Work And Play The Time Away June 28, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Bath , 1 comment so farThe time has seemed to fly by here in Bath. The other day we spent all day “working” (answering the phone/ looking after guests). You know, watching movies, eating Ice Cream, and playing cards with their youngest daughter. Claudia, their youngest, is such a joy to play cards with since whenever she is bluffing or cheating she bursts into uncontrollable laughter(which is contagious by the way). We have learned some new card games such as 3 Card Brag. Who would have known work could be this not workie.
One of their cats, Pepper, is expecting and is very round and whiny (maybe she’ll produce little Peppers before we leave). Also, the cat that was hit by the car is doing much better and is constantly meowing for attention.
- Image via Wikipedia
We accompanied the family to Oxford, where their oldest daughter attended college. They went there for her graduation; we tagged along to see the really old city. It was quite interesting considering that a lot of the buildings look like churches, but they are actually all schools. It looks as though academics has taken over this Georgian city! We wandered around and found a nice grassy area in the gardens of Christ Church.
The church actually looks more like a college than most of the colleges do. It is really old and very well kept. This church is famous for having employed both the author of Alice In Wonderland, Charles Dodgson, and Alice Lyndell’s father (although it is a bit ironic that a famous Pedophile would be employed by a church and they would advertise it with a sign in their garden).
We’ve had a great time in Bath with our host family and have learned many things “British”. Unfortunately we’re moving on to the Netherlands on Wednesday where we’ll stay with Minas, a friend of Chris’ father after making a stop in Amsterdam. We’re going to miss our new friends, but moving on is good since it means new places and new people! Exciting!
Street Festival In Bath June 14, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Bath , add a commentSo on Sunday we went to a small street festival about five blocks from Bloomfield House. It was great for people watching and there were many things that were pretty odd. This festival is brought on by a production company, so it has a different theme each year.
Actors move among the crowd in costume (this year the theme was pirates) and interact with random people. There were many live bands and even a band in pirate costumes! It was pretty cheesy actually. They probably went down to a costume shoppe and bought the cheapest disguise they could find that might resemble a pirate (five points for making me smile).
Then there were the grannies that were doing some sort of dance with funny costumes and what looked like half a Hoola-Hoop. They, of course, had their own band in pirate costumes.
On a sad side note: there have been some kitty-casualties at Bloomfield House. Last week two of their cat were run over. One, named Tickley survived with just a broken Femur. Tickley came home on Saturday, so we’ve been paying extra attention to him since he has to stay in a cage for the next 3 months and he gets pretty vocal about his loneliness. He’s on a lot of pain killers so when we take him out of the cage he immediately wants to cuddle. He is so adorable.
Day Trip To Wells June 6, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Bath , add a commentYesterday we went with our host, Rob, to Wells, a town south of Bath. We also accompanied him to some reclamation stores in that area. We also drove through Glastonbury which is an interesting town to say the least.
Well’s cathedral was lovely. There’s a cathedral that is the biggest one I have ever seen! You could probably fit Notre Dom in the entrance hall. Next to the cathedral there is the Bishop’s Palace. It was beautiful but it makes me wonder why the Bishop would need a mote and huge walls with slits in them for firing a weapon. Inside the Palace walls there is a green space that two men were playing Crochet.
We tried Tiffin yesterday for the first time (I don’t remember ever having it before). It was delicious! We bought it right outside the Cathedral where there were many stalls selling locally made goods.
Rob was looking for six somethings that are interesting to make the legs to the island unit that is going into their kitchen, so we all basically went through tons of reclaimed items, imagining what they could become. At one reclamation shop there was an old CCCP (Soviet) Army tank that we had to take pictures with using chris’ phone (we’d forgotten our cameras ). There were also many other decommissioned Army effects such as the shells of missiles and funny little armored cars. A different place had nearly enough parts of different churches to make a whole new one. Pews and all. It was very interesting to see!
Driving through Glastonbury is a lot funner than most places. The residents there have used the fact that their town is thought to have once been Avalon, home of King Author, so they dress the part and set up shops with funny names (such as Lancelot’s Windows and Doors). They dress like they were extras in the Harry Potter movies with the cone-shaped hats with stars on them and robes. They have really found their niche!
Stonehenge May 30, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Bath , add a commentToday was a perfect day for being outside so we took a tour to Stonehenge. The guide pointed out things along the route (50 minutes by bus). We were told that there is a crop circle in the lot next to Stonehenge but we didn’t see it at all.
We got to see the White Horse which is pretty cool but not the only one of its kind. There are many others similar to it. It is a huge carving of a horse on the side of a hill. It was done by removing the topsoil to reveal the rock beneath. The Celtics would do this to warn others that that hill was theirs and the stay away.
So at Stonehenge we got the free Audio guide that, for me, talked my ear off. But all the same, it was very interesting even though I had been there once before. I suppose it is one of those places you can visit a couple of times and enjoy it every time.
In the area around Stonehenge there are a considerable amount of mounds where important people were buried. These people would be buried with some of their belongings (jewelry, weapons, etc). Some times people were buries with their dog or horse too! And then they would put a huge pile of dirt, and sometimes, they would add ash from a cremation later on.
