We had originally planned on taking a last minute trip to somewhere in Greece, but all of the flights we looked at were far too long.  One of the return flights would take a full 24 hours with all layovers included.  So, with only a few days set aside for travelling, we decided to change our destination and go instead to London.

We didn’t book a hotel in advance, thinking we’d be able to find something pretty easily.  So after our flight, we studied a map and tried to find a location central to what we wanted to do.  We started by strolling down to the London Bridge, then following along the river Thames towards the HMS Belfast.  At Hay’s galleria we stopped to eat and booked tickets for the Phantom of the Opera, and our day trip to Windsor castle, Stonehenge, and Bath.  We also grabbed a bite to eat and took a moment to check out the sculpture that looks like a steampunk version of some Willy Wanka pirate ship.  Cool and weird all at once.

Then we continued along the river, over the Tower Bridge to the Tower of London, where we rode the tube to Westminster.  We strolled along from there, pausing to take in some of the sights; Big Ben and Westminster Abby primarily.  At this point we hadn’t actually entered any of these sites yet, and only admired them from afar and took some photos.  Weather was stereotypically British as we searched for a hotel – overcast and drizzling, so we spent as much time indoors as possible.

We eventually found a somewhat sketchy place a short walk from Buckingham Palace, and booked a room for two nights, intending to find something nicer for our last night – though every other place we’d looked at so far was VERY expensive – over £100/night.

From there, we walked up to the palace and through the park nearby, making our way up to Piccadilly Circus.  The plan being to explore that area until it was time for the show.  We saw (but did not go into) the Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not museum, got some snacks and coffees at a cafe, and found a restaurant (The Mermaid’s Tail) that had gluten-free fish and chips, where we would be returning after the show for dinner.

All together we saw two shows and one movie while we were there: Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, and Up.  Phantom was really good, though not as good as when I saw it in Toronto.  I enjoyed Wicked, but not all of it.  Parts were really awesome, while I found others pretty bland.  We saw Up in 3D, and it was interesting.  The 3D effects weren’t all that necessary, but added some depth at a few exciting moments.  It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but it was still a good movie.

For our second day, we had booked a day long tour going to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, then Bath.

Windsor castle was awesome.  Especially for a guy like me who likes castles probably a little too much.  The town around was very nice looking, and the castle itself was spectacular.  I felt like royalty just walking through.  It felt more like a museum than a living space, though, I suppose that’s what it is now.  It would be really cool if it was possible to spend a night there.

Unfortunately photographs weren’t allowed inside, so I only have pictures of the outside.  I would have liked to have more time to visit the surrounding town, and also more information while touring the inside of the castle, but we were pressed for time.

Stonehenge was a lot farther away than I had thought, but definitely worth the drive.  As it turns out, we were one of the last groups to go out there before they reconfigured the roads.  They’re going to be moving the roads so none of them pass close to the ancient monument, and in the future visitors will need to park several kilometers away and walk there through the fields.

 I was interested to learn that they had found some grains under one of the stones that was dated at around 9,000 years old!  The entire monument is so incredibly interesting, mysterious and beautiful in a raw, natural way.  It reminded me a lot of when I went to chichen itza, but with more of a natural feel.  It’s hard to believe that it was constructed thousands of years ago without modern tools, and the stones were brought from a distant mountain range.

After spending far too little time getting rained on while admiring the stones in the middle of a green field dotted with burial mounds, we shipped out to our next ancient monument: the city of Bath.

Bath is a city built around a natural hot spring, which was captured by the Romans.  The Romans, who loved to bathe, harnessed the geothermal energy to create an elaborate and elegant ancient spa, spotted with tributes to the gods.  A prosperous town sprung up around the baths, which is now a picturesque sprawling city with a large tourist draw.

As we came out from the baths, the rain stopped and the sun came out full force, illuminating the emerald green landscape and throwing a rainbow across the sky.

We drove home through some very picturesque landscape, made even more beautiful by the appearance of the sun and rainbow.

After that, we spent our last day touring Westminster Abbey and wandering through town.  The Abbey was another beautiful structure, though it was similar to most other cathedrals I’ve seen so far – very similar layout with tombs everywhere.  The most impressive section for me was the Writer’s Corner, where many famous writers and poets are interred or honored. 

It was a great trip, but too short and rushed.  I’d love to go back again, and maybe with some more people.  I think it would be a very fun place to go with a small group of friends.  We’re also planning another trip later, hoping to stay at a small castle that runs a bed and breakfast out near Bath that we’d heard is relatively inexpensive.