First stop- Windsor Castle! The last time I was in England (with the family, few years ago) we stopped at Windsor, but we didn't go in. This time, I got to go in! We walked thru a train station and all these shops and then at the end of a kind of tunnel, there it was! We walked up the hill to the entrance, admiring the aptly named Round Tower then were ushered inside the ticket place. Being with a tour has its perks- NO LINES. I got my audio guide then started my tour of the state rooms! The tour took me thru the public side of the castle, to the large entrance staircase, a huge dining room (there were actually 2 more dining rooms as well), a room where knights-to-be are knighted by the Queen (I liked this room because it was decorated in a deep blue), a room filled with weapons, rooms filled with paintings, rooms with china, and even more rooms with just magnificent, old, expensive furniture! I'd just like to say that I would not mind living at Windsor. The grass was an amazing green, the castle was really awesome and impressive, the flowers were blooming and the view was picturesque! There was also a large chapel (St. George's) in which King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour were buried, as well as the Queen's parents. By the way- the Queen was IN! Unfortunately, I didn't meet Her Royal Highness- this time!
Next, we took a drive to Stonehenge. Again, the family stopped off at this pile of rocks the last time I was here as well. So this time, I decided to try taking some artsy fartsy pictures. It was windy, like last time, but not as cold and not quite as windy! I also ended up taking a picture from almost every angle.
After a walk around the giant rocks, it was Bath time! Bath turned out to be a mini city, which I was not expecting. Since it was very sunny and nice, there were tons of people wandering around, shopping etc. But I popped into the Roman Bath house first thing and checked it out. The water is still running and it's still warm! There was steam coming off the surface of the Great Bath- and it was mid-afternoon, and not that cold out! The audio tour was not as good as either of the others (you went thru a museum and out to the baths, but there was not really any order, and the numbers were very random). My favorite part was the fact that they had little videos (no sound) that recreated the baths- complete with naked, bathing Romans! After that little trip, I walked around for a bit then it was time to head back to London.
On the drive back we passed thru part of the Cotswolds, which are cute little English towns. The drive to each of the stops was nice; the English countryside is beautiful! Lots of farms and green, rolling hills. There was one little town we passed by that the English Ministry of Defense practices attacking, apparently. There were signs by the road that said TANK CROSSING which was very unusual!! The tour guide, Deborah, was really funny. I sat up near the front and listened to her crack jokes and make comments to the bus driver, Martin.
