Second Stop: Florence!

We arrived in Florence early Saturday night.  We found our hostel pretty easily, but it's a lot different than the one in Pisa.  The one in Pisa was very 'homey', small, and welcoming.  The hostel here isn't unwelcoming per-say, but it's kind of out of the way and tucked back in a block of buildings.  The main floor is one hallway, with a main desk, a few rooms on either side, bathrooms, and a kitchen/lounge/patio at the end of the hallway.  But we have a room to ourselves (4 bed dorm), so it has been nice to not have any strangers around.  After we settled in and relaxed a while, we walked over to Dante's Pizzeria, a place my friend Rachael (who studied abroad here last semester) recommended, mostly because students get free wine!  So we ventured out across town, seeing some of the sights along the way, and across the river.  I got my first Italian pizza, and it was delicious.  The wine was pretty good also! We got 2 bottles between the 4 of us!  After we ate, we wandered around down my the river and the bridges, and explored the Ponte Vecchio, which is the oldest, most beautiful bridge in Florence.  We made our way back up town, wandering past the famous Duomo (the third largest cathedral in the world) and got some gelato there as well! I had caramel gelato, and it was delicious! We wandered and explored some more before heading back to the hostel for the night.  We did some research for the next day and watched "Tangled" on my computer before falling asleep.
The second day, we woke up and got ready to head out for the day.  When we ventured out to the kitchen to find some breakfast, a little old Italian lady hugged us and told us to sit down and she would make us breakfast! Granted, it was only toast and coffee or tea, but it was sweet!  We ate and finalized our plans for the day.  Our first goal was to make it up to the Piazza Michelangelo, which is up on a hill on the southern side of the river, and offers a great view of the city and surrounding area.  It was a hike up there! We were all breathing hard and sweating by the time we made it up there.  The view was gorgeous though, and it was a shame that it was so rainy and cloudy, because I bet the view is even better then.  We headed back down the hill to the river and walked past the Santa Croce, the Museo Galileo, the Uffizi (which had a ridiculously long line), the Piazza del Signoria, the Duomo (again), and the Accademia Galleria (where the real sculpture of David by Michelangelo is located)).  We also had some wonderful pizza at another pizzeria right by the Duomo, and the restaurant was pretty cool.  We saw a lot of good sights, but the bummer was the rain!  It rained almost all day, and it got colder as the day went on too!  I thought I was coming to warmer weather in Italy, but it has been unusually cold! I feel like I'm back in the Midwest!  We came back to the hostel damp and freezing and hung out for a bit while deciding what to do for dinner.  We decided on a local favorite called Il Portale, which was nearby.  I had spinach and cheese ravioli with meat sauce, and they had some really good bread! We also got some wine again (you just have to in Italy).  It was very good.  I am loving the food here. (so much better than the UK, unfortunately).  After dinner we went to a microbrewery/bar nearby our hostel and hung out for a while.  I tried some Limoncello, and it was like liquid lemon drops! But it was also very strong.  We came home a little early because we wanted to get up early the next day to go check out some of the markets (hoping for no rain) before we leave for Bologna.
The next morning we got ready and packed up, had some breakfast, stored our bags, checked out, and headed out to the Central Market!  The market was really cool! It was endless though! Booths and booths of genuine leather, souvenirs, scarves, glass and ceramic work, jewelery, etc.  I was really in a shopping mood and bought two keychains, a pin for Emily, an owl wine cork, a scarf, and a genuine Italian leather purse (my favorite purchase)!  We went to the indoor market to look around at the food and got some cappuccinos.   Then we had to get back to our bags to catch our train to Bologna.  So far, Florence has been my favorite part of the trip! (minus the rain).  More to come on Bologna next!

First Stop: Pisa!

