Windsor Castle & Stonehenge

Our guidebook highly recommended visiting the city of Bath. We also really wanted to see Stonehenge, since it was on the way to Bath. However, reaching Stonehenge by public transportation proved to be nearly impossible, so we purchased a tour that would take us to Bath while stopping at Windsor Castle and Stonehenge. We don't usually take tours, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity. When the tour bus picked us up from our hotel, we were surprised to learn that we would stop at Stonehenge only on the return trip from Bath to London. Since we purchased the tour just so we could see Stonehenge on the way to Bath, we were not pleased. Especially since when we booked the tour, we were repeatedly assured that Stonehenge would be a stop on the way to Bath. After some convincing, one of the tour guides finally agreed to stop at Stonehenge prior to reaching Bath. We were relieved!

Since we booked the tour only because of Stonehenge, we really had no expectations for Windsor Castle. We were pleasantly surprised! The castle is one of the Queen's many vacation homes. It also happens to be the largest inhabited castle in the world, with over 480,000 square feet! Here are some pictures of us exploring the castle grounds:
Although the outside of the castle was spectacular, the inside was even more impressive. We were able to walk through the Royal Staterooms and each room was over-the-top luxurious. The rooms were probably the most finely decorated and exquisitely furnished that we had ever seen.
We then headed to Stonehenge. We were so excited to see it! We've seen many photos of and TV programs about this place, so it was surreal to actually be standing in front of it. It's hard to believe that Stonehenge is older than the Pyramids! The stones themselves are huge, but the entire arrangement is not as large as the pictures would make you think. Regardless, we were still thrilled to have been able to visit Stonehenge.