London, Bath and Stonehenge, oh MY!

Matt and I took a whirlwind 2 day tour of England only 2 days before we left for home. It was tiring and ridiclously busy but SO fun and worth it, and not very expensive. To recap:

Wednesday, May 23:

We arrived at Victoria Bus Station after a 9 hour bus ride in a hot but not too crowded double decker. We bought a map and planned a rough route and what we wanted to see. We began walking our tour around 7:30am.

First, we wandered up to Buckingham Palace to take photos. Again I was struck by how ugly the place is. And by the way, it was HOT already, and sunny! Nothing like 75F compared to 58F in Scotland to make London feel like a sauna.

We backtracked to Westminster Abbey and the Parliment where Big Ben (the bell in the clocktower) is. We had brunch along the Thames and then walked to Trafalgar Sq. where the National Gallery is. We stopped in to see some da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Ruben. Then we took the tube to St. Paul's Cathedral where we had lunch in the courtyard.

We then walked past The Monument, built to commemorate those killed in a big fire, and looked at London Bridge, which is like the 9th version of the bridge and really not spectacular at all. We then took the tube to Tower Hill and went into the Tower of London.

One story our Beefeater guide told us was about James Scot, whose head took more than 5 blows to detach from his head. His executioner had to take out his knife and cut the remaing grisle from his neck to actually detach it, that's how blunt the axe blade was. Ick. Afterward, because they realized he was royalty and needed a portrait done of him, they sewed his head back onto his body and painted him while dead. In the portrait he looks...very pale.

More than 1500 people were found under the floor of the chapel - beheaded.

We walked over the Tower Bridge, hd dinner, and found our hostel. It was weird to stay there but we were so tired we just passed out, but seriously, I don't think I'd ever do a hostel again.

We went back to Trafalgar Sq. to watch the night in London and finally returned to the hostel to sleep around 11:30.

May 24:

We got up and caught our tour bus to Stonehenge and Bath. We stopped at Stonehenge first. It was first built in 3000 BC and arranged/rearranged for 1500 years, when it was finally abandoned for reasons unknown. No one knows the true origin or purpose of the stones, which is REALLY odd considering how long people looked after them. Some think it's a calendar because of the way the sun passes through the outside circle of stones at certain months of the year. Others think it was meant for sacrifice, religious gatherings, etc. What we DO know is that the stones are about 50 tons, burials ring the outside about 50 metres from the circle, the stones were carved and shaped, we only see now the remnants of the original, and it is every bit as impressive and amazing as people say it is.

After Stonehenge we went to Bath. It's where the first ever coronation ceremony of a king (Edgar in 973 AD) was held. The springs are naturally warm, being heated from the center of the earth and pumped up through the ground, and the Romans built baths around them, believing the waters had healing powers. Bill Bryson, the writer, visited and we could listen to his commentary on our audio tour. We saw one of three shop bridges that exist in the world (we saw the other two in Venice and Florence). I bought some fudge, which Bath is kind of known for.

We then went back to London and saw Hyde Park, where we saw duckies, the Princess Di memorial fountain which is a ring fountain with water running in two different directions, then walked to Victoria Station and ate at Colonade Walk. The bus was VERY full going home but we slept better because it was coole.

We got back at 7:30 in the morning and napped until it was time to say farewell to Kim as she headed back to Germany, then spent the remainder of Friday souvenier shopping.

We packed all Saturday, and left Sunday.

Now, I'm back in Florida. I'll be doing one last post as a wrapup soon, but not quite yet.

-A-

Playing Tourist: Sun 20 - Tues 22

Looking back to Sunday, May 20, let's recap my last week in Edinburgh:

Sunday was the Kitchener House barbecue. Atif, the RA, and Kat (the other RA) bought loads of burgers, sausages, potatoes and drinks and grilled all day from 2pm till past midnight. Everyone gathered outside and ate, played games, and talked for hours. (Pics of the BBQ are in the album "random".)

On Monday the 21st, we had a LONG day. Becca, Tara, Pablo, Noelia, Azahara, Matt and I said goodbye to John (which was VERY, very sad) and then went out to walk about town. We wandered around the Parliment building (it's very ugly, especially compared to the beautiful old buildings of the city), Holyrood palace, the Royal Mile, and Calton Hill, where there are beautiful views of the city and Edinburgh's unfinished parthenon. We then ate at Lloyd's bar and saw "Zodiac" which was actually very good.

On Tuesday, Becca, Tara, Matt and I got up early again and we to Edinbugh castle. It cost a LOT of money to get into but we felt we had to see it. And the tourists were AWFUL but...well, technically we're locals ;o) I bought a Scottish flag and some golf things for mom and dad. We got to see the crown jewels, which are the originals and VERY old not like that the redone versions of the English crown jewels.

In the evening we went to Mary King's Close, which is a street that was built over and is very old, so you get to see how people lived back in the day by going underneath the city. Supposedly it's haunted. Once home, Matt and I booked our trip to London.

It's weird to do touristy things in a place where you feel you belong, but everyone judges your accent and assumes you're a tourist. Very odd :o)

Pictures are up on the pic site under the album "playing tourist."

-A-