Two days, three cities, countless memories

Another fun IES field trip this weekend! We left early Saturday morning for Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath.

First stop: Stonehenge. We arrived and rode the bus up to the rocks. A lot of people had told me they were disappointed by Stonehenge, so maybe I wasn't expecting much, but I thought it was amazing. The rocks were plenty big and there were plenty of them and it was certainly cool to think about the other rocks that were there before...keeping in mind this is just what remains. We took lots of fun photos and I sat on a bench and ate my lunch looking at Stonehenge. Not everyday you can do that. After lunch, I chose to ride the bus back since I had a long run the next day and a one-mile walk didn't seem like a good idea. Checked out the little mock village, the museum, and the gift shop. Really glad I got to see these sweet rocks and think it is a must do if you're in the area.

Next, we drove a bit to Salisbury. We had a guided tour of the city and ended up at Salisbury Cathedral. Beautiful! It was certainly larger than I expected and quite nice inside. We also checked out St. Thomas Church which had an amazing painting displayed on the wall. After the tour, we had about an hour or so to check out the city. One of the students joined me and we went to the market and then had tea outside. It was just beautiful outside! The tea was a bore. Scone was mediocre and it was just a Twinings Earl Grey tea bag. Blah.

This river had lots of trash in it. Including a grocery cart.

Medieval Doom painting in St. Thomas Church

Medieval gate to the city

This baptismal font was neat, but I couldn't get the right picture.

Then, it was off to Bath. We arrived in time to check in to our hostel. Then, we all met to go to dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was fun to have a group meal, but the service was slow, so dinner took about 2.5 hours. We had all ordered a 3 course meal in advance and the food was decent. After dinner, I took a stroll around Bath and took a few pics of the city lit up at night and made it back to the hostel in time to watch the Aggie game. I watched the first half and went to sleep. Glad they won even if I couldn't stay awake long enough to see it.

View from my hostel room window

Saturday I got up at 5:30 and did my last long run before my big race next weekend. It was quiet and dark when I first set out, but it made it easy to run. No people or cars in my way. Although at times it was a bit creepy. I ran along the river for a while. Then, a highway because I lost the river, then back to the river and some dirt paths. Then, the path became rocky/grassy so I turned around and followed the path back into the city. It was a nice 11 miler and I made it back to the hostel in time for breakfast. Then, it was off to see the city. We did a tour of the city and saw all the beautiful buildings. I just love the architecture here! We ended up at the Roman Baths and I sprinted through there because I was on a mission to go spend our 2 hours of free time at the Spa that uses the fancy heated/healing waters of the town. But, by the time I made it over there they had a crazy line and I didn't want to waste 30 minutes of my time in line and then be in a  crowded pool. BUT, I'm going back. Seriously. It looks amazing.

This street makes me happy. Apparently it's the same width across as the buildings are tall. So much symmetry. This photo doesn't do it justice. I ran up and down the street a couple of times just to enjoy the perfectness of it.

So, instead I went to this adorable little tea shop and had proper cream tea. They brought my tea out in a pot and this device that I figured out how to use! The loose leaf tea was just loose in the pot. So, when you pour your tea you pour it over this little strainer thing. Genius! So, that was fun. And they brought out a timer too so the tea brewed for the correct amount of time. This place was legit. And adorable. We had passed it on the tour and the guide had joked with me about the excess of doillies in that window, but I was secretly thinking it was perfect! Bea's Vintage Tea Room. Go if you're in Bath. After tea, I walked down to these lovely gardens on the water and just laid in the grass for a bit. You had to pay like 1.30 to get inside, but it was so peaceful and a nice way to spend the afternoon soaking up the sun.

Park on the river

Then we were on our way back to London. Got home in time to watch the Sunday night at the Palladium show we went to last week and this week's edition of Downton Abbey complete w/ the Downton Abbey wine I purchased a few weeks ago. :)

Views on the way home