a foreigner in Britain

Antonio is Spanish, but his father is American. He studied English at Salamanca

University, and there he made some good British friends

CHAPTER 1: TRADITIONAL LONDON

Antonio loves visiting London, because there is something for everyone. In New Year he
visited London with Pablo, a Spanish friend. On his rst night they went to a pub. There
was a relaxed atmosphere with comfortable chairs, carpet, and the lights weren't very
brightly. And also had an enormous selection of beers, which are served in print glasses.

Most of the pubs in Britain close at 11.

The next afternoon Antonio took Pablo to a good hotel in the center of London. They sat at
a table in a beautiful room enjoying the tea. Everyone was nicely dressed and everything
was clivised (re nado).
On New Year’s Eve, they went to Trafalgar Square, an enormous area quite near Big Ben
and the Houses of Parliament. Then the countdown began and suddenly people began to
shout ¡Happy New Year!. Antonio and Pablo were disappointed because they didn’t hear
the bells, but a man explained that he never heard the bells because there are too many
people, and if you want to hear the bells you have to go to Big Ben.
London produces some of the best theatre in the world, there are 60 theatres. Antonio said
that his most memorable theatrical experience was two years ago at the Globe Theatre,
there most of Shakespeare’s plays were performed and Antonio went there because he
studied Shakespeare at the University and was excited about seeing one of his plays.
Antonio took advantage of a ve minutes break between acts to thank him, his name was
Mike. Between Shakespeare and now there are some differences: now women play the
female roles, and in the past female roles were played by teenage boys; another difference
is that then the “groundlings” ate, drank and talked during the performance, and now the
modern audiences are much more polite. After the performance Mike and Antonio went
for a coffee and Mike told Antonio that he could get him free tickets for the theatre every
time he visited London.

CHAPTER 2: COSMOPOLITAN LONDON

The ethnic diversity makes London very special. People of every nationality were
travelling on the train. They (Antonio and Pablo) stared (se quedaron mirando) at an
orthodox Muslim woman. They couldn’t stop looking at her because they don’t often see a
woman dressed this way (only her eyes were uncovered).

In London there are a lot of types of food, the indian food is especially popular.
On the second day, Antonio decided to take Pablo to places that showed London’s ethnic
diversity, like Chinatown. It’s in the middle of the theatre district and it feels wonderful to
cross a street and enter a completely different culture. There are excellent Chinese
restaurants and many Asian supermarkets.
London has Caribbean carnival, it takes place towards the end of August in Notting Hill.
Notting Hill has a very big West Indian population and a lot of people go here to eat West
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 Indian food.
Antonio remembers that he and Mike (a friend that took him to the carnival) went to
Mike’s at in one of London’s black taxis. The driver began to speak in english but
Antonio didn’t understand him, because he was using Cockney rhyming slang.

CHAPTER 3: YORK

Antonio thinks that it’s better to visit a country alone, because he thinks that we see more.
After New Year, he decided to go to York on his own for a weekend (here he didn’t know
anyone). On Friday afternoon he went to King’s Cross railway station by underground. On
the train he got out his guidebook and found the section on York. He read that King
George VI, said that the history of York was the history of England. He decided to go to
York because the vikings had been there. Their history sometimes was violent and terrible,
but he thought that these men were brave to go to the sea.