So we started our journey in Pisa, Italy. We landed around 9pm, and though it was wet, it was warm! It was a nice change from the wintry-like weather that is taking over London. We got through customs no problem (they didn't even ask me anything) and left the airport to find a taxi. We loaded up and headed to our hostel. The cab driver pointed out the train station and a few other landmarks to us along the way. I loved seeing the town! It was also weird to be driving on the right side of the road again! We got to our hostel, which was right by the leaning tower! We were greeted by the hostel dog, Biro. :) After we checked in, we took all of our stuff up to our room. We turned on the light and accidentally woke up a man sleeping! We felt bad, so we turned on the reading lights and finished making our beds and getting our stuff situated. Then we went downstairs to the common room to use the wifi and plan out our day. We talked to some of the other guests for a while and then headed to bed. We all got into bed and drifted to sleep... Except me. I could not fall asleep for the life of me, for a few hours. Then one other man came in and turned on the overhead light at 2am! So he woke me up just as I was falling asleep. Then I was awake most of the rest of the night because of all the snoring going on in my room, and some VERY loud thunder storms! It was a long, tiring night. I think I got about 2-3 hours of sleep total, and morning was not pleasant. But I got up and got packed up, checked out, and stored our bags for the day. Then we ventured out into the rain to explore. We walked down the main street of designer shops and stopped at a cafe for our first Italian coffee! I got a cappuccino that was delicious! We went down to the river and took some pictures and walked through a market. After that we started to walk back through town up the the piazza dei miracoli, where the Baptistry, duomo, and leaning tower are. We saw some other churches and buildings along the way, but then somehow got a little lost... And then it started to DOWNPOUR. We were soaked! By the time we got to the piazza, the rain key up enough for us to get some classic touristy pictures with the tower before the sky started falling again. It was ridiculous! We took cover against the duomo wall until it lightened up. Ten we went to a restaurant nearby called Il Tuscano, where we had to sit outside (under cover, but still chilly and wet$ and had some hot tea and spaghetti. It was delicious! After lunch we went back to our hostel to get our luggage and to warm up and dry out a bit before heading to the train station. We hung out with Biro and researched our next adventure. Then we said goodbye and walked to the bus that would take us to the train station. Then we were on the train to Florence, exhausted and relieved to be out of the rain (though it seemed to be clearing up as we were leaving, of course). So now we are in Florence. More to come on that later!

Operation Reading Week

Well, I've been spending a lot of time the last few weeks finalizing plans for our trip to Italy, Austria, and Germany over reading week.  We are flying in to Pisa tonite, then going to Florence, Bologna, Venice, Salzburg, and Munich.  It has been a lot of stress, and I've been feeling it.  I think I am pretty organized and that everything is all ready to go, but I am still feeling anxious (imagine that).  I am praying that everything goes according to plan, or if it doesn't, that it will be an experience or easy to fix.  We are leaving campus in about an hour to take a train to London Gatwick Airport, then we are flying out at 6pm! We arrive in Pisa at 9pm local time, then we have to find our hostel somehow.  That's the first adventure! I'll let you know how it goes when I get internet!
Other than that, I've been pretty sick this week, with some kind of viral sinus crap that is making me cough uncontrollably all the time.  I went to the nurse and got stocked up on meds so I can hopefully make a quick recovery so I can enjoy my trip.  I also got to see my daddy again last night for dinner.  I took a cab out to the airport, careful to give the driver the exact address of the Holiday Inn I was going to, since Dad had a mix up when he arrived.  When I got to the hotel, I went to call him to come down, but he said he couldn't find me.  Come to find out I had STILL gone to the wrong hotel.  So I had to take another cab (a more expensive one too, and I had no money after the first cab) to the correct hotel 10 minutes away.  I found my dad and he paid the driver.  I dropped off my suitcase for him to take back home and we went to a pub nearby called The Plough.  We had a few beers (cider for me) and both got burgers (which were interesting).  We chatted for a while until I decided I should try to get home.  I was taking the bus, and I was a little nervous because I have not always had the best experiences on buses (I get lost a lot) and I was having trouble figuring out which buses to take.  Luckily the bus stop I had intended to go to was right outside the pub and the bus came every 15 minutes.  It was hard to say goodbye to Dad, especially when I've had such a rough week, and it was good to get to hang out with him for a while.  But I got on the bus, a little tear-eyed as we waved goodbye.  I got off a little while later to switch buses, but when I looked at the board for the next bus, it said it would be 25 minutes.  I about lost it.  It was cold and I was tired and sad already, but then it changed and the bus came in 5 minutes.  It was a long ride after that, but I was able to find my way home easily after that.  I got home and started to feel sick again (mostly from the stress of today) and I skyped with my mom for a while, then went to bed.
So today I've spent my time triple-checking everything and trying to keep calm by watching How I Met Your Mother re-runs.  And now it's almost time to go! So I'm going to go through my stuff one more time and get packed up. Italy, here I come!!

