England June 2012 Part 2 of 2

The following day we drove from Bath all the way out to Cornwall, St. Ives in fact, stopping in Dartmoor to find the Scorhill stone circle noted in RS book on the topic. This stop in Dartmoor on a rainy, gloomy afternoon was the highlight of our trip. When RS says the roads are challenging and narrow, he is not kidding. We found ourselves alone with Scorhill as the rain fell steadily. Upon arriving in St. Ives, we enjoyed strolling through the town. Leave the waterfront tackiness and find the narrow lanes off the waterfront. The beach in St. Ives was not overrun as it was cool, but you could see how when warmer weather hits this area is just mobbed with sun worshippers. We spent the following afternoon awaiting the train in Penzance after dropping off our car there. The town was entirely dead and seemed way less tourist oriented than St. Ives. The overnight train from Penzance to London was great (the room is really, really small but certainly fine for us) and put us in London Paddington by 5 am the next morning. We rented a flat near the Tower of London through VRBO and it was great (Trinity Square Flat - helpful owner and great location). London highlights for us included the Tower of London, first sight of Big Ben, British Museum, British Library, London Eye, Sherlock Holmes Museum, and picnic lunch in Hyde Park. Disappointments included double decker bus tour that simply didn't access certain sights due to traffic problems (e.g., Buckingham Palace) and which just came to a dead standstill once we got deep into the West End. We just got off the bus as we grew tired of listenting to our poor guide try to think of more things to say when his narrative suffered from a lack of any chaging scenery. All in all, a great trip. Rick's guidebook provided great insights and ideas, well worth the time spent reading in advance. Already planning our next trip overseas in a couple years. Cheers!