Although I’m quite sad that I had to leave my beloved Oxford, I will admit that there are quite a few things that I am incredibly happy to be reacquainted with. Here’s a quick list:

1) My Parents

2) My Sambo kitty

3) My incredible, soft, fluffy, large bed

4) Sleep

5) WATER

6) ice cubes

7) free refills

8) Washing machines that do more than push the dirt around a little

9) humidity (JOKE!!!!!!)

10) Polly Rocket

11) wonderful Augusta, Georgia shower water…the best in the world I swear

12) my hair straightener

13) feeling clean

14) the radio

15) my cell phone

16) WiFi

17) perfume/lotion

18) my closet

19) air conditioning

20) adequate lighting for makeup-ing

21) the smell of my house

22) the size of my room

23) clothing options

24) TV

25) my friends

The End. Time to sleep now after….ehhhhh 42 hours. NIGHT NIGHT

I’m feeling rather uninspired currently to read the god forsaken texts of Sir Thomas Malory—it’s in Old English which is torturous—so I decided I would blog about the end of last week and my wonderful weekend. Maybe it’ll be easier to make a little laundry list of things—so here we go!

1) Last Thursday marked the (insert number here) annual ‘football’ match between Georgia and Georgia Tech…we haven’t won in something like 10 years, mostly because they only let kids who can play soccer come on the trip (you think I’m kidding….), and this year proved to be a well fought battle, but yet another failure. We scored the first two goals, they eventually equalized and pulled ahead 3-2 then we answered in the last minute, and then lost in PKs. Yea, cheap way to lose right? Well, at least we win in the following categories: Spirit, cuteness, cute boys, most fun, best wardrobe coordination, most likely NOT to bring our books to the game (yea, it happened…the nerds brought their books), loudness of cheers, team work, cutest coach, best thrown together in two weeks team, most likely not to hold tryouts and cut people who weren’t good (yea, that happened too on the side of the enemy), coolness, best sportsmanship (cough cough), and did I mention most fun?? I mean what do you expect from the #1 party school in the nation. Honestly it was one of the most fun things ever! I got to play with a vuvuzela and it was a dream come true! Although we didn’t win, we’re still not Techies…which subsequently means we’re still not lame! I’ll take that over a win in a pick up game of soccer any day.

2) Windsor! Friday my friends Laura and Tamara and I all took the trip to Windsor. Hands down one of the most fun days! We did end up getting on a couple of wrong trains/didn’t get off at the right stops, but we eventually ended up there and LOVED it. We ate at a really delicious little restaurant called HaHa! but it really wasn’t funny how long it took! We got to Windsor before 1 and didn’t get up to the castle until 3:30! That is a problem for a few different reasons. First, because the castle gates closed at 4:30…however, the chapel closed at 4! So, pretty much our tour was a running tour, but we enjoyed every moment of the palace! Words cannot describe the grandeur and beauty of this place…I’m really keeping my fingers crossed that the Royal Fam will adopt me (sorry mom!). We ate some award winning ice cream and did a little bit of shopping, and then headed back to Oxford for a really chill night!

