Finished up playing tourist in London and caught the tube over to Paddington Station. I love the London tube system. It was a bit of a challenge the last time I was there, but I had time to study up and really got the hang of it. Just a matter of knowing where you need to go and what lines to take to get there. Just hop the Victoria line to Oxford Circus and then catch the Bakerloo to Paddington. Piece 'o cake. We don't have a serious mass transit system down here so navigating the underground in London is a challenge for some. And I love a good challenge.
Caught a train out towards Newport/Cardiff in Wales. Was an interesting/boring ride. You had to figure out which station to change trains but with some help from the station attendant, I got there fine. The one thing I had to plan for was the station near the company I was going to visit is a simple stop - no real station or support. Since I needed to catch a taxi to my hotel, I chose a station in Chepstow that had a small taxi stand to take me to my hotel.
The countryside was very beautiful. I forgot that Wales is a completely different region of the UK. Lots of history, many castles, very unique culture. The one thing I took for granted on this audit in comparison to the last two international audits, was that I would be speaking the same language. Au contraire. In Wales, there are two predominant two languages: English and Welsh. Was interesting to see signs in both English and Welsh. And I thought that Flemish was hard to master.
After a 2.5 hour nice train ride to Chepstow, I landed at my hotel. A Marriott hotel located on a golf course. This place was an old Welsh castle/manor with some spectacular architecture. There was even an old church with graveyard next to it.
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| Church & graveyard |
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| Putting green |
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| Entry driveway |
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| Front entrance |
It was too bad that most of my stay in the area was spent at the company on my audit. I really would have loved to spend another day exploring the area. Wrapped up my business and caught a train back into London on Thursday.
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BTW - if you haven't decoded the title it is Welsh for: A short stay in Wales.
4 comments:
Great hotel! Not like any Marriot I've ever stayed in.
I wish we had a better mass transit system here. I think gas prices will have to double before that comes close to happening.
I have no idea what your title says...
I guess I had no idea that Welsh was a separate language! The world is so much bigger than we Americans tend to give it credit for.
What a beautiful place. The architecture reminds me of the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Our public transportation is just starting to improve here. We got light rail transit a few years ago in the Minneapolis area and it's expanding now to St. Paul.
Abby - It means a short stay in Wales. It looks almost dyslexic to me on how it is written and I couldn't even begin to try and pronounce it.
Terri - unless you are from the northeast (New York or Boston areas) you really don't appreciate a good, well established mass transit system. The reliability and convenience of the service makes it work.
Kudos for figuring out the London tube system. It was complicated when I was there years ago. I imagine it's even more so now. In St. Louis, we have two lines, and for half the distance, those two lines are the same. Only if you're going a little further out do you need to pay attention to the color.
I am in awe of that hotel! I have an affection for hotels that are made from historical buildings. The two I've worked at are historical, but nothing like this! Tres Cool!
Great pics once again! Sounds like you may have to take another trip at some point to finish your tour of Wales.
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