Salisbury Summer 2003

Salisbury July 2003

We left London on Tuesday morning and after a quick hour on the train arrived in Salisbury around noon. We had booked our rooms via the internet and I was expecting the B&B to be IN Salisbury. We hopped into a taxi, gave him the address and the fellow drove, and drove and drove and finally we asked him where we were going. He said that this particular B&B was in the New Forest area. It turned out to be about 20 miles from Bath. I was hot and aggravated when we got there and I am afraid I wasn't very nice to the poor man who checked us in. Fortunately he was not the type to hold a grudge and when I apologized later he was very sweet about it.

We were way out in the country though. The room was very nice and Kathy amused herself by taking pictures of some cows out the window of our room. After dumping our luggage and gathering up our thoughts, Kathy and I got directions from one of the staff members and walked down the road and took a bus into Salisbury. It was misting rain and had we know what was in store for us for the rest of the trip we would have enjoyed it more. We were in the UK during the worse heat wave they had ever had and for the rest of the time we were there it was miserably hot. We wandered around a small covered mall, checked out the book store, and then made our way back to the bus station for the trip back to the hotel.

We had just about the best dinner we had on the whole trip at the restaurant attached to the B&B that evening. To the vast amusement of some of the other patrons we all took pictures of our food. Then stuffed to the gills, we stumbled off to our room. Because we were burdened down with luggage we took a taxi back into Salisbury and I stayed with the luggage and wrote my London travel journal on my laptop while Emily and Kathy went to see Salisbury Cathedral. Kathy and I both read Susan Howatch's Starbridge Series which was set mostly in the Cathedral and Cathedral Close so it was one of those must go to see places. She took some really great pictures there and I wish I had space to put them all up here in this journal. One of these days I am going to figure out how to do that.

Bob has fixed one of his super Cottage Pies and it was delicious. He explained to us Americans who don't know the difference that a Shepherd’s Pie is made with mutton and a Cottage Pie is made with beef. Whatever! Everything that he cooks is wonderful.

Emily’s Side of the Story 

Left London...took a train to Salisbury. Got there..with all of our suitcases..I hate traveling with those things. GRRR..We thought that our Bed & Breakfast was very close, 9 miles, different town and 20 pound cab fare later, we arrived at New Forrest Inn. "The one with the Deer." <--a little trip HUMOUR just for You :) Grams was mean to the B&B owner, but somehow he deserved it...but after we all apologized and told him that it wasn't him, it was just that we thought that the B&B was in Salisbury...everything was okay. We all went up to our room..it was huge :) I slept while Grams and Kathy walked to the Bus Stop and went into Salisbury and looked around. We, later that night, ate at the Inn, "the one with the deer," and it was the BEST food so far. The Chef was my age...a man that knows how to cook, always a good thing. I had the Shank of Lamb and taters, it was wonderfully done. Superb. My dessert...well I just call it the "doo doo dessert," it wasn’t THAT good, and it looked like a mound of poo...not very appetizing sounding, eh', who cares.

Took a Taxi, and all of our belongings to Salisbury train station to find out if they had a lost luggage area where we could leave it so we could all go to the Salisbury Cathedral. Taxi man was nice :) The man that I asked about the lost luggage area was rude. I said "Do you have a lost luggage area so that we can leave our luggage here to go to the Cathedral?" and he said "No, No." Kathy then said, "Do you have any suggestions?" He replied. "No." And then shoved us off. As Michelle from Full House would say, "HOW RUDE!" We then left Grams, only because she insisted-as she has already seen it, at the train station guarding our luggage. Kathy and I...we are best friends forever :)...went to the Salisbury Cathedral. It is awesome, I say that alot...oh well. I still like Warwick Castle better, but then again they are two totally different things..Our tour guide needed to pluck his eyebrows. Also Canadians aren't Americans...just so we all know..sorry if you are Canadian and reading this..haha. Caught the train back to Weston-Super-Mare. At the train station usually it’s just me and grams and like 10 other people. Today though there were like 200 people there, NOT including us. Some Green Peace thing going on up the way...it was crazy...Got back to Bob and Jenny's finally..Had an amazing Shepherd's Pie..got to get the recipe.