This is what I did in England (Part 2)

13 May 2011
Day Four: SIM Card Success and Sacred Spring
After battling the vans with the luggage, we set off for Bath this morning. As soon as we got moving steadily, I fell asleep. I think the excitement of being here has finally given way to jet lag. Along the way, we stopped at a service area. The first storefront was a phone store that had exactly what I needed. Hearing my parents voices tonight was wonderful. It was definitely worth missing dinner with everyone.

Bath Abbey

I’m finally convinced that I’m not in the States. The architecture here in Bath is so amazing. I love that the shops are just cut out of the old buildings, rather than built separately. I’ve noticed that everywhere. The country seems to embrace the history that it has, rather than pushing for total modernity.

I had been looking forward to our visit to Stratford. My parents have friends who are working at the Birthplace, and I was hoping to meet up with them. But we have a couple days there next week, and we all have each others’ phone numbers, so I’m hoping we can make something work.

I’m glad to add two more Christian heroes to the list of those whose steps I’ve walked in. I’m definitely glad we went to Bristol. (We went to the New Room, the church of John and Charles Wesley.)

One of the pools at the Baths

I wasn’t at all sure of what to expect at the Baths. I’m not much of a fan of ancient history, because it’s so difficult to connect with. There are so few solid facts and everything is so deteriorated that I find it difficult to imagine what it would have been like thousands of years ago. I’m not a fan of speculation. Now, I appreciate the contributions of the Roman Empire. I just don’t care so much about their worship of Minerva or the curses they wrote on pieces of lead. That doesn’t help me much.

14 May 2011

Stonehenge

Day Five: A Fancy Pile of Rocks and a Bunch of Dead Folks
More ancient history with even more mystery. I’ve always wanted to visit Stonehenge, but once I realized that we couldn’t get close to it I was a bit disappointed. And when we got there I was unimpressed. I thought it would be bigger. And I get so frustrated with all the speculation and stories of what it might have been used for. But I’m glad that I can now say that I’ve been there.

The trash can outside the gelato place.
Part of one of my favorite inside jokes.

At the gift shop, I was getting ready to buy a sweat shirt when I realized that I didn’t have my debit card. It wasn’t in my wallet or purse. But I didn’t panic. I was pretty sure I’d left it in the pocket of the pants I wore yesterday. (And I mean “pants” in the American sense.) I had brought it out to pay for ice cream last night, but the place only took cash. I only vaguely remembered putting it into my back pocket, but it was enough remembrance to keep me from completely flipping out.

I am not yet a fan of Jane Austen, no doubt from being forced to read Pride and Prejudice in high school, so I was apathetic about visiting her house. I wandered aimlessly through the rooms and only took a few pictures. The gift shop had mugs with Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth, the only Darcy there can ever be) on them, along with one of his quotes. I bought that and £2 copies of Emma and Mansfield Park. I want to justify my dislike of Austen or be converted to a fan. I’m adding the books to my reading list for the summer.

Unfortunately, I left my camera in the van when we got out at Winchester Cathedral, but I still enjoyed walking through. I’ll have to rely on Evan and Stephanie’s pictures, which are often like those that I would take.

In our adventures in Winchester, we came upon the “Oldest Bar in England,” founded in 1002. We went in, but we’d already eaten so we didn’t stay.

The most beautiful rainbow of my life.

When we got back to the YMCA, I checked my pants from last night and, sure enough, the card was there.

Oh yeah, and we got super lost on our way back to Bath. But I fell asleep, so I ddn’t really notice. But when we finally got back, there was the most incredible rainbow I’ve seen in my life. It was a double and the lower arch showed the full range of color and seemed to be made of several layers. It was amazing!