The guidebook said that viking built a city called “Jorvik” or York (the actual name).
A Scottish woman, who was sitting next to Antonio, explained to him that she visited York
with her daughters and she thought that Antonio would enjoy a lot there. Then she
recommended a place to stay during the whole week.
that place was a small B&B (bed and breakfast) in the city center (the boss was Barbara, a
friend on the scottich woman). Antonio called immediately and booked the last available
single room. Green Guest House was cheap and Mrs Green was very kind.
In the morning she cooked him a traditional English breakfast. After this, she gave him a
map of the city and showed him how to get to the Jorvik Viking Centre. They got a little
car, during the corridor they saw a lot of models acting like vikings, or soldiers from the
First and Second World War. Finally they arrived at Copergatte Market in october 948 AD.
There were the old streets, scenes and soundtrack (people shouting, talking...). When the
car stopped they watched animals, people in the market and the children playing. After
the market they went down and there was a boat and two shermen. The shermen were
telling a little Viking boy (Toki) about their adventures. The car continued the journey, and
stopped in front of a Viking house where a family was making dinner.
The visit was incredible, because it was the recreation of a real town. After leaving the
Jorvik Viking Center, he went for a walk around the city. In the city Antonio met John and
they decided to go to see York Minster together. York Minster is the biggest Gothic
Cathedral in Northern Europe, it took more than 250 years to build ( nish at 1470s). The
Great East Winter Window is the largest medieval stained glass window in Britain and
shows the beginning and the end of the world. They climbed up to the top of the central
tower and they saw the whole of York. Antonio spent a good time with John, because it
was the rst trip to Britain and he was so surprised. They visited the Castle Museum.
There the people sometimes hear the ghosts of the prisoners.
The next day, during the train to London, they exchanged e-mail addresses.

CHAPTER 4: OXFORD

(Antonio had a girlfriend called Lisa who was studying here, and in this chapter he
explain some things about Oxford when he met Lisa)
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 Oxford is one of the most historically interesting towns in Britain. Oxford University is one
of the oldest and more prestigious universities in the world.

Antonio was very disappointed when arrived to Oxford, because there were modern
shops everywhere (Burger King and Pizza Huts)
When he met Lisa, he explained his preoccupations and Lisa told him that he doesn’t see
anything yet, there is a lot of history there.

Next day, Lisa had class all day, and Antonio went for a walk to nd the “real” Oxford.
Soon he found the different colleges that form Oxford University. He walked through the
gardens in Magdalen College too.

At 1 o’clock Antonio was hungry, after searching a lot he found a working-class

neighbourhood, which served what he wanted ( sh and ships). When he entered into the
bar, all the people were so rude. Then the barman apologized, because they think that
Antonio was a student, and the barman explained that townspeople and university
students haven’t got on well with each other for more than 600 years (Massacre in 1355).

On his way back to Lisa’s at, he passed where the massacre had taken place. When he
arrived at Lisa’s at they prepared for the May Ball, and May Morning (medieval
tradition). The May Balls are very elegant, women wear formal dresses and men wear
dinner suits, called “black tie”. The May Ball ended just before the sunrise and everyone
walked together to Magdalen College. Here a boy’ choir began to sing hymns. It was
magical.

Next, they went into the city center, there were acrobats performing in the streets and
Oxford was a big carnival.

CHAPTER 5: A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS

Every year in Christmas Antonio watches the same lm, called “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”,
it’s about one car that could y and take the owner to magic land. The history was good,
but what he really wanted was the car. Fifteen years later his dream came true. It wasn’t
the same car but it reminded him of his favourite lm and he felt like a child.

Nicola Caswell, an English friend, invited him to her parents' house for Christmas. She
told him things about her family, but she hadn’t told him about her father’s old Bentley,
because for her it wasn’t interessant, but for Antonio, driving in the Bentley was the best
Christmas present he would have for many years. They drove through narrow country
roads to a village where there was a Christmas reunion of the Bentley Drivers Club.

Antonio and Nicola were the rst people to arrive and they parked outside the pub.
Suddenly, there were three more Bentleys coming down the road towards them. Antonio
was like a little child with a new toy.
Hugh Caswell, Nicola’s father, and Antonio were talking the next hour about the owners
of the Bentleys, and looking at the cars. Then they went inside a pub.

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 It was dinnertime on Christmas Eve , but there wasn’t the roast turkey, the roast potatoes
and vegetables (the traditional meal) . They had a good meal, but Antonio was
dissappointed becase Nicola had told him that her family celebrated Christmas
“properly”. Then Nicola explains that in England eat the traditional meal on Christmas
day, not on Christmas Eve. After dinner they went to Midnight Mas, like the Spanish
tradition.

