England in a Day

Today Mark and I were up super early to head out for a 14 hour tour that pretty much took us all over England! We started off leaving from London and heading to Windsor Castle and getting there right when it opened to visitors, not to mention the Queen was there! Though we did not get to see her. Windsor castle is beautiful and I can see why it is the Queen's favorite residence. They do not allow pictures inside so I only have a few photos from the outside. Pretty much the gist of Windsor Castle is that the Royal family owns a lot of stuff from all over the world. They also own enormous palaces that go pretty much unused... I think I found the solution to world hunger, get the Queen to sell some of the stuff she doesn't use...

(So obviously I did not take this picture but it showed up on twitter while we were there. Look how cute Prince George is!!)

After Windsor Castle we were finally off to Stonehenge (the one place Mark actually wanted to go to). It was much warmer than I had expected and the sun came out while we were there which was amazing! Since the last time I was there in the beginning of the semester, the path around the stones was moved closer so you are about 5 feet from the outer rocks!

After Stonehenge we stopped at Lacock for lunch. Lacock is a little village that has been preserved to look like the original state. There are no electrical wires out or tv antenna. The city/ village is a common spot for filming! Harry Potter was filmed there and we got to walk the path that Harry and Dumbledore walk in Godrics Hollow!!!! 

Our last stop of the day was Bath. Unfortunately the Roman Baths were closed by the time we got there so we spent some time looking at the Christmas Market before grabbing some Hot Chocolate at the extravagant starbucks. 

By the time we got back we were so exhausted from our day and we have to get up early tomorrow to get Mark to the airport so it was bedtime for us! It seems like the weekend went by so quickly but I will be back home in less than a week and will get to see everyone again! 

What Really Happened to Stonehenge

Day 7

Field Trip! Today it was off to Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral for the day!

(And a thank you to my brother Mark for the inspiration for the name of this post)

First up Stonehenge. Some interesting things that I did not know about, 1. Stonehenge is not oldest or the largest "henge" (circle of standing stones or wood) 2. Only about half the original stones remain, the others were likely torn down to use as building material or to destroy the thought to be pagan worship center 3. Many of the stones are actually from Whales and were brought down the coast by the River Avon-- stones have been found in the river. 

The Heel Stone-- It is a marker for the end of the Avenue, or the processional route towards the circle

Phi Mu Love <3

The back of Stonehenge, this is where you can watch the sunrise through the rocks on the Winter Solstice

The two types of rock used to build Stonehenge. The one on the right has a warmer surface than the one on the left. 

Recreation of what a prehistoric village might look like. 

I could have sworn the rocks were larger than that....Stonehenge visitor center

Ava and I attempted to move a rock that weighed as much as the ones in the henge.

Stonehenge was beautiful. It is amazing to walk around and see how the stones seem to change sizes base on the angle you are looking at it. It is magnificent to see all the work that went into creating not only the henge but the still existent mounds that lay around the henge. Though it is 1.5 hours south of Oxford, it is quite a bit cooler and very windy due to the lack of trees and tall landscaping around it. 

Our next stop was just 15 minutes north in Salisbury. Salisbury is home to one of the most famous English cathedrals, it was built in 40 years, very quickly for a building of its magnitude. The cathedral has a gravel foundation only 4ft deep and is kept up by the river that flows under it. The Salisbury Cathedral is home to 1 of the 4 original Magna Carta(s) left in the world. 

Flags from past military regimes, when they get new colors they must retire the old flowers at a place of God

First clock!! This first modern clock is an original and still working, although it does not have a face it rings so that people would know when church services were about to start. 

The only coat of arms from Henry the VIII and His first wife. After their divorce all coat of arms were ordered to be destroyed, this one was either forgot or it was allowed to stay. This is located in the private prayer room of Henry's lawyer. 

The seats where the priests' and bishops' sit. During services the congregation was to stand the entire time. To show that they were the same as the commoners they would "stand" too. The only trick was there seats flipped up and created a higher seat for them to sit on.

The only original glass still in the cathedral (pane on the right), the rest were replaced with glass that allowed more light in to brighten the church.

After touring the church we walked around the town of Salisbury before attending the Evening song. The Evening song was beautiful, it was a somewhat shortened traditional Church of England service. At the service the girls choir was singing. The girls looked like they could not be older than 10 or 12 but they had the voices of angels. The service was very similar to the Lutheran services I am use to at home. There was a lot of standing and sitting, just like home. But the normal prayers we say were sung by the choir beautifully. The service was also much shorter and did not have a sermon, though I assume this is because it was a Wednesday night. 

Boston Tea Party Restaurant!

Directions to Salisbury Maryland and Salisbury North Carolina!

School where William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, taught.