One Dickens Of A Motivator

"Whoever was the person behind Stonehenge was one dickens of a motivator, I'll tell you that."

-Bill Bryson,  Notes from a Small Island

Some big rocks

After all my time here on earth, I finally got around to seeing Stonehenge.  NYU London informed us of the trip before we even got to Britain, so I was excited for it for a very long time.  We got ready for another two and a half hour bus ride and made our way to the countryside.

To be honest, Stonehenge was underwhelming.  I was expecting huge slabs of stones the height of buildings, and that's not what it was.  I guess it's an impressive monument, considering there were no machines back when it was built, but the image in my head was so much greater.  I'm really glad I got to see it, but I don't think it's worth the hype.

via Instagram

Also, YOU CAN'T EVEN TOUCH IT.  There was an art installment over the summer in Rockefeller Center called Human Nature by Ugo Rondinone.  It was essentially a mini-Stonehenge, and I was looking forward to recreating a picture I had taken in New York with the actual Stonehenge.

via Instagram

There's a gate surrounding the structure, so unfortunately you cannot get close enough to the rocks to do anything cool like touch it.  To be fair, it makes sense, and I don't know why I thought I'd be allowed to touch (and try to push over) one of the greatest wonders in the world.  However, I got some pretty cool shots of the big rocks, so I guess I'll have to leave it at that.

After Stonehenge, we got back on the bus and headed into Salisbury.  My friends and I headed to The Mill for lunch and got the Ultimate Surf, Turf, and Cluck burger.  The description for it is: "Beef burger, southern fried chicken, bacon, cheese and chipolte sauce, topped with scampi, Served with chips, coleslaw, salad garnish and BBQ sauce."

Lunch for a week

It was huge.  And delicious.  And huge.  We all ordered one because we knew if we didn't, we'd never be able to taste that wonderful creation again.  Props to The Mill for deciding to put all of the world's greatest meats (BACON) on one burger.

After lunch, we headed over to the Cathedral.  Personally, I thought it was more impressive than Stonehenge.  The architecture of the building was absolutely stunning.  Our tour guide explained that since it was built relatively fast (50 years isn't fast if you ask me), the entire cathedral was built in a Gothic style.  The Magna Carta is also housed in the Cathedral, and that was interesting to see.  It's almost like the American Constitution, but about 500 years older and written in Latin.

More proof that the sun shines
in England

The day trip was another nice escape out of London, but getting back was a hassle.  Due to traffic, it took about 4 hours to drive back.  It was a good trip though, and I'm glad I got see a little more English culture.



Rachel