Stonehenge and Old Sarum

Hello folks!

Last year I lived in England for 2 months. At the time me and my husband decided to make the most out of it, visiting as many cities as we could. It's no secret that I love ancient history, so for me Stonehenge and Old Sarum close to Salisbury were a must.

It was a bright cold day in October, and the birds were flying high in the sky. Stonehenge was waiting for us. We decided to go by train from Southampton to Salisbury and it took us around 30 minutes. In the front of the station in Salisbury we bought tickets for the coach company called The Stonehenge Tour for £29.00 each including the entrance fee for both sites, you can buy it online as well. It was a very comfortable ride, we enjoyed the view over the fields of Wiltshire whilst we could hear historical information through the headphones provided by the company. An extra advantage of this special bus is that we had a fast track access to the Stonehenge historical site, beating the queues. This is definitely the best way to go to Stonehenge and Old Sarum by public transportation. Thanks, Christian's colleagues for this piece of advice ;)

The magical stone circle slowly emerged on the horizon during our 5 minutes free shuttle bus ride from the entrance. It was stunningly beautiful and I felt so happy and glad for having the opportunity to see and explore this Neolithic monument, built around 5 thousand years ago. The cherry on the cake was the crows soaring above Stonehenge, they seemed like the ancient guardians of the holy grounds. In the complex, you can not only see the famous monoliths but also many, many burial mounds from the bronze age, which was really interesting for me, as I did not know how many ancient remains there are and so close to the circle! If you are going with kids you will love it, behind the entrance they had a small tend with actors dressed as Neolithic peasants, explaining how the life was at that time. The Stonehenge visitor centre also hosts a museum and a cafeteria. To be honest, the museum wasn't impressive, but we liked to stay there to warm up, as it was really cold and windy. 

After visiting Stonehenge we headed to Old Sarum, which unearths over 2,000 years of history. It was a hillfort during the iron age, a settlement for Romans and home to a medieval castle, prison and cathedral. The ruins of the cathedral and the castle of William the Conqueror are there and we can literally walk through it, as you can see on my video. Particularly the nice atmosphere and the amazing view of Salisbury was one of my favourite things about Old Sarum, it was relaxing and somehow very romantic, as we could see many other couples walking there, it was so dreamy! The one thing I also loved as much is their little shop, where they sell delicious jams and other local specialities. On our way back to Salisbury we, unfortunately, missed our coach. Actually,  the company told us we could take any local coach to go back, however, we had to take just the green ones, that were never coming, so we decided to pay for a regular one. This was not a nice situation when the bus driver explained it to us, but apparently, it happens with many other tourists, so keep that in mind to don't make the same mistake as we did. 

You can see more photos of my trips on Instagram and videos on Youtube. 

Arriving in Salisbury, we decided to explore the town and even though it was already 6 pm and dark we had a great time. We went to the cloister of the cathedral and explored the lovely lanes. We were very surprised by the beauty of the city and are sorry for not dedicating a full day to visit Salisbury, so maybe next time in England we will do it. It was one of the best days of my life and I will never forget about this mystical and special places. 

    

Travelling in England: Bath

Hello folks!

As you may already know, I have a special passion for history and archeology. I followed an ancient history module at university, brilliantly ministered by the archeologist Pedro Paulo Funari, whilst I was studying Political Science. I've also lived in Egypt for two months, where I explored the most fascinating ancient tombs, temples and, of course, the pyramids. Meaning, I could not visit England without seeing one of the finest historical sites in the country - the Roman Baths. 

The city of Bath itself is one of those must-see-places for England lovers, it has beautiful sights to visit, as the Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Paul, sophisticated shop lanes and the lovely Pulteney Bridge, from where you can see the crossing of the river Avon. However, the most important attraction is definitely the Roman Baths. Believe me, they are breathtakingly beautiful.

According to archeological researchers, before the Roman invasion, the site was already treated as a shrine by the Celtics, thanks to its natural hot springs. Later, the bath complex as we know it was developed by the Romans starting around 70 AD. It took over 300 years to reach its final size. The site is not just composed of the terrace, seen from outside, but of several buildings which are now underground, as the ruins of Minerva's temple, saunas, changing rooms and plunge swimming pools. The Baths still flow with spring water, more precisely 1.170.000 liters per day,  reaching comfy 46°C .

Walking through the Roman Bath was definitely one of the best experiences I've ever had. I will never forget the colour of the water flowing inside the chambers, the soft steam on my skin, the texture of the huge stones and the autumn breeze blowing across the terrace. It feels like the Romans somehow are still there, guiding and inviting us to their exotic universe. One of the reasons why my experience was so positive, is due to the smart design of the tour created by the museum responsibles, which are not offering just a visit, but a unique learning experience. It's a brilliant example of how a historical sites should be: accessible and interactive for everybody.

After visiting the Roman Baths we've continued our path exploring the 18th-century neoclassical buildings of the centre. It's interesting to observe that such different architectonic styles can work very well together to build a astonishing scenario, like a flute and a percussion in an orchestra. Moreover, the contemporary and funky spice is also very present, one of my favorites were the flowers growing inside the traditional red British telephone boxes in several places of the city. That said, we can definitely categorize Bath as a very eccentric town.

Although Bath is a relatively crowded city, we found a very cool independent coffee place called Cafe au lait. For me, it's very important to celebrate and encourage local businesses. I sat on their comfy bay window and we ordered hot chocolate with carrot cake. There was no better way to chill before leaving! I'm already missing Bath and I wish I could stay longer...