3)London—Kyle and I spend Saturday and Sunday in London. Our days were very very full but I feel like my trip is now complete because I FINALLY got there. Our hotel was in a very nice area and although the room was teeny, it was super nice and clean and overall wonderful! Saturday we left early and headed to London and our first stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was INCREDIBLE. I could have stared at the mosaic ceilings forever. I wish I had been able to take pictures because it was just breath taking. What a cool place, and to think that the man who built that also had a hand in building my Trinity College Chapel and many of the buildings in Oxford. We headed from St. Paul’s over to the Tower of London for another semi-abbreviated tour…since it closed at 5:30 and we got there at 3:00. We did get to see the crown jewels which was on my list of things to do, and we got to go see the armor exhibit and do some gift shopping. We participated in about half of a beefeater tour but then decided our time would be better spent on our own. We had to rush after the tower over to Picadilly Circus (which definitely lives up to its circus name) to pick up our tickets for the Lion King and grab a quick dinner before heading to the hotel to freshen up for the show. We had the hotel call a cab for us, and were pleasantly surprised when a brand new Mercedes rolled up to pick us up. We headed to the theater in style and I must say, it was pretty schnazzy. The Lion King was a true piece of theater genius and I suggest everyone MUST see it at some point. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute, and I think I’ve officially turned Kyle into a theater man! We headed home after the theater and needed to get some sleep because we were both pooped from running all over the place earlier. We woke up Sunday and decided to get a hop on hop off bus pass and we did a double decker tour through the city for a large part of the morning. We got off at Shakespeare’s Globe and did a tour there and it was pretty sweet. After the Globe we got back on the bus and went over towards Westminster Abbey where we grabbed lunch and decided to attend the 3 o’clock Evensong. It was beautiful and we were there early enough to get really amazing seats. It was such a moving service and to think that my church choir (and my mom) got to be apart of that TWICE was very cool. I loved it, and it was one of the things I wanted to do most, so I was a happy girl after that service. I got a really beautiful Celtic cross necklace from the Abbey shop along with some other little things. Love Westminster Abbey, wish I could be cool enough to get married there! After Westminster we went down to the river and had a river boat tour—The views of Parliament, Big Ben, and the London Eye are no where better than on the river. This tour was complimentary as a part of our bus pass which was awesome! We got off the boat around the Tower of London and headed back so we could hop on the bus and see Buckingham Palace. By the time we got there everything had closed up, but I still got to see it and it was totes worth it. We headed to Covent Gardens for dinner and had delicious Italian and FroYo for dessert. By that point we were absolutely worn out and headed in a cab back to the hotel. We got back yesterday around 12 and I definitely would say this weekend was a success.

4)It’s definitely bittersweet to think that I only have 2 days left here, but at the same time I think I’m ready to get home to my family and my friends! We had a great last high table dinner and Monday night celebration and I will certainly miss my OxFam. We are already planning reunions and I’m sure we will all stay friends forever, since we have experienced something together that is unlike anything in the world. I guess I should attempt to go get some of Kalpen’s work done…we have SO much reading and I still have two papers to write before we get on the plane on Friday. I think the plan is for everyone to stay up all night on Thursday (since we’d have to get up at 3:30 AM anyway) and just hang out on the lawn and then sleep it up on the plane.

That’s all for now, I’ll probably think of something I forgot in like 20 minutes. Oh well!

So much has happened in the last two weeks that I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve been a long time since the last time I’ve written, and honestly that is no fault of mine! I have been stacked with papers and reading and traveling and birthday-ing…so there’s been little time for writing.  Something else hindering my blogging…the fact that my Ethernet cord no longer wants to be accepted by my computer L Oh well, at least I figured out today that my roommate’s will work occasionally.  How annoying, for real.

So I guess I’ll start kind of where I left off. The weekend of July 22-25^th was a great one.  We had to stay in a hostel on Thursday night in London because our train for our tour was leaving at 5:30 AM on Friday.  The hostel was quite the experience…and really one I would rather not have to do again.  It was disgusting, small, loud, and most importantly disgusting.  At least Kyle and I were able to get a room on our own instead of with like 12 other people. The front desk also gave me a clean sheet to put on the bed, so I huddled in one corner trying not to move or touch anything listening to drunk, obnoxious Frenchmen outside of my window literally until I had to wake up at 4:45. But hostel aside, our night in London was pleasurable.  We ate at a really cute Italian café, and also met up with Ansley and Kayla at the train station for a quick hello before they jetted back off to America. 

