Two Days of Adventures!

Friday-We went to Stonehenge and Bath. The bus ride was long, but I managed to rest a little, which was good. We went to Stonehenge first, where we had about 45 minutes. The stones are so huge! We had to keep in this large ring around the space where the stones were, because you're not allowed to go up to them. For another £30 we could have gone on the private tour that night and touched them, but it wouldn't have been worth it. After Stonehenge, we rode for another hour and 20 minutes because of road blockage, but we made it to Bath. When we got there the first thing we did was go through the Roman baths. We lost Victoria because she went to get an ice-cream cone, so she didn't go through with us. Near the central bath they had an actor and an actress creating the characters from the children's audio tour guide (you were right Greta, so much better than the other one) and they were very good. After we left the baths we walked around a bit, and while Savannah and I were looking in a store for a gift for the baby, Dan found Victoria! We were going to go to Jane Austin's house after that, so we walked up one of the side roads. We stopped to look at one of the market stalls along the road, and the guy there was Scottish. His accent was amazing! It was awesome to just listen to him talk and hear the accent. After we talked to him for a little while, Dan, Victoria, and Savannah stopped at a Subway for some food. I wasn't hungry so I decided to go to this little store across the road called Cancer Research UK. They're a thrift store and their proceeds go towards breast cancer research. I bought a really cool red jacket, a hat, and some books. Then Savannah wanted to go in after she was done eating, and I found some mugs-I had been looking for a mug for tea and all the other ones I'd seen were too expensive-for £3, with saucers! Then we had to run back to catch the bus. On the way back, we realized the lady sitting next to us was from Canada. We talked to her for a bit, and she asked us how we liked England, and how long we would be here, and where we were staying. When we told here she said, "Right in the middle of the city!" When we got home, we walked around a bit, then had dinner at KFC, and then we came back to Schiller. I was very tired so I went to sleep, but the other three stayed up and played cards and talked.

Saturday-Today we went to Cambridge. We drove for a while, and then we stopped tight outside of Cambridge at the American memorial cemetary there. The guide said it was beautiful and a nice place to walk around, but didn't realize what an impact this place would have on the Americans on the bus. It was incredible, yet a little sad at the same time. Seeing how many Americans have given their lives for our freedom-and that wasn't all of them. There was a wall there that had the names of soldiers who had died in battle, but were buried in unmarked graves somewhere, and it stretched forever. After we left there, we went into Cambridge. We had an hour long walking tour, and then the rest of the day to ourselves. We saw Trinity College, King's College, and Trinity Church on the walking tour, and then we went to the market. There was a crafts market, and the crafts were all so beautiful. There was a man who made jewelery out of forks and spoons, and I wanted to buy a ring, but none of them fit. I have baby hands... I bought some faeries made out of pewter, and I really liked the tiaras at this other stall. They were so delicate and beautiful, but they were sooooo expensive, and better suited to a wedding than anything else. Then we walked around some more and saw the gorgeous country side in Cambridge, and then we walked up 123 steps on a tiny winding staircase to the top of St. Mary's Church, from where we could see the whole of Cambridge. It was a wonderful view, but the steps were interesting and a little scary. After that, Victoria, Dan and Savannah wanted to go on a punt ride. A punt is a little flat bottomed boat where someone with a long pole takes you around the river. They paid about £8 per person, but they went. While they were on their ride, Carrie, Rachel, Jess, and I sat on the stone wall by the River Cam and just relaxed. After that we met the tour guide and came home.