England Day 1 - Stonehenge & Kensington Palace
3:45am
Time to rouse the troops *bullies everybody out of bed* (actually, my job was pretty much done for me when both the coffee machine started going off and the transformer+battery charger took a swan dive out of the outlet simultaneously. Coincidence? Hmm…). Strange how there’s nobody on the streets at 3:45am .
With much more bullying, can’t-find-the-umbrella, what’s-the-weather-today, we were downstairs. At 5:00am promptly Alan, our bus driver and tourguide, arrived to whisk us away. Apparently we were in the wrong lobby (whoops. Well, there are three of them!), but thankfully we shared our wrongdoings with a couple from IL.
We were the first to be picked up, and the tourbus was very nice. The seats were smaller than we’re used to in the US, but very plush. Each came with a tiny tray you could pull down (ala airplanes), narrow cargo space up above that just about fit a jacket or backpack comfortably, and a tiny front pocket. The windows were huge! Mind your head though, the roof dips down as you exit the bus. I was expecting a huge Astral Tours logo on the side of the vehicle clearly labeling it, but there was only a small emblem on the driver’s side door.
On driving in England: I am so glad that I opted not to attempt driving on the other side of the road. All of your instincts are flip-flopped, and it just…wouldn’t have been pretty. After our five from the Metropole we picked up an older Japanese couple from a boutique (?) hotel, and then some groups from the Ritz. The Ritz didn’t really impress me all that much…I’m sure it’s much grander on the inside, but having its name in somewhat cheesy lights just doesn’t appeal to me. We finally got to see a bit of the city, passing by Hyde Park, Harrods, through Kensington, and over the Thames.
Alan alternated between pointing things out and long stretches of quiet. Roughly an hour or so into it we stopped by a nicely appointed (and large!) roadside stop-and-eat sort of place. They offered both freshly made hot breakfast items and the usual muffins, cereal, etc. Fearing my body I stuck to munching down one of our apricot+almond bars we’d snagged from Marks and Sparks. YUM!
A half hour was allotted for breakfast, and most people took the opportunity to load up on caffeine. As I had not, it was back on the bus and try not to drowse as landscape sped by. As we got closer the skies started to open up, and we imagined a wet, dreary sludge through the grass to see the stones.
We were not allowed on the Stonehenge grounds until 7:30, so Alan took the opportunity to gas up the car. I nearly gagged on the prices…and the fumes! Please, if you’re going to load up on diesel, close the door T_T. That one tank of diesel cost roughly $80USD (!).
At the site we ran into another Astral Tours group. It would have been nice if it were explained to us that we’d be merging in and out of that group for the rest of the day…so strange to see people you didn’t know popping in and out of your ‘special access’ ^^;;. The stones themselves were wonderful, though. As if by magic the rain let up as soon as we approached them, and held off pretty much for the rest of the day. We even got brilliant sunshine later on, but alas had already finished our access at the site by then! Alan explained to us that the Heritage Society used to allow everybody up to the stones, but then found that it was causing too much wear on the turf surrounding them. For some reason their brilliant answer to this was to spread gravel/rocks around the entire site, which ended up abrading the stones themselves. Now it’s off with the gravel, back to grass, and they simply limit how many people and how frequently those groups go up to the stones.
Alan took our picture in front of the stones (“to prove to friends and family that we’d been there”). Was mad at myself for having blinked at just the wrong moment, but managed to fix it later thanks to Photoshop (hekekeke). We and the other tour group, as well as some individuals all wandered amongst the stones for an hour, snapping pictures. Still fascinated by my new camera I proceeded to attack everything with Super!Macro focus, prompting the male half of the Japanese couple to ask me what was so interesting about a small impression in one of the fallen stones, filled with water ^^;;. My answer? “I’m just weird.” He seemed to get a kick out of it *G*.
At this point we were all pretty much freezing, as the wind whips through the stones, and with the rain earlier it had really chilled things down. Alan commented later that we’d gotten just about every season in that seven hour period. We passed back down through the ramp to the start of the Stonehenge access point, where we were informed that we’d be waiting the half hour for the gift shop (and small concession stand) to open. Hmm. Frankly, I probably could have done without. We bypassed the other Astral Tours tour guide who was hawking the champagne, as we figured…well, not our tourguide, right? Besides, we really were freezing! We huddled back on the bus with Alan.
About ten minutes later we realized two things: Alan was not going to serve us the champagne. The other tourguide was. Except that he had none left, because we were too late. He did quite a good job of making us feel like it was our fault, too *mumbles*. Want my paid-for bubbly, demmit!
