Day 26: Finding a Friend

So this post will be much shorter than it deserves.  I was able to meet a friend from Harvard this evening and prioritized catching up and socializing than being back at a reasonable hour.  Apologies for the brevity!

Ethan and I had a busy day walking around London.  We started by heading from our hotel to the Imperial War Museum.  The collection there is pretty amazing and affecting.  Highlights were the Lord Ashcroft Gallery that displayed the medals and stories of those who have won the Victory Cross or the George Cross and the Holocaust exhibit.  Both were moving for the extreme bravery and spirit shown by British soldier and by all peoples victimized by the Nazi powers.

After a long visit in the museum, we headed across the Thames and through Westminster again.  This time we spotted the Jewel Tower, one of the few medieval buildings from the Palace of Westminster to survive the fire.

We went into St. James's Park, making our way towards Buckingham Palace.  We were both surprised to see pelicans swimming in the park lake.  They were presents from the Russian ambassador in 1664.  This spurred a tradition of giving exotic and unusual waterfowl as diplomatic gifts and this is reflected in the fowl found in St. James's Park.

We walked up to Victoria Memorial at the end of the Mall and just before Buckingham Palace.  The massive monument was unveiled in 1911 and completed in 1924.  The main features are a statue of Queen Victoria, as Queen Empress, in Carrara marble and a gilded bronze winged Victory standing over the queen.

Although we had missed the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham, we did happen to see a changing of the sentries on duty.  It was pretty fascinating to watch the rigid formality of the process.  A commander led four replacements out and relieved the sentries two at at time, before leading them back in.  All done in perfect unison.

The guards who act as sentries at Buckingham Palace (and as protection to the royal family and residences) are known as the Queen's Guard.

The Queen's Colour was flying over Buckingham Palace, signaling that Queen Elizabeth II is currently in residence at the palace.  Were she not there, no flag would fly.  It would also affect the number of sentries outside Buckingham.

Using a self timer on my camera, Ethan and I were able to get our first picture together in London, with the Victoria Memorial and Buckingham Palace in the background.

From Buckingham Palace, we walked through Piccadilly Circus and towards Trafalgar Square.  We stopped in St. James's Church, Piccadilly.  There was a small market of wares outside and a beautiful organ inside.  The church also allows homeless people to sleep in some of the pews during the day, which seems a lovely continuation of Christian charity.

We ended our busy day in the National Portrait Gallery.  Sadly, many of the rooms of the museum were shut due to some sort of construction or something.  We're hoping that the closures were just for today and we might be able to revisit and see some of the pieces we missed (especially the Caravaggios).

Here are three personal highlights from what we saw today:

A 15th century depiction of St. George slaying the dragon by Paolo Uccello.  I love this image because it reminds me of my childhood and I remember seeing it when I visited London fourteen or fifteen years ago.

The museum had a wonderful collection of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens.  The painting below depicts the myth of Samson and Delilah.  I love the drama of the men about to come through the door in the top right corner.

Finally, a piece by El Greco, a Greek painter whose career was based in Spain.  In seventh grade, I did a research project and presentation on El Greco and have loved his work ever since.  The painting shows St. Jerome as a cardinal.

We were unable to see much of the museum and exhaustion in our feet might have sped our exit.  We headed out through Trafalgar Square, stopping to look at the large monument dedicated to Admiral Horatio Nelson.

We went back to our hotel and out for a bit of a disappointing dinner.  But the night was greatly improved with another drink and dessert.  From there we reached the highlight of the day, meeting with a classmate of mine (and fellow classicist) for a drink (or two) and having a lovely evening.

Fun Fact #26: The gun shown in the first picture is a 1914 15-inch gun.  Each gun weighs around 100 tons and could shoot a 1,938 pound shell 16.25 miles.  Sounds like a pretty terrifying sight.

Day 24: Meandering Through Museums

Somehow, Ethan and I were both convinced that yesterday was our last day in Bath and that we'd be headed to London this morning.  We're not sure how we both got so convinced of this, but we were happy to have another day in Bath.  We used it to explore some of the various museums in the city.