Stonehenge was built the first time by digging out a sort of trench and using wood instead of stone. They excavated the trench and found primitive tools that were carbon dated to reveal that the trench was dug over 5,000 years ago. It was rebuilt twice after that using stones.Each time it was remade, the area inside the structure became smaller and smaller.
Bath’s Music Festival May 28, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Bath , 1 comment so farThis evening was quite amazing. We went into town for the annual music festival. It was apparently much larger but they have toned it down over the years. It was still great to see and be apart of.
There was a stage set up in the park situated between the river and the Abby. There was a guy playing his guitar when we first arrived. he was very talented but wasn’t that entertaining as a performer. Then a band of Indians started to set up and we weren’t that hopeful. But we were wrong! They were excellent performers that interacted with the crowd and made music that makes you want to dance.
They instructed the crowd in the beginning dance steps to Indian music (such as “changing the light bulb” or “brushing away the clouds”). It was so catchy that there were elderly people were up there “starting the scooter”.
When they finished playing the fireworks began and so we headed up to the Abby. The fireworks display was beautiful! It was very short (only ten minutes) but it was a good end to the evening.
Saturday In Bath May 22, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Bath , add a commentSo today was a lovely sunny day in Bath (and pretty hot) and we spent most of it in the city. We took a tour of the Roman Baths that are in the heart of the town and people watched for most of the early afternoon. Afterward we went to a garden party.
While in Bath it is interestinig to think that the city looks pretty and very old, but we were informed that the city was bombed in WWII and so only half of the old city remains. Bloomfield, the B&B we’re staying in, was not hit directly, but all of the windows facing towards the town were blown out. However, the city has made a great recovery since through its tourist industry (four million tourists a year). The houses in the old part of town are extremely expensive and there is the Royal Crescent which is possibly the most upscale you could get in Bath (an attic apartment costs around 600,000 Pounds). Nicolas Cage and Johnny Depp both own houses around Bath.
I have been to the Roman Baths before but Chris had not, so we took an audio guided tour. It was amazing (even seeing it a second time)! However the audio guide was a bit lacking from what I remember the commentary being a couple of years back. A great example is the origins of the wishing well which came from the men throwing coins into the pool to watch the young boy swim after them as a form of entertainment (this has been changed to an offering to the gods).
This Roman Bath is situated on the only natural hot spring in the UK and it became not only a place for recreation but also a temple for Minerva. Many people came to the Bath for healing or,for military personnel, to ask for victory (Minerva is well known for being fond of battle). It was all very interesting and they have made tons of progress in the way of excavating artifacts from the bottom of the main Bath (people were notorious for throwing curses etched in a soft metal or “gifts” to the gods into the waters). Before the Romans, there were the indigenous people who didn’t live near the hot spring but the archeologists have found arrowheads and other small tools in and around the area of the hot spring.
After we found a nice coffee shoppe near the Baths and sipped at tea while people watching. It was hilarious! Some of the people looked as though their three year old dressed them and a hand full of others were in costumes! The people in costumes were looking for donations, so would make sense that they were trying to be eye catching. There were cow costumes, The Mario brothers, Bumble Bees, and many more.
Our host, Rob, has told us about a town near here that would be perfect for an afternoon of people watching. The people who inhabit it are apparently quite daft in the way of dressing. He said that they wear very Harry Potter-esque clothing (with the pointy hats and what not). That should be an interesting thing to see.
The garden party was lovely and primarily a social gathering (it was like a private picnic with only deserts). Our hosts for the evening were nice people. The man originally came from Holland and has the same interest in computers as Chris (they Geek-ed it up a bit talking about the conference Chris was just at in London) and his flatmate, a lovely young lady who is about to finish her degree in language studies.
Our hosts have given us the weekend off to explore and relax (also because Bloomfield becomes completely booked every weekend and so they don’t think they can get much of anything done while taking care of the guests). So, for tomorrow we have no plans yet but we’re thinking about visiting Stonehenge or perhaps one of the other rich and beautiful towns near here.
London To Bath May 19, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Bath, London , add a commentDay three in London was nice. While Chris was at his conference I went to Ikea to see what they are like outside of the US. I got very lost for about 30 minutes after exiting the Tube station that the ad said it was at. I have since learned that when they offer a shuttle from another station, take it or be prepared to walk for an indefinite amount of time. It was interesting to see because the building was perhaps larger than the one I’m used to in Houston, and since European cities are always short on space, it was was amazing. The prices were even lower there too. I picked up a “Tea Towel” for 17 Pence which is a good size and I think it’ll come in handy for Picnics and such.
After three lovely days in London we headed to Bath, England to do some more Workaway. The place we’re staying at is a very nice and spacious B&B. The building itself is over 200 years old and is considered a historical sight. Our hosts are constantly working towards being eco friendly and encourage others to do the same. Chris will be working on their website and possibly when we leave he will have another company to do SEO work remotely. There are some other opportunities for Chris to work his computer magichere long after we have continued our travels. It sounds promising but we shall see.
