The beginning in Bath....

The night before I left my mom gave me a little card and inside was a delicate little bracelet with the word Truth engraved on it.  Her note said "Travel safely in truth and celebrate every blessed day you are given."  Those words worked there way into my soul and have helped me find a bit more clarity as to what this next set of travels are for.  Travel in Truth is the motto this time.  The first round everything happened so quickly and was so new and different from anything I had ever experienced before.  This time I and returning to quite a few spots I have been before and feel like I am really truly digging into these places and changing my life...possibly working to create a new start to my life over here.  That is all a part of finding the truth of who I am and who I want to be in this next stage of my life.  Of course there will be new spots to explore to but I am very excited about revisiting

View from my room...doesn't get much better! 

   
 the old also.   So with all that said lets get into the adventure.... My travels were relatively uneventful this year which was perfectly fine with me.  Everything went smoothly.  I had a great seat on the plane with extra leg room and no weirdos sitting next to me.  The flight was much shorter flying from Tennessee which had it's pluses and minuses.  I was happy to be on a plane for a shorter amount of time but It made it difficult to stick to my sleep program so I could function when I arrived in London at 8am.  I did sneak in a cat nap between the dinner and breakfast service on the plane and I am pretty sure I was sleeping on the shoulder of the guy next to me...oops...he didn't see to mind though.  Once I arrived customs was a breeze...no 80's mullet man giving me the 3rd degree.  I am traveling much lighter this year so luggage was easy too.  Since I booked all my train travel online ahead of time I gave my self time for there to be issues, since there wasn't I was stuck at Paddington train station for 3 hours waiting.  I was perfectly ok with it when I was checking the train boards and looked up to see Jude Law standing across from me.  I definitely got a look,

Prior Park

     smile, and a re-look after from him....Not a bad way to start my time in London.  Hopefully that is a sign for whats to come.  I finally got on the train and headed to Bath where Michelle and Talia were there to pick me up and take me to my home for the next 3 weeks.  They showed me to my room and I looked out the window to see the beautiful view you see in the photo.  My heart was filled with such joy to be back in this beautiful country.  The first couple of days were just settling in.  We took a walk in Prior Park which is basically 5 steps from there back door and is so beautiful. The bridge you see in the photos is one of only 4 designed in

Talia walking the trails

this specific style.  The whole park is full of gorgeous garden trails and hidden little benches and secret surprise buildings.  The whole park and huge Mansion up on the hill was owned by one of the richest and most influential men in Bath, Ralph Allen.  It is crazy to think that this whole vast park and huge Mansion belonged to one man....oh to live back in those times.  I really do think I was born in the wrong era sometimes.  When I look out over these green hills and gardens I feel like I should be dressed in my big gorgeous dress that I can't put on by my self holding a lace parasol over my shoulder with one hand and the other arm draped gently through the arm of a dapper gentleman who is of course courting me.  I know...only in my dreams...but what a dream it is.
It has been so much fun exploring this park next door with the kiddos these last few days that I have been watching them.  Michelle and Ryan have been able to enjoy some lovely time together on this annual retreat they attend while I get to have loads of fun at home with Nathan and Talia who are two of the greatest children.  We have walked on trails, splashed in puddles by the bridge and found a beautiful family

Just Splashing!

of swans that had just had their babies.  They are so cute and fluffy.  They go out for their morning and afternoon swim and it is just precious.  We watched them just waddling their way down the bank into the pond and all of them just basically tumbled down more then walked.  All in all it is just a gorgeous place to live and be able to explore.
I have had one other adventure here this first week aside from watching the kiddos.  Let me tell you it was one I that made me feel quite young again.  I drove a car here in Bath...AHHHHH....quite scary.  I was going to need to drive the children to school while I was watching them since there are not any convenient bus stops around this area so Michelle put me behind the wheel for some practice.  I was thinking this can't be that bad...just focus on keeping myself on the opposite side of the road....boy was I wrong.  I felt like a 16 year old in drivers ed class again.  The roads are not built for real sized cars...matchbox ones would work better.  I was constantly feeling like I was going to scrape the car on either the big rock wall on one side or the row of cars parked on the other.  Then because the roads are so tiny and cars are parked on the side it really makes

This is a 2 way traffic road

 a 2 way street feel like it should be one way and there really is only room for one car.  The big problem with this is what if there happens to be two way traffic....well....one of you has to find a spot between all the parked cars to pull over and let the other one pass.  If there isn't a convenient one in front of you guess what....you have to reverse till you find one.  I was slightly over whelmed by all this getting started.  Michelle was wonderfully patient with me and she only grabbed the wheel once.  It really is trickier then you think it's going to be.  Anyway, by the end of the drive I was settling in and getting the hang of it.  It ended up that my practice was not needed since both kids ended up feeling a bit poorly so we all stayed home but at least I get to check it off my list that I have driven in England on the other side of the road and the other side of the car!
As of yesterday I have finished working and will now just get to explore and play.  Michelle and Ryan are letting me stay with them for 2 more weeks so I can get the full Bath experience that I didn't get last time.  I am so looking forward to it!