Antonio was enjoying it a lot because all was new for him, and Nicola and her family
made him feel like part of their family. That night Father Christmas left presents for
everyone.
On Christmas morning the whole world was white. They sat around the Christmas tree
and opened the little presents of Father Christmas (Antonio had a bottle of Scotch whiskey
and a book about Shakespeare. Then they went for a walk in the snow.

At dinnertime, they all had a Christmas cracker on the plate. Two people hold the cracker
and pull, and inside there is a paper hat, a joke and a small present. They eat turkey, lots of
potatoes and vegetables, good red wine and then Christmas pudding.
This Christmas was so memorable for Antonio.

CHAPTER 6: CARDIFF

Antonio loves reading about different countries. He was imagining life on a small island in
the Caribbean when his phone rang. It was Gareth, a friend of him who lives in Cardiff.
He was phoning him because Gareth invited him to his marriage in Wales at the end of
July. The ceremony had been held at the Castell Coch, it was a fairy-tale castle like ones
you see in Disney lms.

During the reception Antonio asked him some things about the castle, but Gareth didn’t
know much about it, but he knows someone who can explain Antonio some things. That
person was Angharad, his cousin (the most beautiful person that Antonio had seen before,
he was in love). She had red hair, pale skin, big blue eyes and an angelic face, and she is
studying her Master’s degree in Welsh culture and history.

Angharad began to tell them about the castle but, a woman arrived and interrupted her
explanation, the photographer was waiting for her. When Angharad returned, Gareth
excused himself, leaving Antonio alone. While they were talking about the castle, he
picked up a love spoon, as a symbol of his affection, and gave her the spoon asking her if
she would like to have dinner with him. She was surprised but she quickly agreed to meet
him. They were together for two weeks, and she showed him the country. First they went
to the south coast for a weekend, and there she taught windsur ng to Antonio. The most
enjoyable day together was Antonio's last day in Wales. Angharad took him to de Royal
National Eisteddfod, which is a modern version of the ancient competitions in which poets
and musicians compete. He was very impressed by the event, he didn’t understand the
words of poems and songs because they were in Welsh, but it wasn’t important.

CHAPTER 7: CORNWALL



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 During his holidays in Wales, he saw a competition in a magazine. One of the categories
was to write an article about a coastal area in Europe, so he called Garethto ask him for
ideas on where to go.
He recommended visiting Cornwall, a remote area in the south-west corner of britain,
with a beautiful coastline, a lot of small seaside and very dramatic scenery. He bought a
book about Cornwall, and began his trip along in a town called Bude. Bude was a small
enchanting, seaside town. He hired a car and drove to Bude, and there he reserved a room.
When he arrived, he went to a pub to have dinner, and it looks like it hasn’t changed for
hundreds of years. As he was nishing his meal, an old man asked him if he could sit
there. Antonio was very lucky because the man was Richard and he knows a lot about
Cornwall because of its history and its myths. Richard’s history was fascinating. When the
pub closed, Richard shook his hand and walked away. They didn't see more, but Antol¡nio
still remembered some of the stories that Richard told him, like the old church in a little
village called Poundstock.

Antonio visited the church and words couldn’t describe what he felt as he walked through
the church remembering Richard’s story, it was very quiet and cold.
Next day he decided to go to Tintagel Castle, home of King Arthur. He grew up seeing
lms and reading books about King Arthur, many stories described him as a virtuous
king. Richard told him things about King Arthur that had surprised him, like that he was
born in Tintagel Castle. Antonio arrived at Tintagel just in time to see the sun going down
into the sea behind the castle.

The next few days were lled with beautiful views and sounds, and he wrote his article
sitting in small hotels, beaches, pubs and tearooms. As he approached Chapel Porth Beach,
he

remembered another of Richard’s history. He stood on a mountain looking at the sea, and
it looked red, as Richard told him.
The remaining eight days were full of Richard’s history. He passed by towns like Zennor
(the legend of a mermaid who hypnotised a nobleman’s son), and Rill Point (where people
rst saw Spanish Armada on its way to attack Britain).

