Bath Redux.



Kevin w/Paddington Bear @ Paddington Station  (yes, that's a Krispy Kreme).



The epicenter of my study abroad experience back in 1999 was Bath in Somerset, located about 90 minutes by train, southwest of London.  For half a summer, I studied British literature in the English countryside.  My classmates and I stayed in one of the famous crescent-shaped row houses, enjoyed a dry, sunny summer that featured a solar eclipse that I took in at the mystic town of Glastonbury, and trips to Dublin, Tintern Abbey in Wales, Stratford and many trips to London.  That summer was fabulous--the quintessential college, study-abroad experience.  But I was curious: what would Bath look like through the lens of an adult, on a daytrip from London?





 Pulteney Bridge that indeed has shops on it.



We boarded an early morning train to Bath.  First off: the tickets are really expensive--I think for the two of us, it worked out to about $150.  I think if  I would have realized it was that pricey to do a daytrip, we may have just stayed over in Bath.  Nonetheless, we both wanted to see it again and the weather promised to be sunny and perfect.  Indeed, the weather cooperated, but being a weekend and lovely weather meant everyone else was in Bath, too.  It was crowded so the first thing we wanted to do was try to find my housing, which is easier said than done.  Bath is a confusing maze of round-abouts and crooked streets.  Even living there, if you had one too many pints, well, let's just say people got lost (a lot) that summer.   We had a general sense of what hilltop the crescent-shaped row house lived on so we aimed for that direction and hoped things would look familiar.  And some things did: I recognized Bath Abbey and the Pulteney Bridge, which like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, has shops built right on it.  We climbed and climbed past several roundabouts , but missed a critical turn and ended up overshooting the place.  Still, we were able to work our way back and there we stood in front of my old dorms, which were quiet and empty.  Sadly, the space is no longer used for student housing--it appeared to be in the process of being converted back to flats. 



Where I stayed in 1999.



Perhaps because of the sagging economy, the place looked like it had not been a construction site for a while.  We walked around a bit and then headed down the mossy stairs towards the boss stop.  Kevin pointed out some blackberry brambles and we both remembered gathering them for cornflakes.  We popped a few in our mouths to complete the nostalgic flashback.  I was disappointed that this beautiful old space was not being used by study-abroad students.  My summer in Bath was lovely and magical--and I think living in that kind of space added to the experience. 



The lovely Royal Crescent.



Crowds near the Pump Room.



We headed back to the city center, ready for lunch.  On the way and now that we had our bearings, we stopped by the Royal Crescent--the most famous of these unique structures in Bath.  The green, sprawling lawn was filled with people, enjoying the sunny day.  We took a break from our walk and enjoyed the space, too.  Although we were both enjoying the walk and we were close to the Botanical Gardens, we turned again towards the city center in search of a lunchtime meal.  Determined to avoid the crush of visitors, we happily stumbled upon the Wild Cafe, tucked away in a little alley.  Using locally-sourced ingredients, Kevin had a cheddar and chutney sandwich and I had a lovely baby green salad with goat cheese and figs.  We then took a deep breath and plunged into the crowds near the Abbey.  Downtown Bath is a stunning place, but if you hate crowds--do not go there on a weekend!  It takes on a carnival vibe.  After tracking down some other favorite haunts--the Pump Room, Sally Lunn's--we headed across the bridge and wandered along the River Avon.  We watched a girls'cricket match for a while and then made our way back to the train station.  Honestly, we left earlier than we planned.  I think if I could have done this over, we would have tried to stay a night and have an evening in Bath to ourselves. But I just am not sure I could really capture the magic of being a student, studying abroad.  I'm not that person anymore.





Our London visit

Classic London Scene, near Covet Gardens.

For people who know me, they know I am an anglophile.  I love Jane Austen.  I love Jane Austen-inspired movies.  I love the old English manors, the English gardens, and the charming accent.  But I love London the most.  It's an efficient, clean, old, lively city. I love the Tube, the Museums, the string of parks.  I had not visited London since 2002, so I was eager to see it again and ensure I was not romanticizing it.  I can say: I was not disappointed.

Where we stayed:  Near Russell Square on the first leg at the Harlingford Hotel.  Situated on a quiet square, it was clean and in the heart of the university district.  I remember a fine breakfast of eggs and smoked salmon, too.

When we swept through the city on the way back home, we picked a different section of London (we do try to do that when we have to stay in a city twice).  Because it was just one night, we went a bit more upscale, choosing the The Beaufort Hotel  in Knightsbridge, steps away from Harrod's and an easy walk to the V&A Museum.  This hotel was soft and sumptuous, tucked away on a dead-end street--stylish London was at our fingertips, but I didn't hear it!

The lovely sunken gardens at Kensington Palace.

Where we ate:  Being foodies, traveling for me is always about exploring the local restaurant scene.  The first night, I wanted to try the Spanish tapas place Saltyard on Goodge Street, but alas, we didn't make a reservation and they were booked.  We found a great little Greek Taverna close buy and satiated our tapas craving with Greek mezzes.  Because this was part nostalgia, we had to go to Sofra Mayfair--this little Turkish place has been part of my London eating trips since the beginning.  It's cozy and tucked away--oh and the food is fabulous.  On our final night, we walked all the way to Notting Hill to take in a final Indian meal at Malabar.  We feasted on chutneys and chaat--oh how I love Indian food!

What we did:  I'm going to do a whole post about our daytrips to Bath and Richmond/The Kew Gardens, but in London proper, we did our typical wanderings--exploring Covet Gardens, Goodge Street, Soho/Chinatown (where we had the most disappointing Chinese meal--ever!) and the University districts.  Kevin had not been to the British Museum so of course we went there.  We both had not seen the Victoria & Albert Museum so we took that one in, too.  Both museums have world-class collections.  I love how the British Museum is topical-- a room full of currencies, followed by a room full of clocks, followed by a room full of mummies!  We took in several parks and visited my favorite garden: the http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/stories/sunkengardens.aspx on the final night.  A fitting way to wrap up the trip!

The DINKs 2010 travels.

Since I killed http://www.thetravelingdinks.com/ last spring, we had the chance to take a few weekend trips and one major trip to Europe.  I'll break down each of these trips in a few posts, but here is a quick breakdown:

1.  End of July.  I graduated. Joy.  To celebrate, we took a fun little trip to Reedville, VA and Tangier Island off the Northern Neck.

2.  End of August.  The annual trip to the AMEE conference.  This year it was held in Glasgow, Scotland so we took some time to visit the British Isles.  This was the a bit of a nostalgic tour for us since the UK was our first big international trip when we were college kids.  We spent time in London, took daytrips to Richmond and Bath, then flew to Belfast and rented a car and tooled around County Antrim in Northern Ireland; finally we went to Glasgow and took daytrips to Edinburgh and the Trossachs.

3.  November.  A long weekend to our favorite cabin in the VA countryside.  The weather was unseasonably warm and we had a lovely, peaceful time.

4.   December.  A long weekend some place warm is always a welcome treat when the weather cools in DC.  We escaped to Miami, staying at the campy chic The Standard on the Bay side of South Beach.  We had some memorable meals--one at Indomania (Indonesian fare) and a return visit to the always special Wish.  We did get stuck an extra day in South Beach because of weather troubles elsewhere, but there are worse places to find yourself stuck!