{What a Week}

Okay I don’t even know where to begin this blog entry…we did so much this weekend I am tired just thinking about it! Don’t get me wrong, I am having the time of my life but boy do they know how to squeeze a lot in to a small amount of time. So I guess I should just jump into this NOVEL (I’m warning you, it will be long) and I guess I will start from the beginning. So after getting a lovely nights rest, aka getting 3 hours of sleep, our journey began when the bus pulled out at 7:00 in the a.m. Our first stop was Chawton which is the town where Jane Austen spent most of her writing career. As always, it was beautiful. It was just a quiet green place with a cute little home. We got to see her room, clothes, and the small table she used to sit at—where the writing magic happened. Don’t worry, I could definitely feel Jane Austen vibes in that room, and her writing skills have rubbed off on me! I’m just going to keep them to myself for a while though until I think you are ready to handle my eloquent phrasing and 19^th century vernacular. After Chawton it was back to the bus so we could begin making our way to Winchester. In Winchester we got to see an incredible Cathedral as well as the Great Hall which houses the Round Table. The Round Table was hanging up on a wall and it was pretty cool but the thing I found even more interesting was the wall directly across from the Table. It was the biggest family tree (well technically it wasn’t a family tree, it was more a line of leadership) I have ever seen. It dated all the way back to 1298 and continued to 1898. For all you Harry Potter fans out there, it looked quite similar to the Black Family Tree in #12 Grimmauld place! Cool! Then guess what happened? We got back on the bus…shocker! Haha. We drove for a few more hours to Bath. This was definitely my favorite part of the day. Bath was incredible. From the second we entered the town I was speechless. The city was incredible! It is built on the side of a mountain and the flats (apartments) are made of this unique looking limestone so they all look similar and blend into the landscape quite well. The buildings just covered the sides of the mountain in a chaotic looking, but completely organized way—it almost felt like we were in Italy; not that I have ever been to Italy, but imagine that is what it looks like there! The actual baths were first used thousands of years ago by the Romans and continued to be used until several years ago when they decided the waters were no longer safe and it would be better to try and preserve the site. It was so fun walking around and picturing how many different people have walked those same footsteps I walked. At the end I got to drink some of the Bath water…uh it was disgusting. It tasted like fish or blood or something…not exactly my cup of tea, but at least I can say I tried it! After Bath we drove to the Hostel we were staying at. It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Aside from the rock hard mattress, the toilets that wouldn’t flush, the sketchy looking bed spreads, and the stinky hallways, I quite enjoyed myself! But our adventure at the Bath Hostel was short-lived because our road trip continued early the next morning.

Okay Good news first: The plans for Wednesday were AWESOME and I was so excited to get going and see it all. Bad news: I woke up sick. How appropriate that I got the plague while I was in London. Okay maybe I am exaggerating just a wee bit, but I was pretty sick. I don’t know if I had the flu on top of a sinus infection, but whatever it was, that illness is welcome no more! You hear me illness?! Luckily I have the smartest mother in the whole entire world and before I left she had filled my sinus infection prescription. So the day was pretty rough because I was sick…the professors wanted to send me on the next train home, but there was no way I was going to miss out on anything, so I stayed. We got to see the Glastonbury Abbey first. It is mostly just ruins now…but a monk gave us a tour of the place and taught us a lot about what life was like back then, so I learned a ton. We lucked out with the weather too because it was warm and sunny and made the ever so stunning landscape that much more incredible. A little bit later we went on a hike…not so fun when you are sick, especially because we climbed a hill that was basically straight up and down. I never thought I would be able to say I am grateful for switchbacks! What were we climbing to you might ask? The Tor! It is commonly known as the Holy Hill because legend has it that at the top there were healing powers. Well I kept my fingers crossed that this was true but apparently the Tor does not like Brianna. Either that or there are no healing powers—I think I prefer the latter! Healing powers or not, the view from the top was striking. You could see green rolling hills for miles with occasional quaint cities far and in between. I could have stayed up there forever! We went and saw the Wells Cathedral next. This Cathedral is definitely my favorite. It was so old but for some reason had a very modern twist to it that I really enjoyed. Next adventure on our list: The Ilfracombe Hostels. These hostels were called the Ocean Back-packers Hostels. My opinion is that “pothouse” would have been a more appropriate title. Haha. The guy who owned it was crazy. Supposedly all the locals in Ilfracombe call him rug man. I didn’t understand why until I saw him. Oh my word. His hair was down to his knees and made up of Dreads that were so ancient they all blended into one and looked like a beaver tail—no joke. It was vile. I bet you are wondering what in the world Ilfracombe is. Don’t worry, I’d never heard of it either. Ilfracombe is a little town right on the coast of England. It was so fun to see the Ocean! I loved just looking out at the water and thinking how strange it was that I was looking at the same ocean I have looked at my whole life, only this time is was from the other side!

Our time in Ilfracombe didn’t last very long because we were on the road again the next morning my 9:00. This time we were headed to Tintagel. Tintagel is the place where King Arthur was supposedly born. I don’t know that I believe it considering the fact that the castle was built several years after his birth date! But the place was still incredible. The castle was built on a cliff, and even though it was mostly ruins you still got a feel for what it would have been like. If I felt like I was on top of the world when I climbed to the Tor, I felt like I was on top of the universe at Tintagel! Before we headed home we stopped in Exeter and saw another Cathedral…there are so many Cathedrals in England! It blows my mind how different every single one is. I also can’t comprehend that they were built thousands of years ago. Our society today hasn’t built anything nearly as stunning or complex even with all the technology and machinery we have. And to be honest with you, I don’t think anyone these days has the patience to build something at striking as a cathedral. Well our journey finally concluded with a 4 hour bus ride home. I never thought I would be grateful for my bed at the London Center, but when I climbed into bed that night, no words could describe how happy I felt to be back!

Okay didn’t I warn you this entry would be a novel?! I think this is my longest one yet. But rightfully so because I had a lot to fill you in on! It really was such a fun week and I just want to say that I am so thankful everyday that I get to be having these experience
s.