By the time the tourist trap gift shop opened we had quite a few more people waiting at the gates with us. Obligingly squeezed into the small shop, where we purchased a watercolor print of the stones, a magnet, and two postcards. Then I snagged myself some hot chocolate with cream (cream was good. Chocolate so-so). The sun came bursting out from behind the clouds, and we suddenly felt much better about things. And behind the whole Stonehenge access point were fields with sheep. Sheep!
Back on the bus and our next stop was Salisbury Cathedral. Gorgeous countryside with the sky doing fantastic things as we zipped along the roads. Salisbury Cathedral was spectacular. They practically have a whole inner town surrounding it, and members of that group give free tours of the Cathedral. Alas, our tourguide Tim had a rather soft voice, and seeing as how we were again merged with the second Astral Tours group, this made for pretty much an unintelligible tour. The tour went on for nearly an hour, with bits of our group splintering off to take photos (good thing they did, too, as once you were dumped out at the end that pretty much used up all of your allotted time). Another gift shop and we were back on the road, this time London bound. I tried my hardest to stay awake, but seeing as how everybody else eventually dozed off, it was a losing battle. Drowsed fitfully as countryside gave way again to buildings.
Alan gave us the option of being dropped off elsewhere than our respective hotels (as long as it was somewhat in the same area), but I think we all pretty much headed back to our home bases to re-group. We were back at around 1pm.
So the question became…what now? Here we had an entire afternoon open before us, and we were all somewhat half asleep. Pulling half a plan from another day, we decided to head over to Kensington Palace for afternoon tea, and hopefully a trip into the Palace itself if there was time. Internet directions in hand, we had our first experience trying the Tube.
The Tube is actually remarkably simple, once you get the hang of it. Just pick a station you want to go to, then pick a train that has a terminus at or after it. We were lucky that our lines (the Circle and District) both go to High Street Kensington, so no changes were necessary. After throwing ourselves upon the mercy of a Tube agent to help us get our tickets, we were off.
It’s a short 10-15 minute walk from there to Kensington Gardens, in which resides the Palace itself. The grounds of Kensington in places almost looked a little unkempt, with the grass growing long, and just…well, not ornamental. The Orangery, however, was wonderful. The inside was quite elegant, and while service was a bit distant, mom and I each got an Orangery Tea assortment, while Alana tried a slice of chocolate cake and Pepsi. Each Orangery Tea came with a slice of their Orangery sponge cake, a scone with strawberry jam and cream, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, and your choice of tea. Mum had Earl Grey, while I, not being much of a tea-drinker outside of unsweetened Green Tea, tried the Blackcurrent Tea. Excellent flavor, exactly how I like my drinks! It had a wonderful berry taste, and looked extremely pretty in the teacup, being a very deep pink color. The cucumber sandwiches were not quite my cup of tea (no pun intended), but both the cake and the scone were fabulous. The cake had a very light orange flavor that was simply marvelous.
A very kind individual spotted us taking pictures of everything (*innocent look*) and offered to take a picture of all three of us. Yes, I handed my new $500 baby over to a complete stranger ;). Probably not the most clever thing I’ve ever done, but he was quite lovely about it, and everything went fine. After tea we wandered the grounds, stumbling upon Diana’s sunken garden (which you were not permitted to enter, but had a neat high hedgerow surrounding it, with little pockets cut out for you get views of the landscaping and flowers). When we’d had our fill we turned to enter the Palace itself.
Many scenes of high society and court etiquette abound in the Palace. It was impressive just to experience the number and size of the rooms, but I don’t think this would be something I’d seek out to do again…it’s rather overpriced for what you get. Again the ubiquitous gift shop upon exiting.
As we walked back to High Street Kensington we peeked our heads into a Wagamama. We were too stuffed from our tea to even think of eating dinner then (though it was just about 6pm), but made note that since our Tube tickets were good for the rest of the day, it really would make sense to return for dinner. Hopped the Tube ‘home’ and collapsed into our awaiting beds.
Dinner time rolled around and I was roused from a deep sleep by mom. Argh, decisions…did I want to go to dinner? I did, but I’d really overdone it on my feet, and feared the rest of the trip if I’d be struck incapable of walking again. Finally caved since I really did want to experience Wagamama, and it did smell so good when we’d ducked in before…
Wagamama certainly lives up to its expectations. Picture long ‘community’ tables where everybody eats elbow to elbow with each other, with an open kitchen in the back and a modern feel to all, and you get the idea. After staring at the menu several times over I ended up with a chicken and noodle chilli curry combo, while Mom got another noodle and chicken dish, and Alana got shrimp and rice. Soooooo good :D. I LOVED my dish, not too spicy, but extremely tasty. I’m going to crave it for the rest of my life, I think. We need Waga back in the states!
Shared a peach ice cream for dessert (with passion fruit sauce), then hobbled back to the hotel. I can’t believe it’s past midnight now…my internal clock is so screwed up *twitch*.
