British Museum, London

On Saturday we took the train into London and wandered around the shopping district for a while. We found our way over to the British Museum, where Shelley wanted to see the Egyptian collection. We also spent some time in the Roman collection as well, so these photos are from both. Afterwords, we took a cab back to the Chinatown section of London where we had a mediocre dinner before heading back home.

On Sunday we tried to head out to Hever Castle, but it was closed for the winter. Instead we ended up going to lunch and movie out near Tonbridge.

Brighton

On Monday, Sarah had to go back to school again. The rest of us drove down to Brighton, on the English Channel. We walked out on the pier there and took these couple pictures looking back at the town. We then headed over to the Royal Pavilion, an Indian-styled palace from the early 1800's. Unfortunately, they did not allow photography inside the pavilion. Monday was also the only day that was not overcast and rainy (or snow or sleet) the whole time we were there.

Bath

On Tuesday, Suna had to go back to work. We took the train back to Gatwick and picked up a rental car for the rest of our trip. Unfortunately, the only automatic they had was a 7-passenger minivan, so I had a big car to drive on the wrong sides of all the streets.

We took the highways around London and out to the city of Bath. We had arranged a room at the Paradise House Bed and Breakfast just outside the center of town. These are some shots of our room, and the views of the town.

The Roman Baths, in Bath

Tuesday evening we walked into town for a little Christmas shopping and dinner. We stopped at the Sally Lunn house, the oldest building in Bath, for our dinner. On Wednesday, we headed into town again to visit the Roman Baths and the Museum of Costume. These photos are mostly from the Baths, as the museum also did not allow photography. The last couple shots are some sites around town.

Stone Ring at Avebury

On Thursday we left Bath to head back to Suna's house. We briefly drove through the countryside to find a small village called Castle Combe. It was very pretty, but we didn't stop for long. We also saw two pheasants on the road as we drove though the narrow back roads.

We continued on to Avebury to see the remains of the stone ring there. These stones are out in the open, mostly in pastures, where you can walk right up to them. It appears that the main crossroads of town was setup right in the middle of the big ring. In a few of these photos, you'll see smaller concrete markers setup where the original stones are missing from the circle.

Stonehenge

After leaving Avebury, we headed south towards stonehenge. The drive was interesting, as it generally followed the River Avon and went through a number of small villages. Stonehenge itself is a protected park: you have to pay to get inside the fence near the ring, and even then you still have to stay a ways away. On the other hand, they give you a complementary audio guide thingy to tell you all about the stones. (In long, drawn-out detail... not something you will enjoy if it's as cold as it was when we were there.)

Old Sarum Castle, Salisbury

We drove a little further south from Stonehenge to the outskirts of Salisbury. There we stopped at the Old Sarum Castle. This site was originally an iron-age hill fort. It was later the site of a Roman town, and eventually a castle was built here along with the original town of Salisbury. The site is now just a large hill with the ruins of the old castle walls that have been excavated.

London

On Friday, Suna and Sarah were still busy with work and school, so the two of us went back into London by train to see the sites. This time we also grabbed a couple Underground passes so we could get around without quite so much walking. We started be visiting Buckingham Palace, and we were lucky enough to get there just at the end of the changing of the guards. Afterwords, we walked down to Westminister Abbey, and then over to Parliament and Big Ben.