I Get My Care Packages Hand-Delivered!

Yesterday, I got a care package, delivered by my very own Father!  He had some other business too I suppose, but he really just came to see me. :)  Sunday morning, I kept hearing the planes overhead and thinking, "My papa's on one of those!"  I waited anxiously to hear from him.  I checked that his flight had landed, but I still hadn't heard anything from him.  A few hours later, my phone rings and it was Dad telling me he was at the main reception in front of my school, and that his phone wasn't working.  So that explains the lack in communication.  So I made my way across campus to find him and gave him a BIG hug (I miss my Daddy hugs).  We took his luggage back to my dorm and tried to figure out why his phone wasn't working.  I ended up finding out that I can call US numbers from my computer via Google voice (a nice feature) and we were able to get customer service on the line to see what the problem was.  Turns out that the representative he talked to before leaving had put down the wrong date for his traveling, so his international plan was not supposed to turn on until Tuesday!  So we got that sorted out and got his phone working.  By then it was far past lunch time (and Dad had slept through the in-flight meals and was starving) so we headed in to Twickenham to grab some grub.  We went to the Three Kings and had a beer and some traditional British pub food.  Then we went to Starbucks to have coffee (Papa was tired), chat a bit, and get out of the rain.  After that we ventured down to the Thames to try and scope out the house that my Mom, sister, and cousins are renting when they come to visit over Thanksgiving.  We couldn't figure out how to get back to it (the path was very covered and confusing) but we got a picture of it!  It was getting a little chilly and it was "misting" a bit, so we walked back to campus.  I opened my care package to find lots of goodies, including peanut butter, Easy Mac, Great Harvest pumpkin chocolate chip bread, mini muffins, fruit snacks, popcorn, hot apple cider, soup, whales, new jeans, my wool coat, shoes, cold medicine, and a few others.  Yay! Dad had a look at my computer (since it's been acting up) and tried to fix it (sadly, it is still acting up).  We hung out a bit longer and then had to go meet his car that would take him to his hotel.  But I get to see him again for dinner before he leaves on Thursday! :)

And now, I have a lot to do to prepare for my big 10-day, 3-country tour in Europe that I leave for on Friday!  We are going to Pisa, Florence, Bologna, Salzburg, Rothenburg, and Munich (Italy, Austria, and Germany!).  It's going to be crazy, but I am excited!  I've been busy all day making hostel reservations and trying to figure out schedules and trains.  I have been avoiding my homework (which I need to get ahead on so I'm not swamped when I get back), but hopefully I can be more productive tomorrow.  My room was just sweltering today, and I didn't feel good, so it was not a good homework environment.  But in the afternoon, a few friends and I went to Richmond and had Tea Time Tuesday on Monday at the Tea Box!  I had Ms. Saigon tea, which is a black tea with passion fruit and ginger.  It was very good, and made me feel a little better! But I got a lot of planning done for my trip tonight, so I feel good about that.  I also found this awesome website called TripIt, which searches your email and automatically puts all of your confirmations and reservations on to one convenient itinerary! Very cool.  For now I should probably get to bed so I can get some work done tomorrow!!

