The north shore is sorta straight - the curce comes from the fisheye affect of the lens
We started at the riverside. Sitting on the quay, we found the signal somewhat stronger, but even though the sun was out, it was cold. So we moved up the river to the Bristol Central Library. The library has lots of computers but they are reluctant to let us plug our own computers in or to hook up wirelessly. Their fear is that we carry viruses. We tried to log on to the "citywide" broadcast but deep within the library we were getting nothing. I had noticed that as we came in, there was a woman operating what looked like a wireless computer. She was working in the café area of the library near the front windows. The tables in the café were reserved for café customers.
Once I established that I could hook up, I bought a cup of coffee to stay within the rules. I thought the connection was good, Bruce and Pam thought it was marginal. After a half an hour, a lady came around and told us that we would have to make way for the noontime poetry-reading club. I had only half loaded the information to the website and was a little frustrated, but at least I knew I could.
We came home for lunch and then it was time to go pick up the Thompson's rental car. We all walked up Constitution Hill to the Queen's Road. While Bruce signed up for the car, Nancy and I went over to the bank to add her signature to our paperwork. Forgot to bring Nancy's passport so she couldn't sign.
Bruce got his rental car and then the fun began. Bruce claimed that he had driven in England before, but being turned loose in a city center at rush hour would challenge anyone. The car was a Korean built, 4-door, KIA. Its was little, but in a world of small cars, it didn't feel all that out of place. To add to the entertainment, the KIA was a stick shift in a city of hills.
The plan was to go back down the hill, past the flat and go on to the Superstore that the landlady had shown Nancy last night. The first problem was that the road in front of the car rental agency was divided and you couldn't go the easy way - downhill. Bruce had to go uphill and into the city center - a couple of wrong turns later and we were totally enmeshed in the flow of downtown traffic. Traffic in Bristol anywhere is crazy and fast moving. We made a couple of lucky guesses and managed to get back to the flat.
Then things got real crazy - who would have guessed that you had to be in the right lane to be able to get on the ramp to go over the Brunel Bridge. From the left lane we were forced to visit the road through the gorge and out of town into the coastal towns. The good news was that we got to go under the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge - awesome. Several attempts at a u-turn finally brought us back to the Brunel Bridge over the river and another attempt at the southbound highway. Another poor choice at an intersection and we were sent for a nice ride in the countryside - a limited access highway with no chance of turning around for several miles. Finally found a place to turn around, a slight excursion on a one-way road - the wrong way and we were back on the limited highway into town. At this point we decided to go back to the flat, sit down with the map, and attack this puzzle in a reasonable and systematic way. However, a wrong lane at the right time and we were again crossing the Brunel Bridge with a second (third) chance to get it right. This time we ended up in Bedminster, made a u-turn in a boat yard, and once again were heading back to town.
This time we knew to avoid the wrong lane and did make it back to the flat. We all sat down with the maps to understand where we had been and how to get to the desired superstore later. It was getting to be rush hour and decided that playing in heavy traffic should be left to the pros. We would try again after dinner. Fortunately, our sense of humor had kicked in and this whole thing struck as extremely funny. So, the humor and our Saint Christopher metals got us home.
Big news! The landlady stopped by with a television we could borrow and the news that our phone and DSL line will be installed next Tuesday afternoon! We need to purchase a phone before then. Our landlady was finally able to reach the phone company and set up an appointment for us. Apparently they have been trying to reach us via email, but without a connection, we're not getting our email. That's a little frustrating.
After dinner of venison meat patties, we went back to try and find the grocery superstore that the landlady said was a brisk 15-minute walk. Managed to find it with only one slight detour trying to go counterclockwise on a clockwise round-about. A very nice English gentleman with shouts and hand gestures was able to point out the error of our ways and set us straight.
Nancy finished her Noro sweater and tried it on and it fits just great. But the collar she was working on is way, way too big and it's been ripped out. Will start again to do a collar of some sort. Might not do the same stitch as the bands and is considering some other options. She would really like to have a collar on it, but not sure what kind. We still haven't had time to find the yarn stores -probably after Bruce and Pam head to Nottingham.
This weekend is the big Brunel celebration and we've been trying to walk to that neighborhood and walk the famous bridge before the big events on Saturday night. Not sure if we'll be able to do that on Friday, but would like to make it happen.