Climbing up on Solsbury Hill...

Hello all,

Sorry it has been a few days since I last wrote. It has been a busy week all around and I have come down with a slight cold that now (thankfully) is getting better!

Saturday was an early morning getting up for me at 8:45, I ended up running down the street just to catch the bus on time, typical me. We took the bus to the main campus in Richmond Hill, which was beautiful, and headed for the countryside towards Stonehenge. It was about a 2 hour bus ride out to Stonehenge and the tour guide gave us some history while the city turned into rolling green hills as we got closer. Upon arriving she gave us the theory about an alien landing site and commented that "This was not plausible because you'd have never been able to see it from outer space". Seems the landing site is less believable than aliens in general here. We were really lucky the sun came out just as we were getting to Stonehenge. It is funny though all of a sudden in the middle of the countryside there is all this traffic, and some rocks upright, and a bunch of people walking in circles around it...seemed very cult-ish and amusing but it was absolutely magnificent as well. After getting some photos (which I'll post later as they are on a friends camera), we headed for the 2.5 hour bus ride to Bath.

The countryside on the way to Bath was incredibly beautiful. There was one hill that both myself and another girl at the same time stated "that looks like the Sound of Music"[hill]. Bath is an obviously older city which reminded me something of what Florence or a small Italian village might look like. You're amongst the countryside and suddenly a city come out of nowhere.
It is right on a river running through it center, is paved with cobblestone and has impossibly small streets. There were street performers and musicians lining the plazas along with quaint cafes and ice cream shoppes. The Roman Baths are in a building and the tour is audio taking you slowly down through the temple of the Baths, past the sources of the water (bubbles can be seen and the steam rising from the water) as well as the drainage system the Romans put into place. There is a small section where you have to kneel down and peer down a tunnel to see a small waterfall in the rock beds designed as part of the dranage to keep the water at level in the baths. This resembled the movie "Goonies"...because there were lots of coins illuminating the rock bed...if you've seen it you get it...otherwise...nevermind :o) The stone architecture is still much of the same from when the Romans inhabited Bath and the museum surrounding the Baths does a great job of reconstructing models of what it probably looked like in its prime. [My friend illegally dipped her toe in the water clarifying that it is indeed hot.]

Leaving Bath we came across (I think) one of the most beautiful sites I've seen in quite a while. The tour guide announced that this was Solsbury Hill, the picture I found online doesn't really do it justice.
It was really just this amazing valley rising into a large hill face opposite the road we were traveling on. So I quickly switched my Ipod onto Peter Gabriels "Solsbury Hill" and enjoyed my music while passing the English countryside. (The tour guide noted that Johnny Depp has recently been house hunting on Solsbury Hill...so now it's even more my favorite place.)

The ride home was long but it was a wonderful day. This entry is getting long so I'll start another about my week so far above this one!!

Lots of love,
Kate