Salisbury

Russell and I didn't know much about Salisbury, but since the bus was going there, we were quite keen to go there, too.

Ann, the professor who invited us along, referred to Salisbury as a "Cathedral Town." Somehow, that seemed apt to me. The central focus of the city, as I'm sure you've guessed, is the cathedral. The spire is visible from quite a ways off and is emblematic of the city. As cathedrals go (and I've seen quite a few over the years) this one was one of the better ones. It had a more open feeling, was less dank and was less cluttered with dead people.

On our way out, we stopped by the Chapter House (a side room off of the interior garden). In it, we were quite surprised to discover one of the last four remaining copies of the Magna Carta (and apparently the best preserved). The Magna Carta, if you don't know or are racking your brain to remember, is the document written up by King John and the Barons of England outlining the laws of the land. To give a tiny bit more background, King John had been focusing all of his attention (and the country's money) on the crusades and had been neglecting the country. The Barons were furious and on the verge of civil war. The Magna Carta included a list of agreed-upon rules (related to fair trials, what to do if you died while in debt, that the king couldn't take your land without permission, etc.) King John promptly refused to honor the document, and I believe England did erupt into violence. What's interesting about the Magna Carta, though, is that it was an important model of a number of other governing documents around the world, including the U.S. Constitution (though we left out the bit about women not being alowed to bring charges in court unless related to the death of her husband).

After the Cathedral, Russell and I went to lunch. Ann had told us about a famous pub in town, The Haunch of Venison. We decided to give it a try. The restaurant and pub seem to be separate from each other (the pub is on the bottom floor, the restaurant goes by the name "One" and is on the second floor). It was a cool old building, though. Everything was tilty and lopsided with low door frames. The stairs were treacherous, too, but not as treacherous as the floor on the second floor. The picture I took illustrates just how slanted the room was. Some of it is due to perspective (I was seated) but mostly its just the room slouching away from the center of the building. I tripped and nearly fell on my way to our table because I wasn't expecting the floor to drop so quickly, and Russell did likewise on the way out. The food was very good, though, and the atmosphere excellent.

Once characteristic we have been finding about Cathedral towns is that they are often old and full of shopping. Salisbury is no different. The shops tended to be more recognizable standards rather than boutiques, but the sheer number was impressive (and there were a few boutiques thrown in for color). There was also a large open air market.