Tourists for the day

On Friday, Carl and I were tourists. We spent the day on a bus going to see Bath, the Salisbury Cathedral, and Stonehenge. I took pictures to share.

Early in the morning, while walking to the tube station, we ran into the Queen's horses on a training trip through the streets of St. John's Wood.

The zig zag markings on the street tell you that there is no parking in that area.

Below is a picture of the crosswalk at the top of St. John's Wood High Street. The cars actually do stop if anyone is crossing the street here. You can see the message written on the street actually telling you which way to look for oncoming cars.

The following is a shot of the St John's Wood High Street - very early in the morning before anyone is out yet. It is usually bustling with cars and people.

Here's a look at our tube station that is about four blocks from our flat. You can see that there is a Beatles memorabilia shop just outside the station. Abbey Road is only a short distance away - where the Beatles once made their recordings.

We took the tube to Victoria Station to get to our tour bus. Here are some shots of the inside of Victoria Station during the morning rush.

After I took this picture, that police officer turned around and looked at me. Somehow I got the feeling he didn't like the idea of my taking pictures there.

We got on our tour bus and left the Victoria Coach Station at about 9am, driving off into the English countryside. It was a beautiful ride.


Our first stop was in the town of Bath, where we saw the ancient Roman baths that had been created around a natural hot springs. The baths looked a little green today - but they were said to be sparkling and clear in ancient times, when people came from all over for their healing effects.

Our second stop was in Salisbury to see the cathedral. I have a real love for the beauty of ancient cathedrals. It is impossible to convey that beauty in a simple photograph. Even with many photos, it is not the same as actually being inside and being surrounded by the art and magnificence of the structure itself. I hope these pictures suggest some of that to you.

I took only one picture outside - and that was of the carvings over the main entrance. Again, the camera could capture only a small part of it.

These are representations of saints. The carvings are beautiful.

This cathedral was built in only 36 years; that was quite an extraordinary feat to accomplish in such a short period of time.

There are no pictures of Stonehenge. Carl and I took the audio tape machines with us, and walked all around the stones - out in the middle of the field, with the wind blowing. There are many theories as to why the stones are there, and what they represented to the people at the time - but no one really knows for sure.
Currently, there is another investigatory dig occurring at Stonehenge. There have been reports of it on the news in the evening. There is hope that new technologies might offer additional information. The newest theory to come out of this latest research is that Stonehenge was a place of healing.

The tour bus brought us back to London at 7pm, and we topped off the day with a delicious dinner at a local Indian restaurant.