Word for the Travel Wise (03/20/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Even though there are only approximately
610,000 native speakers of the Welsh language in the world a lot is done to preserve the odd Brythonic branch of Celtic
spoken mainly in Wales (Cymru) and in the Chubut Valley of Patagonia in Argentina where a colony of Welsh immigrants
can be found. Low numbers in terms of speakers doesn’t keep the lang from being considered a living language and
interested parties traveling through the U.K. don’t have to go great lengths to try to learn the language. For one you
can tune into the local Welsh TV channel or simply pay attention on the road where signs are in both English and Welsh
(Cymraeg).

Today’s word is a Welsh (Cymraeg) word
used in Wales:

araf – slow

How I love it when the word of the day comes with a photo!
Don’t you? Wiki does a decent job summarizing all the
important facts, but you’ll want to visit this BBC.co.uk site to
practice your Welsh online. There’s buckets of ways to pick up a few words before you head into hiding in the beautiful
countryside for a month long stay away from the rest of the planet. BBC also has a Welsh word of the day feature so if
you prefer the one word a day method this will surely work, but more advanced students will want to listen to online
radio and get three phrases a week sent to your cell phone. Another incredible source is the Welsh Language Board which can point you to schools within the country to
help increase skills.

Hadrian's Cycleway

by Neil Woodburn on

Every time a regime builds a historic wall someone else comes along many years later and wants to turn it into a
bike route.  The Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China and the Iron Curtain have all had their
share of bicycle enthusiasts lobbying for heritage trails along their routes.  Just recently, another famous wall
has been claimed by bicyclists: Hadrian’s Wall. 

Stretching from one coast of present-day England to the other, the wall was built by the emperor Hadrian, ruler of
the Roman Empire from 117-138 AD.  He built it to serve as the northernmost border of the empire, as well as to
prevent Scottish tribes from invading Britannia.  Much of the wall remains today and in 1987 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

As of this month, the region will once again witness foreign invaders.  Dressed in their bright yellow jerseys
and black stretch pants, these modern day road warriors will be somewhat reminiscent of the ancient Scottish Picts who painted themselves blue
before going to battle. 

The newly built “Hadrian’s Cycleway,”
which stretches 170 miles along the wall route, is now open for business.  Although about 25% of is still unpaved,
it remains a superb trek through history.  Make sure to bring your blue body paint to really make an impression on
the locals. 

 

Manhattan: A Brit's Eye View

by Erik Olsen on

I love to hear what foreign travelers think about our
country. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Bernard-Henri Levy ‘s dispatches for the Atlantic, which
became the much-hyped, somewhat derided book American Vertigo, was one example of this type of
"see-yourself-through-other’s-eyes" journalism.

Here’s another article in a similar vein. This one in the Washington
Post, is about the experience of a couple of self-professed British matrons, Naomi Sutcliffe and Jayne Steele. The
first thing you’ll notice is that when the middle aged birds get here, they are thrilled to find that we have
breakfast food like that they’d find at home. To wit: greasy, fat bacon and heaping helpings of pancakes. Ah, the
English breakfast.

They do make one fine point, though. As the pair flits about the city, they inevitably bu
stuff. Shopping is, after all, one of the things New york is famous for. But in England, says Steele, "you’re
quoted the total price. We’re not used to all this plus, plus, plus." Yeah, what about that? Why can’t they just
add your taxes to the price of things and that’s what you pay? Who among us ever knows exactly what something is going
to cost until it’s rung up? Maybe we do need to see things through others’ eyes to kow what we need to change.

Mammoth Tree House

by Neil Woodburn on

The
halcyon days of our youth where a few 2x4s pounded into an old elm with rusty nails constituted the coolest tree house
on the block are not just long dead, but now embarrassingly overshadowed by the richest kid on the street, Lord
Northumberland, and his World’s Largest
tree house. 

Located on the grounds of Alnwick Gardens just 95 miles south
of Edinburgh (and next to the Alnwick Castle, the very one
used in the Harry Potter films), this 6,000-square-foot tree house leviathan soars 56 feet
above the ground and is connected with 4,000-square-feet of suspended walkways.  It has a restaurant that seats
120 people as well as classrooms, cafes, turrets, wobbly bridges, and imported wood from all over the world.

Oh, and it cost $7 million. 

Boy, I sure do miss the simple days of my youth.