More Awesome Views...

I was thrilled when I found out that Terri and Chris would be in London while I was there. Between our lunch at GSK and dinner at OXO Tower, Ashlynn and I headed to their new apartment in Battersea. Along the way, I spotted the Cookie Monster near the roof of a school.

 No surprise at all that their apartment was absolutely stunning.

The view from the master bedroom was especially incredible.

I admired all the hard work that Terri put into the design of each room. I especially liked the many cool light fixtures. My favorite piece of art was this squid made from Formula One parts.  

Pretty cool that they can even see the London Eye from the balcony.

Special Meals...

Veronica was thrilled that Ashlynn and I could join her for a ramen lunch at GSK...

...followed by bronkies (brownies crossed with chocolate chip cookies).

That evening we had an amazing dinner with Terri, Chris, Habe and Nina at Oxo Tower Brasserie, offering incredible views over the city (which I failed to capture). You might just be able to see the red neon OXO on the right.

Afterwards, all us ladies went to see Nina’a son Max starring in an off-Broadway version of Carmen. We had seen Max in shows at the BSN and the Panto, so it was extra special to see him grown up and as the lead male in a small, but extremely professional version of this musical. We all really loved the show and, as you can see, Nina was very proud.

Camden Market...

Veronica had to work during the day, so Ashlynn and I found ways to entertain ourselves including visiting Camden Market. The main parts of the market had been upgraded substantially since I had last visited and the food options were incredible.

There was still a lot of cool street art...

 ....unusual storefronts...

 ....and eclectic collections of stuff for sale. We had planned on hashing that evening, but public transport worked against us and we ended up in a pub instead.

London at Night...

I had some time to wander between seeing Camilla and meeting up with the girls, so I snapped some shots of my surroundings including this view of St. Paul’s Cathedral from the Millennium Bridge...

...and this selfie from a random metal sphere.

Although we met up at Monument, Veronica led us on a long walk across Tower Bridge...

 ...across Southbank...

...to Embankment with lots of lovely views along the way. Veronica has entirely embraced living in London and loved sharing one of her favorite walking routes with us.

Billy met up with us after returning from a business trip.

Drinks in London...

From Bath, we caught a train to West London to spend several days with Veronica. That first evening we went to a Vietnamese restaurant for pho and then to Evans & Peel, a secret bar in Chiswick. From the outside it looks like an old-fashioned pharmacy until they open the door and the windows black out so no one can see the bar inside. 

Unlike The Doctor in Rotterdam, I was allowed to take a photo inside this cute bar.

The following day while Veronica was at work, I pulled off a major surprise for Ashlynn. I had completely thrown her by telling her that we had an appointment after lunch. When we approached the theater showing The Lion King and she realized my bluff, it brought tears to her eyes. Despite having seats in the back row, we both thoroughly loved the show. Afterwards, she went to Veronica’s choir practice while I met up with Camilla at a small café at the impressive Somerset House. It was so great to see her that when she invited me to spend a night at her place later in the week, there was no way I could turn her down.

Free Walking Tour of Bath...

On our last morning, Sally and I went for a free walking tour offered on behalf of the Mayor of Bath by a dedicated group of volunteers (no tips are allowed). It was impressive to learn that the entire city center of Bath is an UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its Roman ruins combined with its Georgian architecture, which we saw many examples of during our tour.

Completed in 1774, the Royal Crescent consisted of 30 terraced houses with 114 columns; some of those townhouses have since been split into smaller flats, one is now a museum and another a hotel.

Completed in 1768, The Circus is a historic street of large townhouses forming a circle with three entrances and a lawn in the middle with large trees blocking the view across. Each floor featured a different style column with 528 unique symbols carved across.

The Pulteney Bridge was built in 1774 across the River Avon and is one of only three bridges in the world that has shops on both sides. The low head dam, known as a weir, gave the location another interesting photographic element.

By coincidence, Sally and I happened upon this building our first night while searching for a restaurant. It was dark and we didn’t pay attention to the building itself, but were drawn in by the name: Giggling Squid, which happened to be a very good Thai restaurant. During our tour, we found out that this was originally the Bluecoat School built in 1860, and is now an apartment building.

The Roman Baths...

No visit to Bath is complete without a visit to the Roman Baths, which were not discovered until the late 19th century. I was glad that Ashlynn joined us after her lunch with Hannah.

The original temple was built in 70AD, but the current building was built in 1897. The baths themselves are below the current level of the street so you enter surrounded by Victorian statues of Roman Emperors while looking down on the Great Bath, which is 5.25 feet (1.6 meters) deep.

Needless to say, with the Bath Abbey in the background, I couldn’t resist taking a lot of photos.

When Sally visited as a child, she could dangle her legs into the hot water, but that is no longer allowed.

In addition to a fascinating museum, we wandered through the remains of the Roman Bath Complex, including the saunas...

...and plunge pools. In the East Baths, the women’s section, there were projections displayed to show us what the normal activities would have been.

The Sacred Spring has been fed for thousands of years by over one million liters of hot water that rises daily from a geological fault. In the past, this natural phenomenon was beyond human comprehension and was believed to be the work of Gods. This water than feeds into the Great Bath and surrounding complex through a series of channels; the overflow eventually empties into the River Avon.

After a long chat with one of the docents, we realized it was nearing sunset, so we went back to see the Great Bath lit for the evening.

Our tour ended with a taste of the famous spa water, which contains 43 minerals, smells like sulfur and tastes disgusting.