Petra Exhibit in Ottawa

We drove to Ottawa over the weekend to see Len and Louise. When there was a half day to ourselves, we went to the Museum of Civilisation. The main attraction was the special exhibit on Petra, one of the places in the world I'd dearly love to visit. Many of us saw it in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: it was where the Holy Grail was housed. I only want to spend a few days hiking and riding camels in Petra. It conjures up such a romantic image in my mind, a world of the days past, so completely different from my own...

Southwestern England

Trip Photos

I'd wanted to go to England forever. To find myself finally at Heathrow was quite a thrill, even if the airport was old, crowded and stuffy. In London, we went to the touristy sights, visited the museums, browsed through Fortnum & Mason, had afternoon tea at Harrod's, saw a show on the Strand, and made a side-trip to Wimbledon. The highlight was seeing the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum -- I know the story only too well. It was also fascinating going through the National Portrait Gallery. Many countries boast first-rate art museums, but only Britain has produced so many famous subjects whose portraits will amaze any lover of history.

London lived up to all my expectations, including its high prices. I could easily have stayed for another week, month, year, ... Nevertheless, one week was all we had. After picking up our rental car, we headed out of the city. The car was a Saab 9-3. Over the next two weeks, we grew rather fond of the little vehicle. It's compact yet roomy, powerful yet nimble. Driving in the English countryside under clear autumn skies is pure joy -- and driving on the "wrong side" required no more than ten minutes to adjust. The notorious rain bothered us on only two occasions.

In the next fortnight (note my use of the English lingo), we paid our respects at impressive sites (Hampton Court, Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge, Exeter Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral, Blenheim Palace, and Warwick Castle); drove through the Moors and along tall hedges; walked in quaint little towns the likes of Looe, St. Ives, Port Issac, Clovelly, Lynton, Lynmouth, Glastonbury, and Stratford; took hidden roads in the otherworldly Cottswalds; and admired the majestic cities of Bath, Cambridge and Oxford. So many familiar names and places from books. So much history. Believe it or not, we had the full-fledged English Breakfast most mornings! And in the afternoons, I often indulged in a scone (with jam and clotted cream, of course) and tea in cozy shops. One couldn't possibly ask for more.

Jeff had seen and done all this before, but he humoured me by appearing to like everything all over again. It was such a wonderful holiday. At the end, we talked about going to Northern England, Scotland, or Ireland next. As usual, too many places still to see in the world...