Bristol & Bath - Autumn, 2001

Bristol & Bath

First Day Lunch at The Swan, Portsmouth

Bob and Jenny were at the terminal to meet me when I arrived in Southampton. We drove to Bob's sister Kim's house where that branch of the family had gathered. After visiting for a little while we all went out to lunch at a lovely old pub. I have never been able to remember the name of it but I think it was The Swan, or maybe The Goose. It has been so nice to be able to enjoy the first day of my visit without having to deal with jet lag

This is my first visit to Bristol and I am so impressed. It's a very cosmopolitan little city, lots to do, lots to see, but not in the least bit intimidating. I can see why B&J love it here so much. It seemed strange at first to be visiting them in another place other than Helensburgh, but I very quickly got over that.

Jenny took me on a drive around the city and then down to the City Centre area and the harbor. It's lovely down there. Years ago this was one of the busiest ports in Europe. John Cabot sailed from this harbor in 1497 on his voyage to North America and was a major slave trading port in the 1700's. It was also a popular embarkation point for emigrants going to the America's. Today, while it is still a functioning port, the docks in the City Centre area are definitely geared to the tourist trade.

Last night Jenny and I went downtown to Bristol's Old Vic, the oldest theatre in Britain by the way, and saw Love and Other Fairy Tales, a loose adaptation of Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale. It was beautifully acted and was full of sly English humor. I has inspired me to try to read The Canterbury Tales. Bob, who has read and enjoyed Chaucer is encouraging me to give it a go, but says that I need to find a recording so that I can hear the old English spoken, as well as a translation guide. Under all the rubble, is a wonderful story. (Says he)

Bristol Temple Mead Station

I love riding the trains and buses in this country. It gives me such a sense of freedom to know that if I decide that I want to visit some place on my own, Britain’s marvelous public transport system will allow me to do so. A lot of Britains that I have talked to don't realize how lucky they are to have it. That is because, in my opinion, they have never had to do without it. One of the first things I do when I arrive in Britain is to buy myself a Senior Rail Card that gives a 30% discount on all trains and many ferries. If you plan to do a lot of traveling in a specific amount of time, you can also purchase a British Rail Pass before you come. If you’re not a UK resident that is. But I never bother with that, I purchase a Senior Rail Card which gives a nice discount off the regular fare, and if possible, book ahead for an additional discount. I feel like I have more flexibility that way.

Today I went to Bath, as in the City of. The journey to Bath is almost as much fun as the visit to the city. Leaving Bob and Jenny's house I walked up the road about four blocks and then caught one of the red double decker buses you always see in the movies rumbling around London. Well they have them here in Bristol as well. It's about a 20 minute journey to the City Center where I transfer to another bus that drops me off at the door of the Bristol Temple Meade train station.

If you want to experience the flavor of Britain, there is not better place to do that than to ride the local buses and trains. One of my favorite things to do is to go up to the top deck, as the view from up there is completely different from the one you get riding on the lower one. I am constantly amazed at how much people over here drag onto the buses with them. A pretty young girl who reminds me very much of my Granddaughter Kristen got on the bus at the train station with a very large, soft suitcase stuffed so full it was about to burst its seams, a large paper shopping bag which did burst when she boarded, three gallons of paint in cans, a floor lamp and a plastic shopping bag with two paint rollers, a pan and several brushes in it. That's got to be a world’s record. What was really funny to me, no one except me looked on in amazement, and the young girl didn't seem all that harassed either.

While I was in Bath this time, the only touristy thing that I did was to ride the cream and green tour bus. I always do this in any city that visit here. It is the best value a tourist can get for their money. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I have visited the city before, because there is always get a different tour guide so I get their impressions of the city along with the memorized spiel.

But aside from that, I didn't visit a single other tourist attraction but instead explored all the little wynds and ways, poked around the shops and book stores, had lunch in a riverside café under the Pultney Bridge and tea in the Cadbury's shop. I also splurged and bought myself a lovely wool cape that called out to me from the window of a shop that specializes in woolen goods from Scotland.

Tomorrow we are traveling up to Scotland so my next journal will be from there. I plan to be there about two weeks.

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