stonehenge, salisbury & bath

this past weekend, we made our way down winding english countryside to see a few of the most picturesque sights in the world! I signed up for this trip as soon as I saw that 'stonehenge' was on the agenda, and as our first stop - it didn't disappoint. I think my theory is that the rocks were born that way because there is no way you could move one of those without heavy machinery... but after a few minutes of snapping pictures, building a 'human stonehenge' and grabbing a rock cake, we were ready to get out of the wind and on our way. 

our next stop was salisbury cathedral. the original cathedral was actually taken down in the early 1200s by a wealth bishop with a vision; he built what we currently see: the sky-scraping tower, rib vault ceiling and gorgeously depicted bible stories of stained glass. I also enjoyed the modern touches of a large blue, mosaic window (1980s) and the holy water fountain (2000s). a stop in a chocolate shop and a casual english lunch later and we were once again winding through the countryside. 

we spent the night at a hostel in bath (the YMCA, which of course was our official theme song for the night) and went to a group dinner at the italian restaurant across the street. I had an excellent assortment of butternut squash soup, pizza with an egg on top and gellato, chocolate of course! we woke up early on sunday to start our tour of the roman baths. you barely realize you're at the entrance as the old cathedral and roman architecture are the base for the modern town surrounding you - I was expecting only tourists and spa retreats but many people actually live in downtown bath! the roman baths themselves were awesome for anyone who enjoys really, really, really old things. you walk in and over the balcony and wind through the museum down to the center bath where steam comes off the water. we were told you really don't want to jump in though - a few too many bacteria and diseases... bath itself was fantastic to walk around, we did a tour up around some of the grand residences from back in the day and I added a couple more places to my dream address book! who wouldn't want to live in a loft that was designed to look like a palace? 

 stonehenge...

 the blue skies & insanely green grass made for excellent picture-taking

 caryn & I fighting the cold

this was the interior of another church in salisbury we walked through

it had incredible stained glass as well...

the sunlit, back courtyard of the church

 looking up at salisbury before we went in  

 

stained glass in salisbury

 you can see the cathedral's tower from anywhere in town

 everyone was afraid to touch the water in case it overflowed...

 the grander the glass the better!

 I was obsessed with the detail of the statues encasing the cathedral

 shout out to nanny : I lit a candle to wish you safe travels down to boca!

 vaulted ceilings down the center - the clustered columns are actually bent from questionable engineering!

my egg-on-top pizza felt very european

the entrance to roman baths...

 peaking over a roman shoulder on the terrace

steam rising off the only english natural springs

 natalie & I sitting besides the central bath (there were actually quite a few pools)

 from the top : the main pool & cathedral in the background

 they warned us not to, but I considered dipping my toes in...

 one the expansive sets of residential lofts made to look like an estate or palace

 loved how the architecture reflects the hills of the natural landscape

 this circle of incredible lofts/townhouses was known as "the circus"