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Today I have the Salisbury/Stonehenge/Bath tour so I catch a taxi to a station which is on the line to the stop I need to catch the tour. Let me tell you it was not easy finding the Evan Evans pick up point but I made it with time to spare. So I called my sister Donna just to let her know how it was going, at the same time I was called on to the bus but continued to speak to my sis for another 5-10 minutes while taking my seat. There were only two spare seats on the bus so I sat in the middle at the back of the bus and finished up my call. As most of my friends know I can be loud and I won't deny it, but I am polite and finished my call before the tour started.
As we get started the guide informed us to put on our seat belts and I noticed that the American gentleman next to me was buckled in my socket. So politely I asked him to correctly buckle up in which his reply was "I didn't expect anyone to sit next to me and not someone so loud". I bit my tongue and didn't reply which was good for me. About 10 minutes later the guide informed us that we would need to keep the seats we were now sitting in for the rest of the tour and before I could close my mouth I said "Great I'm going to have to sit next to an a******* all day" I'm sure he said something negative towards me but I switched him off and ignored him. 30 minutes into the trip where I was peacefully sitting listening to the guide not making a peep, God help me if I upset the a*******, and he just turns to me and said "You know there is a seat half way up the bus" to which I replied "I too spent money on this tour too so I can and will seat anywhere I like which is here, if it annoys you I don't really care and if anything annoying you all day will make this tour even better for me". I mean to say!!!!!
We headed for Bath first which is a beautiful quaint township and has authentic working Roman Baths there as well as Bath Abbey where the first King of England was crowned in 973 and Pulteney Bridge. The baths were amazing and although working they didn't recommend going near the water because of the bacteria. Remembering the feeling I had in Paris with Julia I was again amazed to be walking on paths that Romans walked on 2000 years ago. I had a chance to taste the water of the hot springs and it definitely was an experience drinking warm spring water.
I then went into Bath Abbey and it was breathtaking. I'm truly amazed by the buildings in the UK and Paris as they are all so ornate in their details. Bath Abbey was no exception. The carvings, the lead light windows, even the tombstones have incredible details. You are literally walking over tombstones dating back to the 15th - 16th century throughout the Abbey. The history in the Abbey was mind boggling, as I said the first King of England was crowned here.
Well we're back on the bus and heading towards Salisbury and surprise surprise I'm sitting next to the arrogant Americans wife. As we're driving the guide pointed out the "White Horse Hill" which is a horse carved on a chalk hill and can only be seen fully from the air. Unfortunately I was not in a position to get a good photo though which means I didn't get a photo of Terry Prattchet's "Wee Free Men" - drat!!!! For those of you who don't know of the Wee Free Men, they are really really little blue coloured Scotsman.
We arrive at Salisbury Cathedral and again I am in awe of the architecture and the detail in the carvings both inside and outside. From the ceiling of this church to the "living water" font it is stunning in its design and words can't really explain it. I also got to see my first Knight Templar, well at least his tomb. Yet another place steeped in history as they display the 1215AD Magna Carta, the world's first mechanical clock and, again, walking on tombstones dating back to the 13th century. There is also an amazing engraved glass prism and as it rotates it depicts different scenes of the cathedral. It is a monument to artist Rex Whistler who lived in the cathedral's close and died in WWII.
Now we're on our way to Stonehenge and my first ever encounter with a Druid. That's right I met Sir Arthur Pendragon - Druid of Stonehenge. Yes that is he's real name (after depol) and yes he is a real Druid. He was collecting signatures for a petition requesting that any bones that were removed from Stonehenge for dating DNA should be returned as promised. A couple of years ago some bones were removed to be carbon dated and discover more history about Stonehenge. Unfortunately these remains were never returned but instead placed in a museum. I happily signed this petition as I agree the remains should be returned and purchased a photo of Sir Arthur Pendragon - so worth the £2.00 - especially since I forgot to take a photo.
As for Stonehenge what an incredible feat of architecture. In the guide book it explains a theory on how it was built and it must have taken years. I say theory because really who knows how or why Stonehenge and other stone monuments such as the one on Orkney Island came about. I like to believe it has something to do with the Fae kingdom and of the Druids.
Finally arriving back in London at about 7pm so Janelle, an American on the tour, and I decided to grab some fish & chips from a local pub. After a couple of bears and dinner we met up with another one of Janelle's friends and continued drinking until about 10. Janelle has decided that she might want to join my Ireland part of the trip so I sent my itinerary so she can see if it can happen.
Caught the train to Highams Park and tried to find the hire car service that Jess went to on Thursday night. I don't know if it was because it was night or due to the beer but for the life of me I couldn't find it so Black Cab, i.e. expensive trip, back to Jessie's and into bed. Whoops another late night.
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