Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral and the Queen Mary 2

 On our way to the Southampton cruise port, we stopped at Stonehenge. I booked the Inner Circle Access so we could walk among the stones. That meant a 5 am pick up time. Yay! It was all worth it. 

Standing in the exact spot where the solstice sun shines through was awesome. 

We also got to see the stones shimmer via the help of a flashlight.

One question that brought me here was "Why here?"

Our guide had a great theory. Very close to the stones is a spring that doesn't freeze. This likely attracted animals in the winter and the hunters followed. The spring is also a bit magical. It has an algae that turns bright pink when exposed to air. This means items dipped in the spring would seem to glow.

Our next stop was Salisbury Cathedral: 

Salisbury Cathedral was built in the middle of the 13th century.   It holds one of the four known copies of the Magna Carta.  Its main principle is that the king and his government were not above the law.   

The cathedral sits above groundwater. Our guide used a measuring stick (actually some sort of cross) to show how deep it is. 

The cathedral has flooded in the past.  They also display a medieval clock from the 13th century that still works, albeit with some repairs.  Can't say that for my Casio from the 1980's.  Beautiful architecture. It's always amazing to me how architects of the time could figure out how to build something like this and not have it fall over. 

Then it was time to board the Queen Mary 2. 

It was a 7 night cruise with no ports of call. The Queen Mary 2 is an ocean liner – not a cruise ship – designed for crossings. Yes, it’s called a “crossing”, not a “cruise”.  Ocean liners are designed for rougher seas with a thicker hull, longer bow, and capacity for higher speeds. An ocean liner also rests lowers in the water.

Before the cruise, I was nervous. Over the years, I’d heard a lot about the Cunard sailings. I was nervous about how formal the cruise would be. We’d heard that you had to be in a suit and dress after 6 pm to access anything on the ship. I was worried the crew would be overly formal. These worries were silly. Our clothes were fine. My husband did wear a suit on the gala nights and I wore a fancier dress. He also wore a blazer over a polo shirt on the smart casual nights. The Queen Mary 2 allows casual dress after 6 pm in the buffet, casino, nightclub, and one of the lounges.

We had a great time. The food was decent. We enjoyed sitting outside at the Terrace Pool and Bar. 

We didn't buy the wifi because we heard it was expensive and didn't work well. Fellow guests onboard agreed. We were glad we took a break to be offline. The entertainment was terrific. We heard two piano players, four bands / orchestras, an Irish Duo, a string trio, and a guitar player. 

We had a lot of fun with Rolando and Violeta in the Chart Room. 

We visited the only planetarium at sea and enjoyed an interactive experience called The West. 

We'd definitely take a transatlantic crossing again.