Travels to England

Of course, I picked the one day of summer when there were tornadoes flying around to start my trip.

Lightning and thunder delayed our flight for two hours, but I was really prepared for it to be canceled so was delighted to get off the ground.
My Philadelphia friend Pat and I have been planning this trip since December. Time really flies, because here we are.

We were met at the airport by lovely man, who drove us to Bath. This is SO much better than dragging suitcases on the Heathrow express, then changing stations in London on the tube, then getting on a train for Bath. We arrived like the perfectly elegant ladies that we are.

Rich gave us a bit of a tour so we got to see some of Bath before he dropped us off at our B&B.

Our host, Peter, signed us in, and then spent 15 minutes explaining how to get around Bath (you walk) then took me to my room and spent 5 minutes explaining how the key works. (put the key in the lock, then turn).

He means well.

We chose Marlborough House because the reviews were stellar and the pictures were gorgeous. The Four Seasons it’s not. But it’s clean and has air conditioning.

About 10 years ago, I went to Cambridge University for a summer program and met two wonderful women with whom I have stayed in touch. Rebecca lives in Brisbane and Ria lives in Utrecht. Ria made the schlep to London then to Bath to meet up with us. She’ll be with us until Friday. She met Pat when Pat spent time in Amsterdam this past fall. Ria gave her the grand tour of Utrecht.

We hauled ourselves up the hill and had lunch at a very nice pub, The Marlborough Tavern. Pat had fish and chips and mushy peas. Ria had a smoked salmon appetizer and a very tasty Thai corn dumpling dish. I was boring and had a Caesar salad. Of course I tasted the chips. A lot.
And then we walked. And walked. The hotel is located near the Royal Crescent, which is knock your socks off spectacular when you walk around the corner and see it. We walked to the circus, a circle of Georgian buildings surrounding a park which has huge trees in the middle, which have probably been there for hundreds of years. The city is so beautiful, most of the buildings are made out of Bath stone, which has a honey color.

Lots of tourists everywhere, from many countries.

Pat looked ready to drop and I desperately needed a very large coffee. We found a café/deli and they obliged with a wonderful cappuccino. Pat decided to walk back to the hotel. Ria and I continued to wander.

Finally arrived back at the hotel where my feet are in recovery. I am happily having a Diet Coke and a bag of diet low salt tortilla chips. (next time I will get full fat full salt potato chips). Perfect dinner.

I’m going to try to stay up for another couple of hours and then crash.

More excitement tomorrow.
Love,
Lynn

P.S. I am trying to use voice recognition, and if there are mistakes, I’m sorry.