Dorothy Rich

Bristol Wanderings

dorothy — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:50:30 +0000

Spent the better part of the weekend in Bristol, England. Bristol is an interesting city with an incredible history as a port of trade. It is notorious for being a hub of so-called “triangular trade”, where slaves were shipped from Africa to America, and then the work the slaves produced were sent from America to Bristol. The city began to decline in the 1800s as the slave trade was abolished and it has never regained its economic strength.

On a whim, we rode a few minutes out of town to see Yate, a small suburban town with little importance other than being the birthplace of famous author J.K. Rowling. Since Laura is a huge Harry Potter fan and has completely immersed herself in Pottermore as of late, we thought it would be a fun side trip. We spent an hour strolling around town before heading back.

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the Cathedral, which has stood for nearly one thousand years. It’s a breathtaking building and was worth the several hours we spent inside.

Memoirs of Coron, Palawan

dorothy — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:00:18 +0000

A postcard just arrived at the beginning of the month, a friend just got married and we were invited to join the party in Coron, Pawalan in the island of Philippines. There are so many wonderful things I will cherrish and remember on our visit here, the lush green forests, fresh and delicious foods, tempting white sand beaches, rich and colorful underwater sceneries, paradise islands, warm and accommodating locals, and incomparable seafood.

London

dorothy — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 06:13:08 +0000

Arrived in London to…wouldn’t you know it…fog. It’s been raining on and off for days and the cold, wet air is most unwelcome. But I still love London and am making the best of it by visiting my favorite shops and cafes throughout the city. I’ll be here for at least a few weeks visiting friends and family through the holidays. I got a cute postcard from my nephew back in the States. When he heard I would be in London, he sent me a picture of the Dr. Hare character from Poptropica. Apparently, this toy has been traveling the globe much like I have, so my nephew asked if I had seen him here. How cute!

Having Fun in Barcelona

dorothy — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 06:24:06 +0000

I spent a wonderful few days in Barcelona? What’s not to love about it? Everything from the architecture to the beautiful weather and coast was all part of a great experience. We did get a little rain, which was unexpected, so I spent a few days in the hotel and caught up on some blogging and email. I even played some games on Facebook. It’s not something I normally do while traveling, but I’m getting excited about the new CastleVille game that’s coming. Fortunately the rain let up and I was able to get back outside and do some wonderful walking tours of the downtown area.

Berlin

dorothy — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 02:30:05 +0000

I just returned from a very short trip to Berlin. It’s a lovely city and a wonderful place to visit in the late Summer/early Fall. The highlight for me was seeing all the tourist spots and taking in much of the city’s lengthy history. I stopped for a while at the Brandenberg Gate and wandered all over the Mitte district. I even had enough time to tour parts of the Reichstag. For lunch, it was all about having a tall mug of beer and some sausages.

Puttering Around in Prague

dorothy — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 05:57:16 +0000

Had a nearly sleepless night in Prague due to a cheap mattress at the hotel. The bedding was lumpy and the pillows were hard and uncomfortable. I thought I’d be in a queen size bed, but the only room available had a twin mattress that had clearly seen a lot of wear and tear. But even without a decent sleep, I awoke ready to take on the city of Prague and really enjoyed my day there. Like most tourists, I was eager to see the Charles Bridge, a beautiful and historic bridge that was built in the late 1300′s. After thoroughly enjoying the bridge and the beautiful Vltava River that it crosses, I moved on to the Prague Castle, which some claim is the biggest castle in the world. It’s certainly one of the most complex buildings I have ever seen and I spent hours touring the art galleries and the cathedral. I was so exhausted from walking around on foot that when I returned to the hotel, I no longer cared about the quality of the mattress and bed in my room and promptly fell to sleep.