Here, There, and Everywhere

This whole trip has been a crazy adventure, but the five-day free time we had this past week to go off on our own was certainly an experience I will never forget. From getting lost in the middle of nowhere to celebrating the beauty of our hotel/castle in Bath, my friend Candace and I grew up in a few short days. Though it was punctuated with tiny little details going wrong and it seems as though we had no idea what we were doing, we found that sometimes doing things wrong is the most fun way to get where you are going. We certainly had a lot of laughs, and despite the stress that came from planning and reevaluating when one plan fell through, every stop was well worth the trouble.
It all began when we missed our bus to Bath. Although we cut it close on time (we ran into the station about ten minutes before our bus was scheduled to leave), we made it to the station. However, thanks to a woman in a bright vest that told us repeatedly that "you ladies aren't supposed to board yet" right up until the moment our bus was leaving the station, we watched the National Express drive away, standing at the glass doors clutching our tickets with woeful faces. When we went to the front desk, we found out that lady didn't even work for the bus station! She was just a tour leader trying to get us out of her way (so much for British hospitality). Luckily, someone took pity on us and got us a ride on the next bus out to Bath without charging us extra.
Once we were in Bath, we ate some amazing Thai food (my favorite meal of the trip so far) and then went sight-seeing through the city. Although our hotel ended up being fifteen minutes outside the city center and too far to walk, we had some great conversation with taxi drivers that were locals. We got tips on the best spots to visit, plus the resident's favorite eating places. We actually got the same man twice, and he remembered us. I would like to think we made some new friends! The funniest moment was after small talk had been made and the driver finally got around to what he really wanted to know, asking: "So, can you girls please explain your health care system to me?" (We told him we needed an explanation, too.)

A view down into the Roman Baths, at their original water level

Looking up from the walkway inside the Baths

A beautiful park in Bath

After spending the first day in Bath, we spent the next day getting to Stourhead, the home of the most beautiful gardens I have ever laid eyes on (and also the gazebo where they filmed an epic scene between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice). Again, we displayed our non-existent navigational skills, but we also practiced our amazing Plan B/C/D recovery abilities. We expected to be able to take a bus to Stourhead, since it's less than thirty miles away, but apparently no direct route exists. We Google-d the route, and found we should take a train to Bruton (pronounce this Br-ooo-tun or a British person will make a very ugly face at you). The train ride dropped us off in the middle of nowhere, no taxi service in sight as we expected. We then enjoyed a lovely stroll to a coffee shop where a nice gentleman told us to find an art museum in the middle of a field, so off we went. By the way, the large green leaves in English fields have needles on them, so jumping in the middle of a giant patch of them for a photo opportunity will give you a rash. At one point, standing in the art gallery asking for a taxi, we almost turned back and just went back to Bath. Perseverance won, though, and taking a taxi to Stourhead was one of the best choices we made on the trip because of the incredible beauty of the place. Words and photos cannot do it justice, so just take my word for it that I thought we had discovered the Garden of Eden.

Where are we again? Oh, okay, a field.

The view when we finally made it to the Stourhead gardens

THE gazebo

Just us reciting a bit of the dialogue (can't put English majors on the site of their favorite movie and not get some dramatics). Yours truly is staring as Mr. Darcy and my dear Elizabeth is Candace.

Practicing for when they want to make a real statue of me (there's obviously space here waiting)

We visited the Jane Austin center, and of course had to dress up. This fan position means: "I should like to be introduced to you."

The only recreation of what Jane Austen would have looked like, using advanced technology like what you would see at Madam Toussad's. She was quite beautiful, but we only have one 100% reliable photograph of her to base this on.

My amiga using our selfie stick

After Bath, we journeyed back to London for a rest day. Then, early that next morning, we caught a train ride to Scotland. We headed to the city of Edinburgh near the Firth of Forth. We had an awesome time here exploring another country. Candace has Scottish heritage, so it was a scavenger hunt to find her family and clan in the list of plaids and crests. We didn't have any transportation problems here--we learned our lesson, Dad (I know you're cringing as you read about our mishaps).  Experiencing Edinburgh was different from London. Edinburgh was more laid back; crossing traffic was more leisurely and often the streets were filled with people ambling along window shopping. Everything is on the main strip called the Royal Mile or within a five minute walk from there.

We ate at the cafe where J.K. Rowling penned parts of Harry Potter before it became famous. Several other aspiring authors have worked there as well, so I hope I soaked up some of the mojo with my gravy and lamb pie.

St. Giles Cathedral was gorgeous.

Bagpipe players ARE REAL.

A beautiful monument to Sir Walter Scott, who is much loved here. We climbed 270 steps to get to the top to catch the next few photos you will see.

A view of the city. Remember the mountain in the background for later.

This is me rubbing the nose of Greyfriar's Bobby, which is supposed to bring good luck because of the faith of this cute puppy to his master literally to the grave--he became a prominent figure in the graveyard due to this loyalty.

A panorama from the top of that mountain you saw in a previous picture. This was over 1000 steps (Candace counted). We also climbed two wrong mountains before we got to the major Edinburgh landmark--Arthur's Seat. We spent the morning hiking, reminding me of home in the best way possible. The view was certainly worth lugging myself to the top.

A view of the water--I will always be called to the sight of the ocean.

My triumphant picture with the monument at the top of Arthur's Seat, having finally reached the top after a long journey of sweat and shortness of breath.

We hit some other amazing sites following our hike, including one of the most interesting museums I have ever been to--the National Museum of Scotland. It was interactive in a way you don't see very often, allowing you to race a cheetah on a bike to compare the speeds of different animals, look through a glass that makes you see like a fly, and walk into a room that instantly feels like outer space. I was in nerd heaven! We also visited the National Art Gallery, where we saw several works by Van Gough, Monet (a print of Hay Stacks, one of his most noteworthy works), and Degas.
Overall, this five-day journey gave me some of the best memories of the trip. I am beyond lucky to be having this experience.