Day Four: Bath & Stonehenge

Hey guys, what a trip so far! 

Today was a big day. We left at 8:15 and just returned home at 8:48, but boy was it worth it.

First, you must know that all the talk about those English breakfasts being nothing more than hard rolls and tea is definitely not true at the Park Place Hotel. Even though much to Camille's chagrin they don't serve Diet Coke :(

On the 2-hour ride to Bath we were able to see lots of signs of the Olympics coming to town. Their two big concerns were building the venues and having enough room. They feel they've accomplished those goals...now we'll see if the infrastructure is able to handle the crowd. Our guide, Peter, who is phenomenal-by the way- says he'll be leaving town for the month.

The city of Bath was established by the Romans in the first century AD. You read right...it's 2,000 years old!! This abbey was where they crowned their first king in 1000 AD. Notice Jacob's ladder in the columns.

 The big draw in this upscale town though are the baths. After the Romans left, the Avon River over time, deposited sediment and after a few centuries the baths were nothing more than piles of dirt atop which the Brits eventually built their city.

However, about 100 plus years ago or when workers were installing heating pipes, a man fell through the ground and into a pit which turned out to be the ruins of the baths. What you see now was once underground! And the baths and the drains were still working...incredible. This is now a must see location.

At the end of the tour we did get to taste the water which, by the look on Camille's face, didn't taste too good.
 
From there it was on to Stonehenge. What an amazing place. This site is even older than the baths! It's an incredible bit of engineering these were built in the first place but that they're still standing today is just phenomenal.

I've seen hundreds of pictures of this over the years but to see it in person...it's just breathtaking, especially in the drizzly English rain!

Tomorrow is Easter. I pray you each have a wonderful day celebrating this most holy of days. We will be heading to a couple of churches tomorrow and continue enjoying this beautiful town.  Before I go, let me say how great this Holiday Vacation tour has been. First class all they way. It is truly the vacation of a lifetime.