Tuesday April 8 - London, Stonehenge, Salisbury

Sorry this is late - got busy and distracted! But here it is!

Well, today is the main focus of my trip to London this time - Stonehenge! YAY! However, in doing so, that meant I had to get up early. So I set my alarms to start going off at 7:45 am and ended up getting up (after hitting snooze a few times) about 8:45 am. I showered in the bucket set-up thingy and got ready for the day, dressing a bit warmer just in case of wind or something. As I was getting ready to head out around 9:30, Hassan came out of his room and started talking about breakfast - I politely told him that as I have to be at the Waterloo Train Station in a half hour, I would grab something small on the way. I felt a little bad at this but at the same time I am not always comfortable with people always doing things for me - especially when I really don't know them.

So I headed out, stopped up the street at a little grocery store and bought a bottle of water, a pain au chocolate and a croissant. Then, as I needed more money, I stopped at an ATM and got out £50. Then I hurried over to the St James Station for the tube and took that out to Westminster where I then got on the Jubilee Line to Waterloo Rail Station. There, I met the guide for the tour outside the ticket office as well as the others going on the excursion tour. Interestingly enough, she was an older lady probably about late 40's maybe early 50's - and her name was Hilary! See - Hilly went to Stonehenge with me! :-p Just kidding! though that would have been amazing to do.

Anyways, I paid the £46 for the excursion which covered admission to both Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral as well as the Coach bus around Salisbury and the train to and from London - it was actually decently cheap! Once we were all there, she went and got the tickets while we waited a little longer. There were three older women near my going and we started simple conversations - the two were from northern part of London while the third was visiting from Germany. Soon, Hilary came out and gathered us all together and gave us directions for the train - it took off from Platform 7 (we were about at number 16) and we had to hurry up! But we got there on time, and got seated in the first car of the train.

The train ride down to Salisbury was very relaxing and had gorgeous scenery. It took about an hour and 20 min to get there, but most of the trip I spent talking over many things with one of the women I previously mentioned. She reminded me of a book worm/librarian type with her hair a bit messy, glasses and a very subdued manner. I honestly forgot the names of all three women - I'm horrible with names and we really did not use them aside from introductions at the beginning, ergo why I have thus forgot! But we talked about many things from my schools, theater, shows, various trips we've gone on, and a lot more. All of this while taking in the gorgeous scenery for the beautiful day we had. It was cloudy most of the day but all white clouds with the bright blue sky - and not a drop of rain! Only a little wind now and there later on though.

After a while, we got into the Salisbury Station - but the train stopped completely before the station, then started again and pulled in. Most of us were a bit confused as to this, and as soon as Hilary had gotten us out of the station and onto our couch bus she explained why. Back in 1906 ,if I recall the right year, there was a train that was not calling (the British trains do not stop at stations - they call at stations!) at Salisbury and thus did not slow down when going over the one bridge over a road in town. Because it was going so fast, it ended up derailing and killed many travelers and bystanders - many of whom were Canadians and Americans. The town felt horrible that this happened, and not only did the town pay for a memorial to those Canadians and Americans killed put up in Salisbury Cathedral - but also made it mandatory for all trains, no matter if they were calling there or not, to stop completely and restart again to enter the station so there is not a repeat of the incident.

Once on the bus, we took off and headed for Stonehenge which was about 30 miles away. While on our way out there, we went through the Water meadows which surround the river Avon in the valley. Hilary explained that the town is not in the original spot - that she pointed out as on top of a hill nearby. But as water is scarce at top of hills and many conflicts with soliders and the priests of the cathedral - the cathedral was moved and the town moved with it. Legend says that the best archer stood on the highest point and shot an arrow - where the arrow landed was where the Salisbury Cathedral standing today was built. However that was almost 2 miles away! The new town and cathedral was built right next to the River Avon in a valley. The remains of Sarum, the first settlement in the area before it moved and became Salisbury, are only medieval ditches on the original hill.

From there, we kept on driving through three small villages as Hilary talked about the different aspects of them, pointing things out such as pubs or the many thatched roofs in the area. One very interesting house we passed is where Sting lives! And apparently he actually takes part in the community with things and is well respected by the community for that. I didn't see him though! But after going along for a while, Hilary started to point out some burial mounds called barrows where important figures in the Bronze Age were buried. They were a sight to see in themselves, and there was a cluster of seven of them near Stonehenge and even one right next to Stonehenge itself! By this point, we were at Stonehenge with the stones in full view of us. So the bus parked and we all got out and followed Hilary to the ticket office where she took care of the tickets we had already paid for.

