April 16, 1999
Well, faithful readers, I have returned. After two weeks spent running around England and sticking my head briefly into Wales, I am back at the University of York, and recuperating from that amazingly tiring pass-time known as "a vacation."
blankMy mother was the one who made the trip possible - she took some time off to come visit me, and came bearing BritRail and Underground passes (good for unlimited travel on both systems of public transport), and plenty of travelers' checks in pounds sterling. Although we didn't go everywhere I'd originally planned (I discovered very quickly that that would be impossible), we had a great time, and did get to a number of fantastic places.
blankMuch as I'd love to give you a detailed description of our every moment (ha!), I don't really have the space. I can, however, easily give you the highlights of our two-week-long jaunt. If you want to hear more, you'll have to check out my website (see below).
I've been asked what my absolute favorite part of the trip was, and I really can't choose. But when trying to decide, Bath reared its charming head almost immediately. It was our second stop, and admittedly got off to a rather dismal start - it was raining when we arrived, and our B&B showed no signs of life, which left us with nowhere to leave our luggage. After some dithering, we finally decided to look for another place, and ended up in a just-opened, still-under-construction B&B just down the road. The owners were utterly adorable, and we soon had our stuff flung in a room and were plunging back into the damp.
blankThe Roman Baths (from which the place gets its name), Britain's #2 tourist attraction, were our first stop. They have a great museum constructed around and over the excavations which have been done, and you are given a rather odd contraption called an "audio wand" to listen to – at various points along the way, signs tell you which numbers to punch in to hear about what you're looking at. It comes in a variety of languages, and was very informative – but it makes everyone look as though they're conducting serious business over a celphone.
blankWe visited the celebrated Pump Room and bought some pastries for a snack, then walked over to the Royal botanical gardens, in spite of the fact that it was still raining. The gardens were lovely, even in the rain, so I can imagine that they must be stunning on a beautiful day. When you consider that it was one of my favorite places in spite of the rather dreary weather, you can see how neat it was.
It's been said (although by whom, I can't recall) that "he who is tired of London, is tired of life." I agree, but only to a point. London has some amazing things to see (starting with its parks and ending with its pubs); I just wish they weren't in London. I've never liked big cities, and the incredible crush of people and the dirt-encrusted business of the place made me a little crazy. But the things to see!
blankHyde Park, where we spent a charming afternoon, is quite possibly the most immense city park I've ever been in, and it was amazing! Huge lawns, fountains, monuments, and a horse path around the perimeter are only a few of its attractions. Oh, and then there's Kensington Palace, which is at one end. We took another audio wand tour there, and looked at some of the amazing furnishings and clothing from the regency era. Amazing.
blankBut my favorite part of London was the #1 tourist attraction of Britain, the Tower of London. It took up an entire day on its own, but deserved the time - the Tower complex is immense, and centers around a huge fortress commissioned by William the Conqueror (remember him, the one who invaded in 1066?). The buildings which surround it are a mishmash of architectural styles ranging from shortly after William almost to the present day. We took another audio tour (but this one with a CD player), looked at an amazing display on the history of the crown jewels (we skipped the real ones, as the line to get in was astoundingly long), and then hit the gift shops.
blankIt was all jam-packed with information, and an absolute delight, particularly if you have a taste for the grisly. We looked at the tower where Richard III put his nephews (at least the audio tour had the grace to admit that whether Richard actually killed them is still under dispute), stood where Anne Boleyn was executed, walked through rooms reconstructed to how they might have looked in the thirteenth century, and saw the traitor's gate, where Elizabeth I entered the tower. In all, it was a fantastic day. I also bought my first book on Richard III, who has become something of a hobby with me.
The Wye Valley was the last place we stayed, and about as different from London as it could be. Those of my faithful readers who have studied the poetry of Wordsworth will doubtless remember his "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey," which is more about the river Wye than about the ruined building. Well, allow me to say that his descriptions are completely accurate (particularly now that the industrial mess which he so easily ignored in his poem has been removed). We stayed in a wonderful little B&B in Tintern (the village), and hiked around the hills on the English side of the river before looking around the Abbey itself.
blankThe area is just like one would imagine from Wordsworth's poem, really: peaceful, green, a harmonious blend of order and natural wildness (it was also rather muddy from the recent rains, but that's okay). The Abbey was gorgeous, its decayed grandeur still present, though muted. I wish we'd had more than just two days there.
blankBut Mom had to return to the States, so we went back to London. I saw her off before visiting Westminster Abbey and spending another night in Bath so I could see Stonehenge on my way back to the University in York. Both of those could easily take up entire columns themselves!
That's it for this week, folks, but I'll be back next week to share with you some of the wisdom I picked up while traveling.
Oh, and if you're interested in reading more about our adventures, check out my report!
