After 29 hours of travelling, Peter, Ken and I have made it to Bristol, where we are taking a short break to get over the jet lag, before beginning our trek along the Thames River. The 34°C heat was not exactly a pleasant welcome and we’ve had to take things easy. But we’ve still managed to get out and about and see some of the sights in this historic town with ties to Newfoundland…and the slave trade. We even managed to witness the solar eclipse (93 % coverage).
The eclipse…
Someone doesn’t like Shell! Bristol is the home of Wallace and Gromet, and Shaun the Sheep!
There always has to be a trip to the aquarium.
This blue lobster was at least 18 inches across and his claws were about a foot long. Kinda scary! Only Peter (whom Ruth and I refer to as “The Eye”) would notice the plastic zebra toy near the bottom left. He informed the staff and they immediately removed it. A Hercules beetle, according to Peter. The black one, not the yellow one. The species of the latter is unclear. The Bag of Nails. Again, not the yellow one. Our first pub. The Bag of Nails is home to 11 cats who have free roam. Sadly, there were only two at the time. Ken is fascinated by these old red post boxes. They have the insignia of whichever monarch was reigning at the time. This one has Edward the 7th, who was king from 1901 (just after Victoria) to 1910.Oh oh. A Wallace and Gromet store…actually part of the Bristol museum. We are staying in an apartment. Dare I show you Ken’s breakfast of fried eggs and leftover mini doughnuts?!? Blech!
Loved seeing the Canadian flag and Newfoundland’s! We took a ride on the Matthew. This is a replica of the ship in which John Cabot sailed to make landfall in Newfoundland in 1497. The replica actually sailed to Bonavista in Newfoundland in 1997, sent on his way by Queen Elizabeth to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the landing.
Bristol stood at the heart of the slave trade, being the major port where ships plied the seas between England and the Americas, in goods but sadly also in people.
It was just too hot, so we spent most of the afternoon resting, napping (the man in yellow) and reading. Cooler temperatures are coming tomorrow and even better when we start walking on Saturday.
thank you for including me to go on your journey. I love to see your posts.🌺
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