Blogs from Bath, Somerset, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 25

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Hi there, Well, we finally decided to venture further a-field than London for our weekly dose of sight-seeing and culture. The planned itinerary included Stonehenge and the historic city of Bath; one famous for its mystical and mysterious beginnings, the other for its healing and literary shenanigans. We met the coach at some ungodly hour for a drab London morning, and settled in with Eddie (the driver) and Liz (the tour guide) for our exciting adventure. I was happily enjoying Liz’ witty and informative banter about Druids and such things, that we had arrived at Stonehenge before she even had a chance to finish her verbal thesis on incorrect solstice celebrations. We hopped off the coach and headed for the ring of rocks. After collecting our audio guides (I think every European tourist spot has them), ... read more

We are using Bath as a place to stay while we explore SW England. First day: Stonehenge - did you know they have reconstructed Stonehenge as it originally was 5000 years ago? We took photographic proof! Seriously, the trip to Stonehenge was a highlight of the trip and something we had been looking forward to. We learned a lot. One thing for me was that these gigantic stones were put together with mortise and tenon joints, you can still see a rounded tenon on one of the upright stones. I had no idea. Unfortunately, it wasn't until we left the area, I read that Avebury, a nearby village is even larger, with older stones and you can walk among them as they are part of the village "structure". We did visit Devizes - crop circle country ... read more

This morning we headed off to Bath. Bath is a medium sized Georgian town with a natural hot springs. When the Romans occupied England over 2000 years ago they built the Roman Baths which now sit in the center of Bath City. The baths were used as a religious spa where everyone from the town came to worship the Roman gods, socialize, and drink lots of wine. When the Romans left England 400 years later the baths were forgotten about and were covered in mud. Only 180 years ago they were rediscovered and dug out. Now, they are a major site that people come to see. While in Bath we also went to the Bath Abbey. It was built in 1499 by Bishop Oliver King who tore down the Norman Cathedral to build the Abbey. The ... read more

As my first entry on Travelblog this is all a completely different world to me!!! I don't think I've spent this long in front of a computer screen since I wrote my dissertation! Well,anyway, I've got my working holiday visa all sorted and so now I'm trying to decide whether to head straight for NZ or take advantage of one of the flight deals and stop in somewhere like Nadi in Fiji on the way. I think to be honest it would be rude not to!! I'm also wondering how long to stay in Los Angeles? Any suggestions?? All I do know is that I absolutely can't wait to get on that plane! I'm hoping that there might be a few people I can meet up with i.e. Bex and Rich, Maddy and Paul & Co. ... read more