I scouted outside the hotel and found the bus stops, the tube stop, and eventually an ATM in a market quite close by. We had tickets for the theater (Noises Off) and made it just in the nick of time, about 30 seconds before the curtain rose. The play was hilarious, and even though all of us knew the play well,(Evan had been in it at South) we laughed a lot. The old, ornate Novello Theater was charming.
Tuesday was The Making of Harry Potter at the Warner Bros. studio. What a treat it was! The props, the sets, the information, the videos of the actors and producers...even though you would think it would break the enchantment, it didn’t. That evening we saw Sweeny Todd. We took the Tube like pros to the theater. We had a dinner deal with our tickets, so we dined at Porters before going to the Adelphi Theater and enjoying the magnificent production. The woman who played Mrs. Lovett also played Delores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
On Wednesday we hit the wall. We missed the train to Stratford after taking a long bus ride to the station. Evan was starting to get sick, and we were all pretty cranky. We tried to get to a production of Twelfth Night in an off West End site, but couldn't get hold of them to find out if they had tickets. So....the women went shopping and the guys stayed behind to watch TV and use the computer.
Thursday was an early morning start, as a shuttle bus picked us up from our hotel to go on a tour of Salisbury, Stonehenge and Bath. Salisbury Cathedral was amazing. Built between 1220 and 1258, it houses one of the original copies of the Magna Carta. Ted found a floor stone dedicated to a couple named “Poore” which was his aunt's middle name and a family name at some point. We were rushed a bit though --- the theme throughout the tour. An hour and twenty minutes seems like a lot for a stop in one of these places, but it is just enough to whet your appetite. It was still amazing though.
Stonehenge was the next stop, and it was not quite as thrilling as anticipated. This was due to lots of things: the weather sucked, with a light rain falling the whole time we were there (and my umbrella safely tucked away on the bus until too late); it was smaller than I imagined (although still impressive when you think about when it was made); and you couldn’t get anywhere close to it (which I totally understand, but it’s still disappointing). All in all, it was worth it to say we had seen it, and I trudged all the way around it even in the rain and the mud, but I think I might have been a bit more in awe if I hadn’t been soaked!
Bath, the home of ancient Roman baths that were originally built in the 1st century, were impressive by any standards. A huge pool in the center, with two smaller pools on the side which were built when Emperor Hadrian determined that women and men could no longer bathe together. Ancient artifacts abound. It was the site of worship to the goddess who had the hot springs all to herself. You could get a glass of the potent mineral water that bubbles up from the ground – I passed, but Emily drank some and said it was terrible. (If you know Emily, you know she said something more colorful.) The town itself was quite enjoyable, but of course we had little time to enjoy it. These tours really make you want to come back and spend a couple of days at the sights – with the exception of Stonehenge.
Evan was pretty miserable the whole time, but was a trooper. He had a fever the evening before, but it had broken thankfully. He walked around Stonehenge in its entirety, went through every sight, and even though we didn’t get him extra medication until Bath, he hung in there. Emily got carsick on the bus, and then woke up with a bad cold the next day, but she too stayed up and moving.
We came back from the tour and immediately grabbed a cab to go to the Queen’s Theater to see “Les Miserables”. Once again, a very fine production. The stage was a rotating circle that kept the action moving. It was quite spectacular.
Friday we spent the day doing the hop on/hop off bus tour of London. We spent six or seven hours and still didn't see everything. Traffic is really heavy, and moving from one site to another was not a quick proposition. But we did see most of the major points. London is an amazing city, and I would gladly go back for another week or two in order to peruse the museums and go through all of the sites. We really experienced just enough to know what we'd really like to delve into if we had the chance in the future.
Tomorrow I'll post about our trips to Paris and back to the US.
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