UK Tour Part A - Cardiff

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At last a chance to update my blog!!!

Spent a fabulous five days in London with Sarah getting the chores done (mountains of washing) and seeing the "must see" tourist destinations such as the London Eye and Westminster Abbey.... I also managed to walk through Hyde Park, Green Park and St James Park and of course the shopping street of Oxford Street... can't remember how many shopping bags I came back with.. :D

I only hope Emirates still has the 30kg weight limit when I come home!!!!!

Anyway Sunday 26th July was the start of my next tour which is The Wonders of Britain and Ireland with Trafalgar... it didn't start well, after assuring Jason on the phone the night before that I didn't need an alarm clock and that I didn't have a back up plan, I woke up on time at 6.00am... which would have been all good except I fell asleep for half an hour and woke in a panic realising I had to be out the door in 15 minutes to go catch a train...

I made it and just as well I got there at the 7.30am time even though the bus wasn't to leave til 8 cause we left after I climbed aboard!!!

Today we drive through Runnymeade where the Magna Carta was signed by King John, it was signed on the island here and then past Windsor Castle - no time to get out and take photos so I don't think I managed to be quick enough to get one through the window as we drove past... 😞

Our first stop is Stonehenge!! Its a grey and moody day with about 500 other tourists here - just as well the place is roped off with a massive walk around the outside so everyone can spread out and take a photo!!! It's fabulous and out in the middle of nowhere!!! FANTASTIC!!!! Feel the Serenity!!! In the tourist shop I dither over teaspoons and magnets and mugs and god knows what else!!! :D

I am beginning to wonder though whether I should have borrowed Sarah's Ski Jacket cause DAMN it's bloody freezing out there in the wind!!! I can see a lot of other people on the bus in their summer clothes....

Oh yes I guess I should tell you some of the basic information like, there are 28 of us on a 53 seater bus, I am second youngest with Steph being the youngest at 18 and on the tour with her parents, then me!! Then Paul with his parents. I'd say the rest of the tour were over 45.... :D All nice friendly people!!! YAY!!!

Anyway after Stonehenge we go to Salisbury for an hour to look around the Cathedral, here we actually see one of the last of the four remaining original copies of the Magna Carta - this Cathedral is huge - looking up at the spire it's hard to believe that the tiny ball at the top is actually over 6ft in diameter!!! The cathedral is currently being restored so we get to see the ugly scaffolding on the outside...

The stained windows are great. AFter Salisbury we go to Bath!! We go into the Roman BAths and pick up our audio guide and start wandering around after being warned not to touch the water or drink the water of anything at all to do with the water as it has an organism in it that will give you Meningitis!! ewww!! Amazingly I see people (not on our tour) dipping their hands in the water etc!!!! crazy!!!!

It is a fascinating place and I am loving the buildings and history etc, pity about the rain that really starts now while we are in Bath... sigh..... typical British weather but it's all part of the experience!!!

We reboard the bus about 4.40pm and I am like last on the bus, everyone is early!! We now head off to Cardiff and cross via the Severn Bridge - the tide rises and falls in 12 hours like normal - what ISN'T normal is that it takes 10 hours to drain out and just 2 HOURS to come in!! It comes in on a 26mph wave on which the longest surfed wave record is held... this is called the Severn Bore.....

I keep my eye out for Newport which we drive past the edge of seeing as this is where Wendy and Allan are from!!! YAY!!!!

We arrive in Cardiff and I get a room to myself!!! It is LUXURY compared to Topdeck which I expected... 😊

Time for bed....

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