Day 3 in the UK- Part 1

DAY 3- March 9

This was the day the trip really started in my opinion.  We had breakfast at a cute little restaurant called "Boston Tea Party" (a little ironic, I thought, but good for the Brits to get past the...well, past.)

Breakfast :)  Always makes my day better.

Then, we walked over to Bath Abbey, where we took a look around.  While it didn't end up being the most magnificent church we saw on our trip, it was very beautiful, and had its charms for sure.

Afterwards, we took advantage of the free two-hour walking tour of Bath provided by the Mayor's Corps of Honorary Guides.  It was awesome!!  We even got to peek at (and snap a shot or two) of the places we missed the day before!!!  Here's what we saw:

Our guide at our meeting spot.

One thing that is true of everywhere we went:  the English are very good at posting signs for people.  It's very nice of them.

The King's Bath.

The elusive Pump Room.  It's very fancy.  

Inside the Pump Room.  It's called that because they used to pump water from the hot baths to serve here for medical treatment.  There is a string trio and piano playing in the background.

A painting of what it used to look like in the pump room.

We moved on from the square in front of the Abbey to walk around what used to be the boundaries of Bath.

Walking down to see the only remaining medieval gate in Bath.

There it is...all the way down there.  Kind of underwhelming after what we saw later in York :)

The original wall around Bath.

Say it with an accent and it's funny.

For all you Jane Austen fans, she lived in this house for awhile.  

She also wrote two novels in Bath, Persuasion  and Northanger Abbey...this is the gravel path to the Royal Crescent described in a love scene in Persuasion.

Our hotel!  

Queen Square just across the street from our hotel.

These vines are so cool crawling over the whole building!

We then moved on past the original walls of Bath-up to the beautiful Georgian architecture of the Circus and the Royal Crescent.

This is one side of the Circus, built by John Wood in the mid-18th century.  It's a full circle without a direct sightline out.  They were the first Georgian, or Neoclassical, condos.

I just enjoyed the top of this building.  

Jordan found a gray one!

At the Royal Crescent.

This is the lawn that the Royal Crescent looks out onto.  The reason there is a lower lawn and an upper lawn is called the "ha-ha" fence- and it's to keep sheep and peasants away from the buildings--and it's invisible from the windows.

Jordan in front of the graceful arc of buildings- the Royal Crescent.  Bath was where the royals took a holiday from London, and it feels that way.

Moving on, we got to go into the Assembly Rooms, where concerts, tea, and dances were held in the 18th century.  This is where the dashing Mr. Darcy's would dance with the Elizabeth Bennett's.  This was an unexpected and delightful surprise to see.

The Entrance to the Assembly Rooms.

The Ballroom!  

A Sedan Chair, where ladies would be carried or driven around.

An Older Sedan chair, without wheels--men would carry them with posts.  And if they took you the long way to your destination and demanded more money, it was called "being taken for a ride."

These are the original chandeliers!  The band would play from that alcove.

Jordan took these beautiful shots.

Can't you just imagining attending a ball here!!!!????

My handsome husband.

The second ballroom.

We finished our tour that morning at Pulteney Bridge.

The river Avon.

Pulteney Bridge.

Whew!  So I'll put the latter part of our day in the next post.....

Mind the Gap.....

So.....Jordan and I got the huge opportunity and blessing to be able to go on another amazing trip over Spring Break this year.  Last year, Jordan won the "argument" of where we would go when he took me on my dream trip to Italy, remember?  So, naturally, it was my turn to take Jordan on his dream vacation to the United Kingdom!!!!!  I've been planning this trip hastily since January, but it turned out amazing.  In Italy we only stayed in two cities and saw three.  In the UK, we upped the ante considerably, staying in 3 cities, and seeing a total of six.  It was busy.  It was crazy.  And it was AWESOME.  Over the next few posts, I'll share some of our best moments with the few of you who would actually like to see the pictures-- I will TRY to contain myself, but I'm liable to get carried away :)   So, here we go......

