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The Cornwall Crusade Day 5
The last day of the crusade and I hardly feel this adventure is coming to an end. I have just started to make good friends and can't believe we were going to part ways so soon. Bonding over beers and cheesy club tunes is a norm when you are on a road trip.
I decided to visit the Jane Austen Center today in Bath. The other attractive option would be to blow 40 Euros on a 3 hour spa experience in the luxurious Roman baths. Since it's the beginning of my Eurotrip, I decided upon the more economic option to nourish my mind instead of my body.
A prosperous looking Mr. Darcy greeted me at the entrance of the Jane Austen Museum. This is where the famous Jane Austen stayed in Bath for a few years.The exhibition is not nearly as impressive as I wish it would be.A guide brought me through the family tree and timeline of Jane's birth and career in the little town of Bath. Then, we were shown a video documenting her life and struggle as a lady in her time. My lack of attention caused me to wander away from the video. Luckily, I found the language of the fan amusing. During Jane's time, a woman flirts openly with her fan, luring the suitors with their sultry dispositions with the language of the fan.
Clutching the closed fan at both ends and pressing it against your chest means "My love for you is breaking my heart". Drawing closed fan across your forehead means "You have changed". Carrying an open fan in your right hand next to your face and using your finger to beckon means, "Follow me".
These people in the old days were very naughty indeed. I managed to get Aly to strike the "Follow me" pose. I got to try that at Zouk Out this year.
Departing beautiful Bath, we arrived at the untouched Lacock Abbey. I wonder if I'm going to bump into Harry Potter. I will ask him to show me his magic wand. This place is a page from the history books. The brick walls and pulpy roof covered under layers of fern and moss. I almost expect to see villagers in their medieval getup leaving their houses with a herd of geese and climbing up into their donkey carriages. Lacock has been tasked to preserve its original heritage and have gone to lengths to protect this town from modernization.I love the color and the texture of the buildings. A quick search on Wikipedia tells me that some interior sequences in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets were filmed at Lacock, including the cloister walk where Harry freed Dobby. Lacock was also used to film some scenes for the sixth Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This took place during four days in October 2007. Warner. Bros. announced that the spooky nights of Hogwarts were also filmed here with most of the main characters including Daniel Radcliffe. No wonder this little town feels so magical.
The final destination brings us to Avebury. Like Stonehenge, this ancient heritage site holds much history and many secrets. Many, especially the Druids, see it as a spiritual centre. Avebury is said to stand on the St Michael line, an alignment that is said to run across England from Cornwall to East Anglia. The first thing I saw was a strange old man worshipping the stones in the middle with a striptease ritual. I couldn't bear to see anymore past the naked torso so I turned my attention to the splatter of stones in loose circular formation among the trenches. This place is definitely smaller than Stonehenge and attracts lesser tourists but it sure generates more weird vibes than the former. This marks the end of the epic 5 day adventure through the Cornwall territories. I felt like I have traveled and lived through hundreds of years in these few days. I gave my wonderful tour guide a hearty hug and head back to London for some city soot.
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