Bath tub and Stone house

      Yesterday we had our big excursion to the city of Bath and, of course, the obligatory Stonehenge. We rose early and all piled onto two buses for the 2 hour drive over to Bath. It was a really beautiful city that really make you feel like you had been transported to Italy (which we will be eventually...) The surrounding area is very hilly, so it also felt a little like being up in the Ozarks. We got the full scope of Bath history by going to see the Roman Baths, the late medieval Abbey, and finally the 18th century townhouses in the circus and Royal Crescent for England's beautiful people who came for the healing effects of the hot spring. I also had a really good malteser milkshake and a not-so-good cornish pasty! 

       The baths were really interesting! I loved the smell and the steamy, ancient air. Probably the coolest thing for me were the ancient Roman drains, deep underground the modern city which we got to see. I had to fight the urge to leap into the Great Pool--do you think I would've gotten in trouble for that? 

       Sally took us inside the Abbey to see the fanned vaulting, a beautiful feature of the Perpendicular Gothic style. My favorite outside detail, though, were Jacob's ladders which ran up the westfront of the Church. There were little angels climbing on them! Random aside: There was also two people who had painted themselves gold and were pretending to be statues of John and Yoko outside the Abbey. I did not take a picture because honestly I found it a little inappropriate. I'm not sure whether John would have laughed or been angry, actually. 

        After our afternoon in Bath, we headed on down the road to Stonehenge. I was not actually disappointed because my expectations had already been so low. I'd heard the horror stories about how long it took to get there and how underwhelming it was, so I was not underwhelmed! The small-ish circle of ancient rocks is literally about a hundred yards from the interstate, which you can see quite clearly as you are walking around (not through) the stones. Still, the weather was very nice and I had a nice stroll!

         When we got back there was a pizza party which was especially fun because it was the first pizza I'd had since we left the US! I had missed it! 

         Today (the saturday after the friday excursion), I have plans to exclusively write my English paper. I wish I could say that this paper was the only on due next Thursday, but this week's workload is pretty overwhelming... so i better get started! :)