Rainy and windy today, real English weather. Lots of driving past wet fields and sheep, Prince Charles' Highgrove estate, cute villages and pubs. Bath lived up to Jane A's novels; we toured the Roman baths and took the waters at the Pump Room, and had Sally Lunn buns at her tea room from 1482. The buns from today of course, with great tea! I walked with another woman from our tour to the Jane Austen society building where one can buy all manner of Jane-themed souvenirs from staff in period costumes. Then back in the bus to Stonehenge standing out in the middle of Salisbury plain. It seemed smaller in person than the National Geographic pictures suggest, but still quite mysterious and impressive. How did the Neolithic builders get the stones from hundreds of miles away? We always underestimate the ancients I think; we still don't know how the Incas and the Romans built their walls either. All they could do without Google! And they made terrific mead that I bought at the Stonehenge gift shop.
So far we're enjoying our group, all of whom outmatch us in years and sometimes stamina. If you met some of them stateside, you wouldn't believe they'd ever venture out of NJ or AZ or Denver, yet here they are talking about their adventure travel to Machu Pichu and the Galapagos and St. Petersburg. Most have toured multiple times with this company. The majority are former teachers, with a few state dept. and business types thrown in. The clear conclusion - Never underestimate the wanderlust of an American retiree with a pension.
Some photos from Bath
Bath abbey
Roman bath and the abbey
The Pump Room
Stonehenge, obviously!
Stonehenge's guard sheep
Our dinner pub
Huge rosemary outside the pub
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