Bath, Stourhead, Stonehenge etc,

The London extravaganza is winding to a close but I'm still going full steam ahead. Friday was spent entirely in the Georgian tourist city of Bath. By Georgian, I'm referring to the time period under three King Georges of Great Britain in the 18th century. The city was popular during the Roman times for its thermal pool, down through the medieval ages (where both sexes bathed nude in public, ewwww) continuing in Georgian times, to today. It became a hot destination for the British fashionable in the 18th century, so the entire city follows that neo-classical style; with Roman columns and stone buildings. Jane Austen lived here for four years and is the setting for her novels, Persuasion and Northumberland Abbey; so the 30+ girls in our group were thrilled to be there. We spent the day on a walking tour of the city, which has become my favorite destination so far outside of London. To round everything thing off, we stopped to drink some of the famous Bath medicinal water that is supposed to clear out your digestive system (Think opening scenes of Amazing Grace). I have to say it tasted thick and warm, like Jacuzzi water.
The next morning we headed to Stourhead, which was an estate famous for its large gardens. Keeping with the Jane Austen theme, some scenes of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley were filmed there to the continued THRILL of the girls in the group. So many Elizabeths without a Mr. Darcy. The gardens were pretty cool, as was the manor house which looks much like you would think; full of paintings and dust.
After Stourhead we drove to Stonehenge for a walk around the site before we headed home. There really isn't much to Stonehenge that you can't already deduce from a detailed Wikipedia article or this month's issue of National Geographic, but it still was worth it to see it in person. Before you used to be able to walk right up to the ancient stones, but now you can only see them behind a rope.
The rest of the weekend was spent recovering from the week's travel; England and her pollen has stirred up my allergies. This week is the final week of classed. On the agenda: Jack the Ripper tour, Oxford and Blenheim Palace and a huge ceremony with the Queen on Saturday. Should be packed!