Monday, April 1, 2019

Exercise was worth it

Sometimes I wonder what we are thinking when we put an itinerary together for our holidays.
This day in particular, we did a lot. I mean, we should have just spent the entire day in Chawton visiting all things Jane Austen. That would have been more than enough. But no, I never want to miss a thing!

We decided months before we left that we must climb the steps at Salisbury Cathedral.
After all, it was on our way to our next destination.

With minutes to spare, we made it in time for our 3:00 tour. And remember, we were driving (on the wrong side of the road-wink wink.)
We snapped a few pictures and met up with our tour group.
This was our tour guide. She was amazing. Never got tired once. She does this tour at least twice a day. I mean this in the nicest way possible. She is no spring chicken! She is older than us, but wow-she is in great shape. She climbed those steps like nobody's business. There are 332 steps to the top. She easily ascended every one.
Every step brought us magnificent views of the cathedral.
A few facts: The Cathedral was built in 38 years using 60,000 tons of stone, 2800 tons of oak and
                      420 tons of lead. This wood is tudor.
Again, we climbed 332 steps. My calves got a work out!
The spire is Britain's tallest and weighs 6500 tons. That's alot!
We were WAY up there!
Bird's eye view from the top.
I love the English countryside.
About halfway up, I peered out a small window. Look what I spotted. A Mini! Same color as mine!

The Cathedral was designed by Christopher Wren.
The foundation was started in 1220 and finished in 1258.
I remember the guide pointing out a pillar to us while we walked through the roof area. She asked us to notice the intricacy of it. "Not many will see it, but you can see by the way it is carved that the maker did it for the glory of God."
I found that very profound.

I was thinking about how we climbed all those steps.  It was work, but the view from the top was worth the effort.  Kind of like marriage. It's work. But worth every hard step. We had to keep that perspective because driving in the UK tended to test those views!   

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