This week has been full of truly authentic English experiences for all of us. From the not so popular kippers for breakfast, to a truly delightful sticky toffee pudding as a decadent end to one of our meals together, it seems nearly all of us are determined to get a taste of England. Eating, however, is not the purpose of our tour here. So after breakfast on Wednesday, we all slipped our way across the newly snow-laden courtyard of The Red Lion (our 13th century hotel!!) and into the bus to embark on our journey to Salisbury Cathedral.

Unlike the other cathedrals we’ve visited so far, Salisbury is actually surrounded by a well-preserved expanse of what is usually vibrantly green grass. But not this day. We had the distinct privilege of experiencing England’s biggest snowstorm of the last ten years, and may I say it’s quite the way to start the New Year. Even our seasoned tour guide, Tom Doyle, says he’s never seen England’s rolling green hills so beautifully covered in snow like they are now. As we made our way through the beautiful village leading up to the cathedral we passed several young school children who were so delighted to see their town dressed in radiant white that they seemed to have forgotten how “incredibly late” they were for their classes, which unfortunately were not cancelled. In fact some of them seemed to forget about class all together. Approaching the cathedral, we saw the surrounding courtyard filled with children having snowball fights and rolling impressive snow boulders as large as they could just for the fun of it. Being from a part of the world where this much snowfall is a frequent occurrence, some of our gentlemen took it as an obligation to help the young lads make their snowball grow a little more.  
    
Finally feeling satisfied with the size of the snowball, we made our way through the entrance to the tallest cathedral in England. The first sight to behold was breathtaking, to say the least. The cloister, an enclosed courtyard with two very old yet sturdy-looking trees in the center was perfectly protected from the outside and offered a sort of calm that you can’t buy with all the money in the world these days. The monks who founded the church used the same yard for hundreds of years, and as you look upon the space, you can almost imagine them sitting under those trees reading , praying,  and simply escaping the worries of their time. After being refreshed by that rare snapshot of peace and tranquility, we proceeded into the cathedral itself. I’m sorry to say that words simply won’t do justice to the truly magnificent building. Its walls were overflowing with rich and meaningful history, which we learned all about on our tour of the space. Among the highlights, we especially enjoyed the breathtaking stained glass, full of splendidly understated detail, one of the original copies of the Magna Carta, and an absolutely beautiful baptismal font which was large enough to reflect large portions of stained glass on its glossy surface. After we finished our walk around the church, the tour guide was so eager to hear us sing that we presented an informal performance of Coventry Carol, which was met with delighted approval from everyone present.
   
As we left Salisbury Cathedral, fully understanding we had only scratched the surface of its extensive history, we saw the same boys from before standing next to their snowball, which was only about four feet tall when we left them. It was now closer to six or seven feet tall and had made its way all the way across the courtyard. Noticing they seemed to be unable to move it any further on their own, we decided to lend our experienced aid and get the ball rolling again, but not without starting a little snowball fight in good fun. We then ran back to the bus to embark on our journey to Bath, another goldmine of history.
   
Approaching the city, we noticed a similarity amongst all the buildings, which Tom later explained was actually a city ordinance. Every building in the entire city must use the limestone from the same quarry that has been used since the first structures were built. It adds a certain seamless and timeless quality to the community that helps recreate the time when Romans inhabited the baths. Our first stop in Bath was the Abbey where we delivered yet another concert and got to meet several interesting people from the audience following the show. Walking around the church I realized just how old it must be based on how many plaques, monuments, tombs and inscriptions filled the walls and floors. After the concert, we drifted out into the snow, and were let loose on the city of Bath for the lunch hour, reconvening for our tour of the ancient Roman Baths for which the city is named.
   
Meandering through the halls of the museum, I began to understand just how old this place is. Dating back to the years when the polytheistic Romans inhabited the land, the baths of Bath were truly something to behold. The tour took us past several artifacts, which had been excavated from the site, altars that were once used for animal sacrifice, and eventually to the main bathing chamber that, according to the recordings, looks very much as it did when the Romans were there. It was an eerie feeling walking into that chamber, seeing the steam risingl off the water to briefly fill the air. How many thousands of people had flocked to this very spot for a multitude of reasons from worship to relaxation to healing of illness? I know the experience will stay with me for some time, reminding me of how very young I am. Then, as quickly as it started, we found ourselves pulled out of history and back into the present day as we walked past the gift shop at the exit, and into our coach for the ride home.
   
It wasn’t until we were leaving the city, as I looked back on its uniformity and vastness, that I was realized why the view seemed familiar. As the city climbs its way up the hill so seamlessly and effortlessly, with the white limestone amplified by the snow, I couldn’t help but wonder if the ancient city of Bath was part of J. R. R. Tolkien’s inspiration for his mythical yet just as ancient white marble city of Minas Tirith. I dwelled on this and many other things as we made our way through the sparkling countryside back to Salisbury for our third dinner together.
   
The evening was relaxing and calm after such a busy day and we all had so much to talk about. Finishing the day with a few more tastes of England seemed a great way to bring it all to a close and it seemed as though we were beginning to see the end of the tour approaching. It won’t be long before we board our plane for the United States again, but before then we’ll all be frantically gathering and garnering England’s many experiences.

Addendum: Bill Bryson, a Drake alumnus, current Chancellor of Durham University in England, former London Times columnist and author of a plethora of books on travel, the English language, etc., was asked to provide commentary to be included in the audio tour of the Roman Baths.  Our choir enjoyed his insights and reactions to the artifacts we saw.  Mr. Bryson was Drake’s Bucksbaum Lecturer last spring and received Drake’s Distinguished Alumnus Award while on campus.  We were proud to see that a Drake alum is held in such high regard in England.