After a day of chasing Arthur, today was to be an easier jaunt. Being Friday the 13th, we figured a day without adventure might be prudent. Due to our late arrival, we were unable to see the famous Roman baths in this eponymously named city, so that was our first stop. Thermal springs are not common in Great Britain, with only 5 spring groups. The water here at Bath comes out of the ground at 45 degrees centigrade, at a rate of 15 liters per second. Geological and hydrological studies show that rainfall on the nearby Mendip Hills percolates through the porous and partially karstified limestone to great depths, where the water is heated geothermal and then begins to percolate up through the channels in the underlying rock until it finally reaches the surface. The use ... read more

Upon arising and looking outside it became apparent that today was likely to be somewhat different from a weather standpoint. Our fears were well founded. By the time we got to the parking lot for the visitor center and to catch the shuttle bus to Stonehenge it was spitting rain. The air was noticeably cooler, and with the blowing wind and rain it had become the sort of raw day that you want to avoid as much as possible. Having previously had an extensive visit to Stonehenge, I would have skipped it entirely on a day like this. But Jm had never seen it, and since it is one of the iconic travelers' destinations in the world, we all felt we should go. By the time we stepped off the 5 minute shuttle ride, the wind ... read more

I am not sure it is possible to see everything of interest in London. We skipped the art museums, the Shakespeare and Dickens and Sherlock Holmes sites, and many other worthwhile attractions. But we did feel we had at least picked the low-hanging fruit, and so on Monday morning we went out to Heathrow, rented our car, and drove off to tour southern England. Our first stop was to be Chartwell, Winston Churchill's home for over 40 years, from his purchase of the estate in 1922 until just shortly before his death in 1965. Churchill is a personal favorite. His History of the English-Speaking Peoples is masterful. He covers the American Civil War in a single chapter, and it is the best description of the conflict I have ever read. His prose is luminous, and in ... read more

After leaving the London Eye we hiked to Trafalgar Square to view the large column topped with a statue of Lord Nelson, then went by St. Martin-in-the-Fields, home of the eponymous Academy that produces so many recordings of classical music for smaller ensembles. That evening we attended the 28, 653rd performance of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. And I won't tell you the surprise ending.... read more

On our second day in London our main target was The British Museum. This fabled collection has long haunted my imagination. From my two visits to the Parthenon, I well understood that I could not really envision the reality of the original Parthenon without seeing the marbles that formed the friezes and under the gables and pediments of that ancient shrine. The collection in London also includes one of the caryatids from the Erechtheum as well as pieces from the Propylaea and the Temple of Athena Nike. Better known, perhaps, is the Rosetta Stone that allowed translation of hieroglyphics. The museum collection is more comprehensive than comprehensible. It seems to be arranged more by date than by geography, which to me seemed somewhat startling. There is a large room filled with Egyptian sculpture near the bespoke ... read more