Meeting Auntie Violet

Exhaustion is now part of my vocabulary! I think we've done too much on this trip, but it's been fascinating and wonderful.
It isn't easy getting around with heavy suitcases, even though they're small. Somehow my suitcase gets filled up with brochures, maps, tickets, and books. Tee...hee...I can't live without books.

On our way to London...

From notes, Thursday July 26: King's Sutton; a station we passed at 1:40 (we caught our 11:45 train by the skin of our teeth). It's nearly flooded on the left; very close to the house steps that are nearby. The water feels menacing here. It's raining again. I'm on page 382 of Harry Potter. It's quite gripping. I've never read a HP book so quickly before. Matthew is reading Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen, in desperation. He bought 2 Terry Pratcher books in Haworth but read them in 2 days. It must be pretty here when the sun shines. The rain is blowing side ways across the sodden fields. I don't see any sheep. This is a nice train; quiet with a clean bathroom. The seats are comfortable. Whenever we go through a tunnel, my ears plug badly. Not many people are on this train.

Stratford upon Avon continued...

From notes, Thursday July 26:

We're here in Stratford in our lovely bed and breakfast. The garden is very small but bursting with all sorts of flowers. Our room is on the ground floor with a bay window and window seats. The beds have pink embroidered covers. There's only a shower but at least it works so I had a good rinse and washed my hair last night.

I'm getting exhausted with train travel. It took so long to get here. We walked around the quaint town last night and ate at a place called "Lambs" on Sheep street!

Stratford Upon Avon

Taken from notes, Wed July 23:

We're waiting in the Oxenhope railway station which is very quaint and what I thought the Tonypandy one would look like.

Our kind host made us breakfast and drove us here at 10 am. I really liked this place, but I can understand how it would be dreadful in the winter. It's a misty rainy day.

The Yorkshire moors

The walk was beautiful. I preferred the rolling hills on the right to the imposing moors on the left. The heather blooms in August, but a bit was starting to come out. I picked some to press. I tried to picture Charlotte, Emily and Anne walking along that same path in their long skirts! It's quite arduous; I don't know how they did it. The waterfall was pretty and I sat in Emily's "rock chair".


Robert consulted his map, and we decided to walk back a different way. It was a long way. We had to climb a ladder style. I couldn't get down very quickly. We wanted to have tea somewhere but we could only find 2 stinky pubs so decided to wait till we got back to Haworth.


There were hundreds and hundreds of sheep on the green hills. Matthew "baaahd" a lot at them, and they answered! It cracked me up every time. I would love to own a few sheep on a little farm here. I'd love to have a tea shop for weary walkers on the moors.

We ate supper at the White Lion again. It has superb food! I had roast beef dinner, Robert had steak, and Matthew had a HUGE Yorkshire pudding filled with gravy and roast beef. It filled his whole plate! He was in 7th heaven. We rested in our rooms after all that, and actually went for a walk around the Haworth church graveyard, meandered around a field through the "kissing gate" (very interesting; made out of iron...you enter it, then swing the gate behind you and squeeze through the rest of it). People used to be very skinny around here.

We walked through someone's driveway and crossed to the moors. I wonder if the Brontes walked that way too? We passed a dreadful looking stone house. Matthew liked it. Maybe it looks better on the inside. It doesn't look bad when pretty flowers in pots and hanging baskets grow along the stone.

I tried to take a shower afterwards, but only cold water came out. I was very discouraged. I miss my hot baths so much...

A walk on the moors!

From my notes, Tuesday July 24, 2007:

The sun shining into our room woke me up at 6 am. Robert was snoring so I lay quietly till 7:15 then had to get up. We walked past the parsonage and found a path that leads to the waterfalls, 2 1/2 miles from here. We walked a little ways, past chickens and old stone fences.

We had to go back at 8:30 in order to wake Matthew and have breakfast at 9:00. The church bell rings every 1/4 hour. I just love it here, especially when the sun shines!

We had a good breakfast. I tried black pudding. (blood sausage) We ate in the parlour.

Later: We returned from our walk on the moors at 4:45. We set out at 2:15, after visiting the parsonage at 10:00. The museum is wonderful. It was like a dream to enter the front door, and see the hallway with the stairs leading up to the bedrooms, and the study on the right, and the dining room, with the couch where Emily died, on the left. It was quite different from my imagination, of course. Alas, I was forbidden to take photos, so I hope I can always remember it. We were the first ones in the house, and only a few people came after us, so I was surprised, and pleased to roam about for one hour. My hubby and son didn't rush me!

