Stonehenge and Bath

Stonehenge

I only got three hours of sleep the night before we journeyed to Stonehenge so the second I got on the bus I turned on my i-pod and went right back to sleep. An hour and a half later I woke up to excited gasps as the ancient, 40-foot high stones came looming into view. You are able to walk around the stones but not get very close or touch them. The large amounts of tourists jostling for a good picture is a little overwhelming and I quickly walked to the far side of the monument for a little more space. Here Justine, Alexa and I entertained ourselves for a good chunk of time taking cheesy tourist picture with the monuments, we pretended to eat the ruins and hold them over our shoulder.

My cheesy tourist picture

The feel around the monument is noticeably sobering. The grey sky occasionally parts to let a beam of sunshine warm the old rocks and black crows settle protectively on top of the massive slabs. People are quiet, as if entering a church building, and man-made mounds outline the sacred spot.

Bath, England

We loaded back in our bus and continued the journey towards the town of Bath. I knew very little about Bath prior to visiting and honestly thought it was going to be similar to Stonehenge, an ancient ruin used for outdated purposes. I was completely wrong.The baths are a collection of hot springs, dark green in color and gathered in a resorvoir similar in size to a regular swimming pool. The Romans considered it a sacred spot and used the waters for healing and spiritual cleansing. Hundreds of years later the then abandoned baths were rediscovered and became a popular vacation spot for the aristocratic English. To be seen at Bath , sipping the ill-tasting water, was the ultimate cool of the early 19th century.

With the rediscovered hot springs popped up a whole new town build in the Georgian style of matching architecture. Local, pale orange stone is used in every building  and the cobble stoned streets are filled to the brim with buskers, shops, and traditional English food such as the "pastey" (a pastry stuffed with beef or lamb and veggies). A collection of houses called the "Circus" was particularly beautiful, they formed almost a complete circle of pristine, matching, three-story apartments with large bay windows. In the center was a smaller circle of ancient Sycamore trees. I'm normally not a fan of matching houses, preferring instead the funky paint jobs and eclectic yard art of Lawrence, however, this enchanting circle was so much like something out of a Jane Austin novel it was impossible not to appreciate it's charm. The city itself is in fact so charming that it has officially been declared a World Heritage site.

Alexa and I drinking hard cider in Bath

The baths themselves were green and steaming, surrounded by Roman style columns. Attached to the baths were a whole museum dedicated to explaining the baths original purpose and displaying artifacts found in the area. There were many coins and gemstones that had either been thrown into the bath as sacrifices or fell out of bathers pockets. After seeing the baths I joined Justine and Alexa for a drink of Bath's famous hard cider at a local bar.

We loaded back on our bus and completed the three hour ride back to London. Justine, Alexa, Beth and I walked a few blocks down the street to "The Richmond" a pub and pizza house with a comfortable, homey feel. Our new friend Jonathan joined us for a drink and we then headed to bed early knowing that we would depart for Paris at 6 a.m. the following morning.

"The Circus" Matching homes in Bath, England