May 28 and 29, 2013 Bristol and Bath

We made it to our apartment in Bristol after an aggravating experience at the rail station. I misunderstood and thought the car rental agency was located at the rail station. Actually it was called a “meet and greet” where the representative met you at the appointed time. Since I have a habit of setting the car pick up time and hour earlier than my expected arrival on the theory that the car will then be ready and I will not have to wait, I outsmarted myself this time.. When we did not show at the appointed time, the driver left and we were left to drag our luggage all around the rail station and several blocks around looking for the rental office. A young couple working at an insurance replacement car rental service that we stumbled into thinking that it might be the rental agency took pity on us and explained the problem. They then spent almost an hour on a holiday weekend trying to track down the rental agent. After finally contacting the national office, they were able to get the reservation changed to another agency about 4 miles away from their office and then promptly drove us and our luggage to the new location, did not leave until they were certain we would be taken care of and refused to accept any compensation simply stating that if we had found them in a similar situation in the US we would have done the same for them. Gosh, I hope so. In any event, we got to our apartment in Bristol and found it to be far better than we expected so there was redemption. It was so nice that we decided to stay an extra week.

Bristol Train Station and taxi stand

Below is the Bruenl’s Great Britain Sailing Cruise Ship – 6 Masts on this big boy.

  Colorful houses on the hills in Bristol, England

Below – supplies that would have been on the ship.

Hull of the ship through glass.

various boats on the river

Elaine at “The Olive Shed” café with a great view of the river.

In the Museum there is an exhibit of “Fry’s Chocolates.  Fry is my maiden name – maybe I’m a long lost relative.

Suspension Bridge in Bristol built opened in 1864.  Still being used.

May 29, Bath, England

We set out this morning planning to drive around and see Bristol, however, when I put in the location of the ATM I wanted (the one with reciprocity with my US bank so that I did not have to pay ATM fees) we discovered that the ATM was located 11 miles away in the city of Bath, so we saw Bath instead. Bath is an ancient city founded by the Romans as a base and resort in western England. You really feel as if you are in Rome rather than England when in the old section of this city.

The river running through Bath and the water fall above the locks. Below are pictures of the Bath Abby from several angles. The Abby dates from 1100, a new comer compared to the Roman Baths from which Bath gets its name.

     

The Roman baths were built over natural hot springs in the first century A.D. After the fall of the Roman Empire and the departure of the Romans, the baths actually deteriorated, collapsed and fell in upon themselves. Years later, the collapsed ruble was filled in and built upon. We are very fortunate that the Abby, located about 50 years from the baths, was not actually built upon the old baths. The baths were rediscovered in the 19th century and restored to their former elegance by Queen Victoria. Is there nothing that woman did not do for England? No wonder she is by far and away the most popular monarch ever to have reigned. In any event, from about waist high and below, all the baths are original. From the waist up, the walls and statuary are actually Victorian, but who cares. You can still walk upon the stones surrounding the baths trod by the ancient Romans and feel the natural hot springs that still percolate up out of the ground today. In fact, there is a modern spa in Bath that uses the hot springs.

Elaine tossing a coin into the clear bath for luck. You are not defacing anything as there are signs asking you to toss coins for luck and for upkeep of the baths. So, she tossed a coin in the same way she tossed a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

   If you can tell, the water where Elaine is tossing her coin is crystal clear and pure because the area of that particular bath has the covering on it as it would in Roman times so no sunlight gets to it to allow the algae to grow. The outdoor bath, which would not have been an outdoor bath in Roman times has green water because of the sunlight and algae. Having been around Elaine so long, a person who will circumvent every rule if she can find a way around it, I violated the posted signs and dipped my hands into the waters.

   This is a remarkable city and should be a must see on anyone’s visit to London.

May 22 and 23–Art Museum and Camden Town Market and Canal

I know my niece with her Masters Degree in Art History and our dear friend Christina who is working on her PhD in Art History are going to hate this, but we went to the famous Tate Modern Art Museum in London. I am sorry, but I just don’t get it. I love art, but not when you have to try to figure out what you are seeing. And, what is it with a room filled with what looks like piles of giant dog pooh and a giant termite mound? We gave it a try, but soon left. We stopped into a watercolor museum next door and thoroughly enjoyed it. We also loved our visit earlier to the National Gallery. Sorry, girls, but I would rather see the Monet’s at the National Gallery.

Below is the Bankside Art Museum adjacent to the Tate Modern that has the watercolor exhibits.

    School boys on bus wearing suit, white shirt and tie!!

We finally discovered what is the funkiest most interesting place in London. It is called Camden Town and is named after the Camden Locks on one of the canals off the Thames River. It is loaded with interesting shops, street food and pubs. Much like Greenwich Village and Soho were in New York many years ago. We spent all afternoon wondering around the markets and watching the canal boats go through the locks. We intended to take a canal boat ride back to the area of Little Venice near our apartment, but we missed the last boat. Many of the buildings have giant adornments on the front. See below.

A Goth shop. Here you can get your attire for your evening on the dark side.

Get your tattoo or body piercing at Dark Angel or  adjacent is an Oriental specialty shop. In the Oriental shop you can find everything from martial arts supplies to incense.

     Shoes attached to the front of a shoe stores.

The streets were crowded with people even at midafternoon on a Thursday.

  

Above, the Camden Lock operations building and below canal boats going through the locks. The locks are still manually operated. The lock is closed on the right side and a boat has just entered the lock on the left side. The other picture are the passenger canal boats on which we missed our ride.

 

Below are the funky seats in the food stall area. There are open air food stalls serving almost any cuisine imaginable. I had Mexican food prepared by a young man from Guadalajara, Mexico who was going to college in London. Great street vendor tacos. Elaine opted for the Thai food. You then take your food and sit on one of the stools below which are the back portion of old motor scooters. They face the canal so you can eat and watch the boats go buy.

   A random lion sculpture originally intended to be inside one of the buildings in the area. It turned out to be too large and too heavy when it was delivered so rather than waste it, they just installed it in the food stall area. It is a giant bronze lion easily as big as the bull outside the New York Stock Exchange.

Below, Edward enjoying his street vendor tacos and complaining about not having any Dos XX, Tacate, or Corona much less his favorite, Negra Modelo.

 

Below, did I say an little bit of every imaginable cuisine? How about these two guys from New Zealand who have set up a Texas BBQ and ribs stand. Looked pretty authentic.

Below, the rows and rows of clothing in The Camden Market. Almost like a bazaar in the Middle East.

If you find yourself in London, make sure you visit the Camden Town area for a day of mindless fun.