Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

-in the field outside stonehenge where we camped and where rome took his first few steps alone!!

So much has happened since our last post, I don't know where to begin, so I'll start with this past week and show some pics from our latest adventure to Stonehenge.

Once a year, on the eve of the Summer Solstice, Stonehenge is opened to the public to go inside and experience the area from 8:30 p.m to 8:30 am (usually there is a rope that prevents people from getting too close and so the stones can only be seen from a distance). There were hippies and druids, ravers and old-time soul searchers, drum circles and drunkards, country bumpkins and a bunch of other crazy people (like us) who headed out & camped overnight to see the sun rise inside the stones at 4:00 am, experiencing what it was possibly created for.

Although it is still a mystery how they built or used this sacred temple, it was constructed over 3,000 years ago and the massive stones were aligned so that the sun rose above the heel stone and shone through the center of the circle on the sunrise of the first day of summer-the solstice. It was a very interesting experience and, although it was cloudy that morning, the sun did poke through for a short moment and made it worth the effort and sacrifice (just our sleep for one night-not a lamb or our first born like they probably used to do). These pics tell the story better than I can, so here they are.....




drinking wine from rome's sippy cup


stonehenge at sunset with merlin in the background

the crowd gathers inside the circle

druids??
arthur pendragon (aka. "King Arthur the Once and Future King Reborn" giving a blessing with his excalibur sword)
waiting for the sun to come out...

with 20,000 other people the sun peeking through the clouds (can you see it in the center? that was it!)

more solstice characters
a magic wand

love & kisses for being such a great baby and going along with all our craziness without any fuss

Tina and Valentina in London

In May, we had a few visitors including BFF Tina and her little girl, Valentina. We explored London with the little ones, stopping at parks and playgrounds along the way. Here are some highlights from their trip....
tina with rome and valentina on the millenium bridge in front of st. paul's cathedral

exploring the backstreets of Islington running around outside of buckingham palace our first beer at the george--in the rain


afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason yummy cupcakes checking out the rocks togetherpracticing to walk in the gift shop at stonehenge t & baby v at stonehenge valentina in front of the cathedral in salisbury

the abbey at the salisbury cathedral

last night in london at the house of lords champagne reception a night out with champagne--and no baby- in our hands. aaah.

with queen elizabeth at the house of lords
romance along the river thames

Roman luxury in Bath

Last weekend, we went to the old Roman town of Bath in Somerset. The natural springs found here made it a very sacred and wealthy town. The Celts bathed and worshipped before the Romans came in and built grand bath houses and theaters. One thousand years later, much of the town was architected by a suspicioned member of the Knights Templar and has many mysterious symbols designed into the streets and buidlings constructed, most of which still remain today. Bath is a lovely town steeped in history and surrounded by natural beauty.

We , of course, had treatments in the new spa just built and soaked in the natural healing waters of the baths (they didn't even have a spa here for the last 20 years until last November!!! Can you believe??)

Ston Easton Hotel

The place we stayed in Somerset was the highlight -- a gorgeous mansion house with lush gardens and four poster beds. My best mother's day present yet-). If we timed it right, we should have come here after car camping at Stonehenge to work out some of the kinks my back still has....

view from our window in the morning

playing around

the gardeners cottage at the property - the gardens were so vast, especially the kitchen gardens--this is actually where she lives

view from the bathroom- can you see the cows in the distance? old mac donald had a farm....