A Day in the Country

Not having classes on Friday has been so great. So to take advantage of this, some of my friends and I decided to go on a day tour of some of England's most famous places. At 8:30am, we boarded a bus to go to our first stop Windsor Castle. The castle was incredible. It was built almost 1000 years ago, but you would never believe it was that old. It really is imposing, siting on top of a steep hill, staring down at the incoming enemy. The Queen still uses the castle and spends many of her weekends there when she is in England. On Friday, the Queen was at Windsor Castle! We didn't get to see her but it was so cool to be in the same place as the queen of England.

Our next stop was Bath. If you've ever read Jane Austen you will encounter the town of Bath in many of her novels. She actually wrote two in Bath, Northanger Abbey and Persuasions. The town is so cute. It is also a very old town, built by the Romans and centers around the only natural hot springs in England. The wealthy of the 1700s and 1800s would frequent Bath to go to the hot springs. In the town is a magnificent Abbey. It was the site of the first coronation in England, the crowning of King Edgar. The architecture was so interesting and it reminded me a little of Oxford because everything as so detailed and intricate. While we were there we went to the most delicious chocolate shop and I was able to indulge in the best cup of hot chocolate ever.

After that we were off to Stonehenge. To get there we drove through the most beautiful English countryside. Even though we didn't get to spend a lot of time at each place, the trip was worth it to see the most beautiful countryside. It was just as I pictured it. Rolling green hills dotted with sheep and small farms. Blue skies against the gently blowing grass. I felt like I was in a fairytale. Stonehenge was interesting. It's hard to imagine how so long ago people were able to place these rocks in the middle of the English countryside.

 Getting out of the hectic flow of the city was great. I'm glad to be back, but seeing so many other places has been incredible. The rest of my week is pretty quiet. Tomorrow, I am going on an Emory run tour of the East End. Hopefully I will be assigned some homework soon, but for now I'm enjoying seeing London, England, and all they have to offer.