We went first to Holburne Museum, which is very close to our hotel.  The museum is built in the Sydney Gardens, a favored walking spot of Jane Austen when she lived in Bath, and was later adapted to house the eclectic collection of William Holburne.  The collection now includes a collection of British painting, ceramics from Britain and abroad, silver work, including many silver spoons, art and furniture from the Low Countries, and a variety of other pieces collected from around the world.

Ethan, being a harpist, was drawn by this single-action pedal harp from the 1700s.  The harp was built by famous French piano and harp maker, Sébastian Érard.  The pianoforte behind the harp is one of a handful of Schnatz instruments left and sports bone and ivory keys.  Haydn said of Schnatz pianofortes: "...everything is better expressed on a Schnantz."

While a rather prolific collected, William Holburne made a few mistakes over the years.  This includes a "Roman" ewer discovered by the Prince of Sicily in the 1800s.  A few hints that it was a fake: 1. There was no Prince of Sicily at the time; 2. The most likely candidate for who might have been this so called "prince" was only ten at the time of the "discovery"; and 3. The ewer doesn't look Roman...at all.  William got swindled.

Though there was a large collection of silver spoons, one was easily the most interesting.  This spoon was a combination of a spoon, a fork, a pen, a toothpick, and an ear-pick.  The toothpick and ear-pick portions are lost, but the bowl of the spoon could be removed to create a fork and the finial of the spoon could be removed to reveal the pen.  A pretty swanky multitool!

Here is a photo Ethan took and edited today!  A view from Holburne Museum, looking down Pulteney Road towards the center of Bath.

We headed from the Holburne into Bath Center and visited St. John the Evangelist, a Roman Catholic church.  The church was damaged by a bomb in World War II, as part of the Baedeker Blitz which targeted culturally and historic cities in England.  Six people died (although we've seen different numbers) in the church, including the parish priest of the church.  The church was rebuilt in the same Gothic style.

We then headed to a store I spotted in my wanderings yesterday, Wool.  I have been hoping to find local, British wool while in in the U.K., but have been sadly unable to.  Even in Chester, which was a once a center of the British wool trade, I couldn't find any locally sourced yarn.  However, Wool had quite a few options from around the U.K.  Ethan and I both got some new yarn, and I finally got British wool yarn (it's from Leicester!).

After getting cream tea for our lunch, we decided to head to the museum at the Royal Crescent.  Our tickets were half-price, since the BBC was filming a cooking show in the house's kitchen.  All the other rooms were accessible, so it was quite a deal!

They had a special exhibit on dollhouses from the 18th and 19th centuries.  Sadly, photography was not allowed, but the houses were extremely impressive.  They were full miniature Georgian manor houses, full of dolls, furniture, mirrors, paintings, and even china food!

We then explored the house which is meant to represent how it looked when it was occupied by Henry Sandford at the end of the 18th century.  The house contains many of his pet interests, including astronomical equipment (Ethan tests out his telescope), scientific inventions, like a machine designed to create a spark, and curiosities from around the world. 

This pistol-looking device was used to light lamps in the parlour of the house.  It would use the spark from the flint to ignite the wick.

This snake bone necklace is in Sandford's cabinet of curiosities.  The other curiosities included things like poison darts, fulgurites, arrowheads and a tomahawk from Northern America, a dog tooth purse, and more.

On the second floor of the house were the ladies quarters.  There was a "withdrawing" room for the women to go to after the main meal of the day.  It was set up for an after dinner tea and contained a harpsichord as well.  While the men stayed in the dining room, drinking and smoking, the women would have a quieter evening over their tea.

The other room on the second floor was the Lady's Bedroom.  The room was dominated by features to help the lady get dressed and keep her comfortable while in the many layers of clothes and wigs.  The lady of the house would have had a dedicated makeup table, holding tools to curl her hair and a wig stand for more elaborate hair pieces.  We also saw a big scratcher, as lice were apparently quite the problem in 18th century Bath.

