A Hop Across The Pond

I’ve taken you all through London, to Ireland, Spain, Germany, and France. How about showing you around the English outskirts, eh?

I promise this one will be short. Lord knows I’ve made you read two novels so far so I think you deserve a break. So, this past weekend I decided to take a 10-hour bus your by myself. Ideally, I would’ve had a companion but no one was around so I just went ahead with it anyway. I paid 80 quid for the ticket which got me transportation and entrance to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath, with a tour guide spouting off facts the entire ride. I didn’t really know what to expect but everyone from around here was telling me it was totally worth it. Cool. So, I was picked up at a nearby hotel at 8am which brought me to the central meeting place for all the tours. Once I got on my bus I was greeted by a man that reminded me of the quirky Charlie and the Chocolate Factory guy. He was small, sporting a top hat and a moustache. His name was Simon and I liked him already. We departed London and listened to the fun facts, history, and tales on our way over to Windsor. Got to the castle and Simon said “Be back by 11:15”, Simon said “Make sure you’re back at quarter past 11”, “Hop on one foot”. Ah, gotcha! Simon didn’t say hop on one foot. OK, sorry, back to the story. On our way in they handed us audio guides and off we went through the archway that read “To the Castle”. It was pretty much what I expected, I’m not going to sugar coat it, it was a castle. But it was still beautiful. The autumn leaves were shining their radiant colors surrounding the giant, bricked, royal residence. I strolled down the paths and into the one entrance – the Queen’s Doll House. Displayed in cases the size of my flat were doll houses, fully equip with functional plumbing and heat. I know, I couldn’t believe it either. The next room held important documents, notes, and diaries, while the last quarter was all about the bowls. Utensils, tea cups, and china of every kind, color, and shape were mounted to the walls. That room had to be worth a few million pounds for sure. By the time I walked through the only portion of the castle open to the public it was almost 11. I had to walk back toward the bus – Simon said so. Before that though, I noticed a guard standing at attention next to one of the castle walls. Selfie time. Got my signature open-mouth, surprised, guard selfie, grabbed a quick salad wrap at “EAT” and hopped on the bus. 11:14 – take that Simon.

Next stop: Stonehenge. The bus unloaded all 50 or so people at the visitor center where we were given more audio guides, a map, and a ticket to the trolley, which took us right to the rocks. I stepped off the trolley and onto the muddy, uneven road and looked up…there it was. The ancient but magnificent structure, built thousands and thousands of year ago by god-knows-who was sitting there right in front of me. One of my friends joked that they saw this as an option for a DELL computer backdrop – it’s that important ladies and gentlemen. I was seeing the computer screen saver in real life. The audio guide explained facts and figures, as well as how the structure may have been built and how strenuous this project would have been. Just one of those rocks weighs over a ton and not having really any tools to work with way back then, it is incredible they were able to transport and lift them. Whoever was responsible for this work of art also had an extremely in-depth understanding of the sky. It is assumed that the original use case was to track time, days, and seasons. When the sun is rising or setting, you can see how exact the placement of the stones are. It really is incredible. After my loop around, I took the trolley back to the visitor center, checked out the exhibit, and went back to the bus.

Final stop: Bath. This was an interesting one. On the website there were a few different options – one was to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath (which I purchased) for 80 quid. The other was for Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and The Pump Rooms which was discounted at 74 quid. Well, I must have Swiss cheese between the ears because I didn’t know the pump rooms were in Bath and I really wanted to go to Bath. So, I paid more to NOT do the exhibit there. Classic Holly move. The whole group went on to do the pump rooms and I was left to explore the city on my own. It didn’t turn out too bad though – I had way more time than the others to actually walk around, see the Christmas lights, explore some artisanal shops, and taste the local treats. The Christmas markets were up and running so I made a point to look through the authentic and original crafts to see if anything struck my fancy. Ding ding – saw a scarf, loved it, bought it. I got a couple other cute things for family friends, walked up and down the cobblestoned side streets and had the pleasure of listening to street performers on every corner. I capped my solo date off by sipping on a warm cup of mulled wine from a hidden homemade fudge shop. It came with a free fudge sample… duh. Not after long, it was time to meet Simon and the crew so we could get back home. I’m pretty sure the entire bus was asleep within 20 minutes of take-off.

Sunday was my Christmas shopping day. I don’t want to go into how much money I spent but everyone’s gifts have been taken care of. I had to run my credit card under cold water when I got home to dull the flames. Anywhoo – this week is all work and not too much play… I don’t really have a ton of time left here. Thursday I’m grabbing dinner with Courtney and this weekend I have a special visitor. MY SISTER IS COMING! I caved and bought her a flight for Christmas/graduation. It just had to happen and I know it will all be worth it. I am dying to see her and show her around what has been my home for the past 3 months. Of course you will get an update on our explorations after the weekend comes to a close.

Until then, I challenge you to use this phrase in the next week: “On your nelly”. It means “forget it”. For example, Donkey: “Huh? Onions have layers?” Shrek: “Ugh, on your nelly, Donkey”.