Changing of guard ceremony at Windsor Castle
Residence of the Queen at Windsor - newest part of castle
Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Roman Baths in Bath, EnglandFriday, June 25th
Today I took a day tour out of London. We met up at the Victoria Station at 8:30am. Our first stop - the Windsor Castle.
Windsor Castle is the world's largest and oldest castle. The Queen has a residence here - when not at Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth II is 84 years old and has been Queen for 58 years. I didn't really understand the royal family too much so I asked alot of questions.
The Queen was the oldest of 2 daughters. She had 4 children - with Prince Charles being her eldest son. Charles and the late Diana (killed in car crash) had 2 boys - William and Harry. Once the Queen passes, Charles will become King. Then, when Charles passes, William will become King. it's crazy to think about this. From the day you are born, you are an idol - a dominating prescence that will go down in history. I wonder how conversations go with Prince William and the ladies. "Hi, my name is Will. I'm going to be King of England in a few years. How are you. Would you like to dance?" Something tells me that this line would work every time.
Our guide told us how there are some folks in thje UK that are anti-royalty. They feel the money spent on keeping up the royal family could be better spent on schools, healthcare, etc. He said that he's in favor of the royal family. Last year, Prince Charles brought in $121 million for charities alone. Plus, the activity the royal family does to promote Britain around the globe creates tourism dollars that offset any money needed to keep the family around. He stated that most British tend to feel this way.
In Windsor Castle, we toured the State Apartments, viewed Queen Mary's doll house, and visited St. George's chapel. Before boarding the bus again, we saw the changing of the guard ceremony at 11:30am. How do these guards stand perfectly still for hours? These guys should be given some kind of award.
Back on the bus - next stop - Stonehenge. Stonehenge is known by many as the unique pattern of circular stones created long ago. The monument evolved between 3,000BC and 1,600BC. It is aligned with the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset, but its exact purpose remains a mystery. (Just like the Incas in Peru, the winter/summer solstice were special dates - from there, they could monitor the times of the year). I guess this makes sense. Farming is very dependent upon the season. Today, we look at the calendar. In historic times, they made their own calendars based on the sunrise.
Stonehenge is located about 50 miles outside London in a very remote area near Salisbury. You're not going to come upon Stonehenge - you're going to make a concerted effort to get there. We had an audio tour - but really, just stood in apprecaition of the mystery and scale of the place.
As earlier stated, Stonehenge was created 5,000 years ago. The remains of some of the people thought to have built the site were found nearby. Carbon dating of the rocks from the site showed the history and also provided information supporting how the larger stones were local (within 15 miiles) and the smaller stones were from Wales (250 miles away). Only about half the site remains. Many of the stones have fallen down. Others have been removed. Still, enough stones exist to give a picture of the original masterpiece.
Next, we boarded the bus and headed to the city of Bath. The city's historical heart is at the Roman Baths, Britain's finest ancient Roman ruins. Overlooking them are the 16th century Bath Abbey and the 18th century Pump Room, a noted watering hole and restaurant. We had about 1-1/2 hours to walk around the city . Wow - very impressive.
The Roman Baths site was really interesting. A multi-story complex with the swimming bath on the bottom level. The top was surrounded by statues of various conquerors. The huge tower church, Bath Abbey, was next to the Roman Baths - making for some great pictures in the unusually blue England sky.
Some random facts learned today:
(1) 61 million people live in the UK
(2) 50% of people in the UK are protestant. 20-25% are catholic
(3) 4 countries in Europe drive on left side of road: UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta
(4) 64 countries worldwide drive on left side of road. Only 3 of these have non-English ties: Japan, Mozambeke, Thailand.
(5) The US and UK are the only 2 countries left that still use miles instead of kilometers.
(6) The surname of the royal family is Windsor
(7) The Queen visited Wimbledon this past Thursday - first time in 32 years and only the 4th time in her tenure.
We boarded the bus for a 2.5 hour return trip to London. 8:30pm arrival. Some computer work - back to the hotel. Another good day in the UK.
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