Stonehenge, Salisbury, Bath

Today we left the city center and headed out to the country. First stop those amazing stones at Stonehenge. None of the current theories, an astronomical site, a witchcraft scene, a cemetery, seem to hold up for very long. Nevertheless, the stones are amazing to behold set as they are at an apex in the fields surrounded by burial mounds some dating to Roman times and before. We picked an amazing day for this trip as it was raining in London and sunny with moving clouds when we arrived in Stonehenge. We have seen the copy above the Columbia river in Washington state, but they didn't compare to the real thing, although I thought they would. The setting is grandiose and to imagine 1500 years in the making speaks volumes for the persistence and relevance to the makers. There is much in our world that remains a mystery, and Stonehenge is but one.

Then it was back aboard the bus and off to Salisbury and the Abbey for a very brief stop. The Magna Carta began here and there is one of the 9 original manuscripts housed in the Abbey. It was also the site of the first King Edward's coronation and is considered one of the finest midevil churches remaining having been completed in the 13th century in only 55 years--a record considering Westminster Abbey took 800 years to complete to its current state.

Our final stop was Bath and its Roman ruins and picturesque town. We viewed the baths quickly, as we had seen Roman baths in Israel, and so spent our brief time walking about town. The town is alive as a vacation destination sporting over 800 shops, street fairs, musicians, singers, performance artists. The town and its church, every town of any size has a church, were worth viewing, but it was the street performers who caught our attention. There's a playfulness in the air in Bath, a sense of having fun, stopping for tea, but not in a very serious way, that was enchanting. We purchased pastis to take home for dinner. These are the eating kind, not the wearing kind.

Thus far, we are finding London and its environs much more friendly, more casual, a lot more accepting of odd people and types. Paris, we thought, was a bit more about presentation, and London is certainly not--at least not in the Soho areas where we have been spending our time. We will hit the Kensington Area soon, with the museums and Harrods and upscale shops. For now, we're enjoying the "low" life. It fits.

Love to you all, Adrienne and Stu