Winchester

 So it seems we have come to the end of another trip.  I made one excursion yesterday out to Winchester.  Today, I had the final set of tickets to Hamlet.  Now I'm back in the room packing and getting ready to be up very early to head home.  It's been a delightful trip.  I'm so glad I was able to meet up with several friends and share a few adventures.  But now, back to Friday.  I hopped a train headed to Winchester.   It's a lovely town with several things to recommend it.  The first it  what remains of Winchester castle.  The first part I visited was the Great Hall.

Inside is the Round Table.  Yes, yes, I know it can't possibly be the real round table.  Though, legend has held that it was.  It was most likely created in 1290 so even if it isn't King Arthur's, it's still pretty old.

The hall itself as you can see is an attractive building itself.  It also has a pretty garden that is a re-creation of Queen Eleanor's garden.

Right around the corner from the Great Hall is the West Gate.  It along with the Great Hall are about all that remains of the Winchester Castle.

I knew next I was headed for the cathedral, but was delighted to discover that High Street is a place where many a pleasant afternoon could be spent.  I really do think that Winchester would be a nice place to live.  It's only about an hour out of London and with trains coming every 20-30 minutes, it might not be a bad idea.

The cathedral itself was reached via this lovely green way.  Though do note those are tomb stones littered around the grass.  I tried to snap a picture of a little girl hanging off of one like it was part of a playground, but I wasn't fast enough. 

Then into the cathedral.  My apologies, as there a lot of photos of the interior.

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to come here is the fact that Jane Austen is buried here.  Originally her tomb, the black stone, made no mention of her writing.  Eventually her nephew paid to have the brass plaque put up.  The window above is also for her.

After my visit to the cathedral, I decided to go visit the City Mill.  As I wandered towards it, I walked through some alleyways and a beautiful park.

Then there was the mill itself.  It's an actual working mill.  They even sell the flour they make in the shop.  I considered bringing some back for the bakers in my life, but it didn't happen.  In the mill, you can go down and actually see the wheel turning in the water.  You see I got a few photos down there, then suddenly I remembered a sign I  had seen on the main floor... spiders are our friends.  And then I looked up.  Big mistake.  Even now, I shudder a bit at all the spiders just a foot above my head.  Including one gigantic one that had a leg span about the size of a baseball.  Needless to say, I got out of there rather quickly.

So that was my day in Winchester.  And of course, the boys got up to some trouble while we were there.

So there you have it.  10 days in and about London.  There are still a few things I didn't quite get to on this trip, but I'm sure I'll be back again soon.  In two short weeks I'll be headed to Florida as usual for another conference.  I'm not going to Orlando this time though, so it's work only.  Until then... safe travels!