London, Stonehenge, Bath and Beyond part 2

I really need to get better at posting. But I just finished up the last of my papers so I finally have time to write up a quick post. Let's see, I think I mentioned going to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on Boxing Day. On the 27th we were on our way down to London.

Let me start out by saying if I were well endowed in the wallet region I could spend a lot of time in jolly ol' London. The place is absolutely beautiful and it reeks of history. Whether your walking around Notting Hill or crossing Abbey Road it's really an incredible sensation to walk around these well known places.

Here are a few photos from my visit to the Tower in London. This is an absolutely stunning castle. This was where they would hold the prisoners who would be publicly executed, usually by hanging. But these days it's not so glib and inviting to the interested tourist.

Tower Bridge lies ahead and apparently so does shite weather.

Just outside the Tower.

My "could-be-a-postcard-if-not-for-that-damn-advert" photograph.

It may look empty now but just as we were taking off this place was PACKED!

The sharply dressed man is called a Beefeater because he only eats the byproducts of cows.

You have now entered the castle.

Further inside...

Look a tall building, but wait until you see what's inside.

Some of the next pictures may be a little difficult to see since it was darker inside the building you see above. There's also a giant castle beast still to be seen to keep your eyes pealed. But first look closely, do you see the baboons?

Here they are climbing a wall.

One seems to have made it onto the jewel kiosk.

I don't remember if this was helpful or not on the tour.

Medieval robots!

Another one!

Child Medieval robot?

These men were too poor to own faces.

A layout of the castle.

A view from (near) the top.

Hallway; deep like my soul.

Side view of something...

...a efffing dragon.

Wolfhat standing near one of Her Majesty's Royal Gurads.

Interior of Tower's walls.

March puppet march.

Monument marking the site women were executed privately.

We weren't allowed to see inside these buildings.

And another shot of the exterior.

So cool. That white tent in the bottom right is actually an ice rink.

Not really sure what this place is but i thought it looked awesome.

I like that I captured a passing tour bus on accident.

Hope you're not sick of castles yet...

...there's always more to see

 Some of the pictures may seem a little redundant but I wanted to share as much as I could of my trip. There's a lot more pictures to be seen plus Tori's site has another set. Oh and I forgot to show you the terrifying beast. Mr. Poe describes him best:

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'

This thing was absolutely massive and did not fancy the Wolfhat.

Next we boarded the subway to regroup and set out for our next adventure.

We ended up on a short bus/large van tour vehicle that guided us through all the nooks and crannies in London. It was a Rock 'N' Roll tour de London that highlighted every legendary name from the Classic Rock era and how they shaped or were shaped by the culture in London at the time. I have a much fewer photos of the tour because we were constantly moving, which was nice because we got to hear and see quite a bit in a short amount of time. Plus the whole ride the greatest music of the 60s and 70s was blaring through the speakers.

This was our vehicle. Mainly the decal on the vehicle.

Abbey Road Studio

The front door of Abbey Road Studio

Walking across Abbey Road

If my face could be in focus a little more and everything else stayed the same i think this would be a great photo.

 On the 30th we spent another long day in a tour bus but the places we got to see were well worth the literal pain in the arse. We first headed out to Windsor Castle. I know what you're thinking, "Another castle?" And to you I say, Yes. Because castles are awesome and it's unlikely I'll see anything like them again for a while. Unfortunately we didn't have a whole lot of time to properly explore the castle and see everything. But I did get to see a large number of people go sprinting after some guardsmen. Turns out it was a changing of the guard (4 guards) and you gotta get that pic.

Approaching the castle.

The exit of the castle; our exit at least.

The decline in use of stones in architecture over time.

Is everyone matching?

Magic pond.

Everyone in stride.

What appears to be a dining hall.

The perfect hall for hallway people. Because sometime you just can't decide which room to be in.

Can you find the horse?

I couldn't tell when this rock walkway was built.

I'm a little closer to the guard this time.

Alley near the castle.

The line as we were leaving.

Statue of Queen Victoria (I believe).

After a very quick lunch it was back on the bus and off to Stonehenge. I was really excited about this stop because I was more familiar with its history. Plus Stonehenge is obvious proof of alien existence so I had to be somewhere aliens were known to have been. The only problem was you had to stay about 80 meters away at all times. Most of the photos I have of Stonehenge are repetitive so I won't overdo it.

BOOM there she is, Stonehenge.

It seems massive at times.

Other times it seems sort of small.

You may say tiny.

I'm pretty sure this is nothing. It's kind of near Stonehenge.

Wolfhat showing dominance over this place of lore.

Birds in a line. Stonehenge is behind me.

After Stonehenge we had a bit of a journey to the Roman Baths. It was made easier by a witty and entertaining tour guide. I think i fell asleep for a bit while on this ride.though not before seeing this really cool, really small jail. It could maybe hold one person at any given time. I wish I had gotten a photo of it but that was seen while on the move; this also happens to be the case with the "Tank X-ing" sign. Damn.

Tori and Matt in front of an amazingly detailed cathedral door.

Said cathedral.

I'm not sure, just looked nice.

Natural pools of water heated by the earth's core.

Stone guards above the baths.

I felt no different after touching the water.

It was so warm around the water.

Baths from the floor.

Small dog made out of stone.

Detailed penis and testicles on small dog made out of stone.

I like his face.

Looks like the sun to me.

Sculpture.

Upper level of baths.

One of the stone statues atop the bath's columns.

Statue and cathedral.

Statue.

Road in Bath

 I have to say this was one of the most amazing trips I have ever had the opportunity to be on. I got to see these places I figured I'd only ever see in books and online. New Years Eve was spent with Tori. The two of us split from the group and had our own adventure in London. We went to Notting Hill and Camden Town and walked through their street markets. There was a ton of crap to buy and much of it was reasonably priced. Even though I'm not a huge fan of shopping, the walking around and random exchange with people was entertaining enough for me.

Camden Market.

Downtown London.

More of downtown.

Camden Market.

I want to say the market in Notting Hill.

Big Ben at night.

In front of the palace.

 Tori's family took off New Year's Day and the two of us did the same after seeing them on. Since then it's been a little bit slower again. Tori and I did manage to make it up to Sterling castle. I didn't take any photos but the great thing about that castle was when we went it was pretty dead. It was really easy to saunter around and pick and choose the places that seem most interesting. Their cemetery was really neat I do have photos of that but I'll put those up later. Anyway this has been kind of a long post with all the photos so I think I'll wrap it up. School begins this week so I should have a thing or two to say about my courses in the next couple of weeks. Until then, take care.