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- luggage_sea.jpg
When we got back to Southampton at the end of Cunard's "Mediterranean Medley" leg of our journey, it was the end of the line for the vast majority of the passengers; 1800+ of the 2500-odd aboard were Brits. So after seeing the Tyrhennian Sea, the Ligurean See and the Mediterranean Sea, we left for our "Stonehenge and Salisbury" tour past the Sea of Luggage.
- stonehenge_back.jpg
The 80-minute trip to Stonehenge included much sage commentary from our guide on the economy and history of Southampton and the lovely New Forest north of it. The whole time, a heavy rain and wild wind beat on the bus, filling us with foreboding. Which turned out to be perfectly sensible. I do have this one good picture of the enigmatic archaeological site. One.
- stonehenge_closeup2.jpg
The rest look like this. We were greeted by driving 70-kph winds lashing a hard rain into us that soaked my denim pants in a few minutes. You couldn't even look at Stonehenge while looking into it, especially not with glasses that looked like my camera lens does here. We got the above picture by laboriously circling around it - abandoning the long "audio tour" in favour of speed.
- stonehenge_connie.jpg
So we were able to get a few hasty shots once our backs were to the wind. Connie then headed for the souvenir shop to avoid hypothermia. Elapsed time, maybe 15 minutes. The one upside is we nearly had the place to ourselves - perhaps 20 people braved the storm at any given moment, a record-low crowd for a site as old as the Pyramids of Egypt.
- birds.jpg
My pants were completely soaked and I was somewhat numb, so I stayed a little longer and got all the blurry through-raindrop shots I've skipped showing. I did get a nice pic here, of a couple of blackbirds that settled on one stone. That was about it for Stonehenge. I did get a nice book on it and calendar of great pictures in the shop, and the bus carted 40-odd soaked, shivering tourists away again.
- cathedral.jpg
We were not much dryer or warmer, nor the weather much better, when we arrived at beautiful Salisbury 20 minutes later, and took a short tour of its 400+ foot cathedral. Which was a medieval cathedral. After so many trips to Spain, I just couldn't be bothered raising the camera. It was so young, after Stonehenge.
- cloisters1.jpg
Frankly, the highlight of the day was using our last hour to find "The Cloisters", a really genuine, inviting, warm British pub with a little fireplace, across the street.
- cloisters_food.jpg
Some beer, fish&chips, and fish soup had us fairly dry and warm in short order, and much cheerier. Parliament and Pubs - Britain's two greatest gifts to the culture of the World, in Smedley's opinion.
When we got back to Southampton at the end of Cunard's "Mediterranean Medley" leg of our journey, it was the end of the line for the vast majority of the passengers; 1800+ of the 2500-odd aboard were Brits. So after seeing the Tyrhennian Sea, the Ligurean See and the Mediterranean Sea, we left for our "Stonehenge and Salisbury" tour past the Sea of Luggage. 
The 80-minute trip to Stonehenge included much sage commentary from our guide on the economy and history of Southampton and the lovely New Forest north of it. The whole time, a heavy rain and wild wind beat on the bus, filling us with foreboding. Which turned out to be perfectly sensible. I do have this one good picture of the enigmatic archaeological site. One. 
The rest look like this. We were greeted by driving 70-kph winds lashing a hard rain into us that soaked my denim pants in a few minutes. You couldn't even look at Stonehenge while looking into it, especially not with glasses that looked like my camera lens does here. We got the above picture by laboriously circling around it - abandoning the long "audio tour" in favour of speed. 
So we were able to get a few hasty shots once our backs were to the wind. Connie then headed for the souvenir shop to avoid hypothermia. Elapsed time, maybe 15 minutes. The one upside is we nearly had the place to ourselves - perhaps 20 people braved the storm at any given moment, a record-low crowd for a site as old as the Pyramids of Egypt. 
My pants were completely soaked and I was somewhat numb, so I stayed a little longer and got all the blurry through-raindrop shots I've skipped showing. I did get a nice pic here, of a couple of blackbirds that settled on one stone. That was about it for Stonehenge. I did get a nice book on it and calendar of great pictures in the shop, and the bus carted 40-odd soaked, shivering tourists away again. 
We were not much dryer or warmer, nor the weather much better, when we arrived at beautiful Salisbury 20 minutes later, and took a short tour of its 400+ foot cathedral. Which was a medieval cathedral. After so many trips to Spain, I just couldn't be bothered raising the camera. It was so young, after Stonehenge. 
Frankly, the highlight of the day was using our last hour to find "The Cloisters", a really genuine, inviting, warm British pub with a little fireplace, across the street. 
Some beer, fish&chips, and fish soup had us fairly dry and warm in short order, and much cheerier. Parliament and Pubs - Britain's two greatest gifts to the culture of the World, in Smedley's opinion.