Day 1: We were up and at it by 6! Coach rolling by 7:30 and on our way to Chawton, where Jane Austen lived.
We then went to Winchester and saw the Cathedral and the Great Hall with King Arthur's Round Table.
above: picture of flower stand in Winchester
After that it was off to Bath!
Oh Bath!! It was beyond gorgeous! I loved everything about it, the architecture, the landscape, the Roman Baths, the shopping...all of it was wonderful!
After touring the baths, I got to drink some actual water from them! It was...well...exactly what its called: bath water! Warm, salty, bath water! There's not much to it! I don't think I'll be having another glass of it any time soon!
After that, Rachel and I went to explore the city! We fell in love with the Cath Kidston store! It is the cutest ever!
One of the cute ladies working at there recognized us as Americans (it's pretty sad how terribly we stand out here) and told us she was from California. She had met a hot Englishman in L.A. a few years ago, married him and moved to Bath, where she now works at an adorable store! Ummm, if that doesn't sound like a fairytale, I don't know what does!!
That night we stayed in a hostel in Bath! I was expecting it to be kind of grimy, but surprisingly it was pretty decent. We were all pretty tired, so most of us stayed in, and one thing led to the next. Before we knew it, we were in a back massage train, giving each other back rubs and head massages, and telling stories about our first kisses, and...well...you get the picture! At one point, we got all 6 of the guys to join us! It was pretty funny!
above: Our hostel in Bath
Day 2: I was sad to leave Bath, but excited to get to the sea shore. First thing in the morning, we made our way to Glastonbury to see the Abbey and Tor! hah if you were wondering what the Tor is, its a tower on top of this hill! And although all of us were complaining on the steep hike up to it, we were so happy when we got to the top! The view was beautiful!
After that, we saw the cathedral at Wells. Wells, not to be confused with Wales, is a quaint little town. It had a bunch of street vendors and I couldn't resist the cupcake booth, so I splurged and bought a strawberries and cream cupcake. It had a jelly center with cream cheese frosting and sparkles and a strawberry on top. It sounds gross, but it was really really good!
Finally, we made the long drive to the coast! I could barely contain myself! As soon as I saw the Atlantic Ocean, I wanted to jump in right then and there! We totally lucked out with wonderful weather and a beautiful sunset. It was absolutely breathtaking!! I love love love the ocean!
Now as for the hostel in Ilfracombe (the seaside city we were in)...well...words cannot describe it! The owner had greasy dread locks...well correction...he had a single dread lock about an inch thick and a foot wide and so long, it went past his butt...need I say more! I had never seen anything like it before! His hair was like a piece of artwork! The people of Ilfracombe call him "Rug Man." At first I was kind of hesitant about the hostel, after seeing the owner and everything, but on top of that, there were 8 girls to one shower and mirror...ummm...ya, I felt like saying, "I don't think this is going to work!" Hey but we did it! We ended up surviving the night! With little complaining, I might add! haha
Day 3: Everyone went to a local diner for a full english breakfast in the morning. Ummm...I found out I'm not a fan of English breakfasts...and ya...okay moving on!
We went to Tintagel, a city on the cliffs near the sea, where we saw the ruins of King Arthur's Castle. The views from on top of the cliffs were sooo beautiful! It was surreal! I felt so lucky to be able to see all the beauty of England!
above: Carly and I in front of arch at Tintagel Castle!
Last, but not least, we saw one more cathedral in Exeter! By then, I was kind of "cathedraled" out! Every cathedral I had seen so far was so magnificent and, don't get me wrong, I appreciate all of them, but by the time we had gotten to Exeter, I was a little burned out. Even our instructors later confessed they had had there fill!
above: sculpture of the Last Supper in the cathedral
Anyways, that about wraps up our first of 3 extended trips we will be taking! It was long, but soooooooooooo fun! My favorite part: just driving through the countryside, looking at the all the beautiful green pastures and landscape! I am lovin' London, but even more than that, I am lovin' England!
