Visit Great Britain by Mouse
If you can ride mouseback, and we are sure that you can, you will be able to visit 55 places in Great Britain on this web site.
ByGreat Britain, we are referring to all four component parts--England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. We have visited England
several times, Scotland twice, Wales once, and Ireland once (only in Dublin and only for a day trip). Our
most recent trips were in 2003, when we spent over two months traveling and 2006 when we traveled there for about four
weeks.
We enjoyed these trips very much. For Americans, England has two advantages over other countries.
First, we speak almost the same language. That means we can understand radio and television broadcasts, can read the newspapers,
and can converse with the people who live in the country. (Well, perhaps not so well in Glasgow. We found it very
difficult to understand some Glaswegians.)
The second advantage for us is that when we were in England we came in direct
contact with the history of the United States. All the places with historical significance are listed in the history section
of this web site. We were constantly reminded of how Anglo centered our education had been. We had studied English
history and literature most of our lives. Indeed, as New Englanders, we found the names of cities and towns in England very
familiar. We lived in Hartford (spelled as Hertferd, England is pronounced) which is pretty close to Glastonbury,
New London, New Britain and Bristol, Cheshire, Coventry, and Hampton--just to name a few Connecticut towns with names imported
from Britain. And Massachusetts, just a few miles north, also has many cities and towns named after those in England.
If
France was where the first cathedral was built, England was not far behind. There are many of these historic and magnificent
medieval cathedrals and churches and we visited as many of them as time and our routes permitted. As in the other countries
you can investigate on this web site, you can explore the Cathedrals we visited, see photos of them, and go to the links we supply to
learn as much about them as you wish.
We found that the British were extremely easy to get along with, extremely courteous, forthcoming,
friendly in person and on the road. If you stand in one place with a map in your hand for more than a
minute someone is sure to come over and ask if they can direct you anywhere. If you are not so sure which way to turn
on a road, cars will stop and allow you time to figure it out.
Of course there are disadvantages, too. One is
the expense, especially these days when the dollar is not doing well at all against European currencies, and especially against the
pound sterling. Even when the dollar was stronger, England was expensive. But now it is much worse. For example,
in 2003, we lunched in a Burger King in London, and spent $14 for what would have been half that in the US. The prices on items
in stores look comparable to prices in the US until you realize that those prices refer to pounds, not dollars, and a pound now
is worth almost two of our puny things. Continued.....
