Planning for my trip to UK in October 12th 2018.

Thinking of the future trip coming up shortly keeps me engaged in thoughts of how things will turn out and also planning for the luggage to carry with me and what all the documents I need to take with me. Something to look forward to and this triggers my thinking in a positive way. Talking to Myrna gave me a lots of ideas and I am excited about this group tour and later our own tour. I am doing it when I am still capable of going around physically.
life is so uncertain
enjoy it at your best
the power, wealth does not mean
anything when one leaves this world
so why not take action now and enjoy
at this present moment.
I am going to stop here my writing till I return from UK after the tour. 

Roman Bath

Today, October 17, 2018  is our sixth day of the tour of England. Memories flashed back of the days of our college days when Shakespeare’s work had been one of our favorite literary discussions.

 Our tour bus proceeding  toward the charming city of Bath  passed by green fields of  country side where cows were busy grazing. The solitary countryside hardly any human being out in the field gave me a feeling of nostalgic moments. Those who sat at the window side could click pictures to preserve those views forever take those with us. When we reached the city of Bath, founded by the Romans as a thermal spa we were  given tickets to get inside the Bath Abbey. 

The Bath Abbey was the center of attraction, once inside the moving images caught my attention by surprise. On the screen the Roman men and women dressed in olden Roman robes were seen engaged in their usual daily activities . I felt as if we were standing right with those figures taking part of their activities.

  At the other side of the Abbey  I stood looking down the pond water below from  second floor level. The view had some similarity with  those of Mughol Empire structure lay out in India.

History of Bath is related with the natural hot springs. The city was founded on it by an age tribe called Dobunni  who first erected a shrine at this site in honor of goddess Sulis. People believed Goddess to possess healing power. After invasion of Britain during 43 AD the Romans built a religious spa on the site. It later turned into socialistic center later known as Aquae Sullis. After the withdrawal of the Romans in early 5^th century the baths were neglected. It was rebuilt in 18^th century and it is now a center of tourists spots and delights. The Georgian architecture of the 18th century is indeed a city, worthy of admiration. 

About three fourth of a mile away from it was Jane Austen museum, which was one of my anxiously awaited one in our bucket lists. My friends Myrna and Angie were also   equally excited. We had a quick bite at one of the popular tea houses and rushed toward the museum. Lots of stalls/shops displaying interesting products we passed by. We were tempted to stop by but not wasting time was our resolution, and  walked toward the museum with quick steps .By the time got there we were exhausted because of the higher slops leading to the museum. When we got to the museum immediate  attention were  the two figures standing at the entrance of the museum. . 

We wish we could go inside and dressed we walked back to our tour bus waiting for us.  Nostalgic memories of younger days reading Jane Ausen’s books “Pride and Prejudice” and “Emma”came along flashing by. She was one of my favorite authors along with Pearl  S Buck, Emily Bronte, Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare.  I came to know more of her life story which I was not aware of. She was born on 16 December 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire. She was one of eight children of a clergyman . She started writing when she was a teenager and her brother helped her in publishing her books anonymously in the beginning. She never got married and died at the age of 41 on July 18, 1817.

           

 Departing from SFO on 12th October Friday with Virgin Atlantic flight # VS20 I was happy that the flight was in time and I arrived at London -Heathrow LHR, GBR Termainal 3. As my friends from LA were arriving about 1 hour earlier they could come  to terminal 3 from terminal 5 by train and waited form me.  As I was looking around for any sign of their presence I heard my name called and looked at the other side Angie was there. We had not before but we saw each othre's picture and hence she recognized me. I looked at her witha surprise look and asked "Are you Angie?"

" Yes I am" We greet each other by hugging as if we knew each other for a long time. 