Hilary then took us around the stones in a guided tour talking about all the different aspects of the different circles, the stones used, how impressive it was to build it in it's time, and the various and varied reasons for why it was even built. She was very informative and knew how to make it interesting for everyone. Unfortunately it is impossible to touch the stones or go inside the circle unless you book a special tour before or after it opens to the public - but those trips are expensive! The closest we got to them was right off the bat at maybe 20-25 feet away while the rest of the pathway kept us about 30 yards away. Which gave great pictures in getting all the stones in one picture. And of course the area around Stonehenge was all clear without trees; mostly fields. And the weather could not have been any better! It was cloudy but only a slight breeze and the sun was shining through the clouds. Apparently the day before it had been freezing and even hailing at Stonehenge!

One interesting thing she told us was why there are so many sheep kept close by Stonehenge - it's because the sheep keep the grass down to a manageable level. So they herd them in different areas roped off and they rotate that so often. Though the one disappointing thing about the visit was that there is an archeology team currently doing a dig inside the stones - the first time a dig has been allowed within the last twenty years. Although the distance we were at they really weren't that noticeable and I was able to get a good many pictures without them in it. Anyways, after going around the stones once more after Hilary finished her guided tour, I headed back into the gift shop where I picked up a few things and then had to get back onto the bus.

Once we got back on the bus, we got one last view of Stonehenge as we headed on our way back to Salisbury. That way took us through the Salisbury plains which were huge open areas originally used for farming. Then, the government bought the land and used it, still using it today, to train their soldiers doing hand-to-hand combat and even tank and range training. During the world wars, they finally told one of the small villages that the in habitants would be removed elsewhere so they could use the village as a base for training soldiers. They were told they would be let back in after the war - they are still waiting to be let back. They only can return to their village one day of the year to maintain the graves of their loved ones.

The plains are also full of animals - and very recently they're trying to reintroduce a type of bird that was hunted to extinction in england during Victorian times. Only the only place these birds can be found are in Russia so they have worked out a deal with them - wasn't so successful but it was interesting to hear about! Anyways, we got back into Salisbury and the bus took us on the main street and dropped us off near the center of town. Hilary said we had about an hour before we were to meet back at that spot again - time for lunch, shopping, basically whatever we wanted. She also mentioned a church nearby with an amazing doomsday painting.

So, me and the two other women I first mentioned decided that the church sounded interesting and of course so did lunch! So we stopped at the cafe on the corner and went inside. The older women lives in northern London and the German woman is visiting and working on her English. As in the my other travels, I had wanted to try authentic food from that country so the London woman suggested the Eggs and Ham meal. So both the German woman and I got that and I got English Breakfast tea with it. We had a fun conversation about many things, though it seemed to focus around languages and the ability to learn new languages. They both know some Russian (the English woman even lived and worked in Russia!) as well as a few other languages as well - so we had discussed things like whether its easy or not to learn more languages after knowing more than one. All in all - a nice conversation!

Then we realized that we were running out of time - so we walked right next door and visited the church with this amazing doomsday painting. It was this tiny old church right in the center of town - and the painting was amazing! I think it's one of the oldest and most horrific of the doom paintings. It was painted along the archway above the altar so that everyone saw its message. It was interesting because it showed bodies crawling out of graves and being judged by Christ if they could go into heaven but on the other side the Devil is pulling as many as he can back into hell. What made it interesting was that both those going to heaven as well as those going into hell are wearing crowns and signs of nobility! But we didn't have that much time and as that was the only really interesting thing in the church, we quickly headed back to the meeting spot.

From there, we walked up the street and through a really old gate into the close of the cathedral. There we took a stop and Hilary told us all about the different buildings around the close - which is the biggest close in England. One of them is the building that they filmed in the movie Sense & Sensibility which was cool to see even though I haven't seen the movie! The gate we walked through was built back when the building next to it was built. It was built because one of the priests (I think...) had liked this woman but she had gotten married to someone else. After years though that guy had died and the priest wanted to do something - so he had Christopher Wren who had rebuilt St. Paul's Cathedral to come and build a house for her - though she still didnt' want to marry him. So the house then was started as a home for the widows of priests and it has been that since. The gates are locked each night just like the original times were.

