Canadian Thanksgiving, Stonehenge and two birthdays
I was in London for two very important days: Thanksgiving and my birthday. Thanksgiving back home would normally mean driving up to the Grandparents’ to hang around with family, eat a delicious dinner and an unhealthy amount of pumpkin pie. The thought of missing out entirely on that tradition brought on pangs of homesickness so I decided I would have to do something about it. I found a Canadian ex-pat group online that was putting on a Canadian Thanksgiving at a local pub, bugged James to join me, and signed us up. On the day we were greeted by a lovely Canadian in a Montreal Canadiens jersey. Despite her choice in hockey teams, she was lovely. While the food was definitely more British than Canadian (Yorkshire puddings do not belong on the Thanksgiving table) it was great to hear some familiar accents again, to talk to people about their experiences abroad, about the Jay’s (who were killing it at the time) and about the upcoming Federal election. Luckily for me, Thanksgiving wasn’t the only occasion that gave me an excuse to celebrate. My 23rd birthday was coming up and I ended up celebrating it twice. Once on the night of the 17th (as I would turn 23 at midnight) and again on the 18th (the night of my actual birthday). That wasn’t the original plan, but I’m not going to complain. Joined again by my Aussie friend Tim we struggled to find bars open past 11. It may have been the area we were in but I was really surprised at the early hour of last call considering it was a Saturday. Eventually we settled for a small, loud Caribbean-themed club which we happily discovered could mix a pretty good mojito. I made it bed around 3am only to be woken up by my alarm at 5:30am. It was time to go to Stonehenge.
Stonehenge was my birthday present to myself. I paid more than I would have liked for a bus tour that took me from London to Stonehenge, and Bath and back in a day. After two and a half hours of sleep I was feeling a little rough and running a little late but managed to make it to the pickup point at a nearby hotel. After chugging my tea which apparently couldn’t come on the bus, and hiding my food in my bag, I promptly fell asleep for the hour and a half drive West.
Saying Stonehenge is iconic would be an understatement. The prehistoric monument has long been the source of debate and discussion. Past origin theories have included a place of worship, a Druid temple, and a coronation site, however the current accepted story is that Stonehenge was a temple that was designed to align with the movements of the sun. The centre stones were erected around 2500BC and roughly 200 to 300 years later the circle and inner oval were formed, although these were reshaped into a horseshoe later on. We arrived at the welcome centre to jump on another bus that would shuttle us out to the stones. I’ve seen the stones repeatedly in photos, TV shows and movies, but seeing them up close makes me understand why they have perplexed people for thousands of years.
They are beautiful, but strange. I plugged in my headphones and listened to the Stonehenge app tell me all about the history of the stones. Two types of stones were used in the construction of Stonehenge, some were even brought from over 150 miles away. The larger stones are Sansen stones which are a very hard type of Sandstone and the smaller stones called “bluestones” are actually volcanic rock. Tourists are not allowed to wander between the stones now except for on the solstice celebrations. I was actually happy that access was restricted, it made it a little bit easier to cut people out of my photos. The good news is, if you have internet access you can check out the stones for yourself. The English Heritage website lets you digitally roam the grounds and learn more about the construction of the monument.
As I made my way back to the welcome centre I learned more about the surrounding area. Stonehenge is not the only archaeological find in the area. It is surrounded by burial mounds and Neolithic houses which have been reconstructed for visitors to explore.
Wandering around the stones was amazing, and the history of the site interesting, but as I was cold, hungry and operating on roughly 3.5 hours of sleep (if you include my nap in the bus) my brain couldn’t absorb anymore information. It was the perfect soup weather so I chowed down on some near molten tomato soup and piled back on the bus for another nap on our way to Bath.
Home to the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, and the Royal Crescent, Bath is a popular tourist attraction for good reason. The picturesque town is filled with history, and gorgeous architecture.
Founded by the Romans in the first century AD the Roman Baths were situated on a hot spring which provided the heated water for the complex. Included on the bath grounds is a temple where the Romans would worship the goddess Silas Minerva. In the courtyard of the temple lies the sacred spring. Here, water that has been naturally heated to 46 degrees rises to the surface before being circulated through the Baths. As the goddess Minerva was said to reside in the Sacred Spring, offerings as well as curses enscribed on metal were thrown into the spring. The offerings were naturally intended for the goddess, while the curses were for one’s enemies. If you want to have a quick look around the Roman Baths without jumping on a plane you can walk through the upper level of the Roman Baths using google street view.
Right outside the Roman Baths is Bath Abbey. Since 757AD three churches have been built on the Abbey ground. On the front facade of the current Abbey a ladder of angels climb to heaven while inside old members of the community are entombed. The floors and walls are covered in fading gravestones. While it is peaceful and beautiful inside, it’s strange to think of how many skeletons surrounded you.
I spent a sunny couple hours wandering around the city, up to the Royal Crescent, past Jane Austen’s house and back along the river. The trip ended too soon and we were corralled back onto the London bound bus.
Back in London as an amazing birthday present I was joined for my second birthday celebration by Sophie, Vinnu and two old friends from home, Adam and Adrienne.
I hadn’t seen Adam and Adrienne since Oktoberfest in Munich and as we had both been travelling since then we had a lot to catch up on. After what could be described as too much fun, I managed to fit in another couple hours of sleep before catching my early bus to Oxford. Celebrating your birthday two nights in a row is incredibly detrimental to sleep patterns, but completely worth it.