I saw the old clock on the stair landing that Patrick Bronte wound every night on his way upstairs. I loved Charlotte's room, with her personal items on display, including a dress she wore on her honeymoon, and her teeny tiny shoes and gloves. I wonder what on earth she would think if she came back and saw all her things on display? Would she laugh hysterically? Would she faint in shock? Would she be at all pleased?

I saw the tiny little books that Branwell, Charlotte, Emily and Anne wrote when they were children. I enquired in the museum shop, and someone has read that microscopic childish writing and re-wrote it and put it into book form! I would love to buy the books, but didn't have room to get them now. Maybe I can order them online.

I tried to imagine living here and roaming the moors, and being close to my family, and having such a secluded life, and it felt like a dream. Things feel dreamlike on this trip, because I've imagined them for so long, that to be here in this spot at last is mind boggling. I was so happy to see all these things at last, and to walk where Charlotte and her sisters walked.

There's one room devoted to Branwell's paintings. To my unpracticed eye, his paintings look really good. I don't know why his life seemed so futile, and why he couldn't have succeeded better. I feel sorry for Patrick Bronte. His family seemed cursed, yet he was a good Christian man who worked hard all his long life.

To see the parsonage, to walk where the Brontes walked, to set my eyes on Haworth and its crooked streets, helped me understand a bit what the family felt, and helped me see that their life wasn't all doom and gloom. I could be very happy here. I could also see why they weren't satisfied when they left, and always had to go back. I hope to return one day too!

The photo above is one I took from the front step of the parsonage. This is the view the Brontes had when looking out the front door. The school is to the left, and the church and graveyard is straight ahead. The path through the middle used to lead through a gate in the wall, straight down through the graveyard. This is where Charlotte and her family would walk to get to church. It's the last place they were carried to their final resting place, too. All the family is buried in a vault in the church, except for Anne who is buried in Scarborough.

Haworth continued...

This is the little path behind the parsonage (you can see it in the distance) and later we found out this path is the one you take to get to the moors.

When we arrived in Haworth we rested briefly but Charlotte's ghost was calling me, so Robert and I walked to the parsonage just behind our rooms, across a parking lot. (a parking lot does NOT belong here, but I suppose it's necessary)

We wandered down from it, across a field, with tiny gardens on one side. We turned around and went to the grave yard on the other side of the parsonage, passing the school on the left where Charlotte taught for a while.
It's so close to the parsonage. A narrow lane separates the two buildings. I was amazed at how close everything is! We went into the graveyard and a path beckoned to me. It was quite muddy but I stepped along on gravestones. The path ended at a wall with a plaque saying that the Brontes walked through a gate here to church. Cool! They all went through the gate to their final resting place in the church. Tomorrow we will tour the parsonage and the moors.
I called Mom and Leona tonight, from a phone booth next to the Bull's

Haworth, England

This is one of the first things I saw in Haworth!

(after we'd rested a bit in our B & B)

Taken from my notes, Monday July 23:

It's pouring out. We're all packed and just about to have a taxi called. I'm sick of the rain plus not feeling peppy at all today. I'm glad I'll be on the train today!

Later: We caught the train to Bristol Parkway at 9:26 and arrived at 10:15. It's very cold on the small platform at Bristol. I'm wearing my green hoodie again. Robert for some unknown reason is wearing SHORTS. I wish I had pants. The rain is blowing in and hitting my bare leg as I only have Capris. I feel a tad waterlogged on this holiday. I must become resigned but am not sure how! I hope Yorkshire is better than this. It was interesting to be here but too wet.

Hmm...we're not off to a good start. The next train was jammed full of people and we had to stand for a long time. After one hour, I got a seat, but Robert and Matthew had to wait for two hours! There were no trains through here since Friday because of the flooding. We got to a town called Derby at 1:10 and it's pouring rain. We can't get to the cafe because of the mobs of people standing in the aisles. Somehow we never learn to buy lunch at the train station before boarding!

Later: We reached Sheffield at 1:40. Two more stops to go until Leeds, where we disembark.

We got to Leeds at 2:10. I had a baguette in a delicious pub in the station. Boarded a new looking train to go to Keighley, 1/2 hour away.

We had to take a bus to Haworth as the steam train was a one hour wait. Haworth is different than I imagined, just like everything else! It's so steep and tiny and stony! Our guesthouse is very nice. Matthew has his own room, down two steps from ours with a bookshelf in the hallway. He's reading an Agatha Christie book. I'm still plowing through Harry Potter.

