Walking Amongst History

We did a day trip in which we saw Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. It was a Long day indeed; starting bright and early at 7:30 am. We were in a tour bus or "coach" as they call them here. Windsor castle is the oldest inhabited royal castle in the world! It definitely puts to awe in awesome. I did get a bit caught up in the audio guide and had to rush back to the "coach" but we made it! 

It still is a bit thrilling to walk over the same stones and halls as kings and queens from centuries past. My favorite room was the hall of knights of the garter with small shields representing each one's coat of arms. There was also blank shields; which noted when someone was de-knighted; there were quite a few.

Interesting fact: The fire in Windsor Castle in1992 did extensive damage to the royal apartments and in order to pay for the restoration it was decided that Buckingham Palace would be opened to the public and the revenue from that would cover the costs. What that money goes to now I don't know but I'm sure it's some other worthy cause for maintaining heritage, England does have more than it's fair share to keep up.

One of my favorite things about seeing the inside was as we passed through the great banqueting room; there were women in there ironing table cloths on the round tables for an event. Just struck me as amusing.

Then we had lunch at "The Bell"  a quaint little pub on the way to Stonehenge. I had splendid Bangers & Mash and a pint of ale and split a Sticky Toffee Pudding with Lorna as well as tea. There is always tea. I felt wonderfully British. 

By the time we got to Stonehenge it had started to rain. I had noted last time I went to Stonehenge that it wouldn't be as fun to see in the rain and . . . I was right. But Lorna and I still enjoyed it. They are so majestic, those stones, standing silent on that great plane; watching the world go by.

Last and sadly least was Bath. Due to traffic we were late getting to Bath so we didn't really get to explore. But we did get to tour the Roman Baths which are quite peaceful and serene. What I didn't know is that the Roman built their baths over existing ones built by who knows; it seems the natural warm and healing waters of bath have been harnessed for the inhabitants for longer than anyone can imagine. 

It was a glorious, if exhausting day. 

The 24 hour flight and other various intriguing tales . . .

I am IN London. You do not know what a great accomplishment that is. Seriously. To be brief. Because I do want to actually write about London in this blog entry; this is the long and the short of it. 

We flew from Chicago to New York (JFK) to meet a connecting flight to Heathrow. 

This 1 hour and 30 min. flight with 45 min layover turned into 7 and half hour in various holding patterns due to weather over NYC; with a slight detour to Pennsylvania. 

We made it into JKF where we were squeezed onto the London flight; but we didn't get to sit together. 

We got to our hotel around 1 pm London time; we'd left Chicago at 2:30 pm the previous day. 

Needless to say our plans were completely dashed as we could barely stand straight. But we did have tickets to the Globe Theater for Merry Wives of Windsor. So after a much needed nap we pulled ourselves onto the tube. 

I was completely amazed at the Globe. I got to tour the theater last time I was in London but this was my first performance.  We decided to get actual seats in the tower instead of being a "groundling" and standing in the open air. This turned out to be an superb choice as it down poured the first half of the show and everyone; actors included got a good soaking! 

We rented cushions, as the theater seats are authentically wooden plank. Sitting up there looking down as the play enfolded was astounding. This was Shakespeare, how it is supposed to be enjoyed. My inner Shakespearean was quite happy! 

We walked back across Millennium bridge and took some photos of the city lights. I love this city at night; even the bite of the wind off the River Thames. I can't get enough that skyline. 

It has been hard to catch you up daily between getting in late, leaving early and having to pay by the hour for my Internet (our hotel is rather lame). But here is a re-cap of Day 2 and 3 and photos to whet your whistle for now. I'm trying to keep you in the know! 

Day 2 - Museums, Fleet Street and Spontaneousness

We had to overall our itinerary due to losing a "day" with the travel . . . issues. So we went to The Tate Britain; which hosts a wondrous collection of art. Lorna and I went specifically for the Romantics. 

Our favorites were "Ophelia" by Millais and " The Lady of Chalot"  by Waterhouse. I'd seen them in books but . . . to see them in person. 

"Lady of Chalot" by Waterhouse

"Ophelia" by Millais

The colors are so vivid and I felt myself floating down the river with them. Their brocade trailing among the reeds and hair flowing behind them. 

Next we visited the Sir John Soane Museum which is an absolutely jam packed full of the collection of antiquities and paintings as well as the beautiful architecture of Sir John himself. 

My favorite part about his house is the skylights he had inlaid with yellow and orange tinted glass to recapture the Italian light that he fell in love with when he spent two years on scholarship there. 

Next was Fleet Street; infamous for the legendary Demon Barber and Mrs. Lovett's Meat pies. We went with a particular purpose though, to eat lunch at the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. This is an ancient pub ( rebuilt after the great fire) that I stumbled across on my last visit and I just love the atmosphere as well as the ale and delish pub food. 

We then spontaneously bummed about Westminster and took photos and made our way Tafalgar Square. We ended up eating dinner at the Penthouse Restaurant with a great view of the south bank skyline as the sun set. 

I will fill in more detail on our day trip today where we took a tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath on the morrow as I am very tired and need to rest up for yet another day of London adventure!