Travel Diary: London and Bathe

by Sandra deDubovay

LW contributor

I signed up for an 11-day tour to London and Bathe in England sponsored by Musical Theatre West (MTW). It left Sept. 12. There were 41 total in the group. Since I was a volunteer with MTW for 21 years and knew several people on the tour, I decided to join them.

As it turned out, it was a wonderful trip which included Westminster Abbey, Elthan Palace, Syon House and Gardens, Hampton Court, Royal Albert Hall, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Salisbury Cathedral, a pass by Stonehenge, the Roman Baths, and several walking and theater tours.

Of course since MTW sponsored it, five theater productions were included. A plus included a Jane Austen reading in a lovely private Georgian home, that included tea and delicious homemade scones with clotted cream and jams. It was a definite highlight.

On my own, I went to the famous Harrods Department Store. I bought a ticket on the London Eye. It is the largest cantilevered observation wheel. It’s located on the south bank of the Thomas River and on a clear day you can see 25 miles in every direction.

In Bathe, I took a double decker bus with narration of many historic sites. Other than that, the MTW tour included so many things that I couldn’t fit much else in. Breakfast and dinner were included every day.

This was my fifth time in London, but it is such an incredible city with history and modernization that there is always plenty of things to do and see.

I flew roundtrip on United Airlines direct from LAX to Heathrow. With all the news of airline delays and problems, both flights were on time and smooth flying. The entire trip was definitely a “10.”