A Day Along the Avon River - 8/14

We started our tour today.  I got a seat on the bus and Judith sat bedside me. She is also single traveling alone. We started talking and immediately got along.  As we stop throughout the day, we just automatically stayed together.  As we stop for the night, the tour guide informs us we will be roommates. I couldn't have asked for a better roommate.

Stonehenge.   

Our first stop is Stonehenge. There is a lot of speculation on why Stonehenge was created and how it was done. They are able to figure out some things, but much remains a mystery.

So we all know about the rocks of Stonehenge, but there were a few things I was not aware:

1. There are burial mounts (they call them cursus barrows) all over the area around Stonehenge. These remind me of Serpent Mound in southern Ohio, except they are just big, unconnected piles.  They are from the bronze era, many years after Stonehenge was built
2. Nearby is something called the Stonehenge cursus. It was built before Stonehenge, about 3500 BC. A cursus is a man-made trench that forms a geometric shape.  This one can only be totally seen from above (because of its size), and is long and somewhat thin. It reminds me of an airplane runway (not to start any crazy speculation). It is defined by the grooves dug into the ground.

Construction of Stonehenge occurred over 2000  years.  It started 5000 years ago with a circular trench.  500 years later, stones were moved from 250 miles away in Wales. No one really knows how they moved the 5 ton rocks that distance.

Then 3000 years ago the rocks were rearranged and new ones added (these came from closer) to create the remnants of what we have today.  They added an "avenue".

Beaker People Dwelling

On the two equinoxes, the sun would shine up the avenue and into the center of the stones.  They were also able to predict eclipses and star rotations using these rocks.

We went to the Stonehenge museum. Outside was a re-creation of a small indigenous village with houses and tools recreated based on archeological sites.  Many of the tools were similar to the tools the native Americans of Lake County used.

Roman Bathhouse

Next we went to Bath, named for the Roman bathhouse that was once built on the natural springs here. Judith and I toured the bathhouse and museum.  Again, using archaeological information, they recreated much of the structure of the past.  The water in the big pool was green, and to me looked really nasty. I have no idea if the original was like that, but I sure wouldn't want to bath in it today.

The Storm is Restrained

Last we went to the Bath Abbey. The front was beautiful in white and red. The best part was the diptychs. These are artwork of the passion on Christ dinner in needlework.  The woman who made them took 3000 hours over twice month to complete all 35 pieces.

After Bath we headed to Bristol for the night.  Bristol is blue collar meets historical buildings.  Judith and I went for a walk along the Avon River.  The next morning I found that if we had walked further, we would have seen some better areas, but not by much.

Bristol Church

Just outside of Bristol is the Clifton Suspension Bridge built by Isambard Brunel (who names there son Isambard?). Brunel was an engineering genius of the 19th century. Unfortunately, not all his ideas were practical or successful. But he did achieve several engineering firsts.

Three Days In London - Aug 11-13

Tower Bridge

London's bridge is not falling down. Trust me, i saw several of them and walked on a few as well. Just to be clear, London has several bridges that cross the Thames River. The most known is the Tower bridge, or as I like to think of it, the princess bridge. It is the oldest crossing in London (although this is the 3rd at the site)

Just down from it, is The London Bridge, then the Southwark Bridge, Millennium bridge (for walkers only), followed by several others with boring names. Personally, I think The London Bridge is the most boring lit bridge at night. The Tower Bridge is the prettiest (like a princess, thus my nickname). Even in the daytime, the Tower bridge has character. By the way, bonus points to anyone who knows what happened to the previous london Bridge.

Let me go back a minute. I arrived last Thusday morning. I decided to take a hour nap before facing the city. Three hours later, I woke up and headed out.

Over the next three days I got to see several London, but I only saw a minute amount of all that is london. 

Big Ben

Telephone Booth, The Eye, Jubilee Bridge

St James Bridge

Next, a stroll thru James Park and by 10 Downing St to get a picture of the door. Little did I know, the whole street is completely blocked and guarded. Oh well, next stop was Westminster Abby, then Big Ben and Parliament. Last, I got intrigued by the walk along the Thames River, and especially the 100 jubilee bridge which had interesting blue arcs when lit at night (my pictures do not do it justice).

Piccadilly Circus

Finally, I made it to Picadilly Circus. The area was crazy, partly because the theater crowd let off, and partly because of the huge number of tourists hanging around.

I finally walked back to my bus stop and headed back to the hotel. I got an alert on my phone - the greatest number of steps I'd ever walked in one day - over 18,000.

The next day I headed to the National archives to try to find the Busic immigrant that came over in the mid-1600s. I know his name was originally Beswick and he came over with 2 brothers. Unfortunately I was not able to find him. I found someone, but not both brothers and I think he showed up again after my relative immigrated. I did find some new resources for researching other relatives.

