggage had not arrived with us. Pretty crap overall, and we thought we would recived them the next day. Well it is monday now and we have recieved only 1 of 3 cases. Crazy.

The worst part is the absolute NIGHTMARE the British Airways is about lost baggage. They accepet absolutely zero responsibiltiy, even having people dealing with lost baggage saying, "there is nothing I can do" and "it isn't my fault". I have been good, altough frustrated, not actually said anything too really show how upsetting this is. I have not been rude, and found that my inquirers were immediately met with rudeness. Shocking.

I was also told by a phone line that you have to pay for (ummm... doesn't this mean that it is BA's interest to lose baggage? Does anyone else think that this is strage?).

Anyhow I have my case, but our stuff for the wedding (suits and dresses) are missing along with my camera...

I would feel better if I acutally thought that someone competent was looking into this issue.