06 October 2011

The party is over

Hi readers! It is FINALLY raining here in the UK. Don't listen to anyone when they tell you the British weather is rotten. It is not. We have had the most fantastic weather... Though maybe it's "us" because since we left Orkney, they have had gale force winds, forcing the cancellation of the boats & the closure of the Forth Road Bridge to double-decker buses.





We had a wee Dorset ale at this pub last night & one of the locals shouted us, which was really sweet of him.





We then went for dinner at the River Cottage Canteen in Axminster. Spud is a huge fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (http://www.rivercottage.net/) so I arranged dinner here for him as a surprise - though I couldn't keep it to myself & spilled the beans weeks ago! We had a truly scrumptious dinner which was not too expensive, surprisingly, given it is run by a "celebrity chef". OMG! I've told you all this already! Arrrggghhh.... It's official then. I am doddery & demented.





Today, our last full day in the UK, we drove to Bath & raced to the Jane Austen Centre (well.... I rushed & Spud plodded) where we had a cup of tea & a cucumber sandwich in the Regency tea-rooms before touring the museum. Jane lived five years in Bath & a few of her books reference Bath so it is very Jane-friendly here. I looked hard & long for Mr Darcy but he was not to be seen although the guy at the front door, dressed in period costume, confessed to us quite readily how much he loves corsets! Eeeeek!





Bath is absolutely jam-packed with people & I can only imagine how absolutely mental it must be here on a weekend. Why aren't all these people at work, dammit?! We had a cup of coffee in The Pump Room and went right off the concept of visiting The Roman Baths when we saw about 100 school children with the same idea. Eeeeek! Instead, I ducked in to the souvenir shop and picked myself up a sapphire ring, EXACTLY the same as the Duchess of Cambridge's for £4.99. Everyone is obsessed with her sister Pippa here. I think it's her bottom....





Now I know why I am not a hand model... What a wrinkly, mangled paw!





From tourist trap to.... the most breathtaking church ever. Bath Abbey (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/bath-abbey) was absolutely, incredibly, magnificently, splendidly fantastic. The ceiling was unbelievable. The stained glass windows amazing. All along the walls were memorial stones dating back to the early 1700's with wonderful eulogies carved into them. It was fascinating!





Now we are back in our hotel room (with free wi-fi) listening to the rain. We are missing the little cosy pub in Dorset because this Best Western has absolutely no atmosphere. However, the miserable argumentative couple aren't here so that's good news! Okay, well tomorrow morning we are going to get up early and walk along The Crescent (below) and then try to get to the baths before the hordes arrive. We are catching the bus from here to Heathrow tomorrow afternoon & fly home at about 9pm. I continue to remain positive about an upgrade... I have been "positive" about this for over 30 years & have yet to be successful but you can't give up, can you?








Location:Bath, Somerset

2 comments:

swell said...

thanks Jen...have enjoyed your travel blog....always a giggle

Anonymous said...

Haha Jen it is always so entertaining to read anything you write - you can always see your bright and bubbly personality in your writing. Love the photo of you having lunch at the Jane Austen centre haha. And who needds Mr Darcy when you have a koala =P
p.s. love the ring =)
Alana