February 16th came along and the day had arrived , my Benny's Birthday :) As I had given him one of his presents early (the McQueen tee) it was time to reveal the other couple. One part of the present was tickets to a show for Fashion week (due to start a few days after) and the big part of the present were tickets for a secret holiday I've been planning for almost 2 months now to an unknown location which I will reveal closer to the flight. Ben was very pleased with his gifts and today for his Birthday we had planned an adventure of sightseeing. The thought of being out of the PR world for a day sounded like heaven , just to relax be silly and play tourists again - how nice. A quick egg & bacon breakfast and it was off to the Victoria Coach Station to hop onto our bus which was going to take us to Salisbury Cathedral , Stonehenge and Bath. As it poured down on this rainy London day I got soaked & looked like a drowned rat getting up & on to the bus..
Our tourguide Mel , was older , flamboyant and had a dry wit about him , sometimes proving funny and other times pathetically not funny. As our bus departed out of London he spoke extensivley about London's history and culture. First stop was an hour and a half away , Salisbury cathedral , in the small city of Salisbury. Considered one of the leading examples in early English architecture, this cathedral took 38 years to complete. It began in the year 1220.
Inside was beautiful , very grandeur and big yet with enough spooky sensibility to make it a church. The decorated high ceilings and one of the oldest clocks in the world added to its old world charm. It also has a fountain right in the middle which we Ben found quite entertaining :)
Another beautiful feature I thought was the Cemetery Courtyard , the arches made me feel like I was in an old English university or something it just had a very amazing feel to it, I loved it!
Back on the bus and it was off to our next destination , half an hour out of Salisbury , to visit the world famous Stonehenge. Now for those of you who dont know, Stonehenge is about 10,000 years old , think about that - TEN THOUSAND YEARS - thats outrageously old! Many people debate what it actually is , but it is most commonly beleived to have been built as a church form. A place of gathering for holy occasions , prayer , offerings etc... So its kind of un-officially the world oldest church. Once we got up there and through the swarms of tourists it was amazing.
We wondered around observing it from all angles , froze in the wind (thankgod it didnt rain) but then it was back onto the bus for another hour and a bit and off to my favorite destination of this journey - Bath! The city of Bath was first established as a spa destination by the Romans in AD 43. They built Bath's and a temple on the surrounding hills of Bath in the valley of the River Avon around hot springs which are the only natural occuring hot springs in the United Kingdom. The city of Bath is now a listed World Heritage Site and is truly quite an amazing place. We stepped off the bus infront of Bath Abbey and walked over towards the Roman baths. Baths has the same historical european sensibility that Edinburgh had and I soon began to love this place even more. As we entered the Roman Bath's the history and structure was quite amazing.
What I really loved was that it was like a little piece of Italy found in the English countryside.
I would just like to point out that as I pose for this photo , I almost slipped on the cobble stones and fell into the Bath's which as they are now bacteria filled - would not be a good thing.
Such a Deni thing to do! After the tour of the Bath's it was off for an explore of the city itself. Again the pure fact that it feels like you've stepped into a time machine and are now in this ancient city , was what got me - its truly amazing - sure it has a Starbucks & Hungry Jacks , but modern technology has not overruled the heritage buildings and structures that fill the city.
It also had an amazing bridge in the middle of the city , resembling the Ponte Vecchio in Florence - again an italian influence on this old English city. However the juxtaposition of it all is perfect!
After a very long day it was on the bus back home to London town. It truly was an amazing day I wont soon forget and the perfect way to spend Ben's Birthday. Waiting for us at home was the birthday cake I made for Ben, sure I did it with a little help from Betty Crocker but at the end of the day I made it and I put my twist on it. Ben is obsessed with these biscuits over here called 'Hobnobs' so I decided to cut them up and put them through the cake mix so that it would be like a 'Hobnob Chip' chocolate cake. I must say I was quite proud of the end result and Ben loved it!
xoxo Deni
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