Stonehedge and Bath

This morning we headed out on the 3 hour journey to Stonehedge.  Kevin and I visited Stonehedge when we came over a few years ago, but never went inside the gates.  This time we were getting in free with our English Heritage membership which was awesome.  We also got the boys in with us because you can have up to 5 people under the age of 19 and Sawyer technically is of the age, but we snuck Casey across because he still looks pretty young.  

After Stonehedge our plan was to spend the rest of the afternoon and overnight in Bath.  Well, most accommodations for Bath and this area were require two nights stay a few weeks ago when we were calling around, which we just weren't going to do.  So one gentleman hinted to us that if you call a day or two before we were planning on being there, some people might give up on getting two nights and go ahead and book you.  So we took the chance and after calling about 3-4 places on our drive down I found one for us to stay and at a quite a good price.

Stonehedge was quite nice and bit neater to at least me this time around than the first time I had seen it.  It's kind of one of those things that get hyped up so much and when you really get to see it that you get a little disappointed.  I think what made the difference was getting go in the gates and walk around and listen to the commentary to give it a little more personality.  I think it helped enhance Casey and Addison's visits as well...hee hee.

They do have the area roped off and you are not allowed to go up to the stones anymore because people were actually chipping away at the stones to take away souvenirs.  Addison doesn't quite understand the meaning of things being roped off, so at one point she took off on a mad dash towards the stones and Kevin had to hop the rope fence and grab her back.  It kind of looked like a escaping convict and of course everyone sees her do it and is pointing at the little girl in pink trying to defy the law and get up close and personal with the rocks.

After getting our fill of Stonehedge we started to head out when tragedy struck...Jane blew up!!! Yes, Kevin plugged the SatNav it to get us on the go and it popped and started to smoke.  We were at a loss for words because, we totally rely on this thing.  I mentioned before leaving the house that I should run in and get my GB map, but Kev said "Naw, we don't need that."  The only map I had was a not very detailed one that was included with our English Heritage book.  So needless to say we had to go back to the old school means of navigation with maps and signs.  I did ring up the B&B to get directions from them but I tell you, I really think the inventor of the SatNav should get a humanitarian award for keeping marriages together.  Life is so much easier traveling with your spouse and/or family when you don't have to stare at a map and look for signs and playing the blame game when someone turns the wrong way or takes the wrong exit.

We finally managed to find our B&B and they gave us some instructions to a scenic overview of the city so we walked through a bunch of residential areas and then up through a school yard over a grass track to a park that have a beautiful overlook of Bath.

Kevin and I also visited Bath before and really enjoyed it so we were excited to bring some other people to see it.  From the top of this hill with our telephoto lens I could take pictures of the hotel we stayed at before, the abbey, the Circus, the Royal Cressent and I could even catch a shot of guys playing cricket in the fields below.

Next to actually get down into town we had to take a pretty steep walk down a course of trails with wood and stone steps.  Kevin and Casey carried down Harrison in the pushchair while I carried Addison down most of the way.  The only thought running through my mind was that somewhere else we were going to have to climb a steep hill back up to our B&B...yikes!

We did a nice little walking tour around town and after catching Casey and Sawyer staring aimlessly around I had to ask if they were okay.  Casey replied that they were just trying to take it all in.  Now that I've been here for two year, the atmosphere of a true city centre has become so normal to me and it's quite fascinating to others...it's one of the things I remember enjoying so much about going to different towns around the country.  We stopped for ice cream and into a few shops before we made our way to the Circus.  The name comes from the Latin 'circus' meaning oval or circle. 

 It is an architectural phenomenon that was inspired by the Roman Colosseum but rather than being admired from the outside like the Colosseum it's beauty comes from standing inside and viewing all the beautiful town homes lined around the circle.  The Circus has three streets that radiate from it and as you come into it you face a beautiful building vs another street.  I particularly like the small grove of very old Plane trees growing in the center.  It was a great place to sit and rest in the shade and people watch.

We did walk up around to the Royal Cressent which is another architectural classic.  It is one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in England.  It is just down the street from the Circus so from an arial view they represent the sun and the moon.

After our walk we decide to take the boys to another of our most favorite restaurants in England - none other than Pizza Express.  The staff was super nice to the kids as they usually are, but this time they both got chef's hats.  After dinner most of the city centre was dead because all the shops had closed around 5:30 or 6, which really threw the guys for a loop thinking that things should be hoppin' in the evening time in a downtown...again a big difference in our American to English cultures.  

We did end up having to struggle our way back up a pretty steep hill on the way back but we did put some miles on today.  The kids did great and while I got them settled, Kevin and they boys got to hand out together at the pub next door.