I Have Arrived! (Bristol and Bath, England)

I have officially arrived in Europe. The flight departed from Logan a bit late but everything else has gone according to plan. I arrived at 7:45AM England time on Tuesday morning (June 10) and was on the bus to Bristol by 9:15AM. On the bus ride to Bristol I wrote down the following first impressions that I had (and observed):

• I absolutely love the British accent.
  
• Driving on the left side of the road is only done in England and not all of Europe.
• The license plates are also much different (long, narrow, and yellow in color).
• The cars (lots of VW's) and trees are very familiar looking.
• The day was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Blue sky, sunny, and not humid (I escaped the Massachusetts heat wave at the right time!)
• The candy was very familiar to me (British Delights, thank you Elisha and family!)
• The flats looked very much the same, at least from above.
• The eloquence and the elegance of the spoken word here in England.
  

John and Simon were waiting for me and I was already jet-lagged by this point. We had a cup of coffee and did some walking around Bristol before we returned to Simon's home which is a recently converted farm house. His living room was used for milking cows in the past - amazing how brilliant it looks now!


Check out the creepy tree in the background (Simon's backyard)


Cows on the farm...


...And England's rolling green hills in the distant.

After having a kip (nap) we met with some of Simon's friends and my first day ended with dinner at an old English pub. I had bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes).

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Day 2 began with a wonderful breakfast cooked by Simon and a trip into Bath. Hot springs are present underneath the ground and this is where the term 'bath' came from. "In 60AD, Romans began to develop Bath as a spa and as a centre of Pagan worship around Bath's hot springs." Think about it... that's 2000 years of history in the place I was standing today.


The Roman Baths

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Also in Bath, I saw:


The Royal Crescent in Bath - the longest crescent in Europe. It is one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture, anywhere in the world.


Bath Abbey lit up at night in beautiful colors.


Bath circus - we came in on the right hand side and exited at the top (of the picture). It is actually a trio of buildings that together form a perfectly circular structure. I was in "architectural sensory overload" with visual stimuli hitting me from every direction (you can tell that my host has a passion for architecture!!!)

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Tomorrow I depart from Simon's and arrive in London. I will be staying at the YHA London St. Pancras Hostel (for a few hours) before I leave at 6:00AM for Brugge, Belgium (on Friday the 13th...). Good thing I am no longer superstitious! Note: This will most certainly be the longest blog entry that I write on this trip. Now comes the traveling alone part of my journey and the sitting in internet cafes to keep you all updated on my trip.

And this last picture is for you, Elisha (Elisha, Elisha, Elisha). It think I still hear it echo-ing


The Pensford Viaduct. I stood under the arch that is second from the left.