Upstairs, the only room open to the public was the Gentleman's Bedroom.  Henry Sandford was somewhat of an invalid in his later years and spent most of his time in his bedroom.  It had a commanding view of the rest of the Royal Crescent.  The staffer in the room theorized that Sandford was quite the gossip and probably had his telescope in his room, spying on his neighbors.  He liked to write into the local papers about the raucous parties hosted in the house across the Crescent from his.

Down the servant's back staircase, we came to the humbler rooms of the house.  We were able to peak into the kitchen, despite the filming, and saw the office where the housekeeper ran the house.  Other rooms included the Servants' Hall and the Wine Vault (which was sadly not accessible to the public).  Both Ethan and I were surprised by how neat the museum was.

We then headed back to our hotel to try to escape the weather, as it was beginning to turn a bit sour.  We had a quite afternoon knitting and watching some tv (and watching the clouds roll in and out of Bath).  Now it's off for our last meal in Bath!

Fun Fact #23: In the Servants' Hall there was quite a strange contraption.  Apparently, they used a dog-powered wheel to turn the spit over the fire.  I thought it was a joke at first, but apparently, the servants would put a dog in the wheel up above the floor and through a series of ropes and pulleys, it turned the spit over the fire.  I really hope they gave the dog a fair share of that meat!

Day 22: Visiting the Spa

Ethan and I had a busy first full day in Bath.  After a nice breakfast in our hotel, we headed into the center of Bath.  We decided to visit the Roman baths and museum first.

Even though we were at the bath complex relatively soon after opening, the place was PACKED.  There were so many families and tour groups that it was nearly impossible to move around.

The visit starts at viewing platforms over the main pool.  The platforms go all the way around the pool and are decorated with 19th century statues of Roman emperors, governors of Britain, and generals.  These include Julius Caesar, who led the first Roman incursion into Britain, Claudius, who ordered the large scale invasion of Britain, and Julius Agricola, a Roman governor of Britain known for subjugating and Romanizing the province.

The bath complex was built in a Roman town called Aquae Sulis, the Waters of Sulis.  The site had been known for its natural hot springs and before Roman times, had been considered the home of a Celtic goddess, Sulis.  The Romans adapted this belief, creating the syncretism of the Sulis Minerva.  A large complex and holy site developed around these springs.  The complex contained a naturally fed pool, tradition bathing rooms, and a temple dedicated to Sulis Minerva.  Above is an employee of the museum, dressed as a Roman priest.

From the main hot springs pool, we entered the museum.  I was surprised by how much the museum, and the site in general, was dedicated to the holy area of the complex.  I think that the name Bath distracts from what I've ever heard about the site.  It's so much more than the typical Roman bathhouses I've visited.

The temple was just next to the baths.  Though it was dedicated to Sulis Minerva, there were many altars and depictions of other deities within the temple courtyard and the surrounding area.  Facing the interior courtyard were two large depictions of Sol and Luna, the Sun and the Moon.  Below is the depiction of Luna, with the crescent moon behind her.  It also seems she is holding a whip, probably to urge on the horses of her biga, a two-wheeled chariot.  Sadly, the depiction of Sol is lost.

There were altars to many and varied gods found in temple area, including those dedicated to Aesculapius, Diana, Mercury, Jupiter, and Celtic deities, like Rosmerta.  The carving below supposedly depicts Celtic mother goddesses in a triplicate form.  There was even a dedication from the tomb of a German veteran, showing that some Germanic deities were worshiped in Bath.  All of these different religions came together in this sacred area.

One of the things I was dying to see in Bath were the curse tablets found in the spring.  This practice represents another blending of Roman and British religious customs.  Traditionally, Roman curse tablets were placed in places linked to chthonic deities and crossroads, such as cracks in walls or underground, but in Bath they were pretty much exclusively thrown into the spring.  The Romans adapted to native beliefs of connections to deities, using water as the access point.

