Today will highlight our last full day in London before heading back home tomorrow.
But before we go any further, I would like to say that if you have landed at this blog and have not viewed London Day 1 or Day 2, I highly recommend you go there first then come back to Day 3. However, if you'd prefer to continue from here, lets get at it.
We are starting our day by heading to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.
I asked this lovely couple, Tamika and Maurice, to pose for a picture as we were waiting for our bus. One of the best advantages of traveling is meeting people from all over the United States and the world.
Thought I'd share this video. Notice the traffic flow! Different country - different rules.
These are background views of Twickenham Stadium, in Twickenham, England. Twickenham Stadium is a rugby stadium. It is the home of England Rugby, the largest dedicated rugby venue in the world and one of London's premier entertainment venues.
Another driving video. It started raining so we are hoping it will stop by the time we make it to our destination.
While looking out the window, it was interesting to see the different signs along the way. Of course I had to compare them to our signs here in the U.S.
In this video our tour guide, Simeon, starts talking about the history of Stonehenge.
More videos on the history of Stonehenge. I just love to hear Simeon talk.
Stonehenge
So now that you've heard me mention Stonehenge and Simeon give some history and background information on Stonehenge, I bet you are wondering (if you haven't already Googled it) what the heck is Stonehenge.
Stonehenge may be considered the world's most famous prehistoric monument. It was built in several stages. The first monument was an early henge monument, built about 5,000 years ago. The unique stone circle was erected around 2500 BC. In the early Bronze Age, many burial mounds were built nearby.
Today, together with Avebury (a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles and the largest megalithic stone circle in the world), Stonehenge forms the heart of a World Heritage Site, with a unique concentration of prehistoric monuments. For more in-depth information and history, visit https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/.
Simeon giving us instructions before we hopped on the site bus to get dropped off close to the Stonehenge monuments. We also received a map of the layout of Stonehenge.
Entering the bus to the drop off site. I felt very welcome.
First close up view of Stonehenge.
Various views of the stones.
The Heel Stone
Located outside the entrance to the earthwork enclosure and within the line of the Avenue stands the Heel Stone. This is a huge, unshaped boulder of sarsen - a hard reddish sandstone. The Heel Stone stands alone, surrounded by a small circular ditch.
Once again, I caught up with Tamika and Maurice and they obliged me by posing for another picture.
Picture perfect.
Me and Cookie go way back. It has been so much fun reconnecting in Paris and now London.
Road views from the stones. So peaceful and serene even with the traffic.
More stone views.
Cookie, Sherry and Donna took a break to pose with them stones in the background.
Sherry and Sue - sisterly love at its best.
Selfie Time - guess I got a little carried away.
Can you see a face in this stone?
I'm so happy I was able to get some shots with the DeTours Inc. crew. Donna and me posing with the stones as our background.
Sue, Cookie and Donna. It has been such a pleasure getting to know Sue and Donna and catching up with Cookie. Can't believe this is our last day together but I do hope that we will keep in touch.
Felt like I was in the clouds.
These are views of a couple mounds that are burial sites. Simeon had mentioned them in one of the videos when we were on the bus headed to Stonehenge.
The visitor center at Stonehenge was phenomenal and included a shop, café and exhibition space. An audio tour was available in 10 different languages. Below are some of the exhibits.
A replica of one of the stones up close.
Could you move this sarsen stone? Look at the estimated person count calculation.
Building Blocks
Homes for the Builders of Stonehenge
Below is a picture describing the homes builders of Stonehenge likely lived in and also a video of me inside of a home. There is also a picture of me inside the home and one outside of the home.
Video of the homes.
Me outside a home.
Short video inside the home with me and something else chirping in there.
Pic of me inside the home.
Views of the countryside.
Goodbye Stonehenge. Next stop Bath, England.
This visitor left with us on the bus. And this is its true size.
Bath, England - here we come.
The next three videos capture our travel to Bath.
In this video Simeon, our tour guide, is telling us about the history of Bath. This video is 8:24 long so it may take a while to load.
This video includes more history and our arrival into Bath.
I took lots of pictures in Bath so I'll be short on narrative so you can just enjoy the sights.
Yes - this is a real person.
The Corridor is an indoor marketplace - or arcade as they call it. It is chock full of shops, food outlets and history.
Video walking through The Corridor.
Directional signs within The Corridor.
For lunch I ordered fish and chips and here it is. Needless to say, I didn't eat much.
Flyers that were posted for future performances.
The architecture was beautiful.
The Roman Baths
This is the entrance to the Roman Baths.
Inside the Roman Baths.
Two short videos taken inside the Roman Baths.
All of the following pictures were taken inside of the Roman Baths. Enjoy!