Hidden Beauty

First I have to apologize for being horrible at posting. I haven't had internet long enough to sit down and write much.

While London is an amazing and beautiful city, it is also loud and crowded. Being a small town girl I was starting to long for the country and some wide open spaces. On Sunday my wishes were fulfilled. We headed off to the English countryside. After about an hour on the road I started to fall in love with the landscape. Our first stop was the beautiful and mysterious Stonehenge. Its absolutely marvelous to stand and wonder about these mysterious rocks, and to observe their oddities. Its a beautiful location and I highly suggest you check it out if you are ever in the UK.

After hopping on the coach once again we headed toward the town of Bath. Yes, there really are baths there (well sort of). The town was established by the Romans after they invaded Great Britain. It is built on top of three hot springs that have served multiple purposes over the years. They have gone from being places of worship, to bring diverted to giant bath houses for enjoyment, to being used as a tourist and medical ploy in the 19th century. The city of Bath is absolutely breathtaking and entering it is like taking a step back in time. Just for the record the mineral water from the springs is absolutely disgusting, but it is an experience I'm not likely to forget.

Monday saw us visiting another school called Parliament Hill. It is an all girls school located in the borough of Camden. Of all the school visits we have made this was one of the most enlightening. We were first given a tour of the school by the students who weren't at all shy about their thoughts and opinions about the school (they all loved it). We then had the amazing opportunity to sit in on some of the class sessions.  It was nice to get an insight into the English classroom and pick up some new ideas for our own classrooms. We also hot to sit and talk to a group of student co-planners. These students are handpicked for a variety of reasons to help teachers plan lessons and get students more involved. They had a lot of interesting information to share.

Tuesday we were up bright and early in order to make our train to Edinburgh. While the train trip was long (5 hours), the scenery made up for it. Scotland was absolutely breathtaking. We traveled along the coast all the way into Scotland and had an amazing view of the ocean. Edinburgh was a beautiful respite from bustling London. It definitely had the small town atmosphere and the natural beauty. It felt little like coming home. We first visited the beautiful Edinburgh castle, and got to see the Scottish royal jewels. We then headed beneath the city for an underground ghost tour in the vaults. It was an entertaining and highly dramatized affair.

Wednesday we sadly finished our visit to Scotland and got ready to head back. We spent another long ride on the train filled with lots of naps. We then came back and made sure to take pictures of the Harry Potter platform in Kings Cross station. We then headed to bed for the night.

Today was a free day and so we tried to make the most of it. First off we slept in for the first time since we arrived in London. We then headed down to Piccadilly Circus to get our tickets for Phantom of the Opera. The show was absolutely amazing. It was beautifully put together and the special effects were amazing. Overall I loved it and I'm so glad I got to experience it.

This week I've gotten to see the beauty of the United Kingdom in several ways. Its in the countryside, the people, the history, and the music. I'm sad that in two days this will all be a memory, but it will be a memory that I will cherish forever.