Then, we walked into the area around the Salisbury Cathedral itself which was amazing to see! The cathedral is the tallest in Britain, as well as it has the largest close and cloister of all cathedrals in Britain as well! The facade was amazing, recently refurbished to restore the original facade. It was a sight to see! Some of the statues on the facade are still the originals and they look like it too! One interesting thing about the cathedral is that when it was first built, it didn't have the steeple on it - that was added later.

After admiring the facade, we headed on inside where Hilary gave us a great tour around the cathedral including telling us many interesting facts about the cathedral. Like, the fact that unlike most cathedrals of the time - there is only a 4 foot base supporting the whole cathedral. Because of this, then there were times when the cathedral flooded because it was built in the water meadows. Oh how that the top of the steeple has moved around until they hired someone to come in and fix and stabilize it - only he did that and much more. The Salisbury Cathedral is the only cathedral in England if not in all that is built entirely in one period - the early Victorian Gothic and was built only in 38 years which is an achievement in itself! However he was brought in to "clean up" the medieval style - so he gutted the place! Which is horrible in looking back on it but it is still amazing to see inside.

There is even a recently added stained glass window at the back which is incredibly modern and has so many interesting aspects weaved into it it was incredible to look at! After Hilary took us around, then we had about a half hour to check out the chapter house, shop at the giftshop, or just get ready to head back. So the while the German woman headed to the restroom, the English woman and I headed to the chapter house which was amazing in itself. Inside the chapter house there are ancient medieval sculptures around the chapter house that depict the stories of the old testament. They are amazingly simple but astounding to see in person. And of course, one of the main reasons that people come to see the Cathedral is to see one of the four original Magna Carta's, and it is also the most well preserved too. It was such a sight to see a document that has held so much in the development of so many other important documents including the our own Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights for other European countries as well as the Bill of Rights for the United Nations.

After that time was up, which went rather quickly, we all met up outside the Cathedral to get ready to head back to the station. Of course, we had a little extra time before our train back to London left Salisbury, so Hilary took us around the most gorgeous view of the cathedral through the water meadows. So gorgeous, that it was the subject of a famous British painting of the Cathedral. It really was a gorgeous town and I was glad to have gotten out there to see it.

Once we got onto the train, it was a good thing as my foot had started to hurt again while we were walking back... but we got on board and waited till they attached more trains before we got going. I sat next to the English woman and throughout the hour and twenty minute train ride back to London, we had an amazing conversation. It's interesting the kind of conversations you can have with people! We talked about a lot of things though the main topic seemed to settle around literature and theater. We thoroughly discussed various kinds of literature and what was good and not; how critiques often over critique works or in ways that was not meant to be analyzed; how literature changed throughout the centuries (she studied British literature and then language itself while in university years ago) and where the future is headed; what makes people become readers and what makes them not; how the education system is sometimes overbearing and gives people reason not to read books; and so much more! Like I said, it was thoroughly a great conversation.

We finally got back into the Waterloo train station in London where we said goodbye and thanked Hilary for such a great day and for the guided tours as well. Then I had to stop at an ATM to get more money in order to pay the English woman back for lunch. (She had paid it all then to make it easier and we paid her back our part of it.) Then, we hopped on the underground and after one station - split into our own ways. Even though it was still gorgeous out and I considered seeing about going up in the London Eye, I figured I should probably check in with Hassan and Anika first in case he had dinner made or they would want to go as well. Like I expected, Hassan had dinner cooked up which was amazing - curried chicken and rice!

We had discussed going to a pub since we hadn't the night before. And Cassie, a friend from back home, had recommended The Marlborough Head as a great pub - so we decided to head there. Only Hassan had laid down for a nap! After a few tries, we got his attention and he opted to not go with us. So Anika and I headed out to find this so called good pub for a little fun! We got on the tube and after a few changes between different lines, we got out at the Bond Street Station. And following what seemed to become a tradition with us - we had no map on us save the map of the underground lines and only a mind's picture of where we were headed! Sometimes that's the most fun thing to do! So we took a gander at the map in the metro station and then started off as the pub was between two metro stops.

