St. Davids and Newport

We are in Pembrokeshire in welsh Wales. Their city is St. Davids, a site associated with the patron saint of the country since the fifth century. We visited on a damp, grey day so the pictures are a little murky in places.

The cathedral is large and quite uncluttered inside. It is built nestling in a hollow so as to be invisible to marauding Vikings from the coast. The present building was begun in the 12th century and has suffered damage at the hands of Roundheads and the elements. It was largely restored in Victorian times. Click here for a virtual tour.
This is the manificent western wall

 

and some tourists cavorting in front of the one remaining gatehouse.

 

Next door is the Bishops's Palace, the ruins of the 14th century building that gives some idea of the wealth and power of the church in those times. This is the great hall

 

which was accessed by this grand staircase and magnificent doors.

Here are two magnificently bedraggled tourists.

Today we travelled to Newport - this is a panorama of the bay.

On the beach looking north,

a well-protected Noreen striding purposefully through the surf

and a panorama looking south towards Parrog.

Lastly, a local oystercatcher as a representative of the rich bird life in the area.

Landed in London

We arrived to a foggy and cool morning. As promised, the first stop after dumping our luggage at Jen's was the pub, for beer and roast lunch with Yorkshire pudding.

The next day we got into the swing of Yuletide by visiting  Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.

It was a glorious collection of fair ground rides, faux-Bavarian bars and cheap tatt.

But we lapped it up.

The next few days we visited museums, did some shopping, saw a show and frequented many old and deliciously quaint pubs. Unfortunately they were not too conducive to taking good photos. This morning we went to the Duck & Waffle for breakfast. It's on the 40th floor of the Heron Tower and is reputedly the highest restaurant in Britain.

The views are spectacular, but a combination of mist and dirty windows meant the photographs were not so wonderful. This is looking east along the Thames and with The Gherkin in the right foreground.

Noreen was looking for inspiration for her next chandelier.

Many of the old markets have been converted into retail venues. This is Spitalfields, once a fruit and vegie market in the open countryside.

Nowadays you can buy tasteful Christmas jumpers for the man who has everything.

On Monday we are off to Wales. I hope to be able to post an update then.