LNYDP 2017 - Day 3

For New Year's Eve, we decided to get out of London and take a bus tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. We found our way to the bus station where the tour started. There were a lot of other people doing the same tour. At first, we thought we were not going to get on a bus, but they got another bus for all of us that could not fit on the first one. Our tour guide's name was Antonio. He reminded me of Michael Caine. Our driver must have nerves of steel because he drove that huge bus through these narrow roads barely missing other cars. I could not drive there.

Our first stop was Windsor Castle. We drove for about 30 minutes to get to Windsor Castle. Antonio was determined to get us there quickly so we would not have to wait in long lines. Once we got there, we were off the bus and headed to the entrance. We did not have to wait long in line, thankfully, and made our way to the inside.

 Below is the moat of the castle. Not full of water, like we expected.

 Eton College seen from Windsor Castle. This is a very prestigious and expensive school.

 Antonio walked us to inside courtyard area of the castle and showed us where the queen stays and the visitor wing of the castle. The part we got to go inside were the apartments. We couldn't take pictures in there, but it was incredible. The rooms were full of artwork, knight's armor, and antique furniture. The room I remember most was the queen's guard armory room. It had hundreds of guns, swords, and weapons decorating the walls along with some armor. After we toured the apartments, we were almost out of time. We got some more pictures outside before heading back to the bus.

 Another view of the moat with some water in it.

 

The tour gave us lunch as we boarded the bus, which was a small Subway sandwich. It was a light meal to tide us over. I thought it was good to have because we did not have to spend extra time waiting in line for a meal in Windsor and got to spend that time sightseeing.

Our next stop was Stonehenge. On the drive, Antonio gave us a history dissertation, as he called it, on this 5000 year old site. We were excited to see it. You have to ride a bus out to the rocks from the visitor center, but it is only about a mile. The rocks are roped off, so you cannot go up to them. But, you can walk around the entire circle and see it from all sides. Antonio took our picture for us. One thing I never realized is the whole area used to be all forest. The people who built Stonehenge spent many years cutting down the forest and preparing the land. As you can see in the pictures, there are not any trees anywhere near the rocks. However, there are lots of sheep.

Our final stop was the city of Bath, where the 2000 year old Roman Baths are. The baths are fed by geothermal springs. The water comes out very warm and full of sulfur, which you can smell. The city of Bath is very cute. There were many shops and pubs lining the streets. When I picture a small British town, Bath is what comes to mind. We toured the Roman Baths fairly quickly. They have a lot of museum displays and explanations of the history, but we mostly bypassed all of that and just looked at the bath itself. It's incredible to think the stones we were walking on were laid 2000 years ago.

 Head of the goddess Sulis Minerva

We tasted the water. It is supposed to have healing properties. It did not taste bad, but it was warm.

We then made our way out to the city and looked at the Abbey that was there. It was a beautiful structure right next to some shops, which was a perfect place for some pictures. We stopped into a bakery and got some fudge that was delicious. About this time, the local team's rugby match was over. They must have won because it seemed like the whole town started walking towards the pubs and shops singing fight songs while wearing their team's scarves and hats. Everyone was in a good mood. Antonio snuck us into a pub to use the restroom before we departed for the two hour ride back to London. The pub was packed.

On the way back, Antonio provided us with some restaurant recommendations for dinner. We got off the tour bus, thanked Antonio and the driver and headed down Gloucester Road to find an Indian restaurant that he recommended. It was a farther walk than we expected, but we were so happy we found it. It was called Memories of India. Most of the places you go to in London, there is nobody to greet you like we are accustomed to in America. However, at Memories of India, I just approached the door to look at the menu and someone came out and greeted us and invited us in. On our way to the table, at least four people greeted us to make us feel welcome. All through our meal, they were very pleasant. The food was incredible. I got some green chili curry chicken and Tracey got some other chicken dish. It was all so flavorful. This definitely was one of the highlights of our trip.

 

After our meal, we made our way to the hotel where the band was staying. They had a New Year's party at the hotel that night. We surprised David. We stayed there for a little while talking to him, his friends, and other parents. It looked like they were having a good time.

 

We got back to our hotel around 11:30. The streets were blocked off by the police all around town and people were everywhere. It was quite a sight to see. To see the fireworks around the London Eye required tickets, which sold out back in October. We stayed in the hotel and watched the fireworks on TV. We could hear them go off outside, and then we would see them on the TV. It was a great show. We both passed out soon after midnight.