Windsor, Bath & Stonehenge {the rest of the story}

I posted earlier about our visit to the Bath Central Library, but there was so much more that happened on Friday and I know you're all just dying to hear about it! ;)

WINDSOR: We got up fairly early to walk over to the nearby hotel where the coach would pick us up for our tour. The coach then took us to the main tour meeting point, where we first got on one overcrowded coach only to (mercifully) be put on another, more roomy one. After getting lost in the heart of London, our Irish coach driver successfully deposited us near the train station in Windsor. We then trekked up a steep hill to an airport-like security checkpoint before being allowed to enter the grounds of the Queen's favorite residence, Windsor Castle. Due to time constraints, we didn't tour any of the publicly accessible interior areas, instead we chose to walk around the grounds, tour St. George's chapel, (try to) see the changing of the guard and visit the gift shop. We all tried to get something to eat afterwards, but other than a (slightly overpriced) blueberry muffin, nothing looked good. The whole way to Windsor our tour guide, Simon, had drilled into us the importance of being back to the coach on time, so we gave ourselves plenty of time and had a few minutes to explore the souvenir shops near the "coach park" (read as: tour bus parking lot).

BATH: Oh, I wish I could figure how to spell out the correct pronunciation of this charming town, as the English seem very picky about it's said! ;) This was the most anticipated stop of the whole trip to England for me and it did not disappoint! However, I do hope the opportunity presents itself for me to go back because I did not get to spend enough time there. Two things I was really hoping to see - the Royal Crescent and the Jane Austen Centre - were just too far to walk to and from in the time allotted by the tour. Despite forgoing my "must sees," the architecture and views were incredible! And I had a yummy mozzarella, pesto and tomato sandwich for lunch.

STONEHENGE: Originally meant to be the second stop on our tour, Simon arranged for us to visit last in hopes we'd be able to see the sunset through the stones. Alas, we missed the sunset (got there a little too early), but the clouds that had rolled in by the time we got there were just perfect in my opinion! Much to my surprise, this was my favorite stop on the tour and I wished we could have stayed longer. The gift shop was also one of the more impressive (and expensive) ones I've seen. We then made our way back to London, where the coach dropped us near a tube station so we could make our way back to the dorm.