Discover Mathura And Vrindavan A Spritual Journey.pdf
DiNapoli Europe the Summer of 2013 part ii
1. E U R O P E T H E S U M M ER O F 2 0 1 3 : P A R T 2
L O N D ON, B A T H , T H E
C O T S WOL DS , O X F O RD, N O T T INGHAM, T H E
L A K E D I S T RICT , A N D E D I N B URGH
First Stop: London
2. ROUGH LANDING
After a rough start in Bologna (see part 1) Ryan
Air managed to get us safely on the ground at
Stansted airport, about 45 miles & an hour and a
half outside of London. After going through
customs and changing money, we took the train
into London, though not without mishap. Trying to
board the train with a backpack and heavy
shoulder bag, Tom lost his balance on the
platform and fell over backwards, totally
helpless, with feet and hands in the air like an
overturned turtle. One of the platform
attendants rushed over and along with Ben &
Robin managed to pull him upright. None the worse
for wear, we all climbed aboard and set out for
central London.
3. PECKHAM
Arriving in london’s Peckham-Rye neighborhood, where
the lodge of the same name was located, our second
mishap occurred, this one potentially much more
serious. Having to transfer from the train to the
subwAy or “tube”, And eAch of us cArrying two pieces
of luggage, we made the mistake of trying to get to
where we needed to be using the escalator. Within a
few seconds Ben in the lead was pulled down by the
weight of his bags, one of which slipped off the
step, falling onto Tom who fell backwards, head
down, feet (again) up in the air, Robin holding up the
rear, which in this case belonged to Tom. Together we
all rode up the escalator making it to the top
uninjured, with a couple of strangers coming to our
rescue – one pushing a button that stopped the
escalator, the other helping us all to our feet.
4. OFF TO PECKHAM LODGE
Having safely made it off the escalator, the next
(mis-)step was to board the subway to Peckham-
Rye. Ben & Robin got on first without any
trouble, but when the doors started to close, Tom
instinctively stuck his Arm in thinking …well, no
one’s exActly sure what he was thinking.
Fortunately Ben had the presence of mind to push
an emergency button that stopped the doors from
closing completely, potentiAlly drAgging tom’s
arm all the way to Peckham, with the rest of him
back at the station. By this time we were all
beginning to think we’d be very fortunAte to mAke
it back to America alive.!
5. PECKHAM LODGE
The lodge, named after the
neighborhood in London, was
being renovated . The room was
comfortable enough, though we
were awakened by an alarm at
about 3 a.m. and a loud knock on
our door! robin & ben didn’t
want me to answer it, but
thinking there really could be
a fire, I did – to find two lodge
employees outside asking us if
anyone was smoking which no
one was. Satisfied they left and
we went back to what sleep we
could still get!
6. PRINCESS LOUISE PUB
Named after one of Queen
victoriA’s dAughters, the
pub claimed to have the
oldest stained glass
in England.
It was about a half hour
walk from the lodge.
10. THE TIGER PUB: 18
CAMBERWELL
GREEN, PECKHAM &
CAMBERWELL, LONDON
This was a quaint pub about a 15-20
minute walk from the lodge.
11. hermit’s cAfÉ
This is the pub we went to after eating
dinner since it only served drinks. Sitting
at a large table with three others: 2 guys
and a girl in their mid- to late 20s, we were
soon chatting with them once they noticed
our American accents.
heAring i’d just studied in itAly, the
girl, who’d cleArly hAd A few pints under
her belt before we Arrived, sAid she’d been
to Italy once and learned just a single
sentence – taught to her by some local
guys who assured her it was a surefire
way to meet Italian men. My mistake was
asking her what that practical sentence
was. Laughing so loud she could hardly get
it out, but get it out she did in what
sounded like fluent Italian, was (in
trAnslAtion): “my vAginA’s on fire!” -- Robin
thought that was hilarious, Ben & I told
her we agreed with the Italians that it
was probably a pretty useful line.
12. BATH
In bath we stayed in a wonderfully situated youth hostel above
the city that reminded us of a small Italian villa. In fact, its
name was “Fiesole” which is the name of the small town
overlooking Florence, that Robin & Tom had visited years ago
and then re-visited with Ben after graduating high school.
We had to take a cab up to it, but rode busses down into the
city. The room was very nice and the view spectacular. Being
a “youth” hostel, Tom just managed to squeak in under the
age limit!
25. THE COTSWOLDS
The trip to the Cotswolds involved renting a car since we were going on the assumption that it’d
be absolutely essential to getting around. As it turns out the public transportation was excellent
between the small towns in contrast to the car which we (Tom especially) soon realized was more
trouble than it was worth. Contributing to our unanimous decision to leave the car parked
outside the pub where we were staying and take local busses, were the really narrow roads in this
district and the quaint British habit of driving on the wrong side of the road. We call it in
America and most of the free world “driving on the RIGHT side of the road” for a reason!
26. ODDFELLOWS PUB
The small town of Cirencester served as
our base from which we’d take side trips
to the nearby towns of Bibury, Morton-in-
Marsh, Lechlade, and Tetbury. We stayed
above the Oddfellows Pub, which
certainly gave new meaning to having to
get up in the middle of the night for a
drink! The highlight of our stay there
was “Pub Quiz” night, a popular trivia
contest in which we participated. Each
team had to have a name , so we decided
on “The Swamp People”.
40. OXFORD
Ben spent the fall semester at Oxford’s Keble College. We spent a
couple of days in the city, visiting the places where he
studied, dined, and relaxed. The university is everything we’d
imagined it to be.
