Day 2, Stonehenge and Salisbury

The plan posted for us the evening before.   Our itinerary reads as follows:

Marvel at the prehistoric circle of vast monoliths of Stonehenge and learn about the primitive builders who managed to create such an enduring monument.  Stop in Salisbury, a charming old city where the cathedral boats the tallest spire in England.  Arrive in Tavistock, a market town on the edge of Dartmoor National Park.

Our stop was a quick one.  For one it was raining, not everyone even opted to hope off the coach.  But, my friend Jane and I donned our ball caps and rain coats and walked around the circumference of the circle.  We lucked out in that we were there before other tour groups so it wasn't crowded.  My understanding is it's often quite crowded and hard to get a picture.  You no longer get to walk right up to or among the stones, but it's still quite impressive to see.

If you click the picture to enlarge it, you should be able to see some people on the left hand side of the picture.  This should give you some perspective as to the size.  This is an UNESCO site, one of the first in England.  It's a powerful witness to the people in the Neolithic and Bronze ages.  The building of this site began 5,000 years ago, but why it was built is unknown.  What it was used for is also unknown.  Some of the stones (as they are not all the same type of stone), came from the south of Wales.  How would simple people without modern day tools get stones this large and heavy from one place to another?  It will continue to be studied, and perhaps in years to come more will be learned.

Again, look at the size.  This is stone laying down tethered to a sled of sorts
See the people on the left.

Examples of grass huts can be toured behind the circle.  You get a feel for what a village would have looked like.

A launderette outside a rest stop.  Rest stops in Europe are nothing like rest stops here in the US.  The ones we saw in England had gas, public toilets and a large facility with 2 coffee shops, some fast food options, and grocery items; as well as gift items to purchase.  The launderette is a combined washer and dryer.  We watched a man put his laundry in, add the money and then went inside to eat and shower possibly.  The soap is also already in the machine.  As you can see you select which size load you have.

The Salisbury Cathedral, the tallest spire in England at 123 meters, a little over 400 feet!!  As you can see some work is being done.  No doubt that's a perpetual situation given the age of the cathedral.  The building began in 1220, and took 38 years to build.  It houses The Magna Carte among other artifacts.  Half a million visitors tour the cathedral annually.

A few of the many gorgeous stained windows.

This is an embroidered copy of the Magna Carte.  We did see the original, but you are not permitted to photograph it.  It's kept in a tent to keep light off it and only 3 people are permitted in the tent at one time with a docent controlling the entrance and exit of the tent.

Remember to click to enlarge so you can read the explanation.

A very detailed model of the cathedral.

A hot Cappauccino and shot of whiskey (can't remember what we had), was just what the doctor ordered.  Was a pretty cool, damp day and we needed a pick me up as we were walking around the town a bit.

In the pub where we enjoyed our whiskey and Cappuccino.  Forgot to make a note about the name of the pub, it was quite old.  Might have been named Ye Olde Pub or something like that.

Not a photo I took, but one from their website.  It looked like a castle, and was quite old.  Many older hotels in Europe do not have AC or elevators.  This hotel fell into that category.  We ran into trouble on night one there, as we were without electric.  3 different staff members came up to our 3rd floor room to see if they could fix it.  Something to do with the breakers.  Each plug had their own.  We lucked out in that one light did work, so we weren't in the dark; but were unable to charge our phones.  They didn't have a room they could move us too, as they were full.  They did get it fixed for us the next day.  A rather charming hotel with a warm and very nice staff.

PLEASE leave me a comment when you come visit, so I know you were here. Your visits and comments are very special to me. AND remember, leave your name and url and not your profile link. Name and url takes me right to your blog post so I can reciprocate the visit.

Day One, The Tour Begins, Windsor

We had a refreshing Aperol Spritz and enjoyed the nice weather.

Our itinerary summed up Day one like this:

Your tour departs at 2 pm from your Windsor Hotel.  Venture to see the splendors of Windsor Castle, a residence of the King, and the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world.  Then take a walking tour arouind the medieval town of Windsor with a local guide.  Enjoy a welcome drink with your group, and dine and explore as you wish this evening.  Our welcome drink was scheduled for 6 pm.

Walk this way.  There are no inside photo's permitted, but it was awesome to see it.  Wish I could share with you; but it's a BIG no no.  There are security checks as you enter so travel light and leave backpacks in the hotel or in our case the tour coach..

Trying to snap photo's as we walked with our guide wasn't super easy.  You have to keep up.  

Queen Victoria on High Street as you make your way to the entrance.  As you can see lots of rehab work is going on.  The tour guide said it's perpetual.  The bronze statue was to commemorate her Golden Jubilee (50th year).   At that time, she was the longest serving Monarch.

The State Entrance.  Just outside this gate was wear The Queen was often seen with her dogs, and or riding her horse.  She was quite popular and friendly according to our tour guide who saw her multiple times.

Turning the opposite direction from The State Entrance puts you in line with The Long Walk.  A beautiful place to walk, run etc.  It's 2.64 miles to the end where a horse statue resides on Snow Hill.  This was created during the reign of Charles II.

Our local guide pointing out items of interest.  Note the restaurant behind her, The Prince Harry.  After our tour and welcome drink, we attempted to go there for dinner.  They were not busy, but the wait staff and bartender just looked at us and walked away.  We waited a few minutes more and then walked out.  Guess they didn't want our business.  We did note pictures of Harry and Meghan on the walls.

Tried my best to get a picture without people, but as you can see, wasn't quite successful.  Windsor is full of tourists.  The shambles built in 1718.  Look how crocked it is.  Remember you can click on any picture to see things larger.

While this old plaque isn't readable.  It marks the location of Nell Gwynn's residence, and now tea room.

And Chinese Restaurant.  The date on the building is 1648.  She was a stage actress and one of King Charles's mistresses.

You'll recall dinner was not included, which is very weird.  I've never done a tour that didn't have a welcome dinner.  It gives the group a chance to get to know each other, and many people have just arrived that day and are tired.  To have to search out somewhere to eat isn't a particularly good way to start the tour.  So after our welcome drink, and a foiled attempt to eat at the pub right across the street from our hotel, The Prince Harry; we ended up at Meejana, 1 Church Lane in a very cute Lebanese restaurant.  My dish was an eggplant something and was delicious.  Don't remember what Jane had, but she was very pleased with it.  **edited to add my friend remembered what I had, it was Mousakaa.

See what a cute little super clean place it was.  Would highly recommend it.  We were seated at an open window area, and they had outside eating as well.

Marching orders.  Most days we had something like this posted to indicate what was next.  So breakfast at 7am, luggage out by your door by 7 am, be on the coach at 8 am for departure.  Dinner tomorrow at 6:30 in our hotel, our first group dinner.  

PLEASE leave me a comment when you come visit, so I know you were here. Your visits and comments are very special to me. AND remember, leave your name and url and not your profile link. Name and url takes me right to your blog post so I can reciprocate the visit.