... and that's a wrap ...

aside from getting strep throat, my last few days in london were just as magnificent as the first few.  the new year's eve revelry helped support my decision to make new year's day a day of leisure and a nearly endless stream of british tv on netflix. the day wasn't totally given up to sloth, as i did make my way out of the hotel for some brunch - eggs, no less - and a trip to the grocery store (the latter planned so i wouldn't have to leave the hotel room again for the remainder of the day) so there was a certain degree of productivity ... besides, i needed to be well-rested for friday's day trip to windsor castle, stonehenge, and bath ... justified.

i'm not a huge fan of guided tours, but i wanted to see these places and the tour bus was the most convenient and economical option for achieving that end.  it was nice to simply ride from place to place, rather than have to facilitate all the planning on my own. and hearing history and current status of each location from the tour guide was helpful, too. the guide's extraneous commentary was generally trite (or, more likely, something for which i just have little patience) and elicited plenty of eye rolling (again, probably mostly from me).  but the sights, the sights ...

the tour started at windsor -- the queen was not there, however, even though it is her official residence. a helpful hint from the tour guide (so, see, he wasn't a total waste of time) was to spend the most time in the state apartments and/or the queen mary's doll house; good advice.  photography wasn't allowed inside (though, i saw a lot of people snapping shots with their cell phones (brazen!), but you can likely imagine just how ornate (i'd say "royal" but that would be obvious) everything was -- every single detail, floor to ceiling. in one of the dining rooms, the table takes up the whole length of the room and seats 160 people (please pass the salt ...alt ...alt...alt) and a ruler is used to ensure the accuracy of each place setting.  the castle suffered a ceiling fire in november of 1992 but has since been repaired -- something like a 36.5 million pound expenditure -- which led to buckingham palace being opened to the public for the first time to help pay for the restoration. 

next stop was stonehenge, which is in the middle of nowhere.  i was hoping we would be able to walk between the stones, but the ground is precarious and the stones are roped off.  still. it was something to see the stones under the shining sun and also under a more ominous light -- breathtaking, really.

then it was another hour or so to bath and the roman baths; we arrived about an hour before the museum closed, which was enough time to tour the baths and taste the water (and see jane austen's house, too, if only from the bus). and we got to see this lady, too!  i'd originally planned to stay a couple nights in bath, but changed my mind mid-week, as i was enjoying london too much and didn't want to interrupt my stay. next time, though, next time i will stay a few nights in this city of only 80,000 people.

my last two days in london are more of a blur, as that's when i started coming down with the strep. saturday, it was cold and raining so i went to an indoor shopping mall and to a movie. the mall was massive, complete with a seasonal skating rink and a 15 (at least) screen cinema complex. getting movie tickets was interesting -- they're purchased from a kiosk (unless you have a credit card with a strip, rather than the chip) and you pick your seat, paying extra for premium seats. i saw birdman, by the way. and ate about three handfuls of popcorn from a container that was bigger than my head and slurped down 1/4 of a diet coke from a cup that was also bigger than my head. time and money well spent.

sunday morning, i checked out of the premier inn near victoria station and moved to a premium inn near king's cross and st. pancras station (both pictured below -- and, sadly, i did not find the harry potter store so i was not able to indulge in a butter beer). interestingly, i expected the same type of accommodations at the new hotel, considering i was staying at a chain hotel -- i felt like i'd been upgraded to the ritz when i got into my new room: secure elevators, bigger space, better bathroom... (and maybe where i'll stay next time i visit).  

the british library was right across the street from the hotel, so even though i was nearly delirous with fever and throat pain, i made my way through the "terror and wonder: the gothic imagination" exhibit and saw a bunch of other historical documents related to science, history, art, music, and literature, which were impressive to me when i was there, but have little recollection of now that the time has passed (thanks, fever). i think the british library was one of the first places i set out to visit and it ended up as the last (unless you count the medi-center, where i went monday morning before taking the train to paris ...).

i loved, loved, loved, loved london ... loved it.  and i know i'll be back one day.