Hello Everybody,

first off, apologies for the joke, I couldn't help it.

So, here goes...I got a 730 train from Canterbury through London to Bath.  It is
a very interesting little place.  They definitely love their Roman history.
All the buildings have marble facades, arched windown and columned porticos,
but all are topped with the classic British chimmney - its like a weird Disney
World version of Rome Architecture with a twist of Britain - very schizophrenic
and interesting...
The Bath itself was really really cool.  Its a natural hot spring that still
bubbles and steams.  The architecture around the Bath itslef is still mostly
Roman dating to about 43 AD or something ridiculous like that.  I did the whole
audio tour and afterwards was famished and had my first authentic Cornish Pasty
- very very tasty.
I got a self-guided walking tour for a pound that quickly turned into a Zach
stopping on every corner to look like an idiot with a map tour, so I threw the
map out and just walked around.  I think I managed to stumble on the good stuff
as I somehow walked through botanical gardens, a palace crescent, another Pasty
shop, a beautiful river walk, a footbridge over a part in the river that's like
a manmade waterfall, similar to the one in Winooski by Higher Ground - and then
back to the Baths where there is a beautiful Abbey that somehow escaped my
sight on the first go-round.  The abbey had the most beautiful stained-glass
I've ever seen, as well as the biggest know it all curator who physically
grabbed me and wouldn't let go until she had shown me positively everything in
the place.
Oh, and I almost forgot, on the way out to London in the morning, a bunch of
commuters got on, one of which being a very soft-spoken older gentleman.  Upon
taking an orange out of his suitcase, he pointed to my backpack, more
specifically to my Dead patch.  We got to talking and it turns out he saw them
twice on the Europe 72 tour, and again in 74!!!  With a grin, he told me that
he always wore Dead ties to work on dress down fridays.  It was a really cool
talk, and I was listening to a Dead show at It was a very cool thing to happen
in the morning.
I got a train back into London, and from there back to Canterbury.  I finished
the book White Teeth, again a great read, and wrote a few letters and
postcards.
I'm beat in that very happy way.
Love you all,
Hear from you all soon,
Zach.

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