Oy vey, have we ever been busy this week. I have so much to write about and so little time to do it! But here's a quick post to try to catch up.
Monday: Besselsleigh
The week started out with a brief Flickrmeet (at which members of the Oxfordshire Churches Group meet up to photograph churches) at Besselsleigh Church.
We only stayed about 45 minutes, but was a good chance to meet a couple more people I "know" from Flickr. The church was very small and quite peaceful despite being next to a rather large highway. It was surrounded by extensive fields with grazing sheep and the autumn leaves made for some pretty churchyard scenes.
The interior was cozy and antique-feeling, with box pews and oil lamps.
Thursday: Bath
On Thursday we took a day trip to Bath, mainly to have afternoon tea at the Pump Room again! It was cold and grey all day, and there was a major downpour at one point, but we still really enjoyed ourselves. Since we had seen all the sights on a previous visit, this was a good chance to just wander around, relax and soak up the atmosphere.
Touristy as it might be, Bath really is a wonderful city and we both firmly rate it as one of the best in England. There is gorgeous architecture everywhere, mostly Georgian and made of pretty Bath Stone. The Roman Baths are really cool - they are one of the few Roman sites with enough intact to give a real sense of what life was like in Ancient Rome. Bath Abbey, right next door, is huge and lovely. And there are magnificent shops, restaurants and people-watching opportunities everywhere.
We parked in a big lot beneath the Royal Crescent, a lovely set of Georgian townhouses (built 1770) overlooking a huge park.
Adjacent to the Royal Crescent is the Circus (same idea, but full circle instead of semi-circle), full of beautiful townhouses like this one.
Our first stop in the city center was Sally Lunn's, to try one of her famous buns.
This little restaurant and tea shop is just downhill from Bath Abbey and is housed in the oldest dwelling in the city (1482). In the 1680s, a lady named Sally Lunn lived here and she began making large eggy buns based on French brioche. It seems they've been a hit ever since.
We opted for cinnamon sugar (pictured at right) and it was delicious! It even came with clotted cream. Yum. David had a variety of choices for his coffee, and he opted for the Jane Austen Blend.
Down some very steep stairs to the basement is a "Kitchen Museum" that preserves the bakery used by Sally Lunn and later bakers (pictured below). This is also where you can buy buns to go.
Fortified by our nutritious snack, we then aimlessly wandered the city for a couple hours. Some highlights:
A time traveler wandering the streets. (Or, an actor hired to promote a sale at the fancy department store House of Fraser.) He occasionally stopped, rang a bell, and announced in a resounding voice, "O yea, o yea, o yea. Special today at the House of Fraser... God save the Queen." Much more fun than the guy-holding-a-sign method.
A very cute boy shopping with his parents.
The Little Theatre, showing artsy films for the Bath Film Festival.
Pulteney Bridge over the River Avon, built in 1773 and lined with shops on both sides.
Some of the shops on Pulteney Bridge.
Bath Abbey through an arch
Exterior and interior of Bath Abbey
A Romanesque capital in the crypt of Bath Abbey
Eventually we felt ready to tackle afternoon tea at the Pump Room. It was as delicious and rich as we remembered, and in such beautiful surroundings.
The Pump Room, which hosted fancy parties in the time of Jane Austen (who lived in Bath).
View of the Roman Baths from the Pump Room.
Fountain of the "healing mineral waters" of Bath. For 50p ($1), you can have a large glass of the hot, sulphuric stuff. We shared a glass in order to counteract the evil we did to our bodies with the treats in the next picture. I'm sure it worked.
Afternoon tea at the Pump Room. Famous for good reason.
When we left at around 4PM, the sky had completely cleared but it was also very nearly dark.
Getting Ready for the Move
The rest of the week has been spent doing a whole lot of packing and planning. Yesterday was an especially productive day - we got rid of several bags of trash, donated three big boxes of books and clothes to Oxfam (Britain's version of Goodwill), and got some boxes ready to ship home. I can't believe we are moving out the day after tomorrow!
Our travel plans for when we leave here are also coming together, and we now even have an apartment in Germany! We will move in on December 1.
