Let me interject here that I was planning on renting (or "hiring," as they say in England) a car for four days after I left HM's house. Built into that plan was that I would be riding with HM for three days beforehand, and I could pick her brain regarding the British rules of the road, and I would (hopefully) get used to traveling on the "wrong" side of the road. And roundabouts! What Yank knows about those?? I soon learned.
Off we went to Stonehenge, quite a little drive through the countryside and a bit on the motorways--similar to our interstates in the States. The temp when we left her house was 7 degrees Celsius, 44 degrees Fahrenheit. Cloudy, intermittent showers, with a stiff wind blowing. Translation: Cold. It didn't help the situation that Stonehenge sits out on a wide open plain. Again, though, I had layered, wearing warm boots, that good woolen scarf and hat, and gloves. It was still cold. Perhaps like my daughter, you'll get a good laugh from my Rudolph red nose.
All they know about Stonehenge is that it was built by the Druids some 3000 years ago. They don't know how or why or exactly what it was used for. They can only surmise. Also, you can't get up close to the stones anymore. The closest you can stand is about 30 feet away, and most times, much farther than that. So glad my camera had a good zoom.
Just on the other side of the fence surrounding Stonehenge, dreadlock sheep grazed. I wanted to touch one of them so bad, but they always managed to remain just out of reach.
The sun broke through for a few moments. It wasn't exactly warm, but it did cast some interesting light on the stones.
See? Literally out in the middle of nowhere. If it was in the States, I'm sure some mega-conglomeration would have built a theme park around it already.
Once you've walked the entire perimeter and taken multiple shots from multiple angles, and the wind is marching through you, you're kind of over it. And though HM and I weren't big fans of tourist-trap gift shops, the warmth it offered was most welcome. After grabbing a couple of interesting mementoes, HM found these. I could only imagine my family's reaction when they would open up the package containing sheep droppings.
After a quick snack of some goodies that HM had packed, and some hot chocolate to warm us up, we were off to Bath. The scenery was beautiful as we drove. When we arrived in Bath, I was stunned to see how gorgeous the town/city is as we approached. Keep looking off into the distance in these next photos--can you believe how many terraced homes they have fit onto the landscape?
Funny aside--when I told my daughter, "Look at all the terraced homes," she thought I had said, "Look at all the terrorist homes." Yep, here's where they all hide in England.
Trying to find parking was a challenge, the city was so busy! It was a Saturday after all. We ended up on the fourth or fifth floor of a parking garage that had no lift, so I walked my share of stairs that day. Making our way into town was fairly simple. This abbey (or it could have been a cathedral, I don't remember) caught my eye.
And it wasn't far from there to the official Roman Baths.
Once you stepped through that door, this is the room where you purchased your ticket.
The main area. See the steam coming up off the water? At the time the Romans were using the baths, this area would have been all under roof. Soaking in the baths was a social time as much as anything. There were separate men's and women's sections. They never would have been together. Business dealings and gossip alike took place.
This is part of the women's area.
These particular baths wouldn't be used now because the water coming up naturally is of boiling temperature. Look closely--you'll see the bubbles. Most of the water in the baths came from natural hot springs. The Romans figured out a way to make individual bath rooms and pump the water into each of those rooms, all the while keeping the water hot. Very ingenious for the first century A.D.
The bubbling water is clearer in this photo.
This area of the baths have a particular kind of phosphorescent algae that make the water glow. Perhaps a precursor to modern mood lighting in baths? Those crazy Romans--way ahead of their time!
The statuary on the second level didn't exist in Roman times. It was added later when the baths were rediscovered and used once again.
Bath Abbey practically next door to the Roman Baths.
HM and myself, after we found someone we could trust to take the photo and not run off with the camera. Notice that I no longer needed the hat or gloves.
Inside Bath Abbey.
The organ loft.
An organist was getting ready to start a recital. We weren't sure how long it might last, and I didn't want to be rude and leave after a few minutes, so we got out of there just before he began playing. HM informed me that a church that has the name "Abbey" attached to it is of the Church of England. If it has "Cathedral" in its name, it's of the Catholic faith. Unfortunately, many "Abbeys" are former cathedrals. Henry VIII basically confiscated them and used them for the Church of England, which he started after he broke with the Catholic faith, and of which he was the head. He also destroyed many monasteries at the same time, so it's difficult to find them intact in the country.
We made our way back to the car and drove to the City Circus (yes, a rather large circle) and walked up to Bath Crescent from there. These were both intriguing with plenty of photos, so they're deserving of their very own post. Hope you enjoyed Stonehenge and the Roman Baths!
No comments:
Post a Comment