Uk and Ireland: Part 4

And finally...England!!

Our last leg of the trip brought us to England. We really only had one day in London and we took a day trip to Stonehenge. One day in London is most definitely not enough time...especially if it is raining...raining a lot. We made due on the slippery sidewalks of London and sloshed through puddles to visit only a few of the must-see places in the city.

First up, Parliament
It really is an incredible building

Westminster Abbey

Benedictine monks first came to the site where the church is located today in the middle of the tenth century. They established a tradition of daily worship which continues to this day.The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs.The present church, begun by Henry III in 1245, is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country, with the medieval shrine of an Anglo-Saxon saint still at its heart.

Yay guard with funny hat!
These guards are called Foot Guards.

The Original Hard Rock Cafe

Trafalgar Square, our hotel was right near here
Princess Di is memorialized throughout the city

On Westminster Bridge in the rain

"The Eye" Of course we rode it!

The Tower Bridge

The front of Buckingham Palace

The Tower of London

Construction started in the early 1000's by William the Conquerer. Monarchs associated with the tower include King Richard II, Queen Elizabeth and the infamous Henry VIII. We were not allowed to take pictures in the museum that displayed Henry's armor...I must admit that he was one ugly man and ridiculously prideful. His armor is a testament to the latter.

The Boleyn Sisters were executed at this very spot.

Royal BedroomOne of thousands of messages carved into the walls by prisoners.

Ryan with a mock bow that was used to guard the castle.

Parliament at night

The Day Trip through England
Windsor Castle
Windsor is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and the Official Residence of Her Majesty The Queen. She was there when we were! But we did not see her...sigh...

The Queen's Wing
Changing of the Guards
This ceremony was very long and included the guards that you see, plus a whole military band. They played really random songs, most were modern.
We stopped in Bath, England, which is a world heritage site.

There is a legend that Bath was founded in 860 BC when Prince Bladud, father of King Lear, caught leprosy. He was banned from the court and was forced to look after pigs. The pigs also had a skin disease but after they wallowed in hot mud they were cured. Prince Bladud followed their example and was also cured. Later he became king and founded the city of Bath.

In reality it is not known exactly when the health giving qualities of Bath springs were first noticed. They were certainly known to the Romans who built a temple there around 50 AD. The temple was dedicated to Sul, a Celtic god and Minerva the Roman goddess of healing. They also built a public baths which was supplied by the hot springs.

This is what is left of the Roman Baths. There is not much else to see in Bath, except one of Jane Austin's homes, so we didn't stay there very long.

I really like this bridge because it is lined with shops.

Lastly, we visited Stonehenge.
It is estimated that Stonehenge was built in 2500BC...2500BC! That's a really long time ago! The monument is surrounded by hundreds of graves, which look like small hills. The real purpose of this monument is still unknown today, but the most plausible theory is that it is some type of a calendar. Some of the stones were removed over time, but many of them still remain. It was an amazing and somewhat eerie. I only say that because of the hippy lady who was raising her arms to the sky and twirling around in circles around the monument...it was weird.

The End