Strolling through Cheltenham
The first part of my two week international trip started in Dublin. I was there a couple of years ago for Hadoop Summit and was looking forward to visiting again. This time I only had a couple of quick days to check things out, but was able to walk across Ha’Penny Bridge, see the Temple Bar, wander the streets over to The Spire, and check out various other quick stops such as the National Wax Museum where I learned a bit about Irish history.
Next up, I flew to Heathrow on Monday and for this trip had no plans (or time!) to visit London proper. I traveled about 100 miles west to the town of Cheltenham -- the cultural centre of The Cotswolds. The environment in Cheltenham was far less hectic than in London and the people were incredibly nice and accommodating. As usual, my students were incredibly bright which made the workdays enjoyable and my "outings" primarily consisted of my daily walk to/from the training center as outlined below.
Right at the beginning of the walk from my hotel there is a nice brick building that simply caught my eye.
Speaking of brick structures, there was a cool looking church building that was up for sale. Could you imagine turning that into a house?
Fortunate for my evenings, The Brewery Quarter was still just outside my door and they had plenty of dining options.
Near the end of the drag was this cool looking building.
This got me to the end of this (heavily restaurant focused) mini-mall and dropped me onto High Street.
This was clearly a pedestrian thoroughfare as the streets were lined with small shops and restaurants and much of it was closed off to vehicle traffic.
It was so nice to see regular folks (business people on their way to work, kids on their way to school, people buying groceries and visiting the post office, etc) and I really enjoyed seeing so many people greeting others they knew on the street. You surely don't see that in London!! Just a byproduct of a smaller town and a nice one indeed.
I finally made it to the training center at Delta Place and they most have been hosting some summer college programs there as well since a couple of the days I was about runover by a small army of 18-22 year olds heading into the building. I'm sure they all had a great time in this part of the UK.
Straight across the street from the end of my daily walking commute was the entrance to Sandford Park.
This original entrance area was created back in 1928 and has a relaxing Italian Garden.
Beyond the bridge shown below is a ton of wide open space for playing games, having a picnic, or just enjoying the beauty.
A very nice park indeed and was just as pretty walking back out as it was strolling in.
Tomorrow I'm off to Bangalore again – maybe you remember my Bangalore: My Farthest & Yet, Quickest Business Trip Yet? HOPEFULLY, things will be much smoother this time!