Myrna is waiting the other side and I came to buy food also.
So we walked toward Myrna who was sitting on a chair surrounded by their luggage. So happy to see her and after buying food we inquired how to travel to our  Doub e tree Hotel by Hilton London Islington. 60 Pentonville Road.N1 9LA
Once we go the information we took train paying L6 each ticket we could at last reached our hotel walking about half an hour. We    had to get out through escalators  and my freind Myran had quite a lot of trouble taking care of her multiple pieces of her luggage. Once we were in hotel we got ourselves settled and after shower we felt good and refreshed. Evening time we had to meet our tour manger for a welcome drink and introduction with a breifting of the tour of the Southern England. Later she gave a walking tour of the nearby streets where one can find good eating places.
Fourth day October 15, we checked out of the hotel and we were on way to Windsor Castle. It was drizzling and we had to use our umbrellas throughout the tour. Windsor Castle is a favorite place of the queen and she was during our visit at Windsor Castle. We went inside the complex and the St George's church the royal tombs and its magnificent ceiling. The view from the Castle was astounding. No doubt why the queen wants to spend more time here. It is the oldest inhabited castle in the world. It is the home of 39 monarchs in the 1000 years.  We toured the splendidly furnished state apartments where the royal art collections were displayed. 
Driving toward Stradford-Upon-Avon we passed throug the market town which was near the rive Avon.This town is best known as the birth place William Shakespeare, England's greatest poet and playwright. We passed through Anne Hathways' cottage on way to Shakespear's birth place on Henley street. At the hotel Mercure Stradford Shakespeare, Chapel Street, Stratford Upon Avon, UK,we checked in  and had dinner together and including morning breakfast at the hotel.
On Day 5th day Tuesday we left Stratford-Upon-Avon . Driving through the outstanding natural beauty of Cotswold region we captured the view of  small town of Cotswold  yellow stones and its prosperous thriving wool trade. Then visiting the birthplace of Winston Churchill, the Bienhein Palace I learned more about him I never knew before. This is a home to the 12th duke and duchess of Malborough It is a masterpiece of the 18th century Baroque architecture. It was built in celebration of the victory of English over French at the battle of Bienhein. It is now World Heritage of  UNESCO site situated at 2000 acres of land with astounding gardens around the   palace. 
After enjoying the tour inside the palace adorned with its art collections display we took a tour of the site on a trolley.  We did have  in-depth idea and glimpse of the place while the driver explained along the way.
Next our travel toward the  university of Oxford was another milestone. The Oxford University is the second oldest university in the world. The university's ivy clad colleges are famous for architectural beauty and Christ Church where class room scenes in the Harry Potter movies were shot. We returned to Stratford-upon-Avon and had the evening at leisure. At night we had dinner along with cruise at the river Avon. Next day leaving the birth place of Shakespeare I felt a tinge of sadness and with we could spend more time here. The memories flashed back of our college days when we had our literary discussions about Shakespeare's work. 
                

 During our visit to Bath Abbey and on the way back we stopped in the small Somorset town Gletonsbury medieval Abbey where legendary king Arthur was buried. Now this bohemian town is famous for its annual music festival. We trave led toward Exeter for our overnight stay at Buckerell Lodge, Topsham Road, Exeter, Uk.

             Our Day 7 began with a journey along the picturesque Cornish coastline. We could view the famous St Michaels Mount. The spectacular castle is perched upon a granite crag. It was built during 14th century. We took local boats to  the island some of us strolled around below the castle and took pictures  with background of the castle. later came back to the main land taking boat, then our bus stopped at the trendy artists' town St Ives before heading back to Exeter.


          
       On the 8th day, Friday travelling toward Stonehenge we stopped by the Salisbury Cathedral where we could see the copy of  magna carta signed by king John and layeand barons in 1215. Some of our tourists in our group took a tour of the Cathedral. Angie and I opted not to join the tour and spent our time in the cathedral. We had lunch at  the Cathedral cafe and did some shopping inside the gift shop. 
After Salisbury Cathedral we proceeded toward Stonehenge, named as UNESCO world heritage site. It is the most mysterious monument in the world and located in the middle of Salisbury plains. It is believed that the first stone was placed 5000 years ago the rest completed 1400 years later. Its construction still defies belief. Then we returned to London at Double Tree Hotel where we started our tour of Southern England.

  
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Jane Austen museum at Bath.

At Buckingham  Palace with our tour manager.

My First Travel Abroad -Munich Olympic 1972.