On a random note, I almost went to Switzerland last week... My friend was going to visit a friend and invited me to come with... free room and food. I was sooo tempted, but it ended up being to late to book the flight after we got back from Paris. It's too bad! But now I've got a travel bug, and I may have been looking up flights for the next few weekends... oops. 

Ah, Paris!

Thursday night I could barely sleep because I was so excited and anxious about going to Paris for the weekend.  We had to catch the train from school at 5:38 a.m. and change trains once in order to get to St. Pancras International Rail Station, where we were to meet our tour guide by 7:15 a.m.  We stopped at Starbucks once we got to the station and waited for the grocery store inside to open so that we could grab lunch for the train ride.  We met our tour guide, Eric, and the rest of the students from other schools going on the tour.  The group was all girls, except for our friend Sean, and the tour guide.  He referred to us as "ladies... and Sean" all weekend.  There was also a fairly large group from St. Mary's that went.  After a quick orientation and ticket distribution, we made our way through security and border patrol (more stamps for my passport!).  We then waited to board the train to Paris! The train ride was about 2 hours, and it made my ears pop. A lot.  We were in the "chunnel," or the channel tunnel for a while (but you couldn't really tell) and emerged in France!  Most of our group slept on the ride there, but I was too excited to sleep, and was having a nice conversation with a few of my friends.  Once we arrived in Paris, there was a coach arranged to pick us up for an overall all city-tour, so we could get acquainted with the city and see a few of the most famous landmarks.  We drove down the Avenue des Champs Elysee, the famous Arc de Triomphe traffic circle, la Place de la Concord, and then stopped at a viewpoint for la Tour Eiffel (the Eiffel Tower).  We got to take some pictures and get a beautiful view of the tower and the city.  We got back on the bus and drove past the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, and stopped at the Invalides for a glimmering picture of the gold dome, since it was such a nice day.  We saw a few other landmarks before we made our way through some awful traffic to our hotel.  We checked in and went to explore our rooms, which were interesting.  The hotel was very modern looking and had very bright colors.  The rooms were small, but comfortable, and we each got our own twin sized bed, which were SO comfortable.  The bathroom was orange, and had a fake stone vinyl floor, and the shower had no door and the side of the tub was really tall.  It was hard to get in and out of, even for me!  After getting settled, we met our tour guide in the lobby once again and he showed us how to use the metro.  It was actually a very easy system to use (much like D.C.) and I felt pretty confident navigating it by the end of the weekend.  He took us to the Louvre (and showed us some things along the way) and helped us figure out our plans for the evening.  So we got some macaroons from one of the shops in the museum (delicious, and famous apparently) and went in the the Sully wing.  We mainly tried to see the major works, like the Mona Lisa.  The Louvre was HUGE. It would have taken a full week to see everything in there!  We spent a good few hours there and didn't even get through the one wing!  It was just massive.  After a while we were getting tired and hungry, so we got a few more pictures of the glass pyramids and headed back to Bercy, where we were staying.  We had to hunt to find a good place to eat, that wasn't crazy busy (there was a Radiohead concert going on at the nearby arena) and eventually settled on a small Italian place.  I had bruschetta, spaghetti, and a glass of wine, and it was delicious.  I forgot that food could have flavor! Then we all went back to the hotel to sleep after a long day.
