Ya Hadda Be There

"There" being here... Dorian House Bed and Breakfast in Bath, England:

That's a long view of the outside and a closer shot of The Usual Suspects gathered under the sign before we set out to do touristy things in Bath.  Don't they look ALL enthused?  I'm thinking this shot might have been taken the morning after the night before, wherein we went pub crawling in Beautiful Downtown Bath, which was within walking distance of the B&B.  Dorian House has a good web site, btw.  Here's a blurb from the opening page:

Enter an atmosphere of period charm in Dorian House, built of Bath stone circa 1880. Extensively refurbished in 2009 with Marble bathrooms and high pressure showers,  a new Breakfast-Orangery and additional room "SLAVA" in memory of the great cellist Rostropovich. Characterful bedrooms have a restful ambience and views over the Royal Crescent or well-tended gardens. Some have traditional oak four-poster or superking size beds and are luxuriously decorated with opulent fabrics and stunning decor. Crisp cotton sheets, fluffy towels, tea/coffee making facilities, television, hairdryer and telephone ensure a comfortable stay.

Their pictures are a lot better than mine, too... they musta been done by pros. But we digress.  This particular B&B was one of the nicest ones we stayed in during the Infamous UK Tour of 1990/91.  The Second Mrs. Pennington went to great lengths to plan our trip route and itinerary, something she excelled at doing, among her many other skills and general all-around wonderfulness.   

That said, we also played things pretty loose, allowing for changes in plan and all that.  We usually made B&B reservations for the following night on the day before we arrived, using a Fodor's Guide to the UK as our source.  Things worked out pretty well in that regard but it's too bad the inner-nets weren't as developed then as they are today.  Some of the copy in Fodor's was pretty misleading, resulting in a one-night stay in places we rather not have stayed.

Now... about the "you hadda be there bits."  Here are a few shots of us after our night on the town, during which the pubs closed before we were ready to call it a night.  So we returned to the B&B, finding we had the parlour and its beer supply all to ourselves.  Herewith some pics of the party's continuation...

 The Lovely Miss Lynch, SN1, and TSMP shortly after we arrived and before the parlour warmed up.

 TSMP in front of the fire which wasn't fired up.  It should have been, coz it was CHILLY in there, Gentle Reader.

 SN1 striking a country gentleman pose.

Not to be outdone, I snagged TWO brass pheasants.

We drank all the beer in the fridge (literally) and then headed upstairs to our rooms.

Ya hadda be there, like I said.  It was just another great night on the road in Ol' Blighty, one of many.  That vacation was waaay too damned short.