Though many curse tablets were just addressed to "the goddess" (presumably Sulis Minerva), others were dedicated to gods like Mercury and Mars.  This curse tablet is a complaint about a theft, which seems to be what most of the Bath curse tablets were about, and lists the names of possible suspects to help the gods curse the right person.

Below is a depiction of Sulis Minerva in gilt bronze.  Not much is known about the goddess Sulis before the introduction of the Romans, other than that she was worshipped in the area of the holy springs.  She may have had similar characteristics to Minerva, such as wisdom and decisions, but this is not necessarily correct.  Sadly, we'll probably never know much about the original worship of Sulis.

Through much of the museum, it was possible to see how the natural hot springs fed the main pool of the complex and how the Romans harnessed these waters.  Much of the original Roman construction remains in use, but has been adapted by later users of the baths.  Ethan very intelligently pointed out that the areas around the spring were covered in rust, as the water is high in iron content (We can both attest to this, as they had a tasting station of the spring water.  It tasted eerily like blood.).  The water was warm enough to be steaming and casting some heat; the water coming out of the springs can reach up to 115º F.

On either side of the main pool were more traditional Roman bathing rooms.  The baths were on a fairly large scale, much larger than the town of Aquae Sulis would have required.  This is because the holiness of the site would have drawn many to come visit the baths, much like tourists flock to it today.  Below are some of the hypocausts found beneath the floors of the heated rooms in the baths.

After we finished the baths (and escaped much of the crowds), we headed into Bath Abbey.  I believe that yesterday I called the church Bath Cathedral.  This is not accurate, although the Abbey was once a cathedral.  Bath Abbey was founded in around 675 as a convent, but was later changed to an abbey. Bath Abbey was purchased in the late 11th century and turned into the seat of diocese.  It only held this title for seventy-eight years, before the diocese seat was moved again.  The church eventually fell into disrepair.

Moves to restore the church were made as early as the 1570s, when Queen Elizabeth I personally advocated for the restoration of a grand church for Bath.  The majority of restoration to the church happened in the mid-19th century, restoring the exterior and the interior of the abbey.

The famous fan ceiling of the abbey was completed in the 1860s, but had been the brainchild of a 15th century bishop.

The organ of the abbey was replaced in 1997 with this beautiful Klais Orgelbau pipe organ.

Ethan and I wandered around more in the afternoon, including walking along the River Avon.  The picture above shows Pulteney Bridge, a Georgian addition to the city.  The bridge is lined with stores and restaurants.

We made our way up through The Circus and went to the Royal Crescent.  The Crescent is another Georgian architectural wonder of Bath.  The building was originally designed as thirty terraced homes, but now only ten remain single family homes.  Twelve have been split into apartments, one is a museum for the Crescent, and one is a hotel.

With many of the maps of Bath we've collected, Ethan and I have found many options for discounts for food and beverages.  Sadly, none seemed to be available on a Saturday night.  But we did have a lovely restaurant at a French restaurant.  We seem to be taking a tour of Mediterranean cuisine!

Fun Fact #22: In the bath complex, there is a depiction of a legendary King of the Britons, Bladud.  He has no basis in history, but seems to have been a creation by Geoffrey of Monmouth.  On top of founding Bath (in the 9th century CE), he is credited with being educated in Athens and founding a university in England that was later suppressed by Augustine of Canterbury.  Seems like a busy (fictional) guy!

Day 21: Reuniting with Ethan

Today was all about travel and reuniting.  I left my hotel in Cardiff after a lovely stay and headed to the train station.  I had misread and thought I was aiming to be on a train at 11:00, but it was actually at 11:30.  This was no problem, as I knew I would beat Ethan to Bath.  But I was excited to hear that he had landed safely and we texted as he made it through immigration, to Paddington Station, and on the train to Bath.

At around 1:30 we were finally back together in Bath, after a long month apart.  We headed to our hotel, which is on a quite residential street a few blocks away from the historic center of Bath.  We took a short break before venturing back out to find some food.

We headed towards the center, where the cathedral is visible from most every street.  The cathedral was closed for the day, as it was being used for some graduation events for the University of Bath.  I think this is for the best, allowing us to visit the cathedral when we are both better rested.