We woke up super early and headed to the train station where our tour was meeting up. We lucked out and our favorite tour guide Andrew was the leader and that was amazing! Our train was about four and a half hours to Edinburgh and as soon as we got there we hopped on a bus for a panoramic tour of the city.  We got to stop at one of the Royal Palaces (that is still used by Queen Elizabeth today) and were able to see many of the important monuments and sights in Edinburgh.  After our tour we ended up at our Bed and Breakfast, which was another interesting experience.  I ended up in a room with two German girls, and a lady from South Africa.  Kyle was the only English speaker in his room…it was an interesting two nights! But overall it was clean and the people were friendly. Kyle and I headed out to explore a little bit and ended up at the Sir Walter Scott monument which is the largest monument dedicated to a writer EVER. And it was HUGE. We climbed well over 270 stairs to get to the tippy top and you could see the entire city all the way to the sea from the top. It was incredible and a little unnerving for someone who doesn’t enjoy heights.  We explored the park and got some lunch and then headed back to the B&B for a shower and nap.  That night for dinner we hooked up with some of our friends who had just come for the weekend, but not on the tour, and Andrew took us to a pub called The World’s End. It was super cute and local and had really delicious pub food. People kept telling me how awful the food was here, but I have loved every bit of it (aside from the duck pate at last weeks high table…didn’t eat that one).  We headed to a few other pubs, as Andrew was very familiar with the city. It was great fun, and we ended up turning in kind of early because we had an early morning the next day.

So we got up and had a delicious breakfast and then headed out to the Scottish highlands.  The bus ride was so beautiful and the places where we hopped out to soak in the scenery were immaculate.  THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE ON THE PLANET=THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS. If you ever have the opportunity in your life to get there, it’s unlike any other place.  The mountains are incredible, and the lush green landscape is impeccable.  I really want to go back! Pictures could not do it justice…it is just breathtaking.  We got to see many of the Loch’s including Loch Ness, where we stopped at Urquhart Castle.  It is a castle that is full of so much history, and you could just feel it all around.  No sightings of Nessie occurred, but I swear I saw something in that water J Our highland tour day was probably one of the best days, Kyle and I both agree on this too, that we have had here! That night we just headed to dinner and ended up getting to bed fairly early.  The next day was a free day to explore and do whatever we pleased.  So we were up bright and early and headed to Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile.  Edinburgh Castle sits on this enormous hill and it is truly spectacular. So much history surrounds the castle, and it was home to numerous kings and queens. Seeing the crown jewels of Scotland was a highlight, and just taking in the incredible views from the hill was great.  We headed out of the castle and down the Royal Mile (full of shops and restaurants) and searched for somewhere to eat. We ended up at another yummy pub and continued shopping all day.  Before we left Edinburgh we definitely thought it was necessary to do a Scotch Whisky tour. We got a great history and description of how Scotch is made and got to see the worlds largest collection of Scotch. We got samples and with our ticket a free Scotch glass. It was definitely a highlight, and I’ve decided that Scotch may very well be one of my favorites. It’s kind of like wine because there are hundreds of thousands of types and you can just try until you find one that you like.

We headed back from Edinburgh and we got to work on our papers on the train. I had three papers due last week, 2 on Wednesday and 1 on Thursday. Let’s just say…that was TORTURE.  I had eight hours of sleep in something like 56 hours. Most tired I have ever been is even an understatement.  But I got through it, and we celebrated on Thursday with the beginning of birthday week (as I dubbed it).  There were 4 of us turning 21 between August 1^st and August 2^nd and we decided to make it one big party week J Yay! Tonight is the big night, high table dinner and then pretty much the whole program is having a big birthday party!

Friday we made the trip to Bath—five of us went up there and had a great time. All of the architecture is wonderful and the Roman Baths were so cool. They are still around from the 400s, and the natural hot waters still flow into them.  Although you can’t get into these baths anymore for obvious health reasons, we did go to the big spa in town and got to swim in their thermal baths. It was really awesome. There was a roof top pool and yummy steam rooms.  We also got the opportunity to see the fashion museum of Bath which included an exhibit with some of Princess Diana’s iconic dresses.  That was really moving and just incredible to think that she had actually worn the dresses.  We ate lunch at another delicious pub and did lots of shopping.  The Bath Abbey was beautiful and had some of the best stained glass windows I’ve ever seen!

That night we got back and Kyle, Katy, Chris, and I went punting. It was so gorgeous and it was a different route than was the first time I went. We punted to the Victoria’s Arms pub, which is only accessible from Oxford by punt. We ate dinner there (yummy, again!) and punted back at dusk. It was really wonderful and I can definitely see why the Brits love to punt so much. It’s the ultimate relaxation, especially when the boys are doing the punting J

This weekend I was in Wales with my history teacher seeing all of Edward I’s great castles.  We saw five of them and they were all incredible.  We stayed in an adorable little hotel, that was actually the hotel of the year in Wales numerous times, and had an incredible dinner by an award winning chef.  I spent my birthday seeing more castles, and yes it was awesome, but  I was definitely ready to get back to Kyle.