More of delightful Bath!

"Nothing is more elegantly magnificent. Amongst its charms are shady groves, many pleasant streams and transparent fountains. Above all the nature of the place is formed for delight, for the very hills themselves (by which the city is surrounded) seem to smile...not only are its streets neat and elegant, but all its parts speak of the antiquity and nobility of its origin. Add to that the perennial flow of heated springs marvellously supplied for the benefit of man, by which men, high and low, rich and poor, receive cure of all their maladies."


....Libellus de laudibus Civitatum, 1452


Well, 600 years later, I agree with Libellus, whoever he was! I copied the above out of a tiny Bath book I bought. Visiting Bath was one of the highlights of the trip for me!
Here are my notes from Sat July 22:
Matthew has just about finished that huge book! We're sitting in the Cardiff Station. We paid 4.90 pounds for a taxi to get here but I'm so sick of the half hour walk and it's raining again. We're off to Bath for the whole day.

We saw the Circle; there are swimming pools built underneath the streets! Rich people still live here. I think the yellow stone looks monotonous but I love the layout of Bath. We had tea and buns (absolutley SUPERB) at the oldest house in Bath, built in the 1400's. The name of the teashop is Sally Lunn's Buns. Isn't that funny? Apparently she began to sell her buns and the rich loved them. The recipe is a secret. The ceilings and floors in the house are slanted. We went into the basement to see the original kitchen (ugh!) and on the other side were the ruins of Roman and medieval buildings. It stank and was worse than the cyrpts I've been in!! I had to get out fast...it gave me a horrible bad feeling.

We went back on our tour bus, as the tickets are good for 3 days. The sun was shining and it was beautiful. We never did get into the Abbey Church, as it's only open at certain times, but we sat in the square and listened to various street musicians. We looked in a few shops on Pulteney Bridge, which was neat, and I bought a tiny miniature book, "Northanger Abbey", by Jane Austen. It's hand made in Bath and you can read the print with a magnifying glass.

Below are two photos showing the swollen Avon River, which we enjoyed walking beside. It was a wonderful day. We ate supper in a Moroccan restaurant before heading home on the train.

Bath, England

Taken from my notes on Sat July 21:

We didn't stay long in Penygraig, due to hunger and the rain clouds swiftly approaching. We went back to Cardiff around 1:30 and caught the train to Bath which took 1 1/2 hours. (we had a quick bite to eat in Cardiff) I started reading Harry Potter, book number 7 and Matthew read over my shoulder. He'd wanted to read it on the plane ride home but I got him going! It's just as well written as all the other books. What a gift JK Rowling has!

We adored Bath! Some places are so much better than my imagination, and this one definitely was! I've read quite a bit about Bath, but wasn't prepared for its uniqueness and beauty. It felt like a fairy tale sort of city. Robert and Matthew loved it too. If only we could have stayed here instead of Cardiff! (too expensive) The above photo shows us standing outside the Pump Room. We bumbled around and found things by following our nose. We arrived after 4:00 so the first thing we did was take a double decker tour bus of the city, and then we got off in the middle and walked around.

I wanted to have tea in the pump room. Robert seemed doubtful, but we ate there anyhow. It felt like a dream. We tried the famous Spa water. In this photo, you can see the girl posing, as it comes out of a spout. I had her pose like that. She thought it was funny. The water is 50 pence per glass, so we shared a glass. Matthew drank most of it, as he was the only one who liked it! The water is warm, and tastes like a boiled egg. I think I could get used to it, but I didn't know if it would make me sick or not, so I only had one sip.

Our tea was delicious. Matthew had a Bath bun. I had a scone. Every chance I get, I have a scone!

We visited the Jane Austen center, but I was the only one to take the tour of the Museum. There were costumes on display from a recent TV episode done in England. I can't remember the name of the movie or the Jane Austen story, but the costumes were beautiful. I was the only one in the whole room as it was the end of the day.

I can't figure out where people vanish to at the end of a touristy day. Maybe they go back to their hotels to watch TV? Myself...I like to drain each traveling day to the dregs! I stay up for as long as possible, seeing all there is to be seen.

Isn't this doll model darling? She was in the museum, showing the style of clothing in Jane's day. I love those dresses!

Pictures of #15 Wyndham Street

Here I am at last...#15 Wyndham Street in Penygraig. We don't know where my great grandfather used to go to work in the coal mines with his two oldest sons, but my grandma wrote in her memoirs that each evening they would come home singing. What a sound that must have been! The hills would echo with it. I would love to hear it. The work was so hard, yet they still sang.