Just next door to the cathedral are the Roman baths, which I cannot wait to see.  I got a few peaks of the building surrounding the Roman site and it is gorgeous.  I'm very excited to see how the baths are preserved in this 19th century center.  I think it will be a fascinating mixture of Roman ruins and Victorian re-imagination of the past. 

As we had missed lunch, we decided to go for a proper afternoon tea.  We shared a pot of Earl Grey tea and many delicious treats.  These included scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, a lemon meringue tart, a lemon poppyseed cake, a strawberry and cream tart, a brownie, and an assortment of finger sandwiches.

Even though we were both quite hungry, we couldn't finish the tray of delights.  It was a lovely way to spend an hour or so, though.  We were right in the middle of Bath and were able to catch up over good food and good tea.

We wandered around the center a bit more, stumbling upon some odd sights.  A man, some sort of street performer, was putting pigeons on to people.  Both Ethan and I were extremely confused by this.  Why would you want pigeons on you?  Doesn't that just seem like a recipe to be covered in bird poop?  And why would you trust this man to put crazy birds on you?  Just so many questions.

We walked by the Victoria Art Gallery,  an art museum dedicated to Queen Victoria in honor of her diamond jubilee.  The museum is known for its collection of British oil paintings from the 17th century to present.  We may stop in and see them for ourselves in the coming days!

We then headed back to our hotel, exploring Henrietta Park on the way back to our hotel.  I had noticed the ruins of a chapel from our hotel window so we crossed the street and went to St. Mary's Churchyard.  The churchyard dates from the 1800s as a parish church and graveyard.  The graveyard quickly filled to capacity and the parish church was torn down and a new church, St. John's, was built.  A mortuary chapel, used for funerals and baptisms, was built in the churchyard, but also fell out of activity.

The site was left in neglect for many years, and only really begun to be preserved in the early 2000s.  Now it is a quiet place to walk through.  They have put out little signs of graves that are of interest, although Ethan and I didn't understand the significance of any of these.  The on pictured labeled a slab of stone as "A mystery!"  I think they might have been stretching at some points.

We had another little break in the hotel (Ethan took an accidental nap) before heading out to dinner.  After investigating some of Bath's culinary scene, we settled on an Italian restaurant just off the Pulteney Bridge.  I feel like maybe I shouldn't have taken Ethan to an Italian restaurant on his first night in England, but too late now!  Now, we're back in the hotel, getting ready for bed.  Have to say I'm awfully impressed Ethan is still up at 11:20 pm!  Time for sleep now though!

Fun Fact #21: Bath has been known for it's natural hot springs for over 2,000 years.  The hot springs were used both as curative and religious places by native peoples, utilized by the Roman invaders, and by basically all those who have lived in Bath.  The spa had a major heyday in the Georgian era, influencing the design and architecture of the city.  Today, you can still have a relaxing day in the baths, but sadly not the Roman ones.

Day 20: Singing a Goodbye to Wales

I made a tough decision this morning.  I had been planning to go visit Caerwent today, but when I woke up, it felt like too much.  I would have to take a train back to Newport, catch a bus, visit Caerwent, and then wait for the next bus, and then back to the train.  It would have taken the whole day and I just didn't feel up to it.  I was bothered by my lack of motivation and it felt a bit like I was going out on a fizzle.

But I decided to head a bit out of Cardiff to see Llandaff Cathedral, which was supposed to be beautiful.  I walked down Cathedral Road and came to Llandaff Fields.  The park is full of open, grassy areas, a playground, and cricket pitches.

As I walked through the fields, the day turned from gray and slightly rainy to a beautiful, warm, sunny day.

At the other end of the park, I came into the village of Llandaff, which has been incorporated into the city of Cardiff.  It's a very picturesque little place to live.  The town seems mostly dominated by The Cathedral School, an co-educational independent school for ages 3 to 16.  There is a short High Street (the British equivalent of Main Street), leading to the town center.

