Travel – Page 4 – Maxson Central

09/01/2013

5 January 2013 — Lullingstone Roman Villa

This past weekend, Cyndi, the kids, and I went to Lullingstone Roman Villa. We didn’t know anything about it other than it was a place we could use our English Heritage membership for free entry and it was close. I didn’t know what to expect, but we went. You can check out all of the pictures on our flickr set here.

A few observations:

I liked it. I learned a lot about Romans in Britain.

They had hands-on things for the kids to do. A plus.

It wasn’t at all what I expected. I thought it would be something like a ruined castle…instead, it was a single building of just the foundation of the roman villa.

If you are an English Heritage member, I would highly recommend you go. If you aren’t, I don’t know that the price of admission is worth it.

02/01/2013

21 July 2012 — Walmer Castle

In July 2012, we took an afternoon and went to Walmer Castle. As English Heritage Members, we were able to go for free–well, once we paid our membership that is. Walmer Castle is famous for several reasons; however, in my mind, the most famous thing is that the Duke of Wellington (the same guy who invented Wellington Boots).

The castle itself was really well designed and looked neat. While it wasn’t classic castle, it was well preserved. It was shorter–more fort-like–but had what used to be a moat. It also had incredible gardens.

The gardens were wonderful to walk through. The flowers were very pretty, and the greenery was–well–green. If you want to see the pictures we took, have a look at our flickr set for Walmer Castle.

29/12/2012

Dec 2012 — Midlands Trip (Birmingham and Kenilworth Castle)

2 days ago, Cyndi and I decided that we were tired of sitting home during the Christmas break. We took a look at English Heritage places–as members, we don’t have to pay an admission fee–and checked out Traveloge for cheap hotels. We decided we’d visit Kenilworth Castle near Birmingham, England.

Here’s one picture, click the read more link below to see more pictures and read more about our trip.

Continue reading “Dec 2012 — Midlands Trip (Birmingham and Kenilworth Castle)”

16/08/2012

Jordan part 5 — Mount Nebo

While I was in Jordan, I took a trip to the Dead Sea and Mt. Nebo. Here are some pictures from Mt Neebo:

For those who don’t know, Mt. Nebo is “supposedly” where Moses was able to view the Promised Land when God told him he wasn’t going to enter because he had sinned. I don’t know if that is true or not; however, you do have a good view of Israel.

14/08/201218/01/2019

Jordan Part 4 — Citadel Nights

During Ramadan, it is illegal to eat or drink in public (even for westerners and non-muslims). Not much happens during the day; however, the city comes alive after dark (and you can eat and drink). A friend and I went to the Citadel Nights festival that is held at the Amman citadel.

It was 5 JD to get in (about $8 or so). For that, we got to see the citadel, listen to music, relax, and experience the atmosphere. Oh, by the way everyone from the US, your tax money helped pay for this….USAID logos were all over the place. Here’s some pictures:


The view from the citadel

Loads of people were launching these japanese lanterns	A view of the Roman city at the citadel

The roman colosseum in Amman

Jordan pt 1 — American Stuff
Jordan pt 2 — Ice Spike
Turkish Coffee / Citadel Nights pt 1

14/08/201218/01/2019

Turkish Coffee / Citadel Nights pt 1

Ok, I have written a HOWTO on making Turkish/Serb coffee. I’ve made gallons of the stuff. I’ve had the worst cup of the stuff in Turkey. But I had a decent cup of Arab coffee (Turkish coffee with cardamom) while I was in Amman. It was at the Citadel Nights festival.

Jordan pt 1 — American Stuff
Jordan pt 2 — Ice Spike

[Update 2012-12-25 22:29:10] My link to the HOWTO had gone stale. I’ve update the link.

13/08/201218/01/2019

Jordan 2 — Ice Spike

When I got to Jordan, I wanted to make ice. The place I was staying had a fridge/freezer but made weeny ice cubes. So, I switched to using a muffin tin (and they didn’t last long in the heat). But, when I froze the first ones, I had an “ice spike” on one of the cubes. Here’s a picture. if you would like to read more about ice spikes, start with the Wikipedia article.

Jordan pt 1 — American stuff is here.

12/08/201218/01/2019

Jordan 1 — American “Stuff”

Well, I just got back from a trip to Jordan. This is just one of several posts I’ll make over the next several days talking about my trip.

The first thing I want to talk about is all the American “stuff” that was there. For starters, they had Chili’s, Fudruckers, Starbucks, and more:

In addition, they had a huge shopping centre with Hardee’s (didn’t eat there), a fish and chip place, and loads of other stuff. It was Ramadan while I was there, so restaurants and the like didn’t open till about 7pm and stayed open late. This mall was virtually empty at 7pm but was packed by 11!

[Update 2012-08-13 06:12:57] Jordan pt 2 Ice Spikes can be found here

29/05/2012

Germany (and France, Belgium, Luxembourg)

Over the weekend, I had some work to do in Germany. I decided to drive so that Cyndi and the kids could come with me. But, one advantage to driving was getting to drive on the autobahn. I’ve always wanted to do it…man, it was great. Here’s a few pictures related to that:


Entering Germany

End of the 130 kph speed limit. Unlimited allowed!	Speedometer at 100 mph

15/05/2012

This time last year

Blackwater Falls near Davis, WV.