Tuesday started off by leaving in the morning and heading to the British Museum. Pretty cool place, and I am still amazed that all of these amazing museums in London are all free. I guess that's the benefit of higher taxes. We got to see the Rosetta Stone, as well a lot of statues that the British "borrowed" from Greece. Cool stuff. Enjoy:
On to the good stuff. Today (Wednesday) we left on the early bus heading out to Salisbury Cathedral, which was completed in 1258 and is about a 2 hour bus ride from London. The cathedral has the highest spiral in all of the UK, but honestly at this point all the cathedrals, while cool, look the same. Next.
Oldest working clock in the world, from 1386.
This was actually the most interesting part of the cathedral. The weight of the center spire is so much that the inside columns actually started to bow in around the 1700s and they had to come in and add those black marble columns for extra reinforcing.
After the Cathedral, we made the quick drive over to Stonehenge. Overall, it was only ok. It is mighty impressive to imagine how people from 5000 years ago were able to move those massive blocks into place, but really its something that you look at for ten minutes and then you are ready to go.
Oh look a tank on the road.
Next we headed to Bath. One of my favorite cities of the trip so far. The main attraction is the Roman Baths, built over a natural hot spring.
Coincidentally, Bath University just also happened to have their graduation today.
The natural spring.
Overflow from the springs.
That was it for today. Probably won't be too much going on Thursday, but Friday morning I head to Paris. Should be exciting.
Hey Beau - It's lianne here, friend of your mum's and Robert. Been meaning to call....I'll try call you before you leave for paris. be great to meet up!
ReplyDeleteI'll like to visit Salisbury Cathedral and Bath as I've never seen it before - it looks fascinating!
It is amazing that most museums are free.....they wouldn't survive if they didn't have funding. surprisingly enough they often have to also raise over double the amount of government funding. I think a few of the aristocrats still support the arts.
Beau these pictures are amazing. Love the graduates in their robes. Did the people talking about these old buildings discuss their sustainability over time? I often wonder just how long they can truly last.
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