After a late afternoon snack, I headed to the Millennium and other bridges I mentioned above. I found a river walk that follows the northern bank of the Thames and made for a nice walk.

It got dark as I was waking and I really enjoyed the river views. I finished my night with a night view of the Tower is London.

Once again I walked over 18,000 steps. making my health app happy. 

St Paul's Cathedral

My last day in London, I snuck away in the morning for a massage. Then I headed downtown again. This time, I had a huge list is what I wanted to do. But I didn't anticipate all the attractions closing around 4 or 5 on a Saturday, or learning about Evensong at St. Pauls Cathedral and wasting an hour watching the Olympics and relaxing outside waiting for the program to start.

After the service, I went toward the Thames again, stopping to see the memorial to the great fire. I walked back in the river walk to see the bridges and London Tower in daylight, then searched for remnants of the Roman wall from around 1000AD. No luck.  

The Cheese Grater vs history

I find it interesting how London mixes re-apply old buildings right next to the most modern buildings. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

My hotel has been nice, but interesting. it is hosting a gamers Convention. Those not in costume are dressed very eclecticly. And the elevators are filed with people talking earnestly about the different "cheats". It's a hoot.



Some extra pictures to enjoy:

Millennium Tower. Clouds on building are reflection - 100% glass

Bike party? 6 partiers pedaling down street

Three Days In London - Aug 11-13

Tower Bridge

London's bridge is not falling down. Trust me, i saw several of them and walked on a few as well. Just to be clear, London has several bridges that cross the Thames River. The most known is the Tower bridge, or as I like to think of it, the princess bridge. It is the oldest crossing in London (although this is the 3rd at the site)

Just down from it, is The London Bridge, then the Southwark Bridge, Millennium bridge (for walkers only), followed by several others with boring names. Personally, I think The London Bridge is the most boring lit bridge at night. The Tower Bridge is the prettiest (like a princess, thus my nickname). Even in the daytime, the Tower bridge has character. By the way, bonus points to anyone who knows what happened to the previous london Bridge.

Let me go back a minute. I arrived last Thusday morning. I decided to take a hour nap before facing the city. Three hours later, I woke up and headed out.

Over the next three days I got to see several London, but I only saw a minute amount of all that is london. 

Big Ben

Telephone Booth, The Eye, Jubilee Bridge

St James Bridge

Next, a stroll thru James Park and by 10 Downing St to get a picture of the door. Little did I know, the whole street is completely blocked and guarded. Oh well, next stop was Westminster Abby, then Big Ben and Parliament. Last, I got intrigued by the walk along the Thames River, and especially the 100 jubilee bridge which had interesting blue arcs when lit at night (my pictures do not do it justice).

Piccadilly Circus

Finally, I made it to Picadilly Circus. The area was crazy, partly because the theater crowd let off, and partly because of the huge number of tourists hanging around.

I finally walked back to my bus stop and headed back to the hotel. I got an alert on my phone - the greatest number of steps I'd ever walked in one day - over 18,000.

The next day I headed to the National archives to try to find the Busic immigrant that came over in the mid-1600s. I know his name was originally Beswick and he came over with 2 brothers. Unfortunately I was not able to find him. I found someone, but not both brothers and I think he showed up again after my relative immigrated. I did find some new resources for researching other relatives.

After a late afternoon snack, I headed to the Millennium and other bridges I mentioned above. I found a river walk that follows the northern bank of the Thames and made for a nice walk.

It got dark as I was waking and I really enjoyed the river views. I finished my night with a night view of the Tower is London.

Once again I walked over 18,000 steps. making my health app happy. 

St Paul's Cathedral

My last day in London, I snuck away in the morning for a massage. Then I headed downtown again. This time, I had a huge list is what I wanted to do. But I didn't anticipate all the attractions closing around 4 or 5 on a Saturday, or learning about Evensong at St. Pauls Cathedral and wasting an hour watching the Olympics and relaxing outside waiting for the program to start.

After the service, I went toward the Thames again, stopping to see the memorial to the great fire. I walked back in the river walk to see the bridges and London Tower in daylight, then searched for remnants of the Roman wall from around 1000AD. No luck.  

The Cheese Grater vs history

I find it interesting how London mixes re-apply old buildings right next to the most modern buildings. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

My hotel has been nice, but interesting. it is hosting a gamers Convention. Those not in costume are dressed very eclecticly. And the elevators are filed with people talking earnestly about the different "cheats". It's a hoot.



Some extra pictures to enjoy:

Millennium Tower. Clouds on building are reflection - 100% glass

Bike party? 6 partiers pedaling down street