Monday, August 02, 2010

In Which We Go to England: Part 3

Yes, we are still here and doing things. I will tell you these things in a list. Here is our life from the past week:
  • We went to church at Westminster Abbey. It was very old and it was fun to sit in such an old building for church. And yes, we are going to go back yet again for a tour on some Saturday.
  • We saw the amusing wreck that is Love Never Dies. Our experience also included both the souvenir brochure and the program (for half the price we expected) AND a free poster. What we will do with it, I have no idea--perhaps hang in our loo at home.
  • We took a walk up to Primrose Hill to check out the view. It was very impressive, though the weather could have been better for pictures. It seems like most days here that start sunny end cloudy.
  • After striking out on a deal for Les Mis tickets, we chilled at home with pizza and The IT Crowd (an American version for real??).
  • We hit Primark, which has the cheapest clothes I have ever seen. It is also a complete madhouse.
  • We made a fairly brief stop at the British Museum. It was brief because it was SO HOT inside and crowded, and not that that is different from any other place we've seen, but that day I just couldn't take it. So we saw the highlights and then escaped.
Saturday was a big day as we (me, Mr. Graham, co-worker Caity and her visiting [former] roommate Melissa) had booked a tour that took us to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. It turned out to be a great deal, monetarily speaking, and it was nice to not worry about logistics or buying tickets. Also, it was awesome.

Windsor was fun, though probably the least interesting to all of us. It was old and very opulent, and I have never seen so many guns and swords used in such a decorative fashion. The highlight, for me, was Mary's Doll's House. But no pictures were allowed inside so you must imagine!
After lunch in a pub, we journeyed on to Stonehenge. We really really wanted a tour that took us there in the evening and into the Inner Circle but apparently they were doing that only on, like, 3 weekdays from now until December. So. Maybe next time. It was still really cool--very mysterious and old. We did our best Tess of the D'Urbervilles impersonations, only with less death.

Our last stop was Bath, which we decided we could easily spent a whole tour day at. We had just a little time to walk about so we got hot chocolate and "Bath Buns." Most of the time there was spent touring the actual Roman baths, where we were greeted by a Roman soldier who was very into his character. I so wish that I had taken some video of him because he was just so great. He was a big highlight for all of us, and actually was the thing that made us settle on this particular tour in the first place. We were not disappointed.It was a long day and I was just beat at the end of it, though I tried my hardest to watch Prisoner of Azkaban with the girls (Mr. Graham did quite literally carry me off to bed, since I could no longer move under my own power).

In a rather anticlimactic end to the week, I spent Sunday afternoon emptying my stomach contents in the loo. Too much exertion and no fuel, but by the evening I was right as rain and eating many, many goodly things.

Onward!

(No, there's no bun in this toaster, Mom.)

11 comments:

  1. Okay, I love everything you're mentioning, but I'm going to comment on Primark. I bought many new clothes there, including a lovely dress that was only 8 pounds. I still wear it. It's a magical madhouse indeed.

    (Also, I can't wait to hear about your tour of Westminster. Say hello to Thomas Hardy and William Wilberforce for me!)

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  2. Was it a Sally Lunn bunn?? :) Looks like a good tour. I'm glad the "henge" wasn't too crowded it seems. Good impersonations.

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  3. Oh, Tess! Tragic. But your trip is not tragic. Lucky you two!

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  4. Awesomeness. I can't believe how many funtivities you guys are squeezing in! If you see any high fashions that I would like, don't be shy to spend all your money on them!

    Also, that is funny you guys went to see that musical. I hope it made all your Andrew Lloyd Weber dreams come true in all its fan-fic glory.

    May I also commend you on your brilliant photo taking. Very interesting and nicely posed pictures. It makes looking at your trip pictures in the distant future that much more fun, eh?

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  5. Also, Drew looks so posh in that smart hat of his. Did you buy it in the town of London?

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  6. Why, it was purchased in Camden Town Market! He tried to charge me 10 pounds, but when we came back to his shop he lowered it to 8. I offered 5, but he went off in some indistinguishable accent of his about how much it cost him and blah blah blah so I took it at his original discount. I love it so!

    Great update, Wife! Bath Buns were delicious and Stonehenge FTW!

    Dear Christine: You made the wrong decision. Dear Raoul: They ruined you. Dear Meg: They ruined you too. Dear Phantom: Die already.

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  7. I love it all! :)

    Please please PLEASE tell me that you will still be in London for the 25th Anniversary of Les Mis.

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  8. So were the cheap clothes cute? I would love shopping there, I'm sure. And eating pastries too. I'm jealous.

    So sorry you had to be sick. That can really taint some good memories. Sounds like you bounced back though.

    Keep the good updates coming!

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  9. looks like you're making the most of the jolly old place.

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  10. You're going to quickly get bored of my gushing over what you guys are doing. I'll keep it relatively short this time. I love it all! Also, now that you've been to Bath, I recommend watching any version of Persuasion. I love the story anyway, but I liked that movie so much more when I was able to say, "Hey, I've been there! And there too! And there!"

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  11. Thanks for the pics of BAth. We didn't get there. But we did get to a lot of places, to be sure.

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