I got back around 8 last night and Kyle and I exchanged the gifts we weren’t going to get each other. He got me tickets to the Lion King in London for next weekend and a soccer jersey J I got him a flask in Scotland and had it engraved and it’s gorgeous. I also got him some odds and ins and had balloons sent to him while I was gone  and all in all I think it was a success. We went to dinner at a little restaurant called The Mitre, and it was delicious. They brought us a bottle of wine with a balloon and it was so cute J  We called it a night pretty early, mostly because I was worn out from all of the walking through castles I did. 

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, and I can’t believe we are leaving in something like 12 days L it is so sad because I love this place and these people so so much!  That’s all I have for now, time for birthday celebrations!

…And I’m not just saying that…I’m dead serious! My history teacher is Ralph Fiennes (AKA VOLDY) aunt! No kidding :)

I believe it was said best by a classmate of mine while we were chatting in the printer closet (I call it closet because it is hardly large enough to be considered a room). She simply stated this trip is full of complete highs or complete lows. There is no in between. How true she was.  This entire experience as a whole is one of the most incredible and fascinating of my life, but at the same time, I have been torn down to a level I have never been before.  My one true Oxford professor (my other Oxford class is actually with a professor who is now at UGA but was at Oxford and is the director of our program) is a very intelligent and nice lady in person, but on paper she is awful.  

Since the first week we arrived, we have been assigned a paper to answer one question.  The research is to be conducted all on our own and the topic is one that we discuss in tutorial AFTER we’ve written the paper. In other words we teach ourselves the material and then pray that we get it right on our papers.  This experience has been the most academically challenging experience of my life, and I just know that this semester at UGA will probably end up being the easiest for me yet. 

So back to my professor. She is Rowena, Rowena Archer and she probably knows more about the Middle Ages than any other human being on Earth. I don’t know why you would be particularly interested in the Middle Ages to such an extent, but she is and she knows everything.  And her papers will break you down. We don’t want to spend our whole trip in the library, so normally we end up writing them in two days, which is fine, except she expects perfection (because apparently we are already all knowing?). It’s just been a tough experience having to learn how to write how she wants us to write, which is pretty much completely against how we are taught from an early age. Yes, you hit rock bottom at 4:15 AM the day the paper is due when you realize, after you’ve printed, that you’ve left some critical detail out….however, then Thursday night it’s a complete high, getting to go out with all of your new best friends.

This weekend we head to Edinburgh for a weekend full of tours and it should be wonderful. We have our same wonderful tour guide and we’re excited to get to see more of the city than the Waverly Train station and the Marriott.

Hopefully I’ll have many fascinating tales from the weekend…I can’t believe we only have 3 weeks left in this magical place. 10 days until my 21st birthday!

So, it seems that I’ve gotten into an unfriendly pattern of just about one blog per week. Honestly it’s all I’ve had time for between school and gallivanting through the British countryside.  Last time I wrote, I had just gotten back from my excursion for my King Arthur class and was about to be tortured to death by one paper. Well this week I have another paper for that class, and then next Weds. I have two more papers due! BAHHHH! I guess this could very well be my last blog for a few days, unless we get back on Sunday at a reasonable hour. 

Anyway, now that I’ve said a whole bunch of useless things…

This weekend was amazing. I guess I should start with an end of the week update from last week…and really it was all school work until Thursday. Literally I was in the library all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday was devoted to writing. I had a tutorial Wednesday and Thursday and after my tutorial Thursday Laura and I went shopping in little Oxford town. We found some really cute dress shops and got a few fun things! Thursday night we went out with everyone—and it was actually the first night all of the girls on my floor (myself, my roommate Katie, Laura, and Tamara across the hall) got to go out together!

