Bath Recap and London New Years

12/30 to 12/31 in Bath
Wow – what a great time we had in Bath. The traveling was much easier and the train ride was about 1.5 hours and very enjoyable. We played boggle on Zach’s iPod both ways. The first day that we spent in Bath was quite rainy, just like London. However, we had a great time. To start off, I accidentally removed the England Rick Steves book from Zach’s bag so we went into the city knowing very little. However, we found some of the well-known monuments as well as some “gems” that the city had to offer. We started out the day in Café Retro, perhaps our favorite place, for some breakfast. We visited many museums during the first day, including a Fashion Museum and Art Museum. We caught a glimpse of the River, as well as toured the HUGE Abbey.
After “donating” 2.50 pounds to the church, we look inside to spot 50 inch LG screens on every column in the church. We generally walked around the entire city and saw the Royal Crescent, Circus, and more. Next, we returned to Café Retro (the owner loved us) for some coffee before heading to Little cinema. We went to see “Where the Wild Things Are” for just 4 pounds. (In London, Zach, Nels and Peter saw Avatar for a combined 49 pounds!!) I took a nice snooze during the movie and caught only the very beginning and end. Afterwords, we visited the “Funky House” Bath Backpackers Hostel, to check in and drop off our stuff. We then went to the Pig and Fiddle, a pub, for Fish and Chips. We had a great time talking for a few hours there, then we headed to the Huntsman, another pub for dessert and a conversation with a rather drunk, 70-year-old Brit. She claimed we were naïve, for responses such as “He said lots of things” to her question “Do you know what Winston Churchill said?” We went to bed at about 9:30, where Janet and me, in one room, got about 11 hours of sleep while the other three got about 6 hours of sleep due to the roommates, hot temperature, and noise.
The next day we had breakfast at the hostel, and went to the Abbey for the start of a two-hour walking tour with Myra. It was very informative and we learned much more about the city. A place in the Royal Crescent, for example, will cost you about 7,000,000. We hit the Huntsman for lunch and then toured the Roman Baths for most of the afternoon. We made it back to London at about 8:00, just in time for New Years Eve festivities.
New Years in London
New Years Eve was crazy. Crazy. We walked to one of the bridges overlooking the river and the London Eye and the eventual fireworks, next to Big Ben and Parliament. However, we left to get food, and the bridge was full by the time we returned. So we headed around to the riverbank by the London Eye, where we watched an amazing spectacle of fireworks THROUGH the color-changing London Eye. It was awesome. It was really rowdy. At exactly midnight it began to snow. We walked around London for about two hours following just to people watch, basically. Cops with or without horses filled the streets for miles. Trash and glass was everywhere – I’ve never seen anything like it.
The first of the year
We went all the way to the British Museum to learn that it was closed only four days a year – the 1st of Janurary being one of them. We may try to go tomorrow. We then went to Harrod’s, a HUGE shopping place. I’ve never been in such a crowded area. It was fairly fun, because we could afford roughly 3% of the items in that store, so making fun of expensive items took up most of the afternoon. (Dad if you’re getting sick of the Jet Ski they sell these smaller items that drag you through the water for only 80,000 pounds). We were yelled at for trying on 400 pound winter hats. They had Hummer golf carts. Shoes for 300 pounds. It was exhausting, but fun. It’s a really cool building because it looks like just another huge, old-fashioned building but has a full shopping environment.
We met up with Barbara Leafblad, Tim Leafblad (Peter’s uncle) and Korey Leafblad (Peter’s cousin) for dinner. We went to the Tavern over by their Lime Tree hotel to get some food and chat. We then toured the city a bit with Tim and Korey to see the William Wallace plaque, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Platform 9 and ¾ and the history of the London markets where yes, sometimes husbands would auction off their wives. Goodnight!
1/2/2010
We started the day by heading over to the British Museum. I’ve heard rumors about it and it seems apparent to me – that much of what sits in that huge building is not for the Britains to keep, but they do. The museum was really big, and we probably only covered about half of one floor in about 1.5 hours. We looked at ancient mummies, such as Cleopatra, among many exhibits. They took an x-ray of the mummies to find out how they were preserved so well – it was quite interesting. I should say that by this point in the trip, all five of us have embarrassingly tripped at some point in front of many others. I don’t know whether it’s the fact that things aren’t perfectly level in London or if we are that uncoordinated. I tripped twice on the same staircase in the Lime Tree Hotel (thankfully it was going up the stairs). Also, there are very, very few obese people in London. I can’t recall more than one or two that I’ve seen since my arrival.
After the British Museum, we went a huge park near Tottenham Road to feed pigeons, swans and squirrels. They eat right out of your hand and its kind of fun. Also, I spotted a Westie!! He was wearing a leather “shirt” over his back. It was great.
At 3:00, we attended a Fulham Football Club vs. Swindon match. We were cheering for Fulham and had seats right behind the goal in the third row. Our fans were severely outmatched by those of Swindon – they were much louder. However, we did come away with a 1-0 victory. This was one of the highlights of my trip so far. Dempsey played for Fulham – a member of the American Olympic team.
Afterwards, we went to an Asian restaurant called Wagamama. Its really run where you sit in picnic table fashion so you could be sitting next to or across from someone you don’t know. I got Yaki Soba with Green Tea. I have a picture of it. Finally, we did laundry for the first time (Wash is about 2.50 pounds and the dryer isn’t much cheaper for ONE LOAD). We then took Janet to the tubes as she left and headed for the airport for her 7:35 flight to Barca the following morning.
1/3/2010
I have thus far spent the day by myself. Zach, Peter and Nels met up with everyone flying in from Minnesota for the Europe trip at the airport. They are now, I believe, doing a city tour and I may join them for dinner. I attended the Hillsong Church today – which rocked, literally. The band was very loud and powerful and was very exciting. However, I partially fell asleep during the sermon – not through lack of effort. The entire service lasted two hours. Catch you all soon!
Aust