London Day 4: Bath

We get a late start in the morning. C & J are starting their own business, and have much to do, besides the imminent move to Ireland. J has got to finish something before she can leave, but I don't mind because I'm glad for us all to go together.

The drive to Bath is short, and soon we are strolling along the quaint streets lined with the light colored houses. I imagine that I am Anne Elliot walking down the street arm and arm with Captain Wentworth. We won't have time to visit the Jane Austen house, but she didn't really enjoy her time in Bath, and someday I plan to come back and see the Jane Austen's House Museum in Chawton.

C & J look for marmelade for me while I tour the Roman Baths. I am amazed at all things Roman. Indeed, Rome is the craddle of western civilization. The water is a murky tannish-green, but one can still imagine people through the ages coming bathe in the bubbling, slightly sulphuric waters. I am entranced by a mask of Athena, and the indoor pool, which looks like a galaxy of stars. Before I leave, I drink a cup of water at the Pump Room, another hommage to Miss Jane.

Strolled over with C&J to Bath Abbey. Very different from the churches in Paris. It is light and airy inside. The vaulted ceilings are intricately veined. It sounds gross, but it was quite beautiful.

Went to a shishi market to buy some orange, and some lemon-lime marmelade to top off my cheese party. Grab a Cornish pasty for lunch, and we are off. traffic is really bad, and we don't have time to see the Crescent. They take me to the train station at Bath, invite me to visit in Ireland, and I am heading back to London before I know it.

Just one tip for any non-British travellers who want to use the trains in London. Have a Londoner buy the tickets online, when they are cheap. I wasn't able to buy online, and bought after I'd arrived in London, by which time it was almost three times as expensive!

Back in London, I race back to the National Gallery, and revel in Renoirs, Michaelangelos and Rembrandts. Rembrandt uses so much shadow, but balances it so well with light. Viewing his paintings always reminds me of that line in Jane Eyre, where she talks about the shadows being as important as the light.

Also take a minute to go revisit the National Portrait Gallery and get postcards of people I'd like to meet: Queen Elizabeth I, Virginia Woolfe, Shakespeare, Mary Wollstonecraft. I dither about John Donne, but the postcard is nothing compared to the original, so I pass.

Meet up with Ginger at Waterloo station. I buy some Eclairs to share at the cheese party, and meet him outside just as he approaches. We walk a bit to get to the studio, and find his friends in line to see a taping of QI with Steven Fry. When it airs, I hope some nice British person will post it to youtube so that I can give you a glimpse of the comedic genius that I saw that night. Not that we knew we would get in. There was all types of suspense, as we were told by the coralling guy that they were waiting for a busload of VIP's who could co-opt our seats at any time prior to our entering the theatre. Luckily, however, the VIPs never made it, and our group got the best seats in the house!

My favorite comic was Alan Davies.

My favorite line was from Steven Fry. After telling the oft-heard story of how the Jews received the ten commandments, he apologized by saying that he was Jewish. Then he said that he was actually an atheist, and couldn't understand the furor over everyone arguing who's got the best invisible friend!

Anyway, it's been so fun to be a broad abroad, but I'm rather excited to be going home tomorrow