Rock, Chalk, and some lights

Okay! So...Bath and Stonehenge. Truth be told, it wasn't all that exciting, but I'm glad I went. Stonehenge was our first stop and basically you get out and walk in a path around the stones and that's it. The stones are cool and it's interesting to think how pre-historic people put them together in the formations that they are and marvel at how they actually did so, but other than that, there's not a whole lot goin' on there. I was surprised, however, at the size of the stones. For some reason, had it in my mind that they were only waist high. (I think that idea came from this game I used to play as a kid called "World Wizard." One of the challenges was to match the world's most famous sites with their proper names. Stonehenge was on there, and the picture was really small-- as of course it had to be-- but somehow from that I got that Stonehenge itself was small.) Anyway, whoope-dee-doo. Rocks in formation....at least marching bands change formation. :)

Then it was on to Bath. We really didn't have a whole lot of time there and the majority of it was spent exploring the Roman Baths. Those were also interesting to see and marvel at how they were used. Some of the methods they used are still in place today in modern plumbing and many of the springs they used to fill their baths still flow; one spring in particular gives something like 6 million gallons of water a day! Like I said we didn't have a lot of time in the town of Bath itself; after touring the Baths we ate lunch and it was basically time to go. I would like to go back...it's an incredibly charming and beautiful city...but time is running out. Maybe someday.

The most interesting thing since then was tonight: the lighting of the Christmas lights on Oxford Street. I think it's probably akin to the lighting of the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center...they bring out famous people who dance and sing and perform...and then in dramatic fashion count down and turn on the lights. Truth the told, it was nice, but the lights weren't as pretty as I was expecting (this could be because there were a lot of "other" lights that really took away from the Christmas lights themselves.) And there were SO many people there that the pushiness of the people around us really dampened the spirit. But honestly, that's okay with me. It's not time for Christmas yet...it's much too early. I love Christmas almost more than anyone, but it takes away from the magical feeling it really can have when you commercialize it too much (which is what this event was all about....getting people to buy. In case you don't know, Oxford Street is one of the biggest shopping streets in the world.) I'm glad we went--- it was certainly something "Londony" to do---but I don't think I'll be venturing back to London next year JUST for the lights. :)