Pounds, Pence and Stones

The stones you can see behind you...yes- that's me in front of Stonehenge. I mean, how can you visit this part of the world without going to see the Stones? Even though they were incredibly touristy- squillions of people wandering all over [you can see someone behind me to the left with the ubiquitous head piece listening to the audio commentary] still and all it was a pretty remarkable place. The energy there is palpable, despite all the people. The guide we had on the trip was incredibly eccentric and funny and had a mind full of trivia, which he miraculously related to Stonehenge in some round about way.

I am in Bath- probably one of the most expensive places on the planet. The town [people here call it a city, but I wouldn't go that far] is lovely- sandstone buildings built in the "Georgian" style as you can see from above. For some reason the sky is incredibly blue- which is unusual. The day I got here, it pissed down within about 10 minutes - naturally I forgot my umbrella - I take it out all the time now. What they say about English weather is true- mostly overcast and rainy.

The street you are looking at is called Gay Street, and that's where the Jane Austen Centre is located. It's evidently around the corner from one of the places in which she lived. At the end of Gay Street is a housing estate called the Circus, which kind of imitates the layout of Stonehenge. And then off one of the streets in the Circus, is a place called the Royal Crescent which is where all the incredibly posh people live- as opposed to just the Posh people who live in the Circus.

There's lots to do and see here: the Roman Baths [from whence the name comes], the Abbey- which is huge and gothic and beautiful-rising majestically up into the sky, the gardens along the Grand Parade, the GuildHall and museum and tons of other things. There are millions of tours to go on that cater to all kinds of needs. Every tour you go on they give a long list of famous people who lived or live here plus all the history associated with the place. I can see why anyone would choose to live here- it's just getting the money together that would make it a reality.

The first night I arrived, there was a charity concert in the cricket grounds by Jamie Cullen for the Bath Hospital. I stood on the bridge across the river with all the other cheap bastards who didn't buy tickets and met a woman who gave me all the Bath goss. She works in a bank here, so the goss was enhanced by financial information. She told me that to buy a flat here- say one bedroom- would be 1/2 million pounds [multiply that x 2.5 for Aussie dollars]. The concert was OK, but the gossip was priceless.

I have been staying at a gorgeous guest house in a square called Abbey Green- just behind the Abbey [duh!] The building is probably about 300 years old and it's been renovated to include ensuite bathrooms. It's not only the best bed I've slept in so far on the trip, the room was divine. In the mornings there are the most extraordinary birds which start warbling [though that is a mild word to use to describe the sound they are making] at about 5 AM. At least it gets dark around 9 instead of 11 now so I am getting some reasonable sleep. My only regret is that I was not in St Petersberg in June when the White Nights happen. White Nights mean that it is light for 22 hours of the day and dark for 2....though sometimes during the Russia part of the journey it felt like I only had 2 hours of sleep.

Today I am headed to South Hampton on British Rail- fabulous trains by the way- to board the Queen Mary 2 and sail away to NYC. I am very excited about all this, and even stopped at a shop in Bath and bought some "suitable" outfits to wear on board. At least I think they are suitable....Dame Judy Dench shops there when she is in town [no kidding- they have a picture of her in one of their outfits and a letter saying how fab they are!]. I figured if Dame Judy can appear in these outfits, so can I. I guess we will see when I enter the dining room.

I can't believe that I am only 1/5 of the way through my trip. It's been one month since I left home....more to come, so stay tuned. I am hoping they have internet onboard the ship- if not, you are all getting postcards.

Cheerio til then
Genie