By the end of his trip, he nished the article which was well received by the magazine. He
didn’t win the competition, but they published his story.

CHAPTER 8: MANCHESTER

It was time to visit Louise, Antonio’s cousin, in Manchester. One morning they got on a
tram to Old Trafford (stadium of Manchester United Football Club). Louise loves
Manchester United, and she had her own brick, with her name, in the pavement outside
the stadium, so the rst thing that they arrived at the stadium was to go and see her brick.
Antonio and his cousin didn’t see a match that day, but they went to the Old Trafford
Museum. When they started to go round the museum, Antonio saw that in the 1950s the
team’s nickname was “The Busby Babes”, but in 1958 a disaster happened. Team’s plane
crashed in Munich, 23 people died, and eight players and eight sports writers were among
the dead. After that they changed their nickname to “The Red Devils”.
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 After the museum they went on the tour of the stadium, they went on the top of the Sir
Alex Ferguson, then to the players dressing rooms, and nally they walked out of the
tunnel leading to the playing eld.
Besides football, Louise loves music, and she says that she stayed in Manchester because it
is a great city for good music.

On Friday night Louise wanted to go to a fantastic nightclub, but there was a long queue
and Antonio wasn’t patient. When they nally got in, he saw that the club was very small,
dark and with dirty carpets on the oor, but the dance oor and the DJ were brilliant and
fantastic. The following day, they met two of Louise’s friends, Daved and Steve, at the
stadium. This time they went back to Old Trafford, to see a real match, Manchester vs
Liverpool. The match was very exciting, the Red Devils won (3-1).

Monday was his last day, and he joined a boat tour, which was very interesant and
Antonio learned how the industrial Revolution brought great wealth to the city and how
the canals were used to transport merchandise. In the 20th century canals became run-
down, but today it’s being renovated and becoming a very exciting area.

Finally he went to the MOSI (Museum Of Science and Industry), but he didn’t have time
to see everything. He also went to see the underground sewage system. The next day it
was the day to say goodbye to Louise and leave Manchester.

CHAPTER 9: EDINBURGH

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, and one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It has a
fascinating history and a lot to see. The Edinburgh International Festival is one of the best
summer festivals in the world. Also, here lives Martis, one of Antonio’s friends. Martin
and he met at Antonio’s school in Spain, when they were 14 years old. Antonio had
problems at school that year because he came from the United States and he didn’t
understand the teachers well. After Easter, the school had an exchange with a school from
Edinburgh. Twenty scottish pupils came to his school and they stayed three weeks with
our families. Suddenly everyone needed Antonio to translate because it was the only child
who speaks Spanish and English. By the end of the three weeks, Antonio made a lot of
friends, and

Martin, the most popular person in his class because of his funniness and intelligence,
invited him to Edinburgh.
Six years later, in August Antonio travelled to Edinburgh, and he met with Martin. He was
very happy and excited.

Martin took Antonio to his at, where he lived with two friends, Paul and Alison.
The same afternoon that he arrived, Martin and he went to one castle and they went for a
walk around the Old Town, which is the oldest part of Edinburgh (the area where Martin
lives) .The Old Town is like a laberints with its narrow streets. They walked around the
High Street, and they arrived at the Edinburgh Castle. The streets were busy, and there
were actors, musicians..., because during the day they were advertising their shows for the
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 A lot of people visit the castle every year. There is a museum, but also an Army base
because the Scottish division of the British Army is based there. From the castle the views
of the City were lovely. Inside the castle, they saw the Royal apartments, and the room
where Mary (queen of Scots), gave birth to the boy who became King of England and
Scotland.
He became King James VI of Scotland and King James I of England in 1603, when Queen
Elizabeth I of England died. It was important because England and Scotland were separate
countries and they had different kings. James was the rst ruler to be King of Booth
countries, “the Union of the crowns”.
Then the same night they went to see a show at the festival, because there are a lot of
shows that have good reviews. The local newspaper has a special section for the Festival
and the Fringe. Before the festival they had lunch with Paul and Alison and while they
were eating they told Antonio things about the festival.
This festival started in 1947, and every year there is an of cial programme of classical
music, opera, theatre and comedy. The Edinburgh Fringe started at the same year and it's
another unof cial festival that happens outside. There are a lot of performances every
night and you can pay anything from 5$ to 10$, but discount tickets are available.
The rst night they had a surprise for Antonio. They went to see Rowan Atkinson perform
in one of the theatres. He’s the actor who creates Mr Bean, that’s very funny. It was better
on the stage than in the televisions.
After that, they went to Bannerman's pub, near Martin's at. When Antonio and Alison
looked around for somewhere to sit, he saw Mr Been, and he decided to ask for his
autograph. They went to see lots of different shows while Antonio was in Edinburgh. They
listened to a choirsinging
Verdi'srèquiematSaintGiles’.AlsotheyhadapícnicwithALisonandPaulin Princes Street and
watched a circus Without animals. The músic was wonderful and Antonio bought the CD
after the performance.
All the time he was in Edinburgh, he was lucky with the weather.
Martin had decided to take Antonio north for a few days, to see some more of Scotland.

