I woke up at 6:40 today so I could be ready to go with everyone at 7:40 for our 8 am bus pickup. I was just thrilled about that! The bus we got on took us to the Victoria Coach Station where we then boarded the bus that would take us on our tour. We found out that we were supposed to be back in London by 7 pm, which I was happy about since last time it was such a nightmare getting
home! There was about a 2 hour or so ride to get to Bath - I slept most of the time (after the tour guide finished talking about what was "on our left" and "on our right"). I donned my eye mask and earplugs and I was pretty much out until he came back over the intercom and banged it a few times to wake everyone up to announce that we'd soon be in Bath.They took us there via back roads and the view of the countryside was just lovely! We even saw the hills of Wales in the distance. We also saw fields of wheat growing (which I'd never seen with my eyes before!) and fields of sheep, pastures of cows, pigs, and in one field I saw a couple deer standing in the middle. I rather wish I were driving though so I could've stopped and explored some of the lovely landscape. One hill in particular I really wanted to climb - the view would have been phenomenal.
We arrived in Bath, going around a roundabout called the Circus (circle in Latin) which has three buildings around it that are curved around the circle. We got to see the row house where Nicholas Cage lives - number 8. :) That was pretty cool. Apparently only the most posh people
can afford to live there.From there the bus took us to our drop-off point which was right by the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. The Baths were £9 each and since I've been before, I chose not to go to that. I went to the Abbey (which I'd also been to before, but it is free and quite beautiful). It was built in 1499 but largely destroyed in 1539 so it was mostly rebuilt in 1611 (though it was damaged in 1942 during the Baedeker Blitz that I talked about in my blog from Exeter). The tower of Bath Abbey is 49 meters (or 161 ft).
From there I walked to the Avon River and this park that is right on the river. I took some pictures and then my camera died, so I went a bought a 20 pack of AAs for £5.99 which wasn't bad, but my camera went through 2 of those and started on 2 more before the day was over - it pretty much eats batteries like M&Ms. lol There were some stands with jewelry, scarves, etc. in the main square and I looked at stuff
and then walked back toward the river and to this market that sells everything from food, jewelry, handbags, pet supplies, hangers, and you name it, they have it. It was cool looking around, but since I'd already bought the batteries and something for mom (that's a secret ;)), I didn't purchase anything at the market. I proceeded to walk across the bridge going across the river that has shops lining it. The view from inside the shops down the river is really amazing - the rent must cost a fortune there!From there I made my way back to the park and ate the lunch I packed, watching the ducks and swans. We had to leave an hour and half after we
arrived, so that is pretty much all I got to do. I plan to go back on a lovely sunny (warmer) day to visit the wonderful parks and the Royal Crescent which I loved so much last time.After Bath we went to Stonehenge. I am fairly sure I've never been so cold in my life. The wind was absolutely howling and it's been so much warmer here lately I didn't have my long johns on or a high pair of socks. By the end I had a head ache and a jaw ache from the cold - which I didn't think was possible. However, the stones were cool, though a bit smaller than I expected and you can't actually get near them anymore, so that's a bummer. We had audio guides, but I was so cold I didn't want to take my hand out of my pocket to hold the thing to my ear, so I didn't listen to most of it. haha (And I had gloves on!). We were only there for 45 minutes thank goodness, and then we headed for Salisbury.
In Salisbury we visited the Salisbury Cathedral which features the highest spire on this side of the Alps (Germany has a higher one). It is 404 feet high (compare to the tower in Bath). Anyway, the Cathedral was absolutely beautiful. Inside it has Europe's oldest working clock (1386) which doesn't look like a clock at all - looks more like a weird invention with cogs. It also houses one of the 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta and the one in the best condition. I saw another one in the British Museum and this one was so much better! The writing was just phenomenal - it looked like it was printed, but indeed it was not - it was all written by hand in 1215. Obviously this is a very important document since it is the basis for our Constitution. This cathedral also has the largest Cathedral Close in Britain (if you recall from the Exeter blog, this is the area owned by the church surrounding the cathedral). The stained glass windows were also something to see and the organ was playing while we were inside...overall just lovely!
On the way out some of us stopped by the cafe and I bought a white chocolate raspberry muffin which was delicious but I am still feeling a little nauseous from how rich it was. haha
We were supposed to be back on the bus by 4:30, and everyone was there except Professor Selassie. Finally the tour guide went searching for him, and came back empty handed, so Travis called the Professor and found out that he had gotten lost on the way back to the bus, so Travis went and somehow found him and brought him back. They did not arrive until 5 p.m., so we left a bit later than we planned to. When we did arrive back in London (about 7 pm), Professor Selassie literally ran off the bus and to the tube station (we think he was embarrassed to face us). As I said previously, he is a very smart man and actually wrote the constitution for Eritrea (a country in Africa) and was imprisoned for three years for trying to liberate the country. He's also met/worked with all kinds of famous people, but he is getting on in years and seems to sometimes lack common sense (and obviously a sense of direction).
So now we are back and I'm exhausted so I think I shall make dinner, read, and go to bed. Sunday I think I'll take a day trip on my own somewhere - Cambridge or Dover or Brighton perhaps. We'll see about the weather. Then on Monday we're going to Oxford with the class. I rather hope this one isn't another guided tour, because I hate feeling rushed for time. I would've liked to spend much more time in Bath, for example, today. I also get more motion sick on buses than on trains.
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