H left with his brothers to go up North and visit with his family while Cat and I headed to Stonehenge and then to London.  Driving was scary as ever but I only got honked at once so I feel that I am improving!

We arrived to Stonehenge,  bought our tickets and boarded a bus which drove us to the Historical Site.

We walked along an asphalt path that was at least 50 yards away from the stones and filled with people. I appreciate the history behind the stones. I also admire the people who accomplished so much without the use of modern day tools.

That said,  Stonehenge was nowhere near mind blowing. It is more than just a pile of rocks but I was definitely expecting more.

I think it would have been a bit  more exciting and mystical if there weren’t 1000″s of tourists around with selfie sticks or if we could actually have gotten closer to the rocks to examine them in more detail.

That said, I am glad we went, I am glad we learned a bit of it’s history and Cat and I had a good time nonetheless.

I had read about Woodhenge on a cool app called “Roadtrippers” which was 3 miles away.  (Roadtrippers is a great way to find “Points of Interest” and “Things To Do” that are off the beaten track.) We spoke to one of the employees at Stonehenge and they said it was definitely worth checking out.

It took us about 15 minutes to get there and was completely worth the trip! It was less touristy and had a completely different atmosphere than the “famous” site a few miles away.  This is what it looks  like now…

 

 

and this is what it possibly used to look like.

We were the only ones there and I enjoyed the tranquility and experience so much more than Stonehenge. The lack of crowds made me feel like I was actually closer to the history and more in tune with the vibe of the site. We tried to figure out what the significance of the layout was and what kind of rituals took place here.

The exact appearance, purpose and status of these structures remains unknown. If they were indeed roofed buildings, they may have served many functions, just as churches and cathedrals did in the Middle Ages.

Afterwards, we drove through Larkhill,  a small town that hosts the Royal  School of Artillery.  I stopped at the gates to ask if we could check out the huge  tank that was sitting on the grass close by. He gave us permission as long as we didn’t take any pictures facing into the base.   I think it is possible he thought we looked liked spies!!!

Of course Cat was climbing all over it within seconds.

We continued on to Gatwick Airport to drop off the rental car. What a relief to make it back in one piece! We took the train into London and then  went to our Airbnb.

We had a great dinner at a local pub called the Lord Wargrave and a great chat with the manager named Jessie who had just moved to London from Australia.  After some amazing food and great conversation we called it a night!

 

We woke up the next day and headed to Buckingham Palace. We realized we were a day early for the Changing of the Guards but it was still fun to watch them march around for awhile.

We hopped on a double decker bus and cruised around town for a bit. We stopped at the Westminster Cathedral and caught the last bit of the Chrism Mass. The cardinal and 320 local priests and bishops were in attendance and filled up 30% of the church. We met Mary Regina who was absolutely lovely and explained the ceremony to us as well as a bit of the church”s history.

 

We decided to walk over to Westminister Abbey and came across a phone booth and post box on the way.

We walked on to Westminster Abbey and looked for Big Ben but couldn’t find it. It wasn’t until we were on the Westminster bridge that we realized it was under construction.

We walked over to the London Eye, watched a fun 4D simulation of the ride and then had the real experience. It was great to see London from the higher perspective.

We had dinner and walked over to the Old Globe Theatre and stopped by St Paul’s Cathedrals on the way.

The church doors were huge!

I had bought tickets for us to attend “The Little Match Girl” at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre over a month ago. I didn’t realize the Globe doesn’t open until April since it is an open air theatre  (think 40 degrees). Unknown to me, I had booked a show in the adjoining modern theatre in the same complex. I pleaded my case with one of the ushers and they gave us a 5 minute tour of the real theatre by ourselves. It was probably one of the best things I have experienced in London.

We had a silly ride home on the Underground and called it a night.