Time to rouse the troops *bullies everybody out of bed* (actually, my job was pretty much done for me when both the coffee machine started going off and the transformer+battery charger took a swan dive out of the outlet simultaneously. Coincidence? Hmm…). Strange how there’s nobody on the streets at 3:45am .
With much more bullying, can’t-find-the-umbrella, what’s-the-weather-today, we were downstairs. At 5:00am promptly Alan, our bus driver and tourguide, arrived to whisk us away. Apparently we were in the wrong lobby (whoops. Well, there are three of them!), but thankfully we shared our wrongdoings with a couple from IL.
We were the first to be picked up, and the tourbus was very nice. The seats were smaller than we’re used to in the US, but very plush. Each came with a tiny tray you could pull down (ala airplanes), narrow cargo space up above that just about fit a jacket or backpack comfortably, and a tiny front pocket. The windows were huge! Mind your head though, the roof dips down as you exit the bus. I was expecting a huge Astral Tours logo on the side of the vehicle clearly labeling it, but there was only a small emblem on the driver’s side door.
On driving in England: I am so glad that I opted not to attempt driving on the other side of the road. All of your instincts are flip-flopped, and it just…wouldn’t have been pretty. After our five from the Metropole we picked up an older Japanese couple from a boutique (?) hotel, and then some groups from the Ritz. The Ritz didn’t really impress me all that much…I’m sure it’s much grander on the inside, but having its name in somewhat cheesy lights just doesn’t appeal to me. We finally got to see a bit of the city, passing by Hyde Park, Harrods, through Kensington, and over the Thames.
Alan alternated between pointing things out and long stretches of quiet. Roughly an hour or so into it we stopped by a nicely appointed (and large!) roadside stop-and-eat sort of place. They offered both freshly made hot breakfast items and the usual muffins, cereal, etc. Fearing my body I stuck to munching down one of our apricot+almond bars we’d snagged from Marks and Sparks. YUM!
A half hour was allotted for breakfast, and most people took the opportunity to load up on caffeine. As I had not, it was back on the bus and try not to drowse as landscape sped by. As we got closer the skies started to open up, and we imagined a wet, dreary sludge through the grass to see the stones.
We were not allowed on the Stonehenge grounds until 7:30, so Alan took the opportunity to gas up the car. I nearly gagged on the prices…and the fumes! Please, if you’re going to load up on diesel, close the door T_T. That one tank of diesel cost roughly $80USD (!).
At the site we ran into another Astral Tours group. It would have been nice if it were explained to us that we’d be merging in and out of that group for the rest of the day…so strange to see people you didn’t know popping in and out of your ‘special access’ ^^;;. The stones themselves were wonderful, though. As if by magic the rain let up as soon as we approached them, and held off pretty much for the rest of the day. We even got brilliant sunshine later on, but alas had already finished our access at the site by then! Alan explained to us that the Heritage Society used to allow everybody up to the stones, but then found that it was causing too much wear on the turf surrounding them. For some reason their brilliant answer to this was to spread gravel/rocks around the entire site, which ended up abrading the stones themselves. Now it’s off with the gravel, back to grass, and they simply limit how many people and how frequently those groups go up to the stones.
Alan took our picture in front of the stones (“to prove to friends and family that we’d been there”). Was mad at myself for having blinked at just the wrong moment, but managed to fix it later thanks to Photoshop (hekekeke). We and the other tour group, as well as some individuals all wandered amongst the stones for an hour, snapping pictures. Still fascinated by my new camera I proceeded to attack everything with Super!Macro focus, prompting the male half of the Japanese couple to ask me what was so interesting about a small impression in one of the fallen stones, filled with water ^^;;. My answer? “I’m just weird.” He seemed to get a kick out of it *G*.
At this point we were all pretty much freezing, as the wind whips through the stones, and with the rain earlier it had really chilled things down. Alan commented later that we’d gotten just about every season in that seven hour period. We passed back down through the ramp to the start of the Stonehenge access point, where we were informed that we’d be waiting the half hour for the gift shop (and small concession stand) to open. Hmm. Frankly, I probably could have done without. We bypassed the other Astral Tours tour guide who was hawking the champagne, as we figured…well, not our tourguide, right? Besides, we really were freezing! We huddled back on the bus with Alan.
About ten minutes later we realized two things: Alan was not going to serve us the champagne. The other tourguide was. Except that he had none left, because we were too late. He did quite a good job of making us feel like it was our fault, too *mumbles*. Want my paid-for bubbly, demmit!
