Bath

28 June 2008, Saturday
World Heritage Site - Bath, UK

Bath is a historic Roman city, situated 100miles west of London. Bath is famous of hot springs , Roman period baths and stately Georgian architecture.

Dedicated to Aquae Sulies, whom the Romans identified with Minerva. The three hot springs within the city were sacred to goddess Minerva. The Roman period saw a vast complex of baths. The curse tablets with messages in Latin can be seen. These are curses laid on people, whom the writer thought was wrong. I too laid a curses on all those people who have kindled and provoked me. ;-)

It was Saturday afternoon, before we spotted a longstay and started our self guided walking tour of city.

Lunch time - A veggie delight of Veggie Burger & Bath buns.

Bath was on my wish list for long. How I always wanted to walk through Bath, imagining the days of Romans. But to my dismay, Bath presented itself in its touristy attire.

Roman Baths – Built by Romans around 2000yrs ago, and later rediscovered by the victorians, A must see tourist attraction. The building houses housed the calidarium (hot bath), tepidarium (warm bath), and frigidarium (cold bath)

The street music in front of Roman Baths.

To some, it is tradition to have tea in the Pump Room, listen to some chamber music or stringed quartet, and having the famous Bath Bun. (Bath Buns are buttery bun with large bits of sugar and raisins)

Bath Abbey – an impressive large church, located next to Roman Baths.

The statue of ‘The Lady with the Pitcher’

Parade Gardens along the grandeur of River Avon.

Pulteney Bridge – designed by Robert Adam in 1773. This is one of the four bridges in the world with shops across the full span on both sides, overlooking the Pulteney Weir.

Great Pulteney Street – Georgian street

Cleveland House and the Cast iron bridge of Sydney Gardens over Kennet and Avon Canal.

Royal Circus - A circular Georgian town house.

The entire city of Bath is dotted by such Pigs, in various designs. This one with glass mosaic.

Royal Crescent – the Georgian town house. A magnificent crescent of houses completed in 1774, and the large semicircular shaped lawn infront of the Royal Crescent.

I however missed the Bath Oliver biscuit - a dry baked biscuit, which Bath is famous for.

Avebury

28 June 2008, Saturday
Avebury World Heritage Site

Avebury was the next destination before Bath.

Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill is the largest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe. It was built over 4,000 years ago in the Neolithic period. Today it’s a part of the Avebury World Heritage Site, the monument’s purpose and significance remains unknown.

The Avebury World Heritage Site encloses an area of 22km square around the village of Avebury. Also known as large henge, Avebury is older than the megalithic of Stonehenge.

The circular stone circle is surrounded by massive ditches. There are 98 standing stones.

Avebury Manor and Garden – A 16^th century manor house.

Avebury cathedral

House in Avebury

WhiteHorse – As interesting as it sounds.

A hill figure created along the slopes, where the figure is filled with Chalk/Lime. Most of these date back to prehistoric days. These are common in the Southern part of England and we spotted one such on our way to Bath.

Stonehenge and Woodhenge

28 June 2008, Saturday
Stonehenge and Woodhenge
World Heritage Site

Started driving at 8AM, one hour of scenic drive led me to Stonehenge.

Stonehenge

5000 years old World Heritage Site. This must be as old as the pyramids of Egypt!! Erected between 3,000 BC and 1,600 BC, the stones were carried hundreds of miles over land and sea, while antlers and bones were used to dig the pits that hold the stones.

All this and more, but, a whooping 7 pound ticket to get in!! Did not opt and spent 30 minutes walking around recording a few views. If I weren't allowed to this proximity too, I would have happily pasted the Stonehenge jpg, shipped my Mr.Bill Gates along with Windows OS.

Heel Stone

Woodhenge

A 5 minute drive from Stonehenge would lead you to Woodhenge.

Woodhenge is so called because it was originally a wooden structure of a type similar to Stonehenge. It was setup during Bronze age in 2000 BC for ceremonial use. The rings are oval with the long axis aligned on the mid-summer sunrise.

The next destination was Avebury, had planned a drive through the town of Marlborough.

Goa - Day1

Bangalore to Goa

I were at PF-1 at KBS, an hour early to the scheduled 6:00 departure of the Bangalore-Panjim Airavatha. Rs 699 /- one way was a good offer. KSRTC claimed Airavata would take 10 hrs straight, compared to others which would consume 13 to 15 hrs.

Kissed by Friday evening Bengaluru traffic, it took long to hit NH4. I have a special blessing while on NH4. It always rains while I converse through NH4. This time too, it was a heavy downpour till we hit Chitradurga.

Discussed on what outfits, accessories, footwear and Snacks our bags contained, while a crappy Akshay Kumar's movie was being played at the background.

Tissue, Water Bottles and Blankets were offered and lights were off.

A sound sleep until the A/c vent started leaking due to heavy rain. And the victim was an ex-MLA of Sirisi. :-)
The bus was full and he did not have another alternative. The Driver tried convincing the MLA...all efforts in vain..... Nothing could stop him call-up the Government and the KSRTC chief.
It was utter entertainment, better than the movie being played. :-)

We were told that we would be reaching Panjim at 8AM, instead of the promised 6, due to heavy rain. :-(

While I next woke, we were at Sirisi and it was 'Airavatha minus the ex-MLA'.

Next stop was at Karawar for Tea. Though we did not venture out; as we were strictly instructed by Mommies and Daddies, not to get down even to visit the Loo. (obedient kid)

In a few minutes, we were along the coastline of Karwar beach. Splendid Moonlight, wide-window-pane-of-Volvo, the sound of the Sea, the light breeze, what more. I sat awake while the whole bus was sleeping. :-)

And we were in the Ghat in a few mins. At 5:30, Airtel woke me up again with a, 'Welcome to Goa' message. I was excited! Finally, we had reached Goa. How tough it was to convince everyone back home....

The Bus kept halting frequently, to deliver luggage, parcels and people kept getting down. Panjim was the final destination.

The Brick-Red houses with Bottle-Green Window and Gates and Grills, were my favorites. :-) I surely plan to revisit and get inspired before I plan constructing my house...

We were at Panjim at 7:45. Had not decided whether to take our South-Goa tour from Panjim or Mapusa. Luckily, the Panjim Bus stand houses the intercity, state run, private and city buses in the same place.

Goa transport is called a Kadamba - A tribute to the Kadamba dynasty.

Day 1 - 15 Mar 2008 - South Goa

We were at Mapusa at 8:20, which is 15 km from Panjim. Goan roads are very narrow, and can only accommodate mini-buses. The Mapusa Bus stand is right opp to the Mapusa Residency, which is GTDC owned. We bought tickets for South Goa and the Sunset Cruise, and dropped the idea of landing at Mapusa YHAI.

We had 8 mins to Brush, refresh and change!! We'll never forget to thank the person who invented Deo-Spray and Chewing Gum. :-)

The bus was full of Honeymoon couples. We decided to occupy the last seats. Our guide for the day was an 'Animated character'. The bus crossed the bridge over Mandovi River; in a few mins we were at Old Goa.

Old Goa - 10km from Panjim

Old Goa was the capital city during Portugal rule.

Highlights: World Heritage Site, Preserved body of St. Francis Xavier.

The Basilica of Bom Jesus, constructed in 1696.

SeCathedral dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria.

Church of St.Fransis of Assisi which has now been turned into a museum.

The Golden Bell at Se Cathedral.

The chapel of Cross of Miracles, which is said to be growing in size!