Saturday morning, we met for breakfast (which was interesting) and then set off for a walking tour of the City Island and Notre Dame.  We crossed the bridge to the Island and went over to Notre Dame, where Eric told us some history about it and about some of the sculpture work.  We went for a tour inside, and it was beautiful.  The stain-glass windows were absolutely incredible.  And we were allowed to take pictures!  After that we did a small tour of the Latin quarter and then headed down to the Seine for a boat tour.  We started off sitting on the open top, but it started raining and it was cold and windy, so we ended up going down into the enclosed area for most of the tour.  It wasn't a very exciting tour, though I did get some good photos.  When we returned, there was a slew of riot control policemen by the main square, which we heard was because there was supposed to be a demonstration that afternoon!  We never saw anything, but it would have been cool to see.  We went to dinner at a restaurant recommended by our tour guide called Le Bistro 30.  They had a lunch deal where you could get a 3 course meal for 10 euro! I got French onion soup, steak with peppered sauce and a baked potato, and tiramisu.  I also got Sangria, which was delicious.  The whole meal was by far the best meal I have had in Europe thus far.  It was AMAZING. So good.  It was a nice experience and a cute little restaurant as well.  After we ate, we explored a few of the tourist shops and I got my souvenir key chains, including a little Eiffel Tower (I had to).  Then we tried to find le Jardin du Luxembourg, and it was raining hard at this point.  We got a little lost, but eventually we were able to find it.  And just when we got there, it stopped raining and the sun came out! It was beautiful.  The park was quite large, and included a palace as well.  We only saw a small portion of it though.  We also saw a wedding dress photo shoot going on in the park, which was neat!  As we were leaving, we walked by a giant pavilion filled with people who were all singing.  I had no idea what they were singing or why, but it was cool. We then made our way to the train station, and when I tried to put my ticket in, I wasn't allowed through the turn-style! We are guessing that somehow my ticket got de-magnetized. Sooo I had to jump the turn-style (aka-walk through the exit).  Oops.  But then I bought a new ticket so I wouldn't have any more trouble. Once I got to the train, we headed to the stop "Charles de Gaulle Etoile," which stops right by the Arc de Triomphe.  We had to make a few exchanges to get there, and I swear that one of the places, we walked a few city blocks to get to our next train! But when we finally emerged street side, the traffic in the circle was crazy! In fact, when an accident occurs on the circle, the insurance companies automatically split the cost, because there is no traffic rules when it comes to the round-about and there is no way to really know who was in the wrong!  I thought this was interesting.  Anyway, we figured out that you have to take a tunnel underground to the island where the Arc de Triomphe is (because you would probably die like Frogger if you tried to cross the traffic circle), but we decided to just take pictures from the edge of the road.  We then took a stroll down the Champs Elysee and saw all of the huge designer chains, including many car companies, Louis Vuitton, H&M (which we went into), Sephora, Chanel, and my personal favorite, Abercrombie & Fitch.  I say it's my favorite not because I like the store (I don't really), but because there was a legit GATE to the store, and a queue of a good 50+ people waiting to go inside.  And all of the employees outside manning the gate were all dressed the same in A&F clothes... It was just ridiculous!  Anyway, I made a purchase at H&M, so I can say I officially have a dress from Paris, and that I have shopped on the Champs Elysee (the bag even says so!).  After a bit more browsing, we decided we were hungry for some real French crepes.  We found the nearest Metro station and made our way to the Eiffel Tower area to find some.  When we arrived, it was just starting to get dark.  We found a little cafe that served fresh crepes, coffee, and pastries.  I got a Nutella and banana crepe, and it was divine.  Then we started to make our way towards the tower and the park, taking pictures the whole time.  Once we got to the park in front of the tower, we walked around looking at the bear statues.  There was one painted for each country (idk how many exactly).  Then we found a good spot for some photos and for the light show that happens every hour.  The light show was really cool! It looked like a giant flashing Christmas tree, and the twinkling got faster and faster until it was over.  We then walked towards the tower to get some close ups.  We decided to not go up in the tower, because we did not want to pay and it was rather cold to be waiting for the elevators.  So we went back to Bercy to find dinner and a drink.  On the train ride back, we were entertained by multiple street musicians, including one guy who played the accordion! I thought it was pretty cool and may have taken a video of it... :) Dinner was not as good as lunch, but it was decent.  I had Quiche Lorraine and a salad, and it was pretty good.  We got a drink at the bar next door before heading back to the hotel for the night.
