Cambridge Week 4

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

DESTINATION: Stonehenge, Windsor, Oxford

All in a day's work! Pretty amazing eh?? One good thing of a package tour - every minute is stretched to the last second (that is a bit of an exaggeration)... you get the point!

1st stop: Windsor Castle!

What visit to the UK would be complete without a visit to any one of the castles? The royal family, albeit anachronistic, remains an integral part of the British identity... even for tourists like me!

A closer look at the flag atop the round tower... the Royal Standard! So the queen was in that day...

Heavy, thick stone walls with narrow slits (for the archers) surrounded the perimeter of the fortress. That sure didn’t prepare us for the interior wards of the castle, which were... residences befitting of royalty - extravagance complete with a touch of cosiness...

And the much touted Queen Mary's dollhouse... A fully functional house, only a miniature one (a scale of 1:12). The chandeliers and the grandfather's clock in the front foyer actually work! And there is even electricity and plumbing in the dollhouse! Even vintage wine, albeit a mini bottle... Amazing... A dollhouse fit for a queen indeed! It's really worth the see, trust me!

2nd stop:

Presenting...

Once a site of pagan worship, now a place where tons flock to marvel the construction feat...

Set amidst rolling meadows, it is probably the most prominent feature in the vicinity. Probably why it was, and probably still is, a place of pagan worship... Close to 4000 years ago, they transported the bluestones from Wales over sea and land for close to 240 miles! Go figure! Although the Sarsens were brought in from 25 miles away, they were HUGE...

What purpose the stones served remains a mystery...

3rd and final stop: Oxford!

It was a shame that we spent less than 2 hours in Oxford, of which half an hour went to a walking tour of the campus.

Christchurch college! Harry potter!

Thankful... for the wonderful weather that weekend amongst many other things!

photos were stolen from khian hong!