After a rocky start today went pretty well. We got up, ate breakfast in our rooms, and then went to meet our bus - we were meeting them at 8:45. We left early and headed out... what we didn't plan on was the trams being so jam packed that not one person, much less three, would be able to squeeze in. It took 3 trams before we could get on... by time we got to our stop we had 5 minutes to make a 10 minute walk, so we hustled. We actually made it, we were all out of breath by time we made our way there but we made it.
We got on the bus, found our seats and enjoyed the ride to Windsor Castle. We then got off and most of the group went with our guide, but us and another couple or two had City Passes so we went to check in and planned to meet the guide on the other side of security. He was the one who told us how to check in... yet when we go through there was no guide and no group. We spent 10 or 15 minutes trying to find the group, missed the audio tour and generally got frustrated. We eventually went on and saw some of the castle by ourselves. We didn't really see much of it - we saw the Chapel, the outside of it and the changing of the guard. We missed alot of it and I was seriously irritated at our guide - what I found out after the fact is that everyone got audio tours and the guide didn't go with them either. 2 minutes of him waiting for us and explaining things would have made all the difference... though to be honest I'm not sure what we paid for given he didn't do anything.
We then got back on the bus, ate a snack we had bought in Windsor and headed to Stonehenge. I came to Stonehenge as a teenager and wanted to share it with Jack and Mama. I wanted to get over here in 06 when we came, but the itinerary didn't allow. It was just as neat today as it was back then. They have changed the way you arrive to it since then - you park further away and can't get as close, but in may ways it was better because you could get pictures without people. I really enjoyed our time here.
We then got back on the bus and drove to Oxford. We spent an hour with the guide showing us around the area... he finally did something... and then spent 30 minutes or so doing a bit of shopping/bathroom breaks. A few things I didn't know about Oxford:
- It isn't one college, but 35 different schools collectively known as "Oxford", but there is non Oxford University.
- Harry Potter hospital and dining hall were filmed in Oxford.
- Bodleian Library - This was neat to see. The All Souls Trilogy I loved to much involves this library so it was cool to sit there and see the building.
And after that we headed back to London - At this point it was a good hour or two drive. So I slept on the bus and I expect Mama and Jack did as well. The bus dropped us off at the Gloucester metro which happens to be a 5 minute walk from our hotel, so we grabbed a couple of snacks and headed back to rest.
We have ate a sandwich, got our showers and are sitting here watching a movie from home while letting our bodies recover. Overall it was a really good day and we saw alot. Tomorrow we are supposed to do a cruise down the Thames, but it supposed to rain so I may pivot and do something else - we shall see.
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