Stonehenge

For my second full day in England I am leaving the city and going a place I have dreamed about seeing since I was a little kid; Stonehenge. It is about 2-2.5 hour drive from London. I book a day tour out there for about $40 (cheapest way there). I have to get up at 6:30am (I hate mornings) to catch the bus there, but worth it.

After a bit of a bus drive, a little napping and some snacks I arrive at this fabled location. I can't begin to explain my excitement. These stones are even bigger than I thought. I always thought it was amazing that humans somehow built this structure, but being there made it even more incredible. I learn about how some of the stones (10 tons+) were brought over 100 miles to the site....5000 years ago. How do you even do that? Aliens and magic that is how. Or at least those two theories are gained weight in my mind since seeing these amazing structure.

We have about an hour and 1/2 at the site. I walk around, take as many pictures as humanly possible and listen to an audio tour. Mostly, I just take in the environment. It is an amazing feeling checking off a dream on your list that has been there since you were 8.

After a peaceful drive back through the southern English country side I arrive back in London. It is about 1pm and it gets dark around 4:30pm already. I go get lunch and head to the Natural History Museum, which is close to the drop off point from my recent excursion.

At the museum I walk around most of the attractions, but focus mostly on the geology section. They have an awesome rock and gems collection. They have a bunch of rare jewels that are impressive in size and quality. One diamond changes 4 or 5 colors based on where you look at it and is like 50 Karats (for non-gem enthusiasts, if a guy buys his fiance a 1 karat diamond it means true love, 50 karats is the wife asking if she can add more women to the relationship). Additionally, they have a sweet collection of moon rocks and meteors.

After leaving the museum I hop onto a city tour bus (using it for transportation). I end up sitting next to a guy my age and girl from Belgium who are vacationing in London for a few days. After talking for a bit I find this guy is as much a gamer as I am. We start talking about new games that have come out, what we are playing, what we have played etc. Our taste seems to be pretty similar, if not the exact same. The girl is rolling her eyes and laughing at us. She was really cute too. I wanted to ask if it was his GF or family member, but never dared. I rode on the bus with them for about 30 minutes, then got off and parted ways never to see each other again. I didn't think about exchanging Facebook info or something until after. Oh well I guess.

I walk back to my hostel as it is getting dark at this point. The walk takes about 40 minutes, but is nice and relaxing. This gives me more of a chance to see the city.

That night at the hostel I hang out in the bar attached to it (same owners). Three of the staff members have just started learning Texas Hold'em and wanted to play that night. Over hearing this I offer to join. Four of us spend the next 2 hours or so playing some cards and chatting. One of them is the manager of the hostel and bar and gets us all free drinks while we play (worth the 5 pounds I lost). I won a grand total of two hands. It was not a good night for me, I couldn't get a good hand to save my life, let alone my chips. But it was fun none the less.

After the game and another beer I decide to hit the hay. I have been up since 6:30am at this point and ready to collapse. Tomorrow is more London tourist sites, including the Tower of London that my Mom made me promise I would pay to tour (on threat of my life). I just hope the weather works out.