During the seventies, in India traveling abroad was something we couldn’t dream of. The government of India was too strict and hence traveling outside India was beyond our imaginations. Luckily for us one brave man fought in the court that travel was birth right and government had no right to restrict it. After he won the case travel became easier for all. When the opportunity came my husband and i joined a group which was planning a tour of Europe during the Munich Olympic Games 1972. Traveling abroad was considered a big achievement and hence friends and families were there at New Delhi airport to greet us bon voyage with flowers and garlands. It was a memorable day for us. Photo above is the one wishing bon voyage to my husband Rup and myself. The flight took us to Moscow and we had three days for Moscow and Leningrad. Being our first travel abroad we were overwhelmed with prospect of seeing new places. As our flight from New Delhi landed at Moscow I was happy with a sigh of relief after a long flight of six and half hour. The uneasy encounter at our first stop at Moscow remains an unforgettable one till today. The seriousness and and stern look of the immigration officers made us feel as if we were some aliens from another planet.===== When my turn came the officer looked at me so intently and then to passport confirming ifi was the same person. He repeated this way three/four times making me feel so uneasy. Later I came to know that everyone in the group felt the same. After immigration procedure was over, we all were out and boarded the waiting two buses for taking us to the hotel. Once in the hotel we were a bit relaxed and after shower and change of cloths we were ready for the evening show, the Ballet of Bolshoi Theater. Not only I enjoyed the ballet but also I found it was very interesting -presenting a bouquet of flowers after every performance on the stage. That was something new to me. Nest day we (seventy of us) were taken by two bus for the city tour. It was a thrilling adventure to be in a new big city like Moscow. The beautiful palaces and grandeur of the city were noteworthy. All those majestic palaces at Kremlin a fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, the residence of the Russian Tzars built in 1849 by architect KonstaninTon. Moscow, Red Square, the official resident of the President of Russia, state historical museum, the impressive Kremlin were worth visiting. Imagining how the kings and queens in those luxurious palaces with architectural splendor was something fascinating and worth visiting. Third day we were taken to Leningrad by bus.Reaching Leningrad gave us a different atmosphere from that of Moscow. Surprisingly we felt free from watchful eyes of the communist regime in Moscow. As a token for our visit we purchased a little girl carved in granite in Leningrad. From Leningrad we were flown over to London. For me to be in London somehow i felt at home since I had been reading short stories and also books written by Jane Austin, the familiarity I felt was profound. Seeing names of the streets like Trafalgar Square and counties like Buckinghamshire, Essex which I came across while reading books during high school days gave me some sort of commection. London tour was the most enjoyable one as communication was easier as English language was a familiar everyone. At the end of the London tour we were driven to Dover in UK and proceed to Calais in Paris via English Channel. The beauty of the country on way to Dover remained a permanent imprint in y memory even after many years. We had to take steamer to cross the English channel those days as English Channel was not yet ready. The most surprising we came across in France was no one spoke English. Even the one who knew didn’t want to speak in English. Luckily the receptionist of the hotel spoke and it was easier for us to enquire anything we wanted to know. Then we had the full city tour of Paris and around the city. Half way during the tour when we arrived in Frankfurt the sad and shocking news flashed all over TV about the massacre in Munich Olympic campus. It was September 4, at 4.30 am local time. Eight Black September members entered the campus dressed in track suit with AK 47 assault rifles, pistols, grenades in duffel bags. It was unfortunate that because of wrong decision of the Israeli commandos the members of the Israeli athletes including the Black September members were all killed. The game continued as usual after the incident. We reached Munich next day. Hockey game was going on and India and Pakistan were main contenders. We were disapointed that India didn’t go to the final. Among the group we few members were close. Young couple who were from the same town always arguing and fighting all the time. Another two elderly gentlemen who were from business communities were depending on my husband for everything as they didn’t speak English. Both were strict vegetarian. Those days no one specially in Europe didn’t know about vegetarians. Since the time they came from New Delhi they have been eating only snacks which they brought with them. As they were reluctant to spend on items like fruit, they remained starving most of the time. My husband Rup was concerned about these two gentlemen and suggested that they should buy one electric stove and one pot with some rations so that we could cook in the hotel room for them. After thinking over for sometime, they agreed finally. Later we got a stove and a pot along with rice , lentils, some vegetables, a small bottle of cooking oil. Then night time came our plan to cook started with the onions fried and rice and lentils cooked together along with vegetables. After adding salt and pepper when the khichri was ready, the smell of the cooked food scarped outside out room and the young couple came in with anticipation of getting some share. After eating all those restaurant food for some time this food was incredible as we all enjoyed it. Thus cooking most of the time I became a cook on tour till the end of our journey. Our tour of Russia, UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Rome was over by the end of 29 days. From Heathrow airport we took our flight back to New Delhi. The electric stove and the utensils were divided among the two gentlemen and took home with them as souvenir. For me the memories of those remain as my souvenir.