London / Bath / Stonehenge

Friday June 4

Leaving Edinburgh behind, we made our way back to the train station and into London (4 hours later). Our first goal: getting to the hotel to drop off our bags. We set for the tube, and made our way to Upton Park station. Once on the street, we began to search for the way towards the West Ham United Football grounds - as the hotel was supposed to be overlooking the pitch. After walking past the stadium, we couldn't see anything that resembled the hotel, and later realized (with a little help from a nice woman in a beauty salon) that the stadium itself also acted as a hotel.

The room was nice looking and definitely had a view of the pitch, but we couldn't open any windows and it seemed to have little air circulation, among other things (more later).

We grabbed a quick bite to eat, then headed into the London city centre as the weather was fantastic. We took a walk from Embankment station, up to Westminster Bridge, up to the Abbey, to Trafalgar Square, down "The Mall" to Buckingham Palace, then back through St. James' Park to Westminster station and back to the hotel. From there, we picked up some snacks and went back to the room to relax before we'd have to leave for our tour the next day.


Saturday, June 5

We made our way to Victoria station for around 8am to wait for our tour bus pick up going to Bath and Stonehenge. We had another great day (weather wise). I can say that our Scottish tour spoiled us, as the tour guy we had then was great. This guy, Stuart, left a lot to be desired. We had a 2 hour bus ride out of the city to Bath first, and he didn't really have much to say - what he did say he seemed to be reading off a tourist brochure (and the bus driver had to correct him a couple of times). We had a quick stop at a beautiful building in the Princess gardens - a location where many films have taken place (this is what our guide said, and yet he told us none of the titles). When actually in Bath city centre, you could definitely see the beauty of the area. The Roman Baths took up much of our time and film, followed by Bath Abbey. It was there we met a camera crazy woman who showed us a couple of items we would have missed if we didn't know to look for them, as well as the treasury to the church (including the smock of St. Nicholas). It was neat!

We went back on the bus and headed to Stonehenge. I am definitely glad I went to see them and the audio guide was really informative. I just wish we could have gotten a little closer to the henge itself to get the full feel of the height of the stones and the massive size each seemed to be. Still, it was great.

Making our way back into London, we first stopped off at the train station (Kings Cross) to get our tickets for the next day's train. We then had a great meal at (ahem) Pizza Hut. Katie ended up with a sore tummy, so we went back to the hotel and just relaxed. Hopefully she will get a chance to view the city when she gets back (especially as she seems to have a good grasp of the tube system).


Sunday, June 6

Luckily, we woke up early - to be sure we made it to the station in time. It was after I got out of the shower that I realized I could hear children running up and down the risers, and eventually a person over the loud-speaker giving instructions. Apparently the fields were being used with the kids for something that morning. It would have been nice to know ahead of time, and I'm glad I found this out after I was already meant to be up. So, be warned...stay away from the stadium hotel...even if it is cheaper than the hotels directly IN London city centre.

Anyway, we made our way to the station and onto the same train. Katie got off at the first stop, and I went on to Kettering (home). With a quick throw in of my first load of laundry, I made my way to Morrison's to go grocery shopping, then back home to the regular hum-drum of the every day...not believing I had to be back to work today (and man, was it a busy day).

Still, I had an amazing journey, and enjoyed my week. Now...the 7 week countdown until the end of the school year...can I make it????