Day 3- Bath and Stonehenge

This was another long day, but at least there were moments of train/bus rides to relax instead of walking 100% of the time.

We took the 830am train to Bath, which conveniently left from Paddington Station, getting into Bath around 10ish am.  First thing on the to-do list was go see the Roman Baths.  While this was my 4th time seeing them, it was Devin's first so it's always fun going to see something with someone who has never seen it before- it's almost like it's the first time your seeing it to!

Trying the Spa Water

We were walking along, and in the East Baths area, a lady that worked there, just came up to us as we were looking at one of the baths and starting talking to us about it and the history- for like 10-15 min or so, it was pretty interesting!   We talked to another employee about the main bath, and she shared the info that fracking might endanger the baths in the near future.  http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Disaster-warning-Bath-fracking-Government/story-18912604-detail/story.html#axzz2TaPFdKAN   Also pretty interesting.

We didn't have to meet our bus to Stonehenge until , so from the Baths we wandered over the Bath Abbey, which is absolutely gorgeous!  There was a little choir practicing while we were there, and they sounded amazing- not sure if they were just really good, or if it had to do with the how the abbey was laid out (acoustics? I'm not a music person...) or a combination or what, but it was pretty pretty.

After that it was off to lunch at this little restaurant that was on the square where the Baths and the Abbey were located- where I had a chicken salad sandwich, and got the best surprise- real, crispy, delicious bacon!  The bacon was gone in about 5 seconds.  The rest of the food was good also :)

We finally caught our tour bus to Stonehenge, takes about an hour or so to get there.  Lucky us- while it was fairly cold, it did not snow or rain while we were there!  Once again, this was my 3rd time visiting, but still really cool!  How can you think ancient mysterious stones aren't cool?!   We ended up in the souvenir store, of course, but when we got off the bus there was apparently a bag mix up which we didn't realize until we got back to my room- some women got Devin's souvenirs and he got some sheep-themed things- it was pretty funny.

All in all, a good day!

Day 2- the long day Friday March 22, 2013

So I'm a horrible blogger, I know.... it's been almost 2 months and I'm just now getting to the 2nd day of a week.

Day 2
Today was our long day (in London at least).

We started off eating breakfast at Garfunkels- I think I was more excited than he was...to have delicious eggs instead of what is served at LPH, I didn't want to subject him to that!  And even though it's just down the street, it's always nice to have someone to eat breakfast with rather than just by yourself. In a restaurant, there's always people at LPH)

From there it was off to Buckingham Palace- just to see it, as it's only open to visitors in the summer for a month or so.  We got lucky while there because there weren't very many tourists so there ere some good shots of the Palace.  We also got to see the Horse Guards returning from practicing for the Trooping of the Colors, which goes on in June, there were probably 1-200 guards on horses coming down the road- it was pretty cool!

 From there, we walked straight down to Westminster Abbey, stopping at 10 Downing Street to take a picture along the way.  Also- Devin had to stop and get a picture with a phone booth- as everyone does when visiting London for the first time!  It was a nice walk, cold and windy, but no rain!

I haven't been to Westminster in almost 5 years, so it was pretty cool to see it again!  And it is still as magnificent as always!  The tombs of Elizabeth 1 and Queen Mary 1, Poets' Corner- Burials include: Robert Browning, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, George Frideric Handel, Alfred Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling.  and memorials include: John Milton, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Robert Burns, William Blake, Percy Bysshe Shelley, T.S. Eliot,  Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, and Shakespeare.  Something I didn't know before I went to the Westminster website to make sure of the names- Laurence Olivier is buried there!  I may have to go back and find it, although I'm sure I've seen it- i just never paid attention to it.... sadly.

 By then it was lunch time (Westminster can take a while to go through!)  Out stop for lunch was a pub called The Red Lion that Devin had read about in a guide book.  It was tiny, and only like 2 blocks from Westminster but delicious!  Devin had the fish and chips he'd been craving, and I had Sausage and Mashed Potatoes.  A lot of British food may suck- but they do comfort food just fine!  I believe he ate his food in literally 5 minutes, maybe more, but definitely less than 10 minutes- apparently it was good.

From there we hopped on the tube to go to my favorite attraction in London, if not the whole world- The Tower of London!  I got to play tour guide here, for the most part- I don't know everything...   We spent a good 2-3 hours there and left as they were starting to throw out the de-icing stuff which seemed like a good point to leave.

We ate dinner at LPH that night, (gourmet, I know...) not the best meal to show a guest, but not the worst I've had here either- I think it was lamb meatballs, among other things (I did not have the lamb).  And afterwards we went out to the Victoria pub with some of my friends from here for a couple of hours.  It was fun and everyone liked each others so that is always a plus!

End of day 2.

Devin Comes to Visit Day 1

Well Devin decided he wanted to visit London- so he flew over for a a week's vacation and I got to show him around London, and we visited Paris for 2 days!

He got in Thursday morning around 1030, and I immediately whisked him off to LPH to drop his bags of before we set out for the British Museum.  He came with one cabin sized suitcase for the entire week- clearly we travel differently!

