Today's tour was of Windsor Castle, the Roman baths in the city of Bath, and finally Stonehenge. After a quick coffee, we met our tour bus outside the hotel.
Our tour guide's name was Graham and as he gave us history on the cityscape around us I took a few pictures out the window.
I'm amazed at the number of bikes and scooters people commute on everyday here. They seem to be able to lane split legally. The guy in front was on a Ducati Diavel.
I believe this is the entrance to the Natural History Museum.
Sooo many churches, all of them georgeous on the inside.
I believe these were duplexes on the outskirts of London. Graham was telling us half a house, in this area, goes for upwards of 500,000 pounds or ~750,000 dollars.
These were some residences in the community surrounding Windsor.
After a short 30 minute ride we finally departed the bus and started making our way to the castle.
From the bus drop off site you climb some stairs and cross the causeway seen in the picture.
We passed a small train station and many, many outdoor mall shops before making it to the outer walls.
"Everyone to me! To me!"
Since this is the Queen's home we had to go through airport like security before making it inside the courtyard area.
Each person was given walking audio tour devices. Normally I'm not a fan, but these units worked out pretty well. Kiri didn't want the headphones so she held hers like a phone.
I took the headphones, keeping my hands free for photos.
The inner courtyard area had a garden.
The castle sits up on a hill and when you come up on the north side your presented with a nice view of the country side.
From here we entered the castle. Unfortunately no photography was allowed while inside. Let's just say that most of the rooms defy description and you'll need to visit them yourself. My personal favorite were the rooms decorated with weapons. They had rifles, swords, and pistols covering every square inch, usually in a crisscross fashion.
Upon exiting we could see the courtyard barred from visitors.
Kiri and I were running low on time, before having to return to the bus. So we quickly made our way to St. George's Chapel. Another location which didn't allow photography, but here are some outside shots. The inside is much prettier.
We made our way back to the bus, where we received our sack lunch. I'm glad we bought them ahead of time as we wouldn't have had time to buy anything before boarding.
From here we had about a two hour ride to the city of Bath. Kiri, and most everyone else took a nap. I stayed awake since I had paid for the views from the bus:). Pretty countryside.
The city of Bath is amazing! Every building is built with limestone blocks, giving the whole place a Victorian feel.
Graham said address number four had been where Jane Austin had lived.
A famous bridge in Bath, the name escapes me now.
We disembarked and entered the roman baths. To much history to cover from my phone. You just need to visit it.
We we're told to try the pasties. They're a pie crust with different fillings. The story goes that tin miners in the area would collect arsenic on their hands so their wife's would cook these so they could eat the main body and then discard the crust portion and not poison themselves. We purchased a normal version which was like eating beef stew in a pie. Mmmmm Mmmmmm!
Before getting back on the bus, another church right by the baths. They allowed photography.
Kiri and I made it back on the tour bus just in time. One of the couples were 15 minutes late and Graham decided we couldn't wait any longer. They were left behind:(
Next stop was Stonehenge! Kiri was really looking forward to it and it didn't disappoint. Graham mention this was the last year vehicles could drive right up to the location. Starting next year you'll have to take a small tram to give the place a feeling of solitude.
Waiting in line to see it.
I really enjoyed this site!! It was very quiet and peaceful. The weather was perfect. I don't think we could have asked for more.
Overall a great tour! Our next one is on Friday. We're looking forward to it.
Until tomorrow.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I must have done a very similar trip back in June '94. Even my pictures even look the same.
ReplyDeleteBut... I was on a bike (a Yamaha SR500), and it was raining most of the time.
Since then I truly believed that England can't do sun and blue skies. Now you proved me wrong.
My wife keeps saying that we brought the Arizona sun with us. Not sure if that is true or not but we've really been lucky with what we've gotten. We've just woken up on day five and its the first morning where there hasn't been sunlight streaming through the curtains. No rain, just overcast.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to come back and explore more of this country on bike. Not sure if I could talk Kiri into riding through rain:)
Awesome. It is so cool that you guys could go over there. I have to admit, I am a wee bit jealous.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you brought the sunshine with you, that makes touring the countryside that much nicer.
Thanks for sharing all the pictures.
Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Kiri and I are happy we can share the fun. This is the first time we documented one of our vacations like this, and we have a good time ending the day talking about the sights that we saw and then putting them down on paper... Or the Internet in this case. Thanks again for reading!
ReplyDelete