FranceSpainEnglandIceland2015: Victory! Maryrose sees the Mary Rose and the Stones visit Stonehenge

A big day started with a big breakfast. The traditional English breakfast consists of eggs, bacon, baked beans, tomatoes (toe-mah-toes), mushrooms, toast, and sausages. Needless to say, only a portion of our company feasted on all of these items, as most of us are averse to fungus at breakfast (or any other time of day). After breakfast, we picked up our rental car. Despite having reserved a vehicle with automatic transmission, we got stuck with a manual, meaning that in addition to having to drive on the wrong side of the road, the driver must change gears with the wrong hand. Nevertheless, we had no problem driving to our next destination, the historic docks where the HMS Victory, what's left of the Mary Rose, and the HMS Warrior reside. We visited the Victory first, and were able to meander through most of the decks, seeing, among other things, the point where Nelson was shot during the battle of Trafalgar, as well as the spot where he died.
We next visited the most looked-forward to sight of the day for one of us (aka Maryrose), the wreck of the Mary Rose. Completed in 1512, the Mary Rose was a warship in the navy of King Henry VIII. On the 19th of July, 1545, she sailed out to do battle with a French invasion fleet. For reasons still unclear, possibly due to overloading and negligence, she started taking water through her lower gun ports and sank. Nets placed over the decks to deter prospective boarders turned the ship into a deathtrap; out of a crew of at least 400, only 35 escaped. In 1971 the wreck was discovered and raised in 1982. Today, the wreck is undergoing conservation, scheduled to be finished in 2017. We were able to see a good portion of the ship, despite being obscured by a plethora of pipes and tubing.
Lastly, we visited the HMS Warrior (the first armor plated, iron hulled warship, remember?). We roamed the various decks of the ship but were slightly rushed by the impending expiration of our parking ticket.
Still powered by our hearty breakfast, we didn't stop for lunch but instead moved on to the town of Salisbury where we checked into a very nice (and expensive; it costs 1.50 pounds to have a pair of socks laundered) hotel. After rejecting the two pubs suggested by the guy at the desk (too expensive, go figure) we found a place called the Queen's Arms where we had (a very substantial) dinner. At the pub, we figured out from some other diners how to see Stonehenge on a budget (normal admission costs 15 pounds per person, with additional fees for getting really close). Exploiting this knowledge, we drove out to the site and were afforded with an excellent (and free) view of the pagan structure. (NS)

Breakfast

Theodore and the author in front of the HMS Victory

The stern of the ship

Inside the ship. Nelson mustn't have been hard to spot in his uniform (see left of image)

The whole crew

During the battle of Trafalgar, Nelson was spotted and shot by a French sharpshooter. Mortally wounded, he lived long enough to know the outcome of the battle.