Britain_2004_1

Babes In Britain 2004

So, I was on a conference call (sitting at my desk with my headset on like Judy the Time-Life operator), when an e-mail came through: "London for $99". Well, you've got my attention. Call? What call? I was on BA's website, and e-mailing a few people that I knew were either interested in going, or that I might be able to talk into traveling with me. Within about 1/2 an hour, I had an- e-mail back from Best Friend Sara that yes, she'd love to go. And her Mom would probably like to go as well. By the end of the day, we were booked, and by the end of the next day, so were her sister Julie and niece Katie. Hurrah! We're headed to Britain!

So, after several months of anticipation, planning, re-planning and saving, we were off. Monday March 8, after a 1/2 day of work, I was at DIA with The Feltons.

Warning: The details of the trip take up quite a bit of room, as I'm a chatty girl. For those on a time constraint, here's the Cliff's Notes version:

Stonehenge, Bath, (fire alarm) lovely hotel near Dartmoor, long drive to Penzance (rainy), tacky B&B near Bodmin. Long drive to great play at Stratford, yummy Cadbury's chocolate.(fire alarm). Blenheim Palace (lovely), dinner with Max & Nic, Oxford (closed), London.

Now, for those who want more detail, get yourself a nice cuppa (I'll wait)......................and settle in. Ready? Here we go.

Day 2 - Tuesday, March 9

We arrived in good shape (although a bit tired) the next morning, got through customs, and found our way to the car rental counter. It took some very careful engineering by the ladies, but they got all our luggage in, and we were off to Stonehenge. There really isn't much more to it than the big rocks you've all seen pictures of, but it's very cool to be there, looking out over the plains and wondering about the people who made this monument.

Windy? Yeah, sure, a little. Cold? I should say so. But cool, nonetheless. The audio guide ,which was including in the price of admission), really provided some good info, and a taste of the mystery behind the whole thing. Actually, the price of admission meant no cash out-of-pocket, because this was the first place we used our Heritage Passes. These turned out to be great values by the time the trip was all tallied.

We headed off to Bath, where we'd reserved our first hotel. We found Bath just fine. Finding our way to the hotel -- well, that was a whole different story. We saw the same few blocks several times, drove up by the Crescent (which was interesting, but not what we were searching for just then), asked directions from some very nice people walking down the hill, drove past the same few blocks again, stopped into a petrol station to ask directions, and were given clarification by the same nice people (who'd made remarkable headway on foot). We did finally find the hotel, got unloaded and freshened up. We walked all of 50 feet to the pub across the way for dinner, then wandered over to the square, where the Bath Abbey looked splendid in the twilight. After a bit of wandering the square, we turned in for a good night's rest. That is, barring any fire alarms. At 5:45 am.

Day 3 - Wednesday, March 10

We were the first ones into the Roman Baths at 9:00. Very cool stuff. Seeing the same structures/drains/pools that the Romans built some 2,000 years ago, still functioning just as they were meant to was really amazing. There's so much to see in that seemingly small building! I was the only brave/silly enough to try the Bath water that they sell for 50p per glass in the restaurant. It was warm, so I couldn't really tell if it tasted much different from any other glass of warm water one might drink. I felt a little funky for a short while, but no long-term effects. We then took a walking tour of the city with Denise, a charming resident of Bath. It was quite cold, but we learned quite a lot about Bath and it's history.

With that knowledge tucked into our heads, we were off towards the Exeter/Dartmoor area. We were going to visit Wells Cathedral, but couldn't find a parking place, so we drove on down the road, and came to Glastonbury Abbey. Fantastic ruins, as ruins go. Poor Katie was feeling ooky, so she and Julie stayed in the van while Mary, Sara & I went exploring a bit. We then headed into Exeter, to find the Tourist Information office, to book a place for the night. We found the office....about 2 minutes after they'd locked the doors. So off we headed, figuring we'd just stop in the next little town, and find a place. We stopped in Bovey Tracey, a tiny town on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. The Dolphin was full, but we might try the place down the road. We tried that (very old) pub, but the were full. Perhaps we might try the Boatman just down the road. They were full, but perhaps the Dolphin....Ugh. Why this tiny town was full, we couldn't understand, but we drove on anyway.

We came across a hotel that was a) probably full and b) looked a little pricey for us anyway, but we stopped to ask, just in case. So glad we did! The owners were lovely people who used to live in Parker (just down the road from me), and they had rooms for us. We negotiated a price, and collapsed into our lovely rooms. Had a fabulous meal at the pub. Just a very happy find, all 'round.

