Wherever the road (or plane) may take me.....: Lincoln (no relation to Abe)

Today we got any early start because it took a couple of hours to get from York to Lincoln. There were 2 things on the schedule today in Lincoln-Lincoln castle (http://www.lincolncastle.com) and Lincoln Cathedral (http://lincolncathedral.com) .

First up in the Lincoln Castle was a short movie on the history of the Magna Carta. I obviously did not pay enough attention in history because before today all I could have told you was the name and maybe that it had something to do with England (maybe not). Very interesting, limiting the power of the King of England. Of course the king didn't follow the agreement and it wasn't until his 9 year old son took power that it was followed to help cease the civil war the had started. The castle has 1 of only 4 remaining copies of the document. I was a little confused at first because I couldn't read it. It was Latin. That's why. Also there was the Charter of the Forest, which limited the King's control on the forests and hunting. It was amazing to see that they survived the test of time (even if I couldn't read it). Next we toured the Victorian prison. It was redone because at the time it was one of the worst prisons around. The new prison was supposed to keep prisoners separate so that they could not be influenced by the others. That didn't last long with the breakout of the plague and large number of debtors. Soon there were 3 to a cell. One of the best things we did, was walk along the castle wall. Great views. Great breeze. The audio guide gave us a brief history of the castle. THENNNN we decided to climb a tower to the top. It was quite comical. Lets just say the girth of my large hips were about the same size as the girth of the small spiral staircase. No wiggle room. No turning around. Coming down, Julie was in a fit of laughter as I had one hand on the railing and one clutching the middle stone spiral part of the stairs (I have the scrapes on my fingers to prove it). The stairs were very narrow and my feet awkwardly (and very slowly) had trouble making it down. Success though, I DID NOT FALL :)

This was church- they went everyday. The men were all separated in 'stalls' so they didn't converse with one another and could concentrate on God. (notice the dummies??)

Next was the cathedral where our bad luck with guides continued. This one was sick and the re was no replacement. In case you're keeping track, we're 0 for 2. Again, this cathedral was humongous and had stained class galore. BEST OF ALL- I got to pick how long we stayed. 45 whole minutes. I was in heaven! There were lots of Jesuses to record!! The stained glass was different styles (depending on when it was done, I assume). Would have loved a guided tour to hear about it. The choir area was magnificent. Pictures don't do it justice. It's all dark wood that is intricately carved. So stunning (well except the butt rest seats- good thing I don't sing cuz my fanny wouldn't fit!)