On our third - strike that - fourth day, we took a tour bus to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. This day was definitely one of the highlights of the trip - and it flew by. The castle was well worth a full day's visit and Bath would be wonderful for a week-long vacation by itself. Stonehenge was...errr, interesting. I wouldn't say it was a bust, but on a day trip where 2 hours felt like 15 minutes at Windsor and Bath, 45 minutes was too long to stare at some large rocks. Call me an uncultured ignoramus - I'll take those minutes and spend them exploring St. George's chapel or enjoying a coffee in one of Bath's cafes.
Our tour began at Windsor Castle, where we were shuffled through airport-style security (this is a royal residence, after all) and then turned loose on the castle grounds. The grounds were immaculate and the state rooms were quite impressive. Outside the state rooms were aisles forming a queue. Since it was winter, we were actually able to (hurriedly) walk through all the state rooms without waiting. Apparently, in the summer, you can expect to wait in line for 1-2 hours (which would have exhausted our entire time limit for the castle). Here are some picture highlights:
Not sure who that guy is, but that umbrella belongs to our tour guide. It wasn't raining.
In the background is Windsor, with the castle immediately to our left.
This was actually where we exited the castle - it looked to be used primarily as an entrance for vehicles.
Walking up to the castle entrance. Silly tourists wouldn't get out of my picture.
A garden within the castle - the picture does not do it justice, the scale was quite large and this was a major focal point as you entered the castle interior.
The state rooms took up almost all our time here and, unfortunately, they do not allow photography. That doesn't stop google though, so go look at some of the great rooms and halls that make up this castle. Pretty spectacular. I was particularly impressed by the golf course on the grounds. I (quite naively) asked an employee if the course was private. Muffling his laughter, he said, "yes, it's, well, not open to the public. The royal family uses it and castle staff have access." Pretty sweet perk if you ask me. Does the queen need a caddy?
St. George's Chapel. Due to the line and our tight schedule, we decided to skip it rather than miss our bus. Would have loved another 30 minutes here (more on that later...).
Alright so we didn't see the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace. But here's a guard returning to his post within the castle grounds. And he has that peculiar hat (which, without a doubt, Laura knows the name of).
A cycling club departing just outside the castle. Nothing makes me feel more at home then a group of 10+ people wearing nothing but spandex. This is just about the only time you'll see an English person wearing informal footwear (then again, who knows - they were probably tourists).
After the all-too-quick tour of the castle, we were back on the bus, with a Coke (with actual sugar, none of that high-fructose-corn-syrup trash) and tasty sandwich in hand, headed to Stonehenge. At least for the trip out, even the time in the bus was interesting as we got to see the English countryside.
And now you do too. :)
Hmm - that's a pile of rocks. Oh, right. Stonehenge. It's a curiously arranged pile of rocks inexplicably located in the middle of the Salisbury plains. Cool.
Since the ancients were able to move these boulders across half the country and arrange them in the pattern seen here, we assumed there must be some trick to transport them easily. As you can see, Laura was able to lift one using only her left arm. Granted, her left is almost as strong as her right, but you get the idea. After being scolded for 'unsettling the natives,' Laura carefully placed the stone exactly how she had found it. I guess England is serious about their "world heritage sites."
During our cab ride from Heathrow the first day, we heard from our cab driver that, "Stonehenge isn't as much of a draw now that you can't climb the rocks." I fully acknowledge that this anecdote - truthful or not - made my experience, well, underwhelming. Still neat. Still worth seeing. But all I could think about was my clmbing shoes and some chalk. THAT would have been worth 45 minutes.
Approaching Bath by bus...
The Roman Bath.
A mosiac on the floor in the ruins of the Roman bath.
They've seen mountains. They've seen oceans. They've even seen Chacos. And now, Roman baths too.
Laura happy.
Laura, less happy. She had the unfortunate desire to take Bath up on its offer of bath water for 50p. I assume this was not like drinking freezing cold mountain spring water in Colorado (filtered, of course). I say assume because Laura tried it first and I had the wisdom to let her reaction dictate my next action.
What's that? A Lush....in Bath? The best part of this discovery was Laura's revelation that, as we walked up a street in a city we had never visited and a country we'd been in for three days, she could smell Lush. Hah, very funny I said. A Lush in Bath - how quaint. And then I saw it. For those of you unfamiliar with Lush, stay unfamiliar. There's no going back.
A restaurant tucked into a back alley. Much more appealing than what America tucks into back alleys.
Still to come: Day 3 and Days 5-7.
-Steve
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