Bristol, Bath, and Stonehenge

Our great adventure of driving a car in England is now over. Nicole and I returned the car to the rental place yesterday with no damage. The car came very near going back to the rental office on the back of a recovery vehicle. Needless to say, I have cancelled our car in Scotland.

In no uncertain terms, the English drive like madmen. They have such a lovely country, but they drive too fast and erraticly to allow any enjoyment. I have little doubt that the average English driver, if dropped into a NASCAR on race day, would finish in the top ten. They are not afraid to put you into a wall. Further, it takes a special kind of insanity to drive a motorcycle over here. Often they ride either way on the dividing line in the middle of traffic at very high speeds.

The English road system is obviously ancient. Many of the paths follow old Roman routes and most others were built for a time in which heavy traffic referred to the size of ones horse. Also, the population of England is 60 million in a land area the size of California. All of these elements come together to form a web of single lane streets for two way traffic, poorly marked city areas, sharp curves, steep elevations, and of course, the crazy drivers. I do not miss my driving experience. Neither does Nicole, although she operated as an excellent navigator.

Driving did give us the opportunity to explore Bristol, the birthplace of America. Bristol is a port town set in a natural harbor where a great deal of trading and exploring ventures set out. We got to go to the British Museum of Empire and Commonwealth. Nicole and I were very interested to see that in the 1950s there was a Bristol Bus Boycott, similar to the one in Montgomery. Bristol is nicknamed the birthplace of America because many of the ships to and from the new world called it home. It was also the launching ground for John Cabot.

Next we went to Bath. For a history nerd like myself, it was spectacular. The Roman baths were very interesting, but the water tasted a bit metallic. After 3 hours touring the Roman Baths, we went to the Museum of Costume. It was lame. It was kinda like the first ladies' exhibit at the Smithsonian, but none of the clothes had a famous connection, they were just clothes... Nicole loved it.

Finally, we visited Stonehenge. It rises out of the English countryside, adding something of a skyline to a rural setting. Surrounded by hosts of guardian sheep (and the ropes put up by the English trust), the gray towering stone strikes a great contrast to the sloping verdant landscape. Today it still raises more questions than can be answered.

Our trip out west was magnificent (minus the car thing). We look forward this weekend to going to Ireland.