Wow, sounds like a great trip so far! Tell me more! -->

Babes In Britain 2004
So, I was on a conference call (sitting at my desk with my headset on like Judy the Time-Life operator), when an e-mail came through: "London for $99". Well, you've got my attention. Call? What call? I was on BA's website, and e-mailing a few people that I knew were either interested in going, or that I might be able to talk into traveling with me. Within about 1/2 an hour, I had an- e-mail back from Best Friend Sara that yes, she'd love to go. And her Mom would probably like to go as well. By the end of the day, we were booked, and by the end of the next day, so were her sister Julie and niece Katie. Hurrah! We're headed to Britain! So, after several months of anticipation, planning, re-planning and saving, we were off. Monday March 8, after a 1/2 day of work, I was at DIA with The Feltons.
Warning: The details of the trip take up quite a bit of room, as I'm a chatty girl. For those on a time constraint, here's the Cliff's Notes version: Stonehenge, Bath, (fire alarm) lovely hotel near Dartmoor, long drive to Penzance (rainy), tacky B&B near Bodmin. Long drive to great play at Stratford, yummy Cadbury's chocolate.(fire alarm). Blenheim Palace (lovely), dinner with Max & Nic, Oxford (closed), London. Now, for those who want more detail, get yourself a nice cuppa (I'll wait)......................and settle in. Ready? Here we go.
Day 2 - Tuesday, March 9 We arrived in good shape (although a bit tired) the next morning, got through customs, and found our way to the car rental counter. It took some very careful engineering by the ladies, but they got all our luggage in, and we were off to Stonehenge. There really isn't much more to it than the big rocks you've all seen pictures of, but it's very cool to be there, looking out over the plains and wondering about the people who made this monument.
Windy? Yeah, sure, a little. Cold? I should say so. But cool, nonetheless. The audio guide ,which was including in the price of admission), really provided some good info, and a taste of the mystery behind the whole thing. Actually, the price of admission meant no cash out-of-pocket, because this was the first place we used our Heritage Passes. These turned out to be great values by the time the trip was all tallied.
We headed off to Bath, where we'd reserved our first hotel. We found Bath just fine. Finding our way to the hotel -- well, that was a whole different story. We saw the same few blocks several times, drove up by the Crescent (which was interesting, but not what we were searching for just then), asked directions from some very nice people walking down the hill, drove past the same few blocks again, stopped into a petrol station to ask directions, and were given clarification by the same nice people (who'd made remarkable headway on foot). We did finally find the hotel, got unloaded and freshened up. We walked all of 50 feet to the pub across the way for dinner, then wandered over to the square, where the Bath Abbey looked splendid in the twilight. After a bit of wandering the square, we turned in for a good night's rest. That is, barring any fire alarms. At 5:45 am.
Day 3 - Wednesday, March 10 We were the first ones into the Roman Baths at 9:00. Very cool stuff. Seeing the same structures/drains/pools that the Romans built some 2,000 years ago, still functioning just as they were meant to was really amazing. There's so much to see in that seemingly small building! I was the only brave/silly enough to try the Bath water that they sell for 50p per glass in the restaurant. It was warm, so I couldn't really tell if it tasted much different from any other glass of warm water one might drink. I felt a little funky for a short while, but no long-term effects. We then took a walking tour of the city with Denise, a charming resident of Bath. It was quite cold, but we learned quite a lot about Bath and it's history.
With that knowledge tucked into our heads, we were off towards the Exeter/Dartmoor area. We were going to visit Wells Cathedral, but couldn't find a parking place, so we drove on down the road, and came to Glastonbury Abbey. Fantastic ruins, as ruins go. Poor Katie was feeling ooky, so she and Julie stayed in the van while Mary, Sara & I went exploring a bit. We then headed into Exeter, to find the Tourist Information office, to book a place for the night. We found the office....about 2 minutes after they'd locked the doors. So off we headed, figuring we'd just stop in the next little town, and find a place. We stopped in Bovey Tracey, a tiny town on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. The Dolphin was full, but we might try the place down the road. We tried that (very old) pub, but the were full. Perhaps we might try the Boatman just down the road. They were full, but perhaps the Dolphin....Ugh. Why this tiny town was full, we couldn't understand, but we drove on anyway. We came across a hotel that was a) probably full and b) looked a little pricey for us anyway, but we stopped to ask, just in case. So glad we did! The owners were lovely people who used to live in Parker (just down the road from me), and they had rooms for us. We negotiated a price, and collapsed into our lovely rooms. Had a fabulous meal at the pub. Just a very happy find, all 'round.
Wow, sounds like a great trip so far! Tell me more! -->