After the fun part is over, there’s still the work that has to be done. Some might say that this would be a great time to get all caught up on blogging, but I have a very demanding boss that runs a tight ship. This is everyone’s first trip to England, so we had a few sights to see first.
Thursday, May 4 was mainly a travel/get settled in day. We caught the train back to Bath and then we had to find a place to stay. Since we were already familiar with the hostel from a few weeks ago, we headed there. They could get us in two nights. If we can get a tour to Stonehenge on Friday, that will work out great.
After lunch, we found a free walking tour of historical sites in the old town. The price was right so we were in. The tour started at the Roman Baths discussing where the hot waters come from. Bath is basically a limestone bowl. Rain water from the surrounding hills filters underground. It takes over 10,000 years for the water to filter down to where the pressure from the weight of all the stone heats it and forces it back up through fissures in the rock to the surface. There has been people living in the area of the city for almost 3000 years. The Romans were the ones who preferred bathing over mud, so they built the original baths.
Bath didn’t really come to prominence as a health destination until the 15th century which was when the building boom in the city took place. Some royals thought that the Baths had medicinal value so that was all it took. Everyone wanted a piece of the action. It became a destination for the rich and famous. The actual prominence of Bath only lasted for about 150 years, but they provided plenty of opportunity to generate money.
We weren’t able to get the tour to Stonehenge until Saturday, so we had to find a location to stay Saturday night. Saturday morning, we would have to move to the YMCA. We were living the Village People dream.
Friday was a lazy day of laundry, eating, getting our stored luggage back, and eating ice cream. We also found another walking tour of Bath that offered absolutely no history or facts about the city. It was over 2 hours of comedy in the streets that almost ended in tragedy. At one point, he tied a stuffed rabbit up in chains, stuffed it in a mail sack with weights, and threw it in the river–Pam hyperventilated. Fortunately, the rabbit escaped and Pam didn’t have to be rushed to the hospital.
Saturday was an all day tour starting at Stonehenge. It really is an amazing pile of rocks. It has become a major tourist destination handling over 2 million visitors every year. To protect the site, you can no longer get too close to the stones but you still get close enough to be amazed at the engineering work that occurred here BEFORE the pyramids were built.
We also visited some charming villages in the area to see how a lucky few still get to live. Visiting Castle Combs is like being dropped back in time a couple of centuries. It’s a charming village of stone houses, thatched roofs, all built around a tranquil stream.
We also got to see the location where Lady Edith looses her daughter at the fair from Downton Abbey, as well as a few Harry Potter sets, all in the town of Lacock.
Sunday was a travel day to London where we eventually got settled in at a YHA Hostel for the ridiculously low price of 130 pounds for two nights within walking distance of Buckingham Palace. We had a private room and our own bath for 17 pounds per person per night. Hostels are real bargains and not just for poor college kids–they work well for unemployed homeless people as well.
While everyone else took a boat ride up the Thames River, I stayed behind to get the blog all caught up (it’s a huge task, which is why I’m just now posting this almost 3 weeks later). Finding wifi in London is not an easy task. They had a great time seeing lots of amazing places while I slaved away.
I’m also including several signs which display the British humor I like so much. It’s about time I put the Pembroke to rest so I can start some entries on our next trip–the Camino de Santiago.
