'twas early this morning when the alarm sounded. We got up and hit the road for Salisbury cathedral. From Bournemouth, this was an hour and a half of twisting roads, and beautiful scenery. The River Avon was bursting at the banks, but the sun shone brilliantly over thatched roofs, brick stonework and copper fields. I was impressed by the drive. I was less impressed with the traffic snarls that seemed to pop up in the middle of nowhere.
On arrival in Salisbury it was relatively easy to get a parking space. Finding change for the meter was actually more of a hassle. Fortunately, a kind lady offered to help so back to the meter I trudged and plugged some coins in. Salisbury is a lovely cathedral that features gothic architechure, a simple cloister garden for quiet and beautiful choral singing. There were stained glass window, and the children freaked out over stepping on dead people. I was fascinated by the Magna Carta document. It had been folded and creased with water damage, but still survives in a legible format. Of course, the restoration is still ongoing. Scaffolding still exists and it has been there since I was a child. It moves, but is still there. We explored for n hour, and also found time to visit with a cocker spaniel and a chocolate shop. Handmade chocolate? How can you resist?
From there, we drove to Stonehenge. We did the tour with the headsets, which was interesting. The headset gave the history of the site and allowed the children to access the stories in a format that they would actually listen to. On my own, I would not have paid the admission though as you get a lovely view from outside the fence. I already knew the history. However, I would have missed the shaman cleansing the site and she was worth paying attention to. Delightfully colorful and full of spiritual optimism, she made the visit for me.
The rest of the day was spent attempting to negotiate traffic, being stuck behind slow drivers and ultimately arriving an hour late for lunch. Very sorry, but lost, we arrived to spend the rest of the day with family. Food, fun, laughter and stories made for a wonderful visit. The children romped and the adults relaxed over conversation. I wish we made it across more often. Tomorrow, my brother arrives...let the chaos begin. After all, my jet lag still isn't fixed. I wonder if his will be any better?
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