Choir Trip 2024: Bristol, July 18

Today was a day off, which meant no singing for us at the Cathedral.
We headed off to Bristol, where we were treated to a tour of Berkeley Castle. We had the entire grounds all to ourselves, as it's normally closed on Thursday but they opened it just for us.
Berkeley Castle is best known as the site of the murder of King Edward II. He was either killed in a very violent manner or simply smothered to death, depending on who you talk to. His heart was then cut out and given to his wife Isabella to be buried with her. He was entombed in Bristol Cathedral.
We got to see a bedspread that Queen Elizabeth I left when she had to leave in a hurry after killing 27 of the Earl's deer because she was angry he wasn't there to greet her. This was displayed in the Francis Drake room, so named because he stayed in that room.
Members of the Berkeley family still live in the castle in a modernized section.
After a light lunch at the castle cafe of sandwiches, tea, scones and cakes, we headed off to the SS Great Britain - the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1853.
We then headed to Bristol Cathedral for a quick visit to check out where we'll be singing in 2025. Everything in the cathedral is under scaffolding and the organ is undergoing a complete overhaul that will take two years!
Dinner was at our favorite buffet spot Za Za Bazaar. They offer stations of every kind of food imagineable, from curry to barbecue, sushi to fish and chips. They even have an American station offering hot dogs, hamburgers and french fries.
We're back to singing at the Cathedral tomorrow, and everyone was off to bed early after a long day of sightseeing.