I took one photo inside, of the fireplace that my great Uncle Norman Palmer remembers his mother cooking at. I tried to imagine it but couldn't. One of my Dad's cousins said she saw this house about 20 years ago, and it was very run down. It looks so nice now. It makes me happy to think it's still standing.

I've added the 1915 photo showing my grandma as a little girl of 7, in the doorway. But upon reflection, and a document that I've since acquired, I don't think this is the same house. I think it's the house in Trealaw. * sigh * That is the address on little Stanley's burial certificate. Maybe one day I'll return...

Pictures of Penygraig, Wales

The above photos are of Penygraig. There is one that shows the Tonypandy sign, but the two towns sort of melt into each other. We took a bus up the hill a short ways and were in Penygraig! I was so tired of walking though. So even if Robert thought I was nuts, I still wanted to take the bus...

Alas, there's nothing in these two towns, not even one restaurant! There was one fish and chips place but it didn't look appetizing. I was quite disappointed, as I came thousands of miles to see my roots, and I was simply thankful that my great grandparents decided to move to Canada.

It was very sad, but my great grandma, Florence (Bellamy) Palmer, died of a broken heart and TB, at the age of 47. That's my age now. She hated Canada. She hated the prairies. I've never been to the prairies and I can imagine they would be a thousand times worse than Penygraig!

Penygraig adventures

(taken from notes, Sat July 21)

It's too hard to write here, no nice sitting room! No table either! It's 11 am and we're on the train to Tonypandy. There's massive flooding everywhere, due to torrential rains. Yesterday Cardiff had 5" of rain in a few hours. We were caught in it and got soaked so had to go to a gas station to call a taxi to get to Cardiff Castle.

Two large blops of rain hit each of my shoes as I was walking and my shoes and socks were immediately drenched!

The countryside here is lush and green and the rivers we pass are very high. It would be beautiful if the sun would come out! We bought "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in a little shop near the train station before we left this morning. It's the last book in the series and I wonder how it will end. I finally read book #6 just before we left for Europe so who knows when I will read this one!

It's too difficult to write now and we've just arrived in Pontypridd, which is pronounced "Ponytprith". We left at 10:36 and it's now 11:03 so that's not bad. Our stop is just ahead.

(later) It was a bit tricky finding Wyndham Street in Penygraig. We asked for directions in a little grocery store on the main street. There were rain clouds in the distance, raining quite heavily on the hills so we didn't linger.

I knocked on the door of # 15 on Wyndham street, to make sure it was the right house. My grandma grew up in this house, and previous to that, in a house in Trealaw. I was amazed at how nicely the house was kept up! A woman answered my knock and seemed surprised to see me. I had a copy of the picture of Grandma with her mom and brothers, standing in that same doorway, and I showed it to her. She was very interested. She let me peek inside, and I saw the fireplace where my great grandma used to cook, and the staircase leading up above where my grandma and her family used to climb to go to bed each night.

It felt surreal! It was really nice, and the present owner said the whole house had been re-gutted 12 years ago. The ceiling had an embossed design on it. There was nice furniture everywhere and I was pleased to see it looking so good.

Unfortunately the woman had to go out for an appointment, and we couldn't stay to talk. I took a few pictures, and was so happy to get a chance to see the house at last. Of course, nothing is ever at all like I imagine it will be! She pointed out Trealaw cemetery to me, in the distance, nearly in line with the view from the doorway.

The surrounding valleys are so green and pretty but the town itself is quite depressing. I quickly gave up the idea of going to the cemetery to find baby Stanley Palmer's grave, as the looming rain clouds dampened my spirits exceedingly. If I had to live here I'd die, unless the sun shone for at least 3/4 of the year. It might help. Welsh people don't look anything like the Dutch; they are pale and have a pinched look about them.

Most of them are friendly and I love how they talk, like singing. The inflection goes up and down. I think I'd have a pinched look with all this rain too! It's the wettest summer on record. We went back to Cardiff around 1:30 and caught the train to Bath which took 1 1/2 hours. Now Bath is a really neat place!

Treharris Street, Cardiff, Wales

Here I am, standing in front of #4A Treharris Street, where my paternal Grandma, Alma May (Palmer) Williams was born in 1908. I'm astonished that the houses have not been torn down. They are so well made.