By the time the tourist trap gift shop opened we had quite a few more people waiting at the gates with us. Obligingly squeezed into the small shop, where we purchased a watercolor print of the stones, a magnet, and two postcards. Then I snagged myself some hot chocolate with cream (cream was good. Chocolate so-so). The sun came bursting out from behind the clouds, and we suddenly felt much better about things. And behind the whole Stonehenge access point were fields with sheep. Sheep!
Back on the bus and our next stop was Salisbury Cathedral. Gorgeous countryside with the sky doing fantastic things as we zipped along the roads. Salisbury Cathedral was spectacular. They practically have a whole inner town surrounding it, and members of that group give free tours of the Cathedral. Alas, our tourguide Tim had a rather soft voice, and seeing as how we were again merged with the second Astral Tours group, this made for pretty much an unintelligible tour. The tour went on for nearly an hour, with bits of our group splintering off to take photos (good thing they did, too, as once you were dumped out at the end that pretty much used up all of your allotted time). Another gift shop and we were back on the road, this time London bound. I tried my hardest to stay awake, but seeing as how everybody else eventually dozed off, it was a losing battle. Drowsed fitfully as countryside gave way again to buildings.
Alan gave us the option of being dropped off elsewhere than our respective hotels (as long as it was somewhat in the same area), but I think we all pretty much headed back to our home bases to re-group. We were back at around 1pm.
So the question became…what now? Here we had an entire afternoon open before us, and we were all somewhat half asleep. Pulling half a plan from another day, we decided to head over to Kensington Palace for afternoon tea, and hopefully a trip into the Palace itself if there was time. Internet directions in hand, we had our first experience trying the Tube.
The Tube is actually remarkably simple, once you get the hang of it. Just pick a station you want to go to, then pick a train that has a terminus at or after it. We were lucky that our lines (the Circle and District) both go to High Street Kensington, so no changes were necessary. After throwing ourselves upon the mercy of a Tube agent to help us get our tickets, we were off.
It’s a short 10-15 minute walk from there to Kensington Gardens, in which resides the Palace itself. The grounds of Kensington in places almost looked a little unkempt, with the grass growing long, and just…well, not ornamental. The Orangery, however, was wonderful. The inside was quite elegant, and while service was a bit distant, mom and I each got an Orangery Tea assortment, while Alana tried a slice of chocolate cake and Pepsi. Each Orangery Tea came with a slice of their Orangery sponge cake, a scone with strawberry jam and cream, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, and your choice of tea. Mum had Earl Grey, while I, not being much of a tea-drinker outside of unsweetened Green Tea, tried the Blackcurrent Tea. Excellent flavor, exactly how I like my drinks! It had a wonderful berry taste, and looked extremely pretty in the teacup, being a very deep pink color. The cucumber sandwiches were not quite my cup of tea (no pun intended), but both the cake and the scone were fabulous. The cake had a very light orange flavor that was simply marvelous.
A very kind individual spotted us taking pictures of everything (*innocent look*) and offered to take a picture of all three of us. Yes, I handed my new $500 baby over to a complete stranger ;). Probably not the most clever thing I’ve ever done, but he was quite lovely about it, and everything went fine. After tea we wandered the grounds, stumbling upon Diana’s sunken garden (which you were not permitted to enter, but had a neat high hedgerow surrounding it, with little pockets cut out for you get views of the landscaping and flowers). When we’d had our fill we turned to enter the Palace itself.
Many scenes of high society and court etiquette abound in the Palace. It was impressive just to experience the number and size of the rooms, but I don’t think this would be something I’d seek out to do again…it’s rather overpriced for what you get. Again the ubiquitous gift shop upon exiting.
As we walked back to High Street Kensington we peeked our heads into a Wagamama. We were too stuffed from our tea to even think of eating dinner then (though it was just about 6pm), but made note that since our Tube tickets were good for the rest of the day, it really would make sense to return for dinner. Hopped the Tube ‘home’ and collapsed into our awaiting beds.
Dinner time rolled around and I was roused from a deep sleep by mom. Argh, decisions…did I want to go to dinner? I did, but I’d really overdone it on my feet, and feared the rest of the trip if I’d be struck incapable of walking again. Finally caved since I really did want to experience Wagamama, and it did smell so good when we’d ducked in before…
Wagamama certainly lives up to its expectations. Picture long ‘community’ tables where everybody eats elbow to elbow with each other, with an open kitchen in the back and a modern feel to all, and you get the idea. After staring at the menu several times over I ended up with a chicken and noodle chilli curry combo, while Mom got another noodle and chicken dish, and Alana got shrimp and rice. Soooooo good :D. I LOVED my dish, not too spicy, but extremely tasty. I’m going to crave it for the rest of my life, I think. We need Waga back in the states!
Shared a peach ice cream for dessert (with passion fruit sauce), then hobbled back to the hotel. I can’t believe it’s past midnight now…my internal clock is so screwed up *twitch*.