Day 5 is probably the most disappointing day of our trip (to me anyway). It was raining the whole day, and it seemed that the further we were away from London, the harder it rained. I think it would be time well spent if we just stay indoor and visit other museums/galleries. But then the bus tour we booked online is non-refundable, so there was no choice but to fight the rain. The places we visited on this bus tour: Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath.
Bus Tour
We had another early start (7am) this day to catch a bus ride at a hotel near where we stayed. The hotel is called Hotel Russell.
As you can tell from the picture, some of us had a hard time keeping awake. What happened was that they adjusted their daylight saving the night before, so we lost yet another hour of sleep. That day, which is a Sunday, also happens to be Mother’s Day in UK. I wonder if they always adjust their clocks on their Mother’s Day.
Windsor Castle
Two hours after we got on the bus, we reached our first point of attraction, the Windsor Castle, the official residences of the Queen. Based on the flag they raised, they say the Queen was actually in there on that Mother’s Day (but of course we didn’t get to see her)
Before the bus tour, I wasn’t looking forward to this place at all; it just didn’t sound as interesting as the other places. But surprisingly I enjoyed the time there very much, more than Stonehenge and Bath. It’s too bad that we weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside; there are all sorts of neat stuff in there. All those paintings/sculptures, furnishings/decorations, guns/weapons were introduced by the audio guide.
Stonehenge
This is the attraction that I looked forward the most, and it was the most disappointing. It rained so hard that I didn’t want to take any pictures (didn’t want to get my new camera all wet) Tyatt did take a few pictures there. But I’m not sure if I would have a much better experience with better weather. The audio guide was just plain boring; it doesn’t really have a whole lot to say, because no one really know much about Stonehenge, just a lot of theories and speculations.
Bath
Final destination of the day was the city of Bath. It’s a nice little city; they have some unique buildings (including another Abbey), nice waterfront around the city, and the most interesting attraction there is the only hot springs in Britain, the Roman Baths. As part of the tour, we got a private touring in there, but only after the opening hours. And since we got there a little early, we had an hour to walk around the city.
The weather wasn’t that great, sky was all grey and overcast, some drizzles from time to time. But I like the time we walked around there, we even got lost a little. But we managed to get back to the Roman Baths in time for the touring.
The staff there did their best job to explain everything about the place, how everything work in both Roman times and now. It was kinda interesting for the first while, but all I really wanted was to see the pool and to take a couple of pictures. By the time we started heading back to London, which is about 100 miles away, it was around 6:30pm. And we didn’t get back to London until 9pm (bad traffic jam on the way.) We ended our long day having late night dinner in Chinatown.
Ridgemount Hotel
The hotel we stayed was one of the best choices we made for this trip. Granted the room was a little small (which is the norm in London), our beds were clean, the washrooms were clean (both private and shared ones), nice location, decent English breakfast.
And even though we knew exactly what we needed to do each day, Mr. Rees, the proprietor there, was quite helpful (like showing us the direct bus routes to Notting Hill and train station from the hotel.) The cost was about 25GBP per night per person, which is not expensive at all (in London standard.) I would definitely stay here again if I ever visit London again.
Final Impression of Zoom Airlines
Second line on the screen, Flight Z4111, Zoom….