I allowed him to rest for a few minutes before we headed out, but no sleeping!  Worst thing you can do after flying in to a place in the morning is to lay down and go to sleep!   So we got moving and went over to the British Museum since it is just down the street from my school, and I had class at 3.  The main thing that he wanted to see was the Easter Island statue since he has previously traveled there, and heard the guide talk about this particular statue.

Success!

So from this we went to see all of the typical things one goes to see- the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, various Egyptian and ancient Mesopotamian items, ancient Greek and Roman things, etc.... Pretty standard museum stuff- except that this is the British Museum, and everything in it is awesome!  To me at least!  So we spent a few hours there until I had to leave to go to class, leaving Devin to wander around Tottenham Court Road (Just parallel to school) and experience some British pubs- which he has some interesting stories about.  

That was all the sightseeing we did that day- I managed to get out of class early, took a little detour to show him Mr. Jeremy Bentham, and then we headed back to LPH to rest up because we were seeing Spamalot that night!  I believe I was more excited than he was at this point, as he was pretty exhausted.  I can be slightly overwhelming when showing people tourist things that I love :)    

So we went out to dinner near Charing Cross and then headed down the road to the theater!  I'm glad I picked such an uplifting play- Devin would have been passed out on the floor if it had been anything less!  But we ended up getting out not so great seats changed into pretty decent seats, and he ended up really enjoying it!





 As this was my second time seeing it, I knew what was happening and what to expect, but it was still funny because either the actors were improvising, or someone was acting funny in the audience because they kept trying not to laugh- a few times they did not succeed, but that made it even better!

 This is one of the best parts of the play- the song....not the event-they didn't crucify people!

So that was day 1. On to Day 2- lots of walking and seeing London!

Scotland Day 3, February 12th- Loch Ness!

This was our day trip to Loch Ness- a very long, yet interesting trip!

The bus left Edinburgh around 8am, and there's not much to say about the bus trip, except that our driver/guide was awesome and very informative about the area we were passing through!  It was about an 8 hour drive up, and then back, with a stop here and there for pictures, etc...

The first stop was at a gift shop/rest stop for a few minutes for a bathroom trip and to buy souvenirs...which of course I did.  This was in the Trossachs National Park and was stunning!  It actually looks like Colorado does, or really anywhere in the West that has snowy mountains.

Back on the bus, we went through some really pretty scenery, but the highlight was that we rove by Doune Castle!  I wish we could have stopped, but we didn't :(   For those who don't know, this was the castle that the Monty Python crew filmed a lot of scenes from Monty Python and Holy Grail in!

We had another photo stop, I forget what the mountains are called, but it was really pretty!  And really cold...

So then we finally get to the Loch Ness area, and there is just enough time to go on the hour long boat ride (pre-paid...there had better have been time....)  It was an absolutely gorgeous day for this!  We really lucked out with the weather.

Sadly, there was no sighting of Nessie, although the Captain is a true believer, and has been for about 30 years.  He had some interesting stories and pictures of his ventures out looking for her, and any of her relatives!

Scotland Trip- Day 3-February 11- Edinburgh

Well I am a horrible blogger and have not written about the rest of my trip- I apologize!


We started off the day walking down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse!  It is the official Scottish  residence of the Queen.

Even though it was my second time visiting it, it's still a pretty cool place to visit, especially if you like the Tudor period in history- because this is where Mary, Queen of Scots lived with her husband.  They have a lot of personal effects of hers- from books, mirrors, etc... to locks of hair. You're not allowed to take pictures anywhere inside the Palace, but it is really pretty!

Here is a link if anyone wants to learn more about it!- http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/palaceofholyroodhouse



Connected to the Palace are the ruins of Holyrood Abbey.  Most abbey ruins are pretty cool anyways just because of how old they are.  Various royals are buried here including Kings David II, James II, James V and his first Queen Magdalen, etc...

From there, since it was only about 10min away, and was such a pretty day, albeit windy, we decided to walk up Arthur's Seat- a hill (felt like a mountain to me...hiker that I am...)

It is 251m (~800ft) high, and the day we went it was also muddy and the trails aren't really marked at all.  They are marked in the sense that you can tell it's a trail, but then there are splits all over the place, and the only map I saw was at the bottom telling you about the various trails, but there were more once you started walking...slightly confusing!

Even though the climb was rough, the weather and view made up for it.  We also discovered a delicious fudge shop on the way back which also went a long way to easing my leg pains :)

 On the way down, we found the easy way instead of slipping down wet rock and mud...it was a nice grassy slope.

From there, we progressed to the National Museum of Scotland.http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/national_museum.aspx

This museum has everything from animals(stuffed), hands on science and tech stuff, short movies, to various exhibitions on countries, ancient Egypt, as well as exhibitions on Scottish history, as well as some temporary exhibitions- one on Dr. Livingstone and  the other on the Vikings( we didn't go to that, but I went later on in the week)

It's a big museum with lots to see so we didn't see everything, 1 because we were tired and 2 because it was later in the afternoon and closing in a couple of hours anyways.