On Sunday we got directions from Eric for our planned trip that day.  Some of the girls went to Versailles, but we decided to stay in town so we could meet up with Eric later to do a walking tour of Montmatre and Sacre Couer.  So we tried to go to the Catacombes, only to find out (after not being able to find them for a while) that they were closed until further notice, due to ventilation problems.  We were upset and wet from the rain, and decided to go to the Musee d'Orsay instead.  We did get to take a double decker TRAIN to get there though, which was cool.  But once we got to the museum, there was a line out the door, winded up and down the street, and we decided it was not worth the wait.  We decided to go then to the meeting point for the tour later (which was by the Moulin Rouge) and get lunch before the tour.  I had a croque monsieur, which was alright, but I've heard that they can be better.  We then hit up Starbucks for some warm beverages, since it was cold and wet.  The workers found us interesting because we were American, and they couldn't spell our names when they asked for them!  I ended up being Cassie instead of Kelsay, and from then on, she just handed the marker and the cup over for us to write our own names.  I swear one of these days I'm just going to say my name is Rose to make it easy and uncomplicated!  Eric then took us up the hill and toured through the town, which was really cool! It was an older part of town and had a very medieval feel to it, much like Tallinn, which I love.  After some serious hill hiking, we finally made it up to the top where Sacre Couer church sits.  The huge, white dome was incredible, and there was so much detail!  We went inside (and unfortunately were not allowed to take pictures), which was just as impressive.  There were big domes and arch ways, with art on the ceiling and windows at the top.  If you paid, you could go up to the bell tower.  There were also some incredible views of Paris from the top of the hill.  It was unfortunate that it was such a rainy/dreary day, because I'm sure the pictures would have been much better.  We then explored the area a big (there was a wine festival going on with loads of tents of vendors) and went to a creperie for one last crepe.  I also tried some "vin chaud" or hot wine, which was AMAZING. Like I have a new favorite drink.  It reminded me of wassail from madrigals, with the orange slice and all! But it was very good, and the lady selling it was speaking to me in French the whole time, not realizing I wasn't entirely sure what she was saying! (My French knowledge was just enough to get me by, luckily there was a guy in our group who was a little more fluent than I).  After our crepes, we took the Funicular down the hill back to the main part of town.  There were some gypsies down there trying to sell friendship bracelets by tying them to your wrists, and we witnessed one guy get dragged away by his friends before he could get cheated.  We found the train station and went back to the hotel to meet up with the group to return to England.  The train ride home we were all ridiculously exhausted.  By the time we got back to London, it was almost 11:00 p.m.  Then we discovered that the train we were planning to take was out of service due to construction on Sunday, so we had to alter our route.  And long story short, it took an additional 40 or so minutes to return to campus, and we got back around 1:00 a.m.
Overall, it was a great trip and I really enjoyed it.  It would have been nice if the weather was a bit more agreeable, but we still had a lot of fun.  My friend Sean and I were dubbed the navigators of the trip, being the only ones who spoke French and had enough sense to read a map.  Not to mention that even today, I'm still getting used to people speaking English, and have had to catch myself from speaking French to the caf workers at dinner... The metro stations (and some of the streets) smelled really bad, and the city was rather dirty overall.  We all decided that as much as we loved Paris, we all missed London.  It really is becoming home to me. :)

