March 26, 1999
|blank|Well, my faithful readers, the time has come for me to take a brief vacation from this column. My mother arrives at London's Gatwick Airport this Sunday, and for two weeks we'll be taking in as many of the sights as we can. Unfortunately, this means that I won't be able to do my weekly column. But when I get back, I'll give you a full report.
|blank|It's been educational planning our itinerary (Mom's been here before, so she left the decision-making up to yours truly). With the assistance of the Railtrack website (www.railtrack.co.uk) and a Let's Go guide to Britain and Ireland, I've packed our two weeks to the brim. Before heading over here, Mom purchased us a pair of BritRail passes – they cost a fortune, but allow unlimited travel on the British Rail system (which is a good trade: a return fare from York to London, which is about a two hour trip, is over forty dollars, even with a student discount). So, rather than hiring a car and trying to master the art of driving on the left, we'll be hiking and taking trains everywhere. Since the British Rail system goes pretty much everywhere, that will work perfectly.
|blank|We'll mostly be staying in Bed-and-Breakfast places, which range in price from about £15 a night ($26) to £60 ($100) or more per night, depending on where and when you want a room, and whether or not your sharing. Hostels, on the other hand, are usually under £20 ($35) a night. Of course, a hostel usually has six to eight people in a room, and is much more Spartan. I'll be staying in a hostel the night before Mom arrives – her flight gets in at 8:30am, and there aren't any morning trains from York that will reach London in time.
|blank|And, ooooooh, the sights! Our itinerary includes London, Oxford, Bath, Salisbury Plain (home of Stonehenge and Avebury, a larger version of the stone ring), Stratford and nearby Warwick, Nottingham, York (of course!), Hadrian's Wall (built by the Romans to keep the Scots out of Britain), the Wye Valley in Wales (home of the famous Tintern Abbey), and, if we have time, Cardiff. Phew! If we manage to hit everything I've marked out, we'll see a dozen castles and abbeys, ten museums of various kinds, three Roman forts, and the London Hard Rock café, as well as various buildings ranging from Roman Baths to Tite Street (where various famous people have lived, including Oscar Wilde). It's going to be a blast.
|blank|So, for the next two weeks I'll be gone, but when I get back, I'll be full of anecdotes about our travels. Until next time, fair readers….
|blank|Got questions about student life in England? Email me!
