London: Day 2

Thursday, May 29

We were supposed to leave the flat at 6:00 a.m. My alarm was certainly going off in time for that to happen, but I felt rebellious and very tired. Furthermore, I consoled myself with the thought that I didn't hear anyone else getting up and around yet, either. So as the completely responsible adult that I am, I stayed in bed.

I finally roused myself around a quarter til. It seemed that suddenly  the whole flat came to life around me. It became apparent that among incorrectly set alarms, oversleeping, and rebellion (me), our whole group had failed to get up on time.

In spite of the rough beginning, we still managed to catch the tube on time and arrive at Paddington Station in time to catch the train to our tour of the Cotswolds.

As near as we could figure out the train was traveling around 123 mph. The countryside was absolutely stunning. Parts of it reminded me a little bit of a mix between Ohio and Louisiana. OK, I know that sounds odd, but just go with it. We passed a lot of Holsteins on the way. When we arrived at Kembel station, we had a while to wander around until our driver picked us up. 

Our driver, Nick, was a great guy that had longsuffering patience with our questions and liked to give us all a hard time. He informed us that the thing the Cotswolds are actually known for are their sheep. We saw a couple flocks, but honestly not that many.

We first visited the town of Cirencester. Nick dropped us off by the St. John Baptist Cathedral. It was built in the normal medeival style, at least as far as my small amount of architectural knowledge could tell. There was a graveyard behind it with some surprisingly modern graves. I think the latest date we found was 2017. Nick told us that Gordon Ramsey's daughter was married there.

After that we all sort of split up a bit. I was overcome with the beautiful loaves of bread available in the market, so I purchased a loaf along with a couple of pastries and Katie, Lindsay, and I tore chunks out of it with our bare hands like savages.

While the rest of the group was shopping, I guess, Lindsay and I found our way to the Corinium Museum. To our dismay, we had only thirty minutes to spend there. The displays were very well done, with a fair amount of Roman artifacts and even several ancient mosaic floors. 

One display talked about how workers were paid and showed a scale of teacher wages which illustrate which subjects the Romans considered most important. The highest paid teachers were those who earned 200-250 Denarii per pupil per month for instruction in the disciplines of Rhetoric and Geometry. The lowest paid teachers were those who were involved in teaching gymnastics.

I was also fascinated with the display that explained the system wealthy Romans used to heat their floors. The floor was supported with small pillars, which left an empty space between the flooring and the foundation. A fireplace was built into one side, and heat was funneled into the empty space. Of course, it was important to have someone to tend the fire at all times if such a heating tactic was used.

We just barely got into the medeival time period when we had to leave to meet back up with our group. I, of course, was heartbroken.

The entire area we were in was absolutely picturesque. I had a flashback to my time in Jamaica when I was shocked that the pictures I'd seen actually weren't photoshopped like I'd always supposed. There were classic stone fences and rustic stone cottages everywhere. Sometimes we caught a glimpse of manor houses among the rolling hills.

As we headed to the village of Tetbury, Nick told us that the Boys in the Boat movie had been filmed in the Cotswolds. He also mentioned that there is an American airbase located in the area, and military planes have been taking off for the Iranian conflict from there in recent days.

In Tetbury, we walked through an old market building built in 1655 and still in use. There were a lot of pelts and chamois available there. We then wandered the streets, poking our noses into little shops and admiring the buildings. I was delighted to venture into  a couple antique stores, but the prices were outrageous, so nothing came out with me.

Lindsay and I also found another museum that was free to go into, so of course we did. the Tetbury Police Museum and Courtroom. Probably my favorite thing there was the display of billy clubs and the true stories you could read of crimes actually comitted in the area.

We stopped in at Highgrove, a little shop owned by King Charles, on our way back to meet the group, then we went for lunch to the Cat and Custard Pot Inn, a traditional English pub. It was, again, one of the most adorable little buildings you can imagine. The atmosphere was friendly and laid back. The food was delicious. Most ordered Steak and Ale Pie, but Kari Jo and I wanted to taste more than one thing, so I ordered the Sausage and Mash with peas. 

Nick gave us anoter interesting tidbit after lunch as we drove to Castle Combe. We were talking about the hedges, and he informed us it is illegal to cut them except at a certain time of year because there is so much of the wildlife that depends on them, damaging the hedges would unbalance the ecosystem.

Castle Combe is full of rustic charm. There was an inn you could stay at, but the only building we went into was St. Andrews Church. There wasn't a lot that stood out about the church to me, but I was thrilled to see what is considered one of the earliest working clocks in England. It was made in the 1400's. If you refer to the image below, the white piece is where the numbers were located.

We also followed the little winding trails up into the beautiful gardens. They were truly my dream garden spots, with stone walls and little doorways and steps and meandering paths with untamed flowers creeping out over the edges of everything. We had fun giving Nedra a hard time about being the last one to the vehicle.

In Lacock, I was completely delighted with the aesthetics of the place. The newest building had been constructed in the 1600's. To live there, you have to have generational ties. A number of films have been partly produced there. 

On the grounds was an Abbey that we were only able to see through a fence that was used in the Harry Potter movies. There was also a house that represented the home of Harry's parents. Pride and Prejudice was also partly filmed there in the Red Lion Pub. 

We poked our noses into the little shops throughout the town, ending in The Chocolate Barn which Nick informed us supplies chocolate to some of the higher class hotels. 

Most of us ordered some sort of delicacy, although we paid prices we certainly wouldn't have paid back in the dear old States. Don't ask how Leann and I nearly got lost walking back to the ride when it was literally the easiest thing ever. As in, start at the van, take four left-hand turns, and you should end up back at the van, right? Yup, that's how it's supposed to work. I shall continue to cling like a leach to people with better directions than myself.

We took the van back to Chippenham where we wandered the streets a bit. Some got supper at a Thai takeaway, and we lingered in a little park by the river before going to catch our train back to London.

And so ends day two.

Some Random Observations:

• So far we've been super impressed with how gentlemanly a lot of these men have been, offering to carry suitcases up and down steps and whatnot. In spite of the sterotypes of quiet Londoners, they are very friendly and helpful if you ask them a question.
• The current exchange rate is about 1 pound to $1..40 USD.
• The ice is lacking.
• Loud Americans really are a thing.
• The bathrooms don't have door gaps and there has been a hook on the door for purses in every single one I've been in so far. A little thing, but sometimes those details are important!
• We're supposed to remove our shoes at the front door of our flat. Somehow we're having a hard time remembering. Also, our flat is spread out over three levels, so we have stairs and more stairs.
• We walked a little over 16000 steps today.
• So many women wearing pretty flowing dresses and skirts!
• People make little hobby crafts or goods and leave them out on their doorstep or a table and leave mobile payment information or a cash box and use the trust system. It delights me.