DAY 1-March 7
We left in the afternoon on Thursday and flew to Chicago.  We were excited because the layover was only 45 minutes.  Well, when your plane lands late, that excitement turns into terror and panic.  We ran "Home Alone" style to our next gate as they were calling our names to get on that international flight.  We didn't get to sit together while we flew across the pond, and by the time we got there the next morning, neither of us had slept much.  But I'm pretty sure I saw "Breaking Dawn Part II" multiple times on my tv screen in between doses.  Also, for all those planners out there--I had packed my carry-on with all my "overnight" supplies: contacts case, makeup remover, earplugs, melatonin, change of clothes...and it gets checked at the gate.  Le sigh.  At least I had my pillow in my purse.  (btw, is anyone humming "Run Run Rudolph" right now?  Yes?  Mission accomplished.)

DAY 2- March 8
We landed a little late into Heathrow (possibly our  the first plane's fault) and another round of anxiety began for me.  You see, in an attempt to plan all things and save as much money as possible, I had purchased our bus tickets to Bath ahead of time and the bus left an hour from when we landed.  I saw the customs line and I knew that was never going to happen.  Jordan found the patience within his own sleep deprived brain to give me a quick backrub and tell me the trip was not, in fact, ruined, and that it was all going to be okay eventually.  I was a little disappointed knowing that we would not get to the Roman Baths or my much anticipated high tea in the oh so fancy Pump Room.  But, we did get another bus ticket (at only a £5 charge to change our tickets!!!) and eventually wound up in Bath after a solid 24 hours of travel.

Tired, but almost there!!!!

After a shower and a change of clothes we went out to get dinner.  Our hotel could not have been more charming, as it was 5 georgian town homes converted into a lovely hotel--The Francis Hotel.  Highly recommended.

Our super chic room!!! I loved the color combinations.

Down the stairs.

You can kind of see the delineation of each house as the wallpaper changes down the hall.  Also, note the crooked door frames!!

Anyone else see the strange portrait nailed to the ceiling?  It did come in handy when our bodies woke us up at 4 am though.  Something to look at :)

Blessed bathroom.  That's wallpaper of the Roman Baths.

Super cute phone.

Exploring Bath for dinner.  We ended up at at Thai restaurant that was very yummy---but to be honest, I probably would have eaten pretty much anything at that point.

"Common" Knowledge

Hello, again.  Fancy meeting you here.  I know.  I promised a mountain of posts.  And I have the ideas.  Just very little drive.  If some time arrives and I can write a blog post or watch, well, anything on Netflix, I usually choose Netflix.  Clearly.  Right now, my obsession is The West Wing.

So, I am sitting here, getting ready to go see my brother perform in his first Shakespeare play, Cymbeline.  I have read this play in college, and yet, I remember NOTHING about it- literally not even whether its a comedy or a tragedy.  So glad I got a college education.

Really, what I wanted to say was that I was sitting here while Jordan is watching The Walking Dead.  I cannot watch this show.  It is way too grody for me.  But I can hear the noises coming from the TV.  Here's what happened from my perspective-- keep in mind this is only what I hear:

"Man:  mmmgggghhhh......aaarrrggggg....grrrrrrr....."

"Woman: (noise of gun cocking) I gotcha...."

"Man:   ggrrrrrrrr.....are ya gonna shoot me?  aarrrrgggg"

"Woman: (BAM!!!!)"

"Jordan:  oh no!!!! (sigh)"


So, I say to Jordan, "Wait, she wasn't supposed to shoot him?"  and he says "NO! (with "duh" infiltrating his voice).  "But I thought he was a zombie....." and then Jordan laughs at me and says.....

"HONEY.  Zombies can't talk."

My bad.  I didn't know.  Again, I wonder why I went to college if I didn't come out with this common knowledge.

'S Wonderful!

Ok...I know I said I had a million ideas for blog posts, and that is true.  I just don't really have time to post them.  Actually, its just that it isn't at the top of my priority list when I do get the time.  I'd rather bake or watch netflix with Jordan.  Oh well.  I guess I'll never be a professional blogger.  Good thing it was never a dream of mine.

What was a dream of mine, however, was to be a professional performer.  Happily, that has come true. This week I'll be opening a Gershwin review called 'S Wonderful.  Its super cute and has so much music and dancing in it!! You should come see it.  Bring a date.  Its romantic :)

More fun pictures to come!!!

Get tickets and information at Phoenix Theatre's website.