Friday Kyle and I were up pretty early getting ready to head out to Scotland for the Open Championship. Our train left Oxford at 10:30 AM and we made several stops in other little towns on our way to Edinburgh. We arrived in Edinburgh around 4 and wow, that place is unreal. I thought Oxford was gorgeous, Edinburgh is a step above.  I’m so thankful that we are heading back this weekend for our 3 day tour, or else I would feel like I missed out! We got a quick tour on the way to the hotel (we were meeting Kyle’s dad there…they came to the UK for a few weeks).  We were staying at a Marriott down the main road, and unfortunately it wasn’t like one of the super cute and historic hotels, but it was really nice none-the-less. We headed out for dinner and ended up stopping at a really cute little pub that had better than normal pub food. I had Broccoli Pasta! It was yum and the evening was overall a success.

We woke up early on Saturday and got our things together and headed out to the Open. We did this thing called GolfLink and it was about an hour train ride from Edinburgh to Leuchers (which is about a 4 minute bus ride to the golf course) and then it included the bus ride to the course. The train through the country was GORGEOUS. Most of the train was right along the coastline and the scenery was just so rolling and luscious.  Think Made of Honor, the movie, and the family’s farmland. That is all over the place. We made it to Leuchers and hopped on the bus and ended up at the course around 11:30. We were going to meet up with some friends at the 5th tee at 12:00 so we checked in our luggage, since we weren’t staying with his dad the next night, and headed out to the course. 

Everything at St. Andrew’s is so different than what I’m used to, although I guess what else is new! I’m so used to the lush, green, well manicured and landscaped Augusta National—you know the landscaping and everything is what makes that place so darn gorgeous. But St. Andrew’s is so different. Everything about it is 100% natural. The beauty of that course is the natural, rugged, weathered beauty of a seaside golf course. Another difference is the atmosphere. The Master’s is so uptight, if you were to wear jeans there…well it wouldn’t be the best thing in the world. But everyone at the Open was dressed casually. I ended up just wearing my Chacos with jeans and a jacket and hat I bought there because it was the most comfortable (and warm!). There are tons of vendors set up around the course, and endless amounts of food choices. It really was an experience, and a new one at that.

So Saturday we met up with a whole bunch of our friends from the program and just walked around the course—we followed John Daly and Tiger for a while.  Kyle had a gigantic burger for lunch and I had fish and chips. We just hung out and enjoyed a day on the windy course and around 5:00 we headed out with three of our friends (Sydney, Andrew, and Bret) to stay at Bret’s uncles house about 45 minutes from the course.  It was his little 80 year old great uncle and he was adorable. We stayed in his little house and he was so hospitable. He picked us up from St. Andrew’s and he also took Kyle and I back to St. Andrew’s on Sunday. He was such a wonderful guy and really a lot of fun. We ate at a little family pub across from his house that night and then pretty much tried to turn in early—we were all pretty wiped out.

Kyle and I went to the Open again on Sunday for the Championship round. We did a lot more walking of the course and really tried to experience a little bit of each hole. It was warmer on Sunday, but still very breezy. The beach backs right up to St. Andrew’s and that day there were people in the water (crazies!) and playing beach volleyball. It was really cool. We left the Open around 6 and made our way back to Edinburgh.

Now here’s where the story gets really interesting. When we arrived in Edinburgh, we went to information about our train back. He proceeded to inform us that the train we were on (the 11:30 PM train) was a bad idea…we’d have to switch train stations at 4:30 in the morning in Glasgow, England—and those train stations were across town. Yea, we definitely didn’t want to do that. So he gave us another route that was leaving around 8. Our route…8-11, 5-7…Yep, 8 in the evening to 11 in the evening…and then our next train wouldn’t leave the Crewe train station until 5 in the morning. The man said he believed they would let us stay in the station over night, but he wasn’t entirely positive. So we were thinking there was a good chance at 11 in the night we would be kicked out of a train station until our next train….

Well, it really wasn’t that bad. We made 5 friends who were in the same boat as us—two guys from GA Tech and three from SMU—were on the same exact route as us. So we all stuck together. We hunkered down in the waiting room, and the little night man came around midnight. He asked us when our next train was and we all held our breath as we told him 5 AM. He then told us it was fine if we stayed he was just going to lock up the main gates upstairs, but we could get around the station if we needed. So we stayed at the Crewe train station that night, and needless to say…we didn’t sleep! Well, the boys slept for a bit…I tried to get some reading done, although I was almost to the point where I was having to read the pages numerous times to get the info understood.

