The morning after my little trip to York, Stephen and coworkers had some stuff to finish up before we left to head back to Manchester, and then on to the rest of our trip. Wonder of wonders, the sun was out! I took the camera and wandered around the golf course that is part of Hollins Hall country club. It was closed for the winter, so no danger of being hit by a golf ball.
I had lunch at the hotel restaurant, and by the time I was done the guys had returned from work and we headed back to Manchester. I just took a nap during that car ride, because my head and stomach still didn’t agree with the driving.
We were all staying in the same hotel in Manchester that night (Thursday) before heading our separate ways. We were going on to Bath, Stephen’s manager was flying to Berlin, and other coworkers were either going home or on to Germany. For dinner we all went to an Indian restaurant that they had discovered on one of their previous trips, and now make a point to visit every time they travel through Manchester. A leisurely three hours after sitting down, we were all stuffed. The night was finished off with a “night cap” at the hotel bar. We did this every night traveling with the Siemens guys.
The next morning we took a taxi to Manchester Piccadilly train station and caught the train to Bath. We just stayed one night in Bath, at the Holiday Inn Express. Because Stephen is a Priority Club member, we got free wi-fi! Woot woot! Internet is generally NOT included at hotels in Europe. We spent the rainy afternoon in Bath seeing the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey.
The next morning we checked out, left our luggage with the front desk (so nice that they let us do that) and took a bus down to Wells. Wells is a tiny English town with a beautiful Cathedral. That was the only reason I wanted to go there. In my architectural history textbook, there is a picture of the stairs leading to the Chapter House of Wells Cathedral. The stone steps are worn with the footfalls of hundreds of people over hundreds of years. Part of the steps branched off halfway up, leading to some place not visible from the angle of the picture. I loved that picture so much, I told myself that I would go there whenever I traveled to England. And so I did.
After returning to Bath and picking up our luggage, we bought train tickets to London Paddington. We rode in a London taxi to our hotel for the next three nights, Grange Strathmore in South Kensington.
The Messmanns of Mecklenburg 