Stonehenge

On our first REAL day of vacation in London, we set off early for Stonehenge, which is one of the main reasons I wanted to visit England. Yes, I've heard that Avebury is probably cooler, but I didn't care. I wanted to see Stonehenge. Besides, if you like Spinal Tap, then you would have to make Stonehenge--the not 18" one--a priority. 

We had to leave a bit early in the morning, and really, even earlier because we weren't used to the underground yet and we wanted to give ourselves some extra time to navigate. We had to get to Victoria Bus Station from Ladbroke Grove, and we weren't sure where any of it was. We planned to grab breakfast in Victoria Station (hoping they had food vendors).

Jim keeps an eye on the weather no matter where we are, and so we were aware it would most likely rain. We had our umbrellas and jackets. 

We got to Victoria Station with plenty of time to spare and I found a Pret a Manger that thankfully had many options for a ready-to-eat brekky. I picked porridge! How delightfully English! And say what you will about fast food, but this was DELICIOUS. It was smooth and creamy, more than regular oatmeal. Here in England you get a bit of honey to add, instead of brown sugar. I'm used to plan oatmeal nowadays since I really shouldn't eat much in the way of sugar, but I did add the honey. I could have eaten several more pints.

Porridge!!!

The bus station was a bit confusing, we didn't see our specific tour number in the area where our tour bus company had its terminals, but I asked the gate agent and she said we were in the right place and that we should hang out and wait for our specific tour to be called. A few other Americans were just as confused as we were, but I think we all got on the right buses eventually.

The ride to Stonehenge was about 90 miles and I just stared out the window, trying to take in as much of the English countryside as possible. It's weird that there is so much countryside, with few people outside of London. I'm glad it is the way it is, and I love the old crumbly villages and the narrow roads and the hedges and sheep that go on for miles. 

As we got on the Stonehenge bus (after we had disembarked from the tour bus we had to get on another bus), it was raining and the bus attendant asked us to kindly close our "brollies" before getting on the bus, which confused Jim because he was not so quick to conclude that "brolly" was Brit for "umbrella."

We finally see Stonehenge! It was raining, but Stonehenge was magnificent anyway!

How did these things get stacked?

I love how the surrounding area is still mostly pastureland.

Given the opportunity, I would have crawled among the stones, but I completely respect the decision not to let people get too close. The circle was close enough for me to see and seeing is what I had come to do; I did not come to wear down the stones or degrade them. 

I took this selfie as kind of a joke--"I'm here at Stonehenge!" but you can't see the stones.

Slightly better, because it has Jim in it.

I could have taken pictures of it all day.

so peaceful

After we went back to the gift shop and spent tourist dollars/pounds on Stonehenge gift crap, we tried a Cornish pasty and a sausage roll at the cafeteria because they are traditional English foods! Loved them!

And I ate a rock cake! Delicious! I decided English cuisine has nothing to be ashamed of. 

Replica of the living situation of the Stonehenge builders

The stone nipple. I had no idea that Stonehenge was basically a set of giant Lego blocks.