So we're walking along Oxford Street which was rather busy, had some large stores on it. I knew what kind of street and the name of it that we were looking for.. but we had soon arrived at the next metro station without seeing it... then we realized we had walked the wrong direction! So we turned around and headed back. After a short bit, we found the street and after managing the side streets, we saw the pub.

It looked rather cool, and Cassie said that it was a very interesting pub with a gothic, victorian lab feel about it. We went inside and while the upstairs was a bit packed, we headed downstairs as that was also part of Cassie's recommendation. I had to find the restroom when we got there, and that was interesting in itself! The doors to the restrooms are hidden in a wall of fake book shelves with only the sign on the floor telling you its there! It really felt like a cool atmosphere downstairs too which I really liked. Their specialty is their 7 Sins cocktails, so I just had to have one. After reading over the list of what was in each, I opted for Sloth which was basically Kahlua, Bailey's, Cream and Chocolate - YUMMY! And then we ran into an issue.

See... Anika is only 17, so she really shouldn't' have been there in the first place and that's also why I could not go to a club or any actual bar because she would be carded. But the bartender took her order and when he brought it, it was then he asked to see ID. THEN.... she said that she was from Germany and had lost her passport card thingy the last time she went out and left it back where she was staying - which the bartender didn't seem too pleased to hear and was very hesitant. He finally relented only if someone vouched for her... and of course she turns to me and says that I would - ergo I really had no choice... either vouch for her and risk a lot if things get messy, or refuse and not only make her mad but probably would've been asked to leave... so I said ok and that she was good... Still not sure the bartender believed me as it was risking his job as well but he gave her her beer. So we went and sat down at a table to drink our drinks. She talked about stuff and I basically responded to her - being a bit ticked that she had put me in that situation and no longer was in the mood to be there. Normally I would've loved it if I had been with the right people, or even by myself. So after we finished our drinks, we got up and left.

Since it was only 10 pm, I figured that since we didn't get all the theaters the other night, we could walk around and find some more and perhaps check out the Soho area as that was a popular place in London for clubs and stuff. So we hopped on the underground and headed to Tottenham Court Road where the Dominion Theater is. From there, we started walking in one direction but after a few blocks didnt' see any more theaters, so we headed back in the other direction to check it out but again didn't find much... so we came back to the metro stop and read the signs! My foot was starting to hurt again so I had to really be careful and sometimes had to stop and let it relax for a bit before going again. We opted, or rather I opted and she followed, to follow the signs that lead us into Soho and after some small side streets and a few clubs, we came into a huge lit up area full of bars and clubs and a few theaters as well. So we walked around there, I got pictures of the theater marquees and we just took a street here and there or if we saw a theater marquee we went that direction.

After a bit we were on Charing Cross Road and came upon Leicester Square underground station. Anika was getting bored and I was getting bored of her to be frank... so she asked if it was ok if she went back now and I could go around for a bit - that way she could rest and relax for her auditions tomorrow. I of course said that was fine! So she headed back to Hassan's and I was free to do what I wanted! So of course I headed back towards the Soho area just walking around looking for theaters and interesting places. I saw a lot of bars and clubs that i would've liked to go into but I really wasn't dressed for that and had my heavy winter coat to deal with as well... so as much as I had wanted to go to one, I opted not to. I did however, find the red light district of Soho! It was in a little side street that was packed full of adult bookstores and other adult entertainment places - that was definitely something to find! I didn't stay long there at all and moved on to find other places. After a while, I was getting bored with the area and knew that there weren't any more theaters in that vicinity, and since I was right near Piccadilly Circus, I headed there. I still didn't feel like taking the underground back yet so I opted to walk on one of the roads from there - I ended up on Regent street. Regent street was full of huge named brand stores, one of the main retail shopping streets in London! After a while I came across a metro stop and figured since it was almost midnight, I probably should be getting back. But I happened to have walked north of where I had thought I was and ended up near another theater that was a bit off the regular beaten path - so I swung by that to snap a picture! Then I hopped on the underground and headed back to Hassan's where thankfully Anika was still up to let me in.

So I came in, got ready for bed... started to write this... and got too tired to finish! And my foot was hurting real bad by the time I got back so I kinda just crashed after setting my alarms. Well, till next time!