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| It is always great to see options for folks who need extra options. |
My breakfast, this morning, was delicious. As I checked on the kids, throughout the morning, I saw that many of them had chosen the same options as I did. I had a small helping of scrambled eggs and they were cooked much better than at most hotels. I also took some bacon, sausage, and a hashbrown. All of these items are fairly typical, but I was pleased to add baked breakfast beans and a waffle to my plate. (The beans are located under the waffle) I also ordered a double cappuccino and some yogurt and fruit to be healthy.
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| A few of the boys digging in! |
When breakfast concluded, We all gathered onto the bus and began our long journey across the English countryside. There was some London traffic and a few confusing roundabouts, but we were on our way. The ride to Stonehenge was just over an hour and along the way we picked up an expert guide.
John is another blue badge guide. As it was explained to us, Blue Badge guides go through extensive training for several years before getting their license. The quality and dedication shows. Both Sean and John are masters of their trade. They both subtly infuse humor into the script which makes them more accessible than most tour guides of an older generation. John had a soft voice and as I listened him to throughout the day, I realized he spoke like "Nate the Great" the wunderkid from Ted Lasso. His voice kind of sounded like him, but it was more his accent and his cadence when he spoke.
The weather at Stonehege was really nice. It was a little chillier than back home and the wind whipped over the adjacent farmland. It added to our experience. John explained to us that Stonehenge was over 5000 years old. It was interesting to learn that the Romans were amazed by the structure and often visited...and at that point it was already 3000 years old! There are three types of rocks at Stonehenge.
Some of the things we learned today amazed me and because I am not a Blue Badge guide, I have already forgotten many things, lol. The first is the word 'henge.' It is basically a ditch in the ground. The folks used the area for some type of worship long before the stones arrived. Their original structure was made of wood. When the stones arrived, there were three different ones. The first at the blue stones. They don't look blue today, but if you cracked them open, they'd be blue. These stones were smoothed, but not perfectly. They are the stones on the inside. These stones were most likely floated down the coast from Wales. The Sarsen stones are on the outside. These stones were from roughly twenty miles away, but were considered foreign. They were most likely taken to the location using a rail system. Imagine that...three thousand years before the Romans, these folks had a wooden rail system to move several tons of rock. The last of the stones are detail stones. The most famous of them is the heel stone. These are the stones that line up to the winter solstice, full moons, and other cool stuff.
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| The Heel Stone |
John also explained that the most significant day is that of the winter solstice. One this day, the sun approaches the structure and at the heel stone lines perfectly with a gap in the main formation. Apparently the hippies, as John described them, love this day! Inside the visitor center, there is a digital display of the phenomenon and it does seem cool. Coming off of the eclipse, I can totally understand the ancient fixation on the celestial bodies.
Stonehenge also had a replica of what these people would have lived in. They were modest straw homes.
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| A replica of one possible method of moving the stones |
If you ever find yourself headed this way, hire John...I am sure I've missed some critical points along the way, but hopefully you don't think I am blockhead!
We had about 1.5 hours before we would make it to Bath. Along the way, I cherished little reminders of home. We drove through Andover, Amesbury, and so many other villages that are local to our home as well. John pointed out, at one point, some hills far off in the countryside. They were covered in cloud and definitely showed some rain. It was the country of Wales. We also happened to cross into a small hamlet named "Pennsylvania." We could rightly say that we saw Wales in the middle of Pennsylvania!
John is a funny guy! Anyone who uses puns to teach about the past has to be, right?
We entered Somerset County and passed through Taunton before we made it to Bath. It is huge in comparison to the tiny villages we had seen so far, but is tiny compared to the behemoth that is London.
In Bath, John explained that we would have an hour for lunch before the walking tour. Mrs. Comproni and I decided to eat Thai food and were pleased to see a group of our kids at the same restaurant.
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| Our Thai lunch group! |
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| When I say "One Must Eat to Learn" this is what I mean. |
Some of the other students had pizza from an authentic Italian restaurant, Indian food, or baguette sandwiches. All in all, I think folks were pleased with the options in one little area of the city.
We rendezvoused with John and began our walking tour. We saw and learned about the origins of the baths in Bath. Apparently, the hot springs were discovered by a pig farmer whose pigs were rolling around in a warm muddy spring. When the Romans arrived, they engineered some type of filter and cleaned out the mud. They eventually built bath houses and the city grew from there. It has had several different periods of growth too. The most recent period seems to be around the time of our war from independence. In this time, money, real money, flowed into Bath. We experienced some of that with the architecture that John showed to us.
The photos above are of two different structures connected by family. The first is the Circus. It was built and designed by John Wood. It's circumference is the same as the henge at Stonehenge. There are three entrances and the roads in are pointed directly at the center of the opposite point of the circle. The middle ground was once filled with running water giving these wealthy Bathers access to daily Baths. His son, aptly named, John Wood, Jr. designed the second structure. It was known as the Crescent. Both structures are filled with posh residences today. The Crescent has a very expensive hotel that none of the adults here could reasonably expect to afford, lol!
It was here that John told us a story about Princess Victoria before she became Queen. She was modeling a new dress and a gust of wind blew through the area. The crowd saw more than expected. When asked about how it made her feel, she didn't respond. It was Victoria's Secret!
John is a funny guy! Anyone who uses puns to teach about the past has to be, right?
We had a long drive back to London and dinner, but we made it. The restaurant tonight was delicious.
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| Maria and John are sitting in the foreground of the adult table |
I have to fess up. The Butter Chicken tonight far surpassed that of Delta Airlines. I can't even believe I tried to say it was good after this...It was so good. There was also a spinach bowl that was chalk full of spice and heat. Naan bread and white rice rounded out a perfect plate. For dessert, it was a yogurt curry. I never heard of this, but with a blend of spice and a sprinkle of pistachio, I was all for it. It was tasty!
It's about 11:30 here in London. The night has flown by, just like the day. We are leaving this hotel tomorrow and headed down the street. We still have two full days in London before we change the channel and go to France.
I hope everyone is enjoying the blog so far. This trip has been great and I am getting to know those students who I didn't teach. They are all good kids with a sense of wonder. Some are trying new foods and even enjoying it. Others are asking questions to our guides and exploring the world from a new intellectual perspective. We have only just begun!
Mr. Lavoie, sitting in a hotel lobby listening to Marvin Gaye and finishing his Britvic Ginger Ale before he heads to bed.
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