You know, I'm rather sick and tired of hearing about our so called "carbon footprint" lately. The Welsh people are content to live as they have lived in the past, without many changes, but in Canada and the USA, everyone pulls down perfectly good houses, and builds monsterous ones that use tons more light and energy, yet they don't think anything about it, nor do they feel one pang of guilt.

I grew quite fond of European and the British way of living.

St Fagan's Museum, Cardiff

In St. Fagan's outdoor museum. There are many old style houses to tour, laid out as if in a village hundreds of years ago. It was enchanting. Of course we had to rush! Fortunately the sun stayed out until we were through.

In the other half of St. Fagan's there was a castle, but we didn't have time to get to it.

This is Cardiff train station. Robert is phoning our B & B to let them know we've arrived. They had to let us in.

Paddington Station bears

Here is my little mascot, Kit, who travelled with me to Europe, Wales and England. Notice she has lost her shoe? But I found it again on the floor...

Our journey to Cardiff, Wales

(taken from my notes, Thurs July 19) 

We left our hotel at 6 am by taxi. I ate a chocolate éclair on the train, with tea. I slept most of the ride. I was amazed at how smoothly the Chunnel ride is! It was lovely. We took 3 hours to get to London. 

We went to Waterloo, then to Paddington, from Paddington we caught the train to Cardiff. I bought a little bear at Paddington Station! My only regret is that I'm always in a RUSH and must do everything quick, quick, quick! It is making me dizzy! It was sunny in Cardiff. We got a taxi to our bed and breakfast. 

After unpacking our things, we got another taxi to St. Faggan's, one of Wales most popular out door museums. It was a lovely place! Afterwards we called and had another taxi take us back, on the way also stopping at the house at #4A Treharris Street, where my paternal grandma, Alma May (Palmer) Williams was born in 1908. It was odd seeing the house in such great shape, and staring at the street where she began life. We don't know how old she was when she moved to Penygraig, where her father and 2 brothers worked in the coal mines. 

It's very strange to be here at last. We ate supper in a good pub just down the road from our B and B. We're in a neat Victorian area. All the homes are being re-done for bed and breakfasts. Some of them have wonderful gardens. Ours is plain stone with weeds growing through the cracks, but it's very clean inside. It's odd though, as they use economical lights in the hallways. When you've passed through, they turn off and you are plunged into darkness! When you move, they come on again. I don't like it at all, as I love light!

Full day in Paris

(copied from my notes taken in Europe, dated: Wed July 18) 

 We are on top of a tour bus beside the Eiffel tower. The line to get up the tower is enormous! I don't think I could go up it even if it was free! It's positively HUGE. Everything here is so different than what I imagined. I really like it here! The architecture is so neat; no high rises except one and it's in the distance. I just saw two armed soldiers with machine guns walk past. 50 tons of paint is used every 7 years to redo the Eiffel tower. We're eating lunch at a café across from the Louvre. The bustle of people and traffic is astounding. They weave in and out without rhyme or reason and I'm amazed that no one crashes. We're resting by the Seine after a 2 hour wander through the Louvre. Wow, it's better than I ever imagined. I saw the Mona Lisa, the "lace maker" by Vermeer, paintings by Botticelli, Napoleon Bonaparte's apartments, to name a few high lights. Everything is so HUGE here, with wide open spaces. We went inside a pyramid shaped building to go through security, the down an escalator to buy our tickets. (9 Euros each) There were mobs and mobs of people, and no air conditioning. I loved everything in the Louvre. I was astonished at the sights.

Liege, Belgium

Apparently the steps in the steep hillside of Liege are famous. Being fools with nothing better to do, we climbed them all. Afterwards I had blisters and could hardly move.

So what else do you do while on vacation in Europe? It was 30 C.

We saw this adorable cat after we climbed down from the hill another way. I wish I could have curled up and slept too!

Liege, Belgium

A beautiful church in Liege, Belgium. We walked through Liege just before we went to Paris the next day. My feet developed two painful water blisters.

Paris shops

Shop window with children's clothes, and view of a large department store, in which I bought 2 items.

Arch de Triomphe

Our first evening in Paris. We walked to the Arch. We were such fools...

Notre Dame Cathedral

I had always longed to visit this cathedral, but it was very crowded and not as pretty as the other churches we had been in. I was disappointed.

Eiffel Tower

Underneath the amazing Eiffel Tower.

Eiffel tower

Here I am on a tour bus near the Eiffel Tower. There was a HUGE line up to get in, so we didn't attempt it as we only had one day in Paris. The tower is amazing close up.