Georgian Bath

I'd forgotten how very much I love the UK.  I guess it would be more accurate to say, I forgot how much I love being here.  I say it's my favorite place, but when vacation time rolls around, I feel like I need to see and explore new places rather than return to places I've already been.  Someone asked me in Italy how the UK could hold my heart and what I could love so much about it, especially since I was spending months in Italy...you know the place where everyone seems to dream of buying a house to live the Italian life.  I can honestly say that in all my time in Italy, I never once thought "I could stay here forever."  Italy was about the adventure, the access to art and the challenge of immersing in another culture.  It was wonderful, beautiful and definitely challenging but I never wanted it to be anything but a temporary adventure.  

The UK, on the other hand....what is it about that one special place that just moves us?  I could say that I love the literature, the history, the cool rainy days, stone cottages with flowers growing up the side, big pots of tea, verdant countryside filled with sheep, stone ruins, mists rising from the Scottish lochs in the morning, bagpipes, single malt scotch, kilts  and the wide expanse of the Highlands with nary another person in site...even still, it doesn't seem to do justice to what I love so much about this place.  Yes, Italy is beautiful, but the UK is my lobster. 

I have a bazillion photos but little time to upload, review and blog.  Blogging will be less frequent as I head up to the Highlands tomorrow.  I've (finally) taken to Instagram instead--instant gratification, no photo editing and it lets your parents know you're still alive.  You can't beat that right? 

Just a few of the highlights from Bath....

Who doesn't love Pulteney Bridge?

I kind of remember Bath Abbey and the courtyard being bigger than it is.  

I'm finally reading a new book on the Norman Conquest that I purchased a few months ago....love this history.  Bath has seen a few abbeys on this site since the original Anglo-Saxon one. 

I took a photo of this exact ledgerstone last time.  There are hundreds upon hundreds of markers in this abbey so it took a bit of effort to find it.  I apparently still think it's fantastic. 

Rainy Mornings in Bath

I woke up on my first morning in Bath to this view.  I actually really love a good, chilly, wet and rainy day and since I've opted to hunker down in Bath for 5 days, I was in no rush to get out and about to explore.   

Bath is a town full of tea and coffee shops and the ones around Pultney Bridge have some pretty great views. I stopped in the Bridge Coffee Shop and lucked out with a table and a view of the River Avon.  Pultney Bridge is one of just 4 bridges in Europe that has shops on them (two are in Italy--Ponte Vecchio in Florence and Ponte Rialto in Venice) but instead of having jewelry or tourist shops, it has little shops and restaurants. That's my kind of bridge. 

I loved this little shop so much, that I've been back every day, either for a pastry and cappuccino for brekkie, or just to escape the chill for a bit with a pot of tea and a little Persuasion on my Kindle.  What else would one read in Bath?  

I think the wet chill in this country is probably the driver for the copious amounts of tea consumed in this country.  There's something just so toasty, oasty and comforting about sitting in front of a window with a pot of tea while the rain pours down. 

See that white little window on the far left--right next to the copyright symbol?  That's the window--how awesome is that view?

Alas, one can only sit in the coffee shop for so long on vacation before you feel the need to get up and so I visited the Jane Austen Centre.   I hadn't planned on visiting as I'd heard it was rather smallish and more about Bath during the time of JA...I'll admit that it wasn't all that impressive or worth the entry fee (sorry Jane).   They do however, have the new wax figure of Jane which I thought would be worth seeing.  In light of the pouring rain..why not right?

The JA Centre worked with an FBI forensic artist to create a likeness.  Ah, dear Jane.

Apparently, Jane is replacing Darwin on the 10£ note.  Survival of the fittest of course...as a writer who used irony so well in her works, you know Jane would enjoy that.

Portobello Market and Other London Goodness

What does a girl do when she only has two days in London?  

In past trips, there was always pressure to see the sites.  Since I've visited many of the museums and historical sites I decided to just go where the wind blows me...as long as it blew me towards the food. 

A lazy Saturday morning in Notting Hill and Portobello Market was such a change from Tower of London and Westminster Abbey rush and I have to say I loved it.   There were antiques and goodies everywhere--if only I had an inch of space in my suitcase.  

First things first, I'd like to give a little shout out to whomever thought this up.  These little reminders save my life at least a dozen times each day as I'm crossing a street in the UK.  Thailand should adopt this too.

I was pretty excited to spend a morning wandering around Portobello Market because I'd heard so many great things about the food stands and coffee shops along the way.  In the end, it really is all about food.   I think I could happily live in London and head to Portobello Market each Saturday morning to pick up goodies. 

Quite possibly the best olives in the whole, wide, ginormous world. 

Yes, while the olives and the loaf of olive ciabatta I picked up were fantastic, Portobello Market is etched in my mind as the place where tables of donuts line the streets.  Just so you know, this is the equivalent of heaven on earth and it just struck me now that I completely forgot to buy one.

After Portobello Market, I just started walking.  No map, no agenda, just a big umbrella in one hand and a camera in the other.  Because the tube can sometimes take awhile, I guess I thought Zone 1 was a lot bigger than it is.  I walked from Portobello Market, through Regency Park, Russell Square, Covent Garden, down to the Houses of Parliament and across to the South Bank from one side to the other.  After all was said and done, FitBit said I only walked 15 miles.  Who knew London was so walkable?

Everytime I plan a trip to London, I forget to look into tickets at the Globe Theater.  It's inexplicable really since it's been on the top of my bucket list forever...see one of Shakespeare's plays in the Globe.  Since I only seem to remember once I arrive, all tickets are of course sold out.  Next time.

I started taking a photo of this poster at the Globe because I loved how clearly you could see St. Paul's reflection.  The play's poster is just a bonus.  

I've been to the Tower of London a few times so didn't have any plans to go inside or even stop but part of my walk took me right back by the Tower.  The Tower currently has a special commemoration entitled "Bloodswept Lands and Seas of Red" to honor the fallen soldiers of WWI.  There are/will be over 800,000 red ceramic poppies filling the moats and after sunset, they read off names of some of the British that soldiers that lost their lives in WWI. 

People continue to surprise me.  I don't know who's brainchild this was, but it was powerful, moving, beautiful and a bit haunting.  

It's the little surprises that make travel all that much more memorable.