Stonehenge, Salisbury and the Historic Dockyards of Portsmouth

This was the start of my day on Sunday, January 27th. I woke up at 4:30, met Martin, Andrej and David (the Czech cleaners/maintenance guys from work) and we headed south to Stonehenge. We got there a little before 7am, and the sun was just starting to rise. There was a security guy walking around inside, so despite our great plans to hop the fence, we decided against it. Once the sun was up enough for us to see, we realized that even if we had paid £5 for a legitimate viewing, we would be paying that for the chance to stand 10 feet closer than the outside fence allows you. So we watched and froze and took our pictures from the road while the sun gave us a fantastic backdrop. Once we were cold enough and had seen enough of the rocks, we headed toward Salisbury to see what was there.

A quaint town, Salisbury, and very British. We walked around and inside the cathedral in the centre for some time, and once we had seen enough, started down for Portsmouth. I enjoyed the courtyard/graveyard at the cathedral most I think. It was something you would expect from an old movie; the type of small courtyard where the Bishop would walk in the mornings. Ooh, Godfather III, reminded me of that courtyard that he walks in when Michael goes to confess to him. Just a very tranquil, peaceful place with two giant trees growing in the center.

Once in Portsmouth, we headed to the Historic Dockyards where they hold some of the old Royal Navy warships such as the HMS Victory, who was so famous for her victory against the French off Trafalgar Bay and for the death of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson during that battle. Apparently he was a very great man, stood only 5'2", and is very revered in Britain. Good thing they didn't catch me with this picture.


The HMS Warrior was cool because you could walk around it at your leisure and touch and see most of whatever you liked. Or maybe we just weren't following the rules. Either way, it was a neat experience, especially because I've never been too interested in the seafaring world, mostly just sitting on the shore. After a lunch at the Ship and Castle, we walked through a couple of the museums, then headed home. It was a good day all in all, and it's nice be able to write something about something again, even if it is a rather small post. I'll leave you with a peaceful photo, my favorite from the day, which kind of encapsulates what I feel a lot when I'm here. It's either looking forward, or a sad way of thinking of days gone by. Or maybe, just maybe, it's about enjoying the sunset you're watching and making the most of that. Cheers.

Fun in the... Rain?

So after a relaxing 3ish months without really doing any exercise of real consequence, I decided to do something other than sit and wait for the next time I go exploring. Well the next time to go exploring WAS going to Monday and Tuesday but I decided against it at the last minute and I'm kind of glad I did. I wasn't prepared in any way, plus I was still a little tired, so I spent Monday sleeping and just sitting around (the normal routine for days off, which I must say, as boring as it is really is nice when I think of how often I get to do it at home), and today I actually got up to do something. It was raining, but that was alright, I woke up and showered and had some cereal (I never enjoyed bran flakes so much!), then decided to go for a little run. I've had several spurts where I go on a running kick and for a few weeks I'll run at least a couple miles every other day. I've done it living at home, in the Hood, in Carmel and I figured I'd try it here. Yeah, the first two minutes were great and Coldplay was singing some lovely tunes on the way, but once I got onto the main road by my house, I decided I WOULDN'T run all the way to the shops and back, which are a little over a mile from my house. Running two miles isn't too hard for me, but this was crazy! So instead, I made a small circle and ended up sticking to the neighborhood I live in and that turned out to be exactly a mile (according to Google). So after some major huffing and puffing, I finally relaxed to wait for my new hobby to start: Fencing.

Yep that's right, fencing. Every Tuesday for the next seven weeks I'm taking a fencing class from the Oxford Fencing Club. How fun will this be!? I've always wanted to take fencing in general, but I never thought I'd actually be able to take it! And in fact, Indianapolis has a fencing club as well, so if I really like it (and anybody ELSE that wants to take fencing with me!) I might be able continue the hobby! Hey! So yeah, basically all we did today was work on footwork and proper lunge techniques, so it was a lot of talking, but learning to parry (defend) next week should prove for some real fun! So, yes, I will keep you all posted on how musketeer-like I probably won't become!

I'm having a good time this month and three weeks from now is Shannon, Ireland, where some great coastline is awaiting me. Next week, maybe some hills in the Cotswolds and a small town called Malvern. We'll see. Time to really start preparing for April and the big trip though. Alright! Until then! Cheers!

Lazy

Well that certainly was a bloody waste of two days and possibly five! I had Friday and Saturday off of last week, and I worked this evening. I had the option of not working tonight, but seeing that I need every pence I can get my hands on, I decided to work. Well, I go into work and as is necessary, I check the rota to see what my schedule is for the coming week. Whaddya know? I have Monday and Tuesday of as well! So basically, because the weather was supposed to be bad (and turned out great) on Friday and Saturday, I didn't plan any outings. Well, if I'da known on Thursday (when I was told that I could have Sunday off if I wanted) that I'd be having Monday and Tuesday off as well, I could have gone to Paris for 5 days! Or Bruges! Or Spain or Dublin or Cornwall or even the Lake District for 5 days! Sheesh!! Instead, I was lazy on Friday and Saturday, slept in, didn't shower, basically just hung around the house doing nothing. I certainly won't do that for the next two days where, hopefully, I can do a couple of day trips, one to Bath and maybe one to the coast. But I'm still a bit irked that I could have had a lovely time visiting somewhere outside of central England. I'm not sure if it's just Oxford, or if it's the longing to see mountains or the coast, but I really am ready to just keep it moving along. Anyway, hopefully I can get some time in Bath or Windsor or Bournemouth for the next couple of days. Sorry for the outburst. I need some fresh country air.