Valentines Day and Stonehenge

Written by:  Amy cooking pulled pork.

Our time is fast closing here in Ireland and we still haven’t seen Stonehenge.  That is something we need to rectify immediately.  So, instead of the boring traditional Valentine’s Day fare of dinner and schmaltsie cards, I say we head over to Bristol and pay homage to the ones that have come before.   I brought the schmaltsie cards with me. 

Our plane did not leave until 10 pm, so Ker and I took the kids clothes shopping (I can’t believe how fast these two are growing out of clothes!!) and to an early sushi dinner.  On the way, we found some amazing shops.  The girls posed for some photos intended as Valentine’s Day cards for those at home. 

Colleen and I enjoying a coffee and pastry in Drogheda before heading to Dublin.

Abby's Valentine's Day card to those at home.

It was fun!  We even hit the Ha’Penny Bridge which was decorated for the holiday.

The Ha'Penny Bridge all decked out.

After dinner, we headed to the airport to lift off.  It was an easy 45 minute flight. 

This is how we do airplanes.

We picked up our rental car from Europcar and we were off to find our hotel in downtown Bristol, England.  For some reason, our GPS app on our phones did not properly work.  So, we were winging it a little this weekend.  Funny enough, the rental car company did not have any maps of the area.  Instead, they prefer to rent you the in-dash GPS.  Had I known ours were not working, I would have gone back and rented one.  I like having something that takes the guesswork out of navigating.  But, we managed without one.  It was with a little frustration that we decided to only pay for one driver for the car.  I find this practice of charging a per day fee for another driver really a giant rip off.  I mean, what in the world is it to the rental company if I drive the freaking car I rented?  Bah!

Anyway, our hotel was nice and cheap-ish.  I would totally recommend it.  But, really, it was a place to sleep and eat because the main event was Stonehenge. We got up, had our breakfast and hit the road to Wiltshire and Amesbury.  It took us a little over an hour to get there. I enjoyed seeing the small towns go by.  They look a little like Ireland, but there is a very distinct English countryside atmosphere. 

We purchased our tickets for Stonehenge online earlier in the week.  So, when we got there, it was easy to park, get tickets and get ready.  I ran back to the car to put on my hiking pants so I would be warmer.  Totally worth it—wind proof, water proof, cold proof.  I love those pants!  We poked around the interpretive center and played around with the exhibits.  

Huts that the ancients likely lived in.

Heading toward the busses.

But, I wasn’t going to wait another second.

I’m joining the throngs of people awed and amazed by Stonehenge.  Those imposing stones render you silent and thoughtful like any religious monument worth its hype should.  You and 500 of your closest (I hope you don’t have any space bubble issues…) tourists will board the bus that takes you to the site.  We were directed on to these rock sidewalks that border the standing stones. 

I see people...lots and lots of people.

We listened to the audioguide along with many others.  It was very informative, but lacked something.  I can’t tell you what, but I listened for 30 minutes and didn’t get all my questions answered.  I wanted to know more about the mystical part of the site and the audioguide focused on the types of stones on the site.

I was totally bummed to find out that you cannot go into the center of the standing stones anymore.  Instead, you can go ¾ around the circle about 20 feet from the stones. 

They look so far away!

I was so annoyed at the scores of selfie takers blocking the views of the circle that I approached one of the two docents placed there to make sure we all play by the rules.  She told me that if I had come before opening time, me and 26 other would have been allowed into the center.  Which, would have been good to know before we left our hotel, yes?  Also, if I wanted to come back during the solstices and equinoxes, I could join 30,000 people at the site.  No thanks.  The reason she gave for the site not being open anymore is that there are archeological artifacts just below the surface that have not been excavated and are fragile.  So, until they are fully excavated, visitors must be 20 feet away at all times. 

That's as close as we could come. Does that look like a person in there?

However, it is good to remember that on that sidewalk you are in the original stone circle.  But, there’s only a couple of these stones left.

After our audiotour and my heckling the docents, Ker and I walked back to the interpretive center.  The girls wimped out and took the bus—they had not dressed for the weather.  But, the walk was awesome.  We went through and saw many satellite tombs and even saw the Greater Cursus and a couple of Barrows.  This Stonehenge site which includes the stone circle and all the other megalithic discoveries is truly amazing and worth a looksee.  If you don't think you're going to make it, the next best thing is to play around with THIS website.  

Once we were done with Stonehenge, we popped back in the car, resumed our audioCD of The Da Vinci Code, and headed off to our next destination:  Cardiff, Wales.  On the way, I had one of the best lunches I’ve ever had.  We stopped in this tiny village in the middle of nowhere   They call it a carvery, but really, it’s heaven.  You get the choice of 3 roasted meats (or if you’re me, you just ask for a bit of all 3) and then there’s 4 different sides of veg, 4 potato sides, homemade Yorkshire pudding and GRAVY.  Everything was absolutely delicious and I completely stuffed myself. 

I don't even know the name of this village.  What is here is the extent of it though.

and ate at this great pub.

One of the nice things about our hotel in Cardiff is that it had a swimming pool and was more child centered than some of the other places we have stayed.  I like that.  It give the girls the feeling that they are welcome there.  So, they played in the indoor swimming pool right after we arrived in Cardiff.

We told the kids that we were going to do some more castle hunting and that Valentine’s Day weekend was the perfect weekend to do it.  My kids are amazing sports about most things, but they are heartily tired of being hauled to what they term “old rocks” (thanks, Dev). We’ve told them for weeks that Cardiff has one of the most brilliant castles of all time and that I can’t wait to spend all Sunday exploring it and other medieval architecture (including many churches) in the surrounding countryside.  They have expressed about as much excitement about this as they would to going to the dentist.  Just so you know, Cardiff actually does have one of the most amazingly preserved castles.

Cardiff Castle.

 But, what it also has going for it?  Well other than being in Wales (which is cool enough by itself!), it’s only minutes from the Doctor Who Experience.  We neglected to tell them that, of course.  So, it was a complete surprise to them when we got them out the door to “castle hunt” and arrived at the Dr. Who Experience….but, that is not my story to tell.