Day 10 Bath, Salisbury & Stonehenge

Today we were up in a hurry again as we had another organized Evans & Evans tour leaving at 7AM. As we drove through the countryside there were Fields of rolling green hills broken up by bright patches of yellow. Those were called rape seed, which is what canola oil is made of. It's called rape seed, because that's what it does to the soil. We stopped off at the Roman Bath house first. It was really interesting to see the way that they created the sauna type rooms by building a fire underneath the stone flooring and then creating ventilation passages. They had to wear wooden shoes because the floor would have burned their feet. I liked the green pool that shimmered with the thousands of coins that people had thrown into it. I wonder if any of their wishes have come true? The Romans believed the natural springs that fed the bath had mystical powers. The water comes out of the spring at 46 C which I looked up in Fahrenheit to be 114 degrees! I could see the steam coming off the overflow. After touring the bath I tried the coronation chicken salad sandwich which was really good. Then we were off to the Salisbury Cathedral. The countryside and the houses along the hill were so beautiful. I imagined myself living in this quaint little town, and thought I could be quite happy there. The cathedral was built in 1075, and it has beautiful architecture. I of course took the opportunity to light a candle and say thanks for my amazing journey thus far. While we were there a prayer was broadcast over the loud speaker and I had a seat and bowed my head. He included in his prayer a message about journey's and a blessing to those who had travelled far to be there. I was overcome with emotion at that moment, and brought to tears. It's hard to describe what internal changes have occurred as a result from that trip looking back. It has definitely caused an internal stirring in me and a yearning for more travel! I loved the huge dark blue stained glass window that cast it's violet shade upon the room. I got to see one of the last 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta from 1215 and it was still in excellent condition. I was so excited to see it because it was an essential document in shaping our American freedoms. Finally we were off to Stonehenge. I had been excited to go there, but I found out that you can't really get within 15 feet of it. So me and a couple of the girls decided we weren't going to wait in line and pay for it when we had almost the same view from the road. I got an icecream and walked through the peaceful fields where cows were grazing. It was so peaceful breaking away from all the crowds.