Salisbury

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May 1, 2012 – Salisbury

This morning we said a sad farewell to Susan and her family – a big thank you to Susan, Eric and Stephen for their incredible generosity, and the time that you all gave us during our visit. It has been a memorable occasion, to find long-lost relatives. And a blessing to have the opportunity to meet you all. Family is so precious!

We headed across the bottom end of England, and decided to aim for Salisbury. Stonehenge is situated just outside of Salisbury, and the region is littered in historic sites and things to do and see. We decided to wait until we got to Salisbury before looking for accomodation – it's about leaving it up to the Universe and finding what we find!

We reached Salisbury at about lunchtime, and decided to find somewhere to eat and log onto the net to find somewhere to sleep for the night. We blundered our way into Salisbury, and found St George's Mall. Settling into a Costa cafe for a coffee and a sandwich (sorry, a sarnie LOL – sangers are called “sarnies” here!) we found a fantastic hotel just out of Salisbury which is situated about 10 minutes drive from Stonehenge. But before heading out to our hotel, we decided to have a wander around the shopping mall and stretch our legs.

We popped out onto a street beside the mall, to find the street barracaded and people lining the street, waiting patiently. We thought that it might have been some sort of parade, or we even speculated that it could have been the Olympic Torch coming through – but that was quickly discounted, as the Olympics are not until July. We decided to wait and see what it was all about, and we had a pretty good spot for a good view of the street and whatever was coming.

Well … what was happening blew us off our feet. The Queen was in Salisbury, for Jubilee Celebrations. And her motorcade was travelling the street that we happened to blunder onto. THE QUEEN!!! Within half an hour of our arrival at the barracades, the Queen and Prince Phillip drove past!! We were in a perfect spot for a good view, and Damian snapped a quick picture. Who could doubt that the Universe had a hand in our footsteps today?? We decided on a whim to stop in Salisbury. We had our coffee, booked our hotel, then were simply stretching our legs when the Queen just happened to drive by!! I confess to having a wee cry, because the emotion of the day just got to me. Tears of cheer joy, I might add! We were utterly excited and thrilled by how the day was panning out.

Driving out of Salisbury, we found our hotel (without even getting lost!!) and after settling in, we were back in the car and heading to Stonehenge. Now, seeing Stonehenge is a “bucket list” thing for both of us – and it was so thrilling to see the monument in real life. It's in the middle of a sheep paddock! When we arrived, there were a few people about but certainly it was not crowded. We had a wonderful chance to walk around the monument, take all our photos, and then as we were about to leave, a bunch of tour buses pulled up and the site was inundated with tourists. Again, the Universe was guiding our steps and making sure we had the best opportunity to enjoy this wonderful place without too many people about. Stonehenge was everything we thought it would be – there is a feeling of peace and positive vibes at the site, a feeling of continuity and timeless tranquillity.

There is so much more to this area than Stonehenge though – tomorrow we are heading to the White Horse of Uffington, and as there's so much more to do and see we may consider an extra night here. We have only 4 nights left before we fly home – and we want to see and do as much as we can with the time we have left.

p.s. Photos of today are attached to the "Margate" blog!!

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Comments

[Jules]

Seeing the Queen
Great that you got to experience the Queen's cavalcade and loved it. I'll have to get you down to Sydney one Mardi Gras! Lots of queens down there all frocked up!!!