The Adventures of W & S: LONDON-MARCH 12-18, 2016

London in March can be a bit chilly and it lived up to our expectations. It was usually in the 30's and the high was 50 degrees with a strong cold wind. We did have layers so that did help somewhat, at least we did not have any rain.

We were able to fly direct on Virgin Atlantic from Orlando to Gatwick Airport. That was great not having to change flights from another airport. It was an 8 hour flight without any interruptions.

We got into Gatwick about 9 AM and took the train and transferred to several tubes to get to our Ibis Hotel. The hotel was about a block from the tube station which was very nice. We used the afternoon to check out the area.

Walt seemed to enjoy this building called the Shard. It is glass like and looks like a shard of glass. Kind of neat really. We later went up to the 32nd floor to their bar called the Oblix and enjoyed a cocktail along with some beautiful views of the city. This we did on our last full day in London.

This building viewed from The Shard is called the Walkie Talkie but it really is called Fenchurch. It is considered one of the worst pieces of architecture. The glass is angled in such a way that it reflects a great deal of heat, in fact causes fires. A Jaguar car parked there ignited which is not a good thing. There is another building similar to this in Las Vegas that has also sparked fires. Not exactly the architect of the year award. You can also see the building to the right, labeled the gherkin since it resembles a gherkin pickle.

This is a neat zoomed in view of the London Tower from The Shard from the 32nd floor.

Overlooking the Thames River.

London Tower Bridge

Fancy cocktails at the Oblix Bar on the 32nd floor.

When we first saw this sign we weren't quite sure what it meant. It did not take us long to figure it out. Busking is where street performers of many kinds can usually sing, play guitar or whatever to get some money. There are areas that are painted on the pavement in the shape of a half circle where they can perform if they have a license to do so. There were a number of all types of performers along the walkway of the Thames called the Jubilee Walkway. This particular sign was right near the Shakespeare Globe Theater and they did not appreciate having street performers in their midst.

The following day we took a tour to Stonehenge, which included a bus ride along a route near some sites of downtown London.

The Eye

Parliament

Busy traffic

Not afraid to carry big guns

This is where "Top Gear" spun lots of donuts and really created havoc and tore up the road. This is by the WWI Memorial and close to 10 Downing Street. The Brits were not happy about the situation and the Prime Minister was having difficulty working on the budget for the country while the noise of the vehicles roared and spun.

We stopped at Avebury a Stone Circle town which gave our guide time to enhance our knowledge of what a henge was.

We had a picnic lunch by this churchyard and sign.

You can make out a horse in chalk rock on the mountainside. These were done between 1820-1825 but now there are a few new ones that are out there just for beauty. They do look pretty neat as you are driving down the road.

We saw thatched cottages which were originally for the poor folks. Now if you own one. you are probably quite wealthy since they require a certain amount of upkeep and are not as common as other types of homes.

NOW FOR STONEHENGE

Huge lintel (about 7 tons) above the monstrous rocks. Hard to imagine this being built 3000 BC to 2000 BC.

This is a poster of how it looks now. You can see several large stones have tumbled over and some are actually gone. The outer row consisted of huge rocks with lintels connecting them. The second row in had a little bit smaller rocks and the third row in had small rocks called blue stone. People did not actually live at Stonehenge. Most of the rocks were not small, even the small ones would have been difficult to transport. Some came from great distances and they are still trying to figure out how they may have erected the heavy lintels on top of the huge rocks.

Farther away is where remnants of civilization were found. Durrington Walls is the name of this area where pottery, arrows and cattle teeth along with pig bone were discovered. This tells archeologists that these people cooked meat and hunted and used pottery for cooking and storing food items. These were probably the builders of at least part of Stonehenge.

OTHER ACTIVITIES AND FOOD:

Breakfast at the Crypt at St. Martin of the Fields. This was rather interesting. Nice entrance to the place before going down to the crypt.

The Full English breakfast is referred to as a "Heart Attack on a Plate".

Long taps are beer from the cellar, while short taps are cold beer. Supposedly the Long Taps have better beer like a craft beer. This is an order of fish and some chips (french fries) with smashed peas. Actually pretty tasty.