52. “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD”
(ROBIN’S PHOTO)
The Chapel also contains Holman Hunt's famous
painting "The Light of the World". This famous Pre-
Raphaelite painting was donated to the College in
1872 by the widow of Thomas Combe, Printer to the
University, on the understanding that it would hang in
the Chapel. The painting is an allegorical or symbolic
painting representing the figure of Jesus preparing to
knock on an overgrown and long-unopened door - 50
years after painting it, Hunt felt he had to explain the
symbolism. According to Hunt: There are two lights
shown in the picture. The lantern is the light of
conscience and the light around the head is the light
of salvation with the door representing the human
soul, which cannot be opened from the outside. There
is no handle on the door, and the rusty nails and
hinges overgrown with ivy denote that the door has
never been opened and that the figure of Christ is
asking for permission to enter. The bright light over
the figure is the morning star, the dawn of the new
day, and the autumn weeds and fallen fruit represent
the autumn of life. The writing under the
picture, which is rather hard to read, is taken from
Revelation 3 'Behold I stand at the door and knock. If
any man hear my voice and open the door I will come
in to him and will sup with him and he with me.'
53. m o r e o f r o b i n ’ s c h u r c h i n t e r i o r s
57. OFF TO NOTTINGHAM
Here in Nottingham, as in Oxford, we had a good
chance to see where Ben had spent the second
semester. In contrast to Oxford, the University of
Nottingham is very modern and a lot like a typical
American university with its expansive, unified
campus.
64. LIFE ON THE FARM
Ben found us a wonderfully idyllic place to relax and enjoy the
beautiful English countryside: a working sheep farm in the famous
“Lake District” north of London. It’d be our last stop before
traveling up to Edinburgh. Ben couldn’t have found a more peaceful
place for us to stay. Before traveling to the farm, however, we stayed a
few days in the quaint town of Windermere at the Lingmoor Inn. It
was from here that we took an all day bus tour of the district.
65. LINGMOOR GUES T HOUS E & IT S
P ROP RIET ORS : P AULA & GRAHAM S MIT H
71. THE CASTLERIGG
STONE CIRCLE
Though smaller and far less famous than Stonehenge, the Lake District’s Castlerigg Stone
Circle is just as impressive, maybe even more so given its spectacular setting. The stone
circle at Castlerigg is situated near Keswick in North West England. One of around
1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a
megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BCE, during the Late Neolithic and
Early Bronze Ages.
Various archaeologists have commented positively on the beauty and romance of the
Castlerigg ring and its natural environment. In his study of the stone circles of this
region, archaeologist John Waterhouse commented that the site was "one of the most
visually impressive prehistoric monuments in Britain.” We thought so too!
80. A DE SCE NT FOR THE RE CORDS
We'd climbed a pretty steep hill to get a good view of the valley below as the previous
photograph shows and heading back from the summit there were two rocky/gravelly paths
down. Ben suggested the one he felt was easier, Tom decided to just do a slow half jog
down the other, when before you know it, the half jog turned into a wild sprint down the
slope since once Tom took off and picked up some speed he couldn't stop. Ran downhill
over a narrow path at a pretty good speed and in dress shoes, arms and legs flying for
about 40 yds before grabbing hold of a bush to finally stop. Ben said that when Tom took
off he had absolutely no idea what in the hell he was thinking. He says a Japanese tourist
looked at him and said "What you father do??? He crazy or someting?" Luckily Tom didn't
trip and fall since there were lots of rocks on and along the path. Everyone had a pretty
good laugh about it afterwards.
94. RUNNING OF THE SHEEP
While staying at the farm we were
startled one day to hear a flock of
sheep running down the road towards
us. They’d been let out of their
pasture and were being herded down
to another. Ben took a video which
can be seen at the following link:
95.
96.
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98. TRAIL DOG COMPETITION
Our hosts at the farm told us about a periodic
competition involving a running of trail
hounds, trained to follow a scent. The competition
was being held in a field about a 15 minute walk
from the farm. The admission price was
fair, especially since it went to improve schools in the
area. For each race – the courses being of varying
length and so duration, the competing dogs were
lined up and at a signal set loose. The race we
watched lasted about 20-25 minutes during which the
dogs followed a scent some 10 miles. Bystanders
would follow the race with binoculars and when the
dogs came into view, heading for home, their owners
started whistling and yelling to spur them on.
99. LAST STOP EDINBURGH
By the end of our trip through England we were all ready for some rest and
relaxation. This is why we decided to spend about a week in Edinburgh. Ben found
us an apartment at Gayfield Square, across the river from the old town. It was an
ideal location since the walk into the old part of the city took us only about 15-20
minutes. While in Edinburgh we twice had lunch with a gentleman who’d been in
Tom’s class in Bologna, Robert Thornton, a retired linguist and teacher of English
as a second language. It was Robert in fact who told us about a thrift store where as
it turns out, Ben found a great leather bomber jacket for an incredibly reasonable
price.
100. GAYFIELD POLICE STATION
Robin went out one night to the park across from our apartment to feed the
squirrels , only to literally disappear. Ben & Tom had gotten worried since it was
pretty cold and she wasn’t wearing a sweater or jacket and was gone quite a long
while. Going outside to look for her, she was nowhere in sight, nor was anyone in
the park. Well, come to find out, she was in the Gayfield police station giving a
witness statement. It seems she saw someone throw a rock at a parked police
car, breaking a window. When the police came out they saw Robin who volunteered
to give a description of the guy.
109. F I R T H O F F O U R T H F R O M H I L L O V E R L O O K I N G T H E C I T Y
110. FLIGHT HOME
We got up very early on July 5th, around
4 am to be ready at 5 when the cab we’d
ordered would arrive. The 8 mile drive to
the airport took about 25 minutes and so
we had plenty of time to check in and
wait for our flight, which as expected
was long and tiring. In Charlotte there
was a delay due to the weather; still we
were all very happy to finally be back
home.