CHAPTER 10: MORE OF SCOTLAND

Scotland is the country of mountains and lakes, and all Antonio saw was beautiful. But,
from the minute that Antonio and Martin left Edinburgh, the weather was terrible, only
rained and rained. On the way to the North, Martin explains to him a few things of
Scodland, like that it

has over 790 islands. First they went to Dunkeld, they have got the Highland Games at the
moment.
The rain was getting worse and Antonio was too worried. To distract Antonio from the
rain, Martin explains to him that the Highland Games are a competition of traditional
Scottish sports, and this games continued despite the rain. They parked the car in Dunkeld
and they walked to the eld where the competition started. Everyone was wearing
raincoats and umbrellas, except the competitors, who were wearing kilts and T-shirts.
Antonio was surprised about the kilts, and Martin explained to him that men had worn
this since the end of the 1700s, and that the kilts are a symbol of Scottish nationalism, the
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 same as tartan (material that kilts are made from). Historically, every clan or family has its
own pattern. During the competition they saw a man who was wearing a caber, and he
was competing in “Tossing the Caber”. Each competitor stants in the middle of a “clock”,
lifts their caber vertically and puts it on his shoulder. Then they throw the caber, and it
spins in the air. The person who can throw the caber closest to the 12 o’clock wins.

They saw more competitions, and most of them consisted of throwing something heavy. In
the village there was a little market selling local produce like honey, jam, cakes, biscuits
and haggis (sheep's stomach). Antonio tastes the haggis, and when he didn’t look at what
he was eating, it tasted quite nice.

In the afternoon, they drove through the Grampian Mountains, it was still raining but the
scenery was beautiful. They stopped outside a little village, they bought some food and
they sat in a tent and cooked on a little camp stove. The rain stopped and they could see
the sun through the clouds and it was incredible. Antonio woke up at 6, and half an hour
later he put on his jumper and boots and went outside, everything looked mysterious,
quiet and calm. Their next destination was Loch Ness, but Martin wants him to visit
Cawdor Castle rst. Martin told him that every year came here with his family on New
Ye a r ’ s Eve. Then Martin explainedthaton
NewYear’sEve,hehadabigpartywithlotsofpeople,thentheylistened to Big Ben on the radio,
and nally they sang a traditional Scotish song called Auld Lang Syne.

Hogmanay, is a very important celebration in Scotland. The tradicion is that people stay
home until midnight and the rst person to come into your house must be a man with
dark hair, and he has to bring some presents to bring luck to the house. He must bring coal
(carbó) t o heat the house, a bag of salt and a bottle of whisky.

The next destination was Loch Ness, there were about 80 tourists there. Hugh Gray took
the rst photo of Loch Ness. Anyone knows if the monster exists but it’s important that we
keep the legends and myths.

EPILOGUE

There are a lot of places to visit, and every country is different and it has something
special. Different cultures offer us something, and travelling you will always take some
special memories home with you.
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