I took my time showering and drying my hair and what not. I went downstairs at like 10 and Kari and Rob were doing the guests breakfasts. At 10:30, Rob went and took a nap. He had only been awake for like an hour so that was weird. Kari told me that they wouldn't be doing any work that day so I could go see some sights.
I decided to go to Stonehenge. I took a tour bus full of Asians to/from Bath. We saw some Celtic hills/burial mounds and hill carvings and some old villages along the way. I saw a pig farm for the first time and almost cried. I think I should really consider vegetarianism.
Stonehenge was awesome. The rocks are stacked in the middle of no where, and the best part is that no one knows why. There was a free audio guide and every track would say, "We don't know for sure but some say..." It is about a bazillion years old and about half of it is missing. No seriously, it was built around 2500 BC! It is not placed randomly, that is for sure. The rocks line up perfectly with the place the sun sets on summer/winter solstice. They also tell the month of the year by where the sun sets between them. Beyond that, the purpose is unknown. It could have been some sort of sacred temple or an observatory or something. It may have been a place of healing or of sacrifice. I think the mystery behind it is the coolest part about it. I imagine they didn't have cranes in 2500 BC, but I may be wrong. It must have taken hundreds of really strong men to carve the rocks and put them where they go. So much effort had to have been put into it...so crazy old and cool...
On the drive back to Bath, the guide gave us an info booklet to pass around. There was information about all the things we had seen on the tour, and I'm proud to say that good old Nebraska got mentioned! I totally forgot about Car-Henge which I have visited before...probably over 15 years ago. I'm sure I can say that I was the only person at Stonehenge that had ever been to Car-Henge. The book said that the reasons for the formation of Car-Henge are just as mysterious as those of Stonehenge. Haha. I got a laugh out of that.
We got to listen to Salisbury Hill by Peter Gabriel as we passed Salisbury Hill...the inspiration for the song. My fam is a big Peter Gabriel fan so that was awesome even though I've never heard that song before.
I walked home, enjoying Bath. England is different than the rest of Europe. I saw a Krispy Kreme today as well as lots of fat people. It's been a while since I've seen a group of them! The people are nice and usually say hello in passing. The TI people are some of the nicest workers I've talked to. It's a happy place here. The British accents ate giving me a headache though. Is that weird?
I ate leftovers for dinner and sat around. The family went out for dinner cause one of the boys' birthday is today and the girl's birthday is tomorrow. I stayed home and watched Psych and some ice skating version of Dancing with the Stars. It's pretty lame. Haha. Oh and dear sisters, you're going to have to convert me to Psych. I wasn't that interested in it :/
There are no guests so Kari said she'll be "having a lie in" which means she'll be sleeping in. She said she won't be up before ten. These people wake up so late! Hopefully we get some work done tomorrow...
I wish you would have gotten a picture of yourself at Stonehenge. It would be fun to make a scrapbook page of you at Carhenge and then you at Stonehenge.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the Psych thing. I don't find it that interesting either. The girls had several Psych marathons while dad was gone and I was wishing I could have the TV! Even when dad's gone I don't get it. No, really, I got enough TV time. I've been watching past seasons of Parenthood.
This is the part of the trip that I wish I was with you on. Our ancestors are from England, Scotland and Wales and though you won't be going to the two latter ones, I've always wanted to walk where my ancestors have walked.
Sounds like you get to catch up on reading or get plenty of exercise in. That's weird that they're not having you help more.
Keep having fun. I can't believe you will be home in a little over a week!
Love you!
2500 BC is incredible...that beats our Venus de Milo...
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I made mom and the girls watch Midnight in Paris. I would pause it every five seconds and tell them about the scene and how we were just there!
Ah, Parie! That's Paris with a French accent.
I am sure England will be very interesting as well!
Casie,
ReplyDeleteWe are just finishing up our 10 days here in the Northeast and it has been wonderful. Today we spent the day at Plymouth Rock and driving to Cape Cod and enjoying a relaxing Sunday along the ocean front. Of course we were up early and dressed for Church and when we arrived at the little Branch here in Plymouth we found out it was Stake Conference :)
With that said I am looking forward to arriving in London on Saturday. I land at Heathrow at 9 am on Saturday Morning. From the airport I will take the Heathrow Express Train to Paddinton Station and their I will change to the London Underground to the Circle or District line to St James Park. I will exit the St James Park station at the Broadway exit and turn right onto Broadway and then take the 2nd right on to Caxton Street where the hotel that I am staying at is 2 Caxton Street, London - St Ermin's Hotel. Below is the Link to the Hotel http://www.sterminshotel.co.uk/?utm_source=TripAdvisor&utm_medium=BusinessListing&utm_campaign=websitelink
So I am open for your suggestions or ideas as what I was thinking is we could either do a Bus Tour of the City Sites on Saturday Afternoon which will take about 3 hours. So if it would be possible to meet at my hotel at 11 am that would be ideal. One of the Bus Stops is walking distance from the hotel and it is a hop on hop off bus tour that goes by every stop every 20 minutes so we could grab a quick bite and jump on the bus around 1. I am sure by the end of the tour we could grab a early dinner and I will be ready to go back to the hotel and crash. As it is a 24 hour ticket we could then start at the hotel at 8 am, hope that is not too early and enjoy the morning going to where we want and hopping on and off the Bus at strategic stops that you would like to walk and spend more time visiting and then we could go to Sacrament Meeting at 2 pm as their is a Ward that meets near Hyde Park and then after go ride the London Eye.
If you want to go see Wimbeldon, or Harry Potter's 9 3/4 Platform, or or or or we could do that Sunday Afternoon early evening. Don't feel like you need to do any of this if you have other plans but if it works for you this will be my treat and look forward to seeing you. Please email me to let me know you read through this and if it will work or not. Looking forward to seeing you next week as there are so many fun things to see in London.
SO AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteyou have now fulfilled the top 2 items on luke's bucket list (stonehenge & prague). he is ALWAYS talking about how he would love to go to stonehenge...stuff like that fascinates him.
he is currently seething with jealousy in the corner. someday....
Mom, I did get a picture of me it's just on my camera. I thought the same thing about the scrapbook page, especially since I am going to make a travel journal/memory book thing.
ReplyDeleteRachel text me about Midnight in Paris. I'd like to see it again now that I've been there! Poor girls having to sit through your French accent though...:/
Craig, I will email you today! Thanks SO much!
Lauren/Luke. You'll get here eventually. I have so many travel tips for you when you do.