Stonehenge, Bath and Harry's Parents' House

It was a wet Thursday morning when we departed for our Stonehenge tour from a corner hotel 3 blocks from the Earls Court station. I couldn't help thinking when I sat in the hotel lobby how infinitely nicer this hotel was and I longed for its surely nicer beds and clean sparkling bathroom fixtures.

When I was last in London in 2004 I went on the "5,000 Years In A Day" tour, which focused more on south England ancient sites including Stonehenge. Because JD was with me this time, and he's never seen Stonehenge, I decided that I had to go on another tour for his sake. This time around, we went on a different tour that featured a 3 hour trip to Bath. I think I was more excited about the side trip to Bath than he was – I knew more about the town and I was a Jane Austen fan.

The gentleman who was our driver and tour guide was charming and chattering. A fulfilled requirement for a good guide. Standard for tour guides of these day trips are that they be walking founts of random and interesting knowledge. As we drove away from London and eventually into the beautiful countryside of the Cotswolds, he had trivia and stories for almost everything we saw along the way.

The drive was too calming and there were times I fought sleep so I could hear him talk some more and stare at the gorgeous scenery whizzing past me. There were times I lost. One point, I woke up to hear him singing "I want to be ... your Sledgehammer." So random! I burst out laughing, but was also pissed to think that I probably missed some Peter Gabriel trivia.

When Stonehenge came into view 90 minutes into our drive, I watched everyone's reactions. I think I was the only one in the van besides the driver who's been there before. There was a sudden, sober silence. Don't think that I was at all jaded. It was just as unreal as the first time for me too. And just like the first time, it was cold as hell as we walked around the monolith with our narrative handsets.



We finally climbed back into the van and were on our way to Bath.

Just so you know, when people think of English countryside, they are really imagining visions of the Cotswolds. Picture this: Traditional thatched-roof houses, rolling pastures dotted with grazing sheep, rambling estates and hedge-lined 2-lane roads… This is the Cotswolds. I couldn't help getting fleeting scenes in my head from Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, Pride & Prejudice.



We then got stuck in traffic(!) a mere 3 minutes away from Bath. We sat in the van for more than 30 minutes, barely moving, and when we eventually got going again, one of the passengers found out via the internet connection on her phone that there was an accident. The wait was worth it – the beautiful honey-colored stone on Bath's buildings came into view and we were taken by surprise. This was one beautiful wonderful town.

We took a tour of the famous Roman baths (which Bath got their name from, duh.) It was awesome seeing the naturally heated mineral waters bubbling into the old Roman baths, even now, more than 2000 years later. There were great things to see like current excavations, statues, interactive histories.



But the most amazing thing by far was when we walked into the below-ground exhibit/excavations and heard this hissing, gurgling, roaring sound. I went into this gift shop and bought some lotion and JD continued on. I heard him call out for me and when I followed his voice, I came upon him staring at this gaping maw in rock face with ancient plumbing. The area around it was steamy and smelled of metal and sulfur. From this opening gushed this raw, hot, roaring water and the plumbing around the water was caked with iron deposits and other metallics. JD said, "this is water from HELL!" and I wasn't one to contradict him. I was disappointed that he didn't take a picture.

By the way, JD was not taking as many pictures of our trip as I had hoped. I wasn't aware of this until later this evening. Lame.

After the baths tour, we decided to take our tour guide's advice and have lunch at the famous Sally Lunn's Buns. Famous brioche-type buns that they use for sandwiches, as a side with soup, and even for breakfast and dessert. Delicious to the maxxxxxxx.

Needless to say, we wished we could have stayed in Bath longer. 3 hours was definitely not long enough, and we didn't even get to visit the Jane Austen museum. Ah well – another excuse to come back…

Before heading back to London, we made a quick visit to the town of Lacock, which is in the running as "the most charming town in England." A few things of note about the town: 1) the town's most famous resident is the Duchess of Cornwall, aka Camilla Parker Bowles. Her daughter was married in the town's church (St. Cyriac's.) 2) Before Camilla's move to Lacock after her divorce from her first husband, the town's most famous resident was William Fox Talbot. 3) Possibly the most famous house within the town is one a few steps from the church. This house was used to portray Harry Potter's parents' house in The Sorcerer's Stone. We included a picture (0ne of the few JD took. HAH.):



As well, the Warming Room in Lacock Abbey was used to portray Professor Quirrell's classroom in The Sorcerer's Stone.

We finally got back to London near 7 pm. After having some great Indian food for dinner, we begrudgingly turned in for the night.

The Bathers and Sunflowers

When we arrived Wednesday afternoon in London, we crashed in our crappy room for a couple of hours and when we woke up, I turned to JD and said, "ready to explore?"

Jumped onto the Tube at Earls Court and exited at Westminster. The sun was about to set and one of the first things we saw when we came out of the Tube and onto the street was Big Ben and Houses of Parliament. JD got very quiet for a moment and I realized that he was probably finally taking it all in. "Welcome to London" I said with a smile and he smiled back a bit dreamily.

Our first London sightseeing stop was Westminster Abbey. The cathedral was a bit eerie and sobering, and I felt a little awed staring at the dozens of effigies, statues and crypts. JD whipped out his sketchpad and drew Shakespeare's statue while I did a little more walking, eventually having to leave for a moment to take a restroom break across the street.

(Here's a pic taken during our tour a few days later- better lighting and all.)


Later that night I took JD for a walk around Trafalgar Square. Ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe In The Crypt, located in, yes, the crypt of St. Martin in the Fields Church. They give you way too much food for what you pay, though with the dollar-pound exchange rate, that's really a good thing nowadays.

BTW, the English can't do a proper apple pie for shit. I might be angering a few people out there, or even blaspheming (since the English were the originators of apple pie), but give me an American slice any day.

Afterwards we went to the National Gallery.


Now I love this museum, and the last time I was here, I spent 3 hours inside and looked at EVERYTHING. This time around JD and I focused on some key areas/periods, particularly the "Manet To Picasso" exhibition in the basement Sainsbury Wing. I had to make sure he bore witness to seeing such famous Impressionistic pieces like Sunflowers by Van Gogh and Bathers At Asnieres by Seurat in the flesh. It's pretty indescribable, even the second time around. As for JD, well...being an art major and having studied these masterpieces... it was bit mind-blowing for him.

This season's special exhibition was Velazquez, and I recalled seeing some of his works (including the famous Las Meninas) on display at the Museo Del Pradoin Madrid, so I was excited to see these works. Unfortunately, this was a paid exhibition and so we ixnayed this begrudgingly. Ah well, we're going to Spain next year anyway.

Most of London's museums are free. I really love that. Like, really.