Weird Realizations

Okay so I noticed something about myself the other day.  I love it when I open a tub/carton/container of something new and get to be the first one to dip into it.  Particularly if that thing is paste-like in consistency.  For example, peanut butter.  I love opening it and getting to put a knife in it first.  Or a new tub of I Can't Believe its Not Butter.  Or ice cream.  I can't explain why.  I just do.  And when I get to do it, I make the first mark slowly...like I am creating some incredible piece of art.  Weird.

Also...I MUST clap, snap, or otherwise make noise in time with the beat when the Friends theme comes on.  I don't want to, I have to.

Trips to Nowhere

Well, I have just been hit with a literal BARRAGE of ideas for my blog, so maybe that will translate into more than one post a month.  Keep your fingers crossed.

This one, however is documenting two trips that happened in the Bluth family over the last month.  First, my husband decided to spend his hard earned boys weekend with his brothers and brothers-in-law for a "knife only" wilderness outing up in Flagstaff.  Now, this sounds more like an over-eager ward preparedness specialist activity gone horribly wrong to me, but those guys needed to let their inner man roar, I guess.  Whatevs.  I didn't have to go.  Jordan came back after two days a little stiff, but happy.  I don't think he thought it was worth the money to have the instructor, because he is already an Eagle Scout and knows the basics of survival already.  However, he did have to make his own shelter for the night and slept right through the coyotes that were prowling around.  No freaking way.  I would have Katniss Everdeen-ed it and hiked my hiney up some tree for the night.  I am not paying money to get attacked by a coyote.  Forget it.

Here are some picks of my manly man:

That's a pretty spacious shelter, baby!

Jordan and the bros

 Now, the day after Jordan got home, I had to do an outreach performance up in Pinetop (beware the speed trap in Star Valley, people.  It SUCKS).  Then, I drove back the same night and flew to see my brother, Ryan, who was doing summerstock theatre in Nebraska.  But not just anywhere in Nebraska.  Nowhere in Nebraska.  Seriously.  Crawford.  A town 20 miles outside of Chadron.  Still haven't heard the name of a town you recognize?  Me too.

Some stats:

Population: 997 (it seemed like maybe 100)
Land area: 1.14 square miles

For comparison:

Mesa AZ population:  439,041
Land Area: 125 square miles

So.  Yeah.  I was super stoked to see Ryan though.  I got to ride in a TINY airplane with roughly 15 seats in it and board it from the runway.  If I tried hard, I could imagine I was doing that because I was very, very fabulous and famous.  The airport was in the neighboring town of Chadron (pop. 5,851) and it was a single family home that had been turned into an airport.  Made security a breeze though.  I was only there for 2 days, and I saw three shows.  He was great in all of them.  Good thing we had so much theatre to see, because I could only make calls from the theatre, check the internet from the theatre or the library, and there was no TV.  We did watch movies on his laptop and tried not to scare ourselves too much with his TRULY haunted basement.  Seriously.  Pretty sure some bad things happened down there.  A photo tour for you:

My plane.  Pretty sure that laptop should be off.  And also, NOT sure that electronics don't mess with a tiny plane's navigation equipment.  Just sayin'.

A refuel in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

I LOVED the point of view I got of this storm.  Beautiful.

The Buttes.

Lunchtime.  Yep.  The name of the restaurant is "DJeet Yet?"  Say it over and over until you get it.  Like Mad Gabs.

D Jeet Yet

Lunch with Ryan.  Those specks in the distance are long horned cattle.

Really old trees.

Crazy store called The Junk Store.  Every aisle was like this.  I swear, there were decades old tubs of Noxema and dried and cracked nail polish for sale here.  But I did find a treasure--a gorgeous pedestal to put decorations on for my house.  8 bucks.

Post Playhouse, where Ryan performed all summer.

Kenicke and his Greased Lightnin'.  Maybe the props budget can be upped next year...

Outside the theatre.

Me with Curly!!  Ryan did such a great job in "Oklahoma!"

Ryan's house for 12 weeks.

I was afraid to take pictures any farther down in the basement.  You know, that's when freaky crap shows up in the prints.  

Nebraska.

The airport.  By the way, that building is NOT that far away.

Anyway, so it was an ADVENTURE to say the least.  I have never been so happy to see a fast food restaurant.  You never realize what you have til its gone.

In other news, I hope you all voted yesterday and that you are looking forward to September as much as I am (for more on how awesome September is, see this post.  See you soon!  Great posts in the works, people!!