Paige Gibbons

Stratford-Upon-Avon

I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon. This was wonderful. It was a nightmare trying to print out My bus ticket but eventually I got it. I went with My friend Clarey and we woke up at 5am to catch The train to Victoria and then get on The coach. When i got outside it was pouring. It was very wet and cold. The drive was about three hours. This was not too bad. When we got There we had no idea where to go. We found a Holiday Inn and we were able to stay dry and ask for directions. Everything was pretty close. We went to The theatre where his Plays are performed. We then went to his House where he was born. They had a museum and stime history on him before we went into his House. The House was so old but it was in pretty good shape. There were people dressed in costumes that we reenacting scenes from Plays. After we toured his House we toured his daughter’s House. We also toured The Hash House which was a very close family friend. The Anne Hathoway cottage and The Hash Farm were too far away to see and you could Walk but we would have gotten soaked. The bus was very expensive to take. We saw The church where him, his wife, daughter, son in law and his family friends. The church was Catholic which surprised me. I did not know he was Catholic. The last thing we did was to stop and get milkshakes. There were over 200 flavors!!!! I got a cadbury caramel milkshake and it was amazing!! Despite The rain we had a wonderful time!! I was glad i got to see Shakespeare’s home and town.

Stonehenge and Bath

Yesterday was Stonehenge and Bath. The bus came to St. Mary’s at 8 and we left to go to another college to pick up a few students. Their campus was beautiful. The building was so amazing. It took 2 hours from there to get to Stonehenge. On the bus, our tour guide gave us some information about the stones and she said that many people think that the stones are pretty small when they actually seem them. When I saw the stones I didn’t think they were small at all! I thought they were really big!!!! I learned that the random mounds along the way to Stonehenge are actually burial mounds of a body. It was so beautiful to see a part of England that wasn’t like a city or suburb. It was so open and beautiful. There were a lot of sheep and rolling hills. It was a beautiful day out. We were really blessed with beautiful weather. They gave us a thing for an audio tour and it told us information about the Stonehenge and the different theories people have come up with. We were there for an hour and we got to see the stones from different angles. I took a lot of pictures and we were able to see the sacrifice stone. I learned that the green stuff that is on the rocks is actually a plant and on those rocks is the only place it grows. I also learned that 1/3 of the rocks are under the ground and the the rocks were brought from as far as 200 miles. The rocks get thinner at the top and are fat at the bottom. They make a full circle and many people think it has to do with the summer solstice and the longest and shortest day of the year. We left Stonehenge and went to Bath. Bath was unbelievable and I was so in love with it. The architecture was unbelievable and this was definitely my favorite place in England. It was an adorable town with parks. Jane Austen lived in 2 homes here. There are buildings that are designed to look like the crescent moon. There is another area where the buildings are arranged in a circle with streets dividing the circle and there is a park in the middle and acorns were on top of the building. Homes here ranged from 4 million to as much as 11 million or more pounds. That is crazy. To build a house in Bath you must 60% Bath stone. This is the only place in England that has rules of conformity for buildings. The stone is really absorbent so it collects a lot of dirt. They banned anything gas besides vehicles and also things like air-sol cans. One building has never been cleaned and it is pretty black and it is left that way as a reminder of what harmful chemicals can do to the stone. To get your stone cleaned it costs 50,000 pounds. If you apply for grants from the government you can get it down to around 15,000. We saw Nicholas Cage’s house that he used to live in before he went bankrupt. We got off the bus and were able to walk around. We got to go into a little Georgian garden and it was really cute. We walked all around the city and then we were able to have free time. We got a bite to eat for lunch and then we went to the Abby. It was so beautiful and really huge. I loved the stain glass. I was really in love with this town and I can see why people talk about it so much. After the Abby we took pictures and then it was time to go into the Royal Baths. Anna, Julia, and Jasmine signed up for a different tour then us so we got to see them for a few minutes before they had to leave. I hungout with Katelyn and Alex but I was also with a mix of people that day which was really great. I love having a lot of friends. The Royal Baths were amazing. They were from the Roman age. We got to see the suana rooms and the healing baths. We weren’t supposed to but we touched the water and it was so warm. it kind of reminded me of the hot springs in New Zealand. I thought we were just going to get to see the baths and that was all but we were actually able to see all of the museum too. They had so many artifacts. Like the Stonehenge tour, we were given audio guides that told us all about the baths and artifacts. I am so extremely grateful I went with the tour through my school because Anna and Julia didn’t even get to do this. It was really big and so beautiful. At the end of the tour we were able to taste the water. It is supposed to be really good for you but it tasted really gross. Like a combination of rotten eggs and well water. After the tour it was time to go back which was really sad. I didn’t want to leave! I can’t wait to go back again and see all of the little shops and I didn’t get to see the part of the town that has the only bridge on the left side! And this bridge has shops on it!!! It was adorable and its over the Avon River. I learned Avon means river so the river river!! On our way home we passed a car that was completely engulfed in flames. It was really scary. The girls sitting behind me were so rude, I wanted to slap them. They spoke German the whole way home and everyone was trying to sleep but I couldn’t. They seriously were the only two talking and everyone was dead silent. They were from that other school. Grr. Overalll it was an awesome day and I can’t wait to go back with my parents!!!