Just off the town green, are the ruins of the Bishop's Palace.  The building was probably built in the mid-13th century, but was abandoned after it was attacked by Owain Glyndŵr.  Now it houses some beautiful rhododendrons.

In case you didn't know, rhododendron comes from two ancient Greek words, ῥόδον, meaning rose, and δένδρον, meaning tree.  One of the trees had beautiful, large, white blossoms, living up to its Greek roots.

I then headed to the ruins of the old cathedral bell tower.  The ruins are now memorial to those who died in World War I and have been designated to always be a protected, open space.  The stones sit on a rise over the current cathedral.

The contraction of the first cathedral in Llandaff began in 1120, under the bishop Urban.  The church has been renovated and rebuilt multiple times over the centuries.  The church was expanded and refurbished throughout the Middle Ages and then again in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Llandaff Cathedral was the second most damaged cathedral in the British Isles, after Canterbury Cathedral.  On January 2nd, 1942, a parachuted mine detonated near the cathedral, destroying the roof and damaging the spire, among other portions of the building.  The building was extensively repaired and reopened by 1958.

The poor luck continued in 2007, when a lightning strike damaged the cathedral again, ruining the electronics of the organ.  The organ was replaced in 2010 and the new one looks fantastic.

In the 1950s, an aluminum sculpture, titled "Christ in Majesty," by Jacob Epstein was installed in the church on a concrete arch, designed by George Pace.  George Pace also designed a free-standing bell tower for the Chester Cathedral.  The sculpture is suspended over the nave of the cathedral, with Christ looking towards the entrance.

Behind the sculpture and the high altar, there is a lovely chapel.  The Lady Chapel features a beautifully painted ceiling, a stained glass window depicting the story of Jesse, and a reredos with flowers labeled in Welsh.  The original, Victorian reredos of the cathedral, that would have been behind the high altar, was painted by famed pre-Raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rossetti.  It was moved both to protect the paintings and to make a more open view from one end of the cathedral to the other.

In this view, looking from the Lady Chapel back towards the entrance, you can see the rear of "Christ in Majesty," sitting on its arch, and parts of the newly installed organ.

The exterior of the cathedral is just as beautiful as the interior.  The spire is covered with statues, depicting saints and monks, and gargoyles, both demonic-looking and angelic.  This small statue of an angel crowns the chapter house of the cathedral.  If you look closely (and watch Game of Thrones), he bears quite a striking resemblance to Joffrey Baratheon.

In the evening, I went into Cardiff center for my final dinner in Wales.  I had heard from my tour guide yesterday that there was an all male choir that had open rehearsals very close by.  I ate quickly, trying to make sure I could go (and not walk in late).  When I sat down to the side, with some other observers, I was immediately approached by one of the choir members.  He asked me if I sang, and when I told him I did, he asked me what part I sang.  Next thing I knew, I was placed in the choir with the rest of the Tenor 1s.

For the next hour and a half, I sang with the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir.  I would say that we ran through fifteen to twenty songs, both in Welsh and English.  I recognized maybe three of them.  I'm still not sure which was more challenging, sight reading the music or sight reading the Welsh.  It is really impossible for me to express how wonderful this experience was.  The music was beautiful, the people were lovely, and I was struck by just how similar the experience was to so many I've had in singing groups I've participated in.  It was truly an amazing, spontaneous experience.

As we finished singing, the man I had been sitting next to gave me a pin from the choir.  It is something I will treasure forever.

What a wonderful way to say goodbye to Wales.

Fun Fact #20: The Welsh National anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (Land of Our Fathers), became the de facto national anthem because it was so popular at rugby games.  The national anthem had been "God Bless the Prince of Wales" and was meant to be sung before rugby matches.  To accommodate the popularity of "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadua," for a time both songs were sung before the start of the match, but eventually it was just reduced to "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadua."  Though the anthem has never been legally made the national anthem, it has been accepted by all and is used in government ceremonies.  And on a sidetone, it's far easier to sing than "The Star-Spangled Banner."