Day Seven:

Today we went to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge is one of the 7 Wonders of the World, a mysterious/mythical cite from 3,000 BC - about 1,500 BC. Its not as big as I expected. There was just one circle of incredibly stacked stones. Appearently their formation is extremely significant as much of the stone placement has to do with the seasons - Summer and Winter Solstace, etc. They think the cite was for ceremonies to celebrate the seasons. There was an alter in the middle upon which they probably offered sacrifices. Ohter than that, I don't know much else about the legends and history of the place. However, let me throw in my little geologic fact (unfortunately this was told to me and has nothing to do with the pointelss geology class I took last semester): The blue stone (if you break it open it really is greyish blue) was taken from mountains in Wales, shipped across the channel or around the island, and then somehow(in____BC) was dragged to the cite. Remarkable! :)

These are some of my favorite new friends, Gracie and Mitzie Holland and Francis Benfell. Grace, Mitzie and I hung out a lot today both at Stonehenge and in Bath. Even thought Mitzie is about Carly's age she reminds me of Abby, and Gracie who is Jackson's age reminds me of Carly (but a bit more chatty - she'll talk your ear off).

Bath was our second exciting visit. It got its names for the famous Roman Baths there, which were supposed to have magical healing waters. There is a legend that the man who discovered the baths was a prince who was exiled because he had lepracy. His pigs rolled in some mud in this area and came out with all their sores gone. He tried rolling in the mud and it miraculously cured him of his leperacy. There are brightly painted and decorated pigs all over the city, but somehow I failed to get a picture of any.

Bath was a popular place in Victorian times and many of Jane Austin's novels involve characters going to Bath on holiday or actually living there. It was, as Dr. Paul put it, the Las Vegas of the day (not in the scandalous sense, I think, but just in the popular, entertainment-filled, ritzy vacation spot). While there we went to the Jane Austin Museum where we learned about Austin's family, her life, and how living for a time in Bath played a vital role in her writings. While she enjoyed it for a while, Austin never really embraced the glamour and flaunting of social status that seemed to be uch of life in Bath, especially for young ladies. The museum also had a gallery with costumes used for the BBC movie about Jane Austin that came out not long ago. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name.

Another famous cite in Bath is the "Circus", a full circle of houses (flats) with a grassy area in the middle. This was the second most ritzy street to live on, second only to the "Royal Crescent" which we somehow failed to make it to. Each adjacent street showed a differentiation in social status... how expensive of a house could you live in?

This isn't the "Circus" but the style and curving of the houses is similar.

I really enjoyed Bath. I wish we could have had more time to look around. It would have been fascinating, time permitting, to go to all the places mentioned in the book I'm reading by Austin, "Persuasion", and actually see what I'm reading about. However, I think the best part of the day was playing with the Holland girls. They are adorable. I think they might be my best friends on this trip so far (although I'm so lucky to be getting to know so many neat people).

My one complaint of the day: I got a nasty pita sandwich for dinner when we got back. It was LOADED with Miracle Whip. Ugh! I mean, there was more Mayo than chicken! I could only handle a few bites. So much for those 4 pounds. My hands still smell like Mayo!