Site Map for the England 2000 Trip Site
A sad day: our last real day in England. We had a good breakfast at the castle (the only day in England I didn't have a full English breakfast, but instead had cold meat and cheese, bread, jam, juice, and coffee). We then headed for Bath.
We spent a while touring the Roman Baths. Julius Caesar first came to England in 55 B.C. (one of only two dates on has to know in English history; see 1066 and All That for the other). The Roman period is an important one in British history, and there are traces of it all over England. However, nowhere, except perhaps at Hadrian's Wall, is it more apparent than in Bath. The Roman Baths were actually part of an elaborate complex, that featured a temple, a large pool for swimming, a hot spring area, and all the associated dressing rooms, warm rooms, hot rooms, etc. The lower level of the baths still survives. Much of it was re-discovered in the 19th Century and is now a major tourist attraction.
After our tour, we returned our car and caught the train to London, returning to the George Hotel (where we had checked our largest bag). We then went to Trafalgar Square and the Church of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields. They were holding a concert in the church that night, so we bought tickets. We also had tea and scones (or I did, while Laurie bought the tickets) in the Café in the Crypt beneath the church. We had dinner in a pub (and met a woman who lives only a few miles from us), then returned for the concert. It was beautiful, and it was also an experience to see a concert in a church where Handel conducted some of his music.
We flew home, stopping in Philadelphia on the way. What more is there to say?
[Nothing against Philadelphia, of course, but the three hour layover in the Philly airport after more than a week of touristing was tough. We finally got back to Pittsburgh around 9 and got home a little after 10. I had something of an ear infection from the windy days in Portsmouth and Thornbury so I collapsed pretty quick. Leslie's college had been on vacation that week and she'd gone to visit her grandparents in Massachusetts. She'd gotten sick on the bus trip back to Pittsburgh. So Leslie and I spent Saturday in various stages of moaning while Jim did the shopping and the like.]
Yesterday's Trip - Thornbury Castle