Just to Clear the Air, I Do Normal Student Things Here...

In case you got the impression that all I do is travel and have fun here (Grandma K!), I'd like to say that I actually do have student-like things to do (they're just not as fun to write about!)  The last few days I have been working away at homework: reading, researching, writing, etc.  So that I can get my paper done so I can not worry about it this weekend when I'm in Paris! :)  I also went to the chiropractor today (my first British chiro experience).  It was a bit different than home, but mostly alright.  He didn't do much manipulative adjusting, which I'm not so used to, but he did do a lot of muscle work, which I liked (and was very thankful for, especially my shoulders!).  He seemed thrown off by my extensive anatomy and chiropractic knowledge, and then I told him my intended career. ;) I'm going back next week, so we'll see how it goes.
But as for studying, I think that next time I study abroad, I'll just do the abroad part.  How dare my studies get in the way of my adventures and fun time!  But alas, I have to actually do work. Which is what I'm going to do now that I've added an average post to my blog.
On a totally random (to you) side note, a plane just flew really close to the ground over my dorm.  It's like living next to train tracks.  There is one like every 15 4 minutes and they are SO LOUD. That is all.

Stonehenge and Bath

Today I went on a tour of Stonehenge and Bath.  We started out early in the morning, taking a coach 2 hours out to Bath.  I got some reading done for class (see, I do sometimes do homework...) and then took a short nap.  The scenery around Bath was beautiful.  The rolling English country side reminded me a little of home, mostly because of the wide open air, fields, farms, and cows.  We drove into town, passing some Rugby matches and the Pulteney Bridge.  We got dropped off and walked into the central focus of Bath: The Roman Baths. And the Bath Abbey (where the first ever coronation was held!).  We got our tickets to go in to see the Roman Baths.  The Roman Baths are filled by a natural hot spring, the only one in the United Kingdom, and have obviously been around since Roman rule in Britain.  They were said to have "healing powers" brought on by the Goddess Sulis, and has been a popular place for people to come bathe and seek healing.  The water of course was steaming, which I thought was pretty cool.  I didn't really know what the baths were until we got there, and then I was surprised at the size and vastness of them!  There were multiple pools filled by the springs, and a whole temple built around them.  It was all very cool.  Unfortunately, we could not drink the water of the spring (it was closed for some reason), but I've heard it tastes disgusting, like sulfur.  After that, we were starving and got some lunch.  We also found this little fudge place where they had caramel apples covered in chocolate chips and marshmallows.  I got one and it was delicious, and one more thing to check off my fall items list!  We tried to visit the Abbey, but since it was Sunday, it was closed until later afternoon due to services.  So we went into a few gift shops and got souvenirs, then explored the more modern shopping district.  When we met back with the tour guide, he showed up the Cross Baths, another set of baths, and the only spa that operates off of the springs.  We saw the Jane Austen house, the Queen's Park, the Circus, and the Crescent, along with many examples of the Georgian architecture and the golden hue of the famous Bath limestone.  The Crescent is one of the most famous attractions in Bath, and is in many movies and books.  We learned that Nicholas Cage once owned a house there (before he had to sell it for not paying his taxes).  It had a beautiful view of the city below, and a giant park in the middle of it.  There was a drop-off part-way into the crescent called the "Ha-Ha," because it was funny when someone wasn't paying attention and didn't see the wall and would fall over it.  The original purpose was to keep animals from coming up onto the main lawn, and I couldn't tell how high it was until we were on the other side of it.  I can see how someone would fall off! After this, we walked back through town to board the coach for Stonehenge.  It was about an hour drive from Bath, and in the middle of nowhere.  Once we arrived and stepped off the coach, everyone was grabbing for their shirts because there was an awful smell of manure.  This again reminded me of home :) but it was quite strong!  We got our tickets and our audio guides and made our way up to the big stones.  It was a lot bigger than I imagined!  I grew bored of the audio tour, which basically told all the theories and stories about why they are there or how they got there.  I mainly took a lot of pictures and just looked at them as we walked the circular path around them.  It was very cool to see, since it is a world wonder and all, but a little anti-climatic in my opinion, especially since you could see them from the road without paying to go in.  Nonetheless, we enjoyed, and hiked up a field across the road to see some of the burial mounds, or barrows.  We even climbed up one!  Then it was time to go and we got back on the coach for home.  It was a long day, and wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped, but I am glad that I went.  When we got back, we went to dinner and had our weekly movie night (National Treasure this time). And for now, I'm tired, and am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.  Enjoy my weekend blogs, I'm going to bed!