So that was our adventure back from the Open. We eventually got back to Oxford around 7:30 AM, walked from the train station, had breakfast, I uploaded pictures, and then I slept from about 11:00-3:00. It was just enough to hold me over, but not enough to make it impossible for me to sleep last night. Today is the day I really have to get some work done. My paper is due Thursday, and I’ve got those others due as well.

Kyle and I are heading back to Edinburgh this weekend for our guided 3 day tour. And it’s great because our tour guide we made friends with is our tour guide for our whole weekend! It should be great!

Okay, off to the library I go.

Hello All-

So it’s been a few days since my last post, and what a few days it has been! I decided today would be a good day to start off blogging, since the next two days will be full of nothing but school work/library time—and then after that it will be time to head to Scotland for the Open. So here goes my best attempt at my weekend—hopefully I’ll get every thing down, because let me tell you folks, it was definitely one for the memory bank.

So let’s start with Friday—I think that was the last time I blogged—a big group of us went out to Jamie Oliver’s restaurant (appropriately named Jamie’s Italian) and it was delicious. I had some very good asparagus risotto, and Kyle was perfectly content with his tradition spaghetti. That was definitely a crowd favorite. But it was fun to go to a sit down restaurant and eat some delicious food! Friday night we called it a semi-early night, I was in bed before midnight which was great, since we had a 5:30 a.m. wake up call the next morning!

So Saturday began our adventures. It was the class trip for my King Arthur class, and not only is our teacher wonderful but our group was great too! We had 13 people total, and by the end we were just one big happy family! Our HUGE bus rolled up and got us around 6:45ish and we were off. It was so funny that we ended up on this gigantic bus where every person could have their own row or two. Everyone pretty much passed out on the bus, but I decided to rough it and stay awake through the English countryside. And I was SO glad that I could stay awake…the countryside is literally one of the most beautiful places! It looks so much like you would imagine from the movies. The rolling hills and stone cottages, sheep and cows everywhere, beautiful trees, everything! I got to see a good bit of England on that bus ride and it was well worth it.

Our first stop was Glastonbury, the most fabulously hippie town on the planet.  We stopped at the Abbey there which is one of the oldest known Abbeys in England. Now it’s pretty much just the ruins of the Abbey, but it is gorgeous non-the-less.  Tons of history there, and more importantly it’s where the monks claimed to have found the bodies of Arthur and Guinevere. So we learned some things, took some pictures, and then headed to our next stop, the Glastonbury Tor.  The Tor sits on this gigantic hill that overlooks vast amounts of land.  It is a place where the Celts and Druids believe there is the most holy power in the world. So after we hiked up the treacherous terrain, we got to witness some of those people partaking in their rituals. It was a beautiful place.  After the Tor we headed to the Chalice Well.  It is said that the Holy Grail that held Jesus’ blood (which is supposedly buried under the Tor? I don’t really know, the details are really quite fuzzy) has this natural spring of water that flows through it, so people come to pray at the opening of the well, and there is a place where you can drink the water and take some with you. There’s even a healing pool, and me being the only one in shoes appropriate for water, got the honor of having my feet healed in the pool. It was cold…and that’s about it! It was quite the experience, and it was a beautiful, reflective garden, and it is a really really important place to the Celts (which by the way are very fascinating people).  While at the Chalice Well, Laura and I had the honor of using the Loo of the Year for 2010 in the entire UK…and it was a pretty nice Loo, I’ll give them that!  Then we headed out into the Glastonbury town for a look see. Just to give you an idea about this adorably charming little hippie love village, there were shops called The Psychic Piglet, The Cat and the Caldroun, The Lady and the Green Goblin, etc. etc. Everyone is very mystical and superstitious and they truly believe that they live in the Isle of Avalon (which is what Glastonbury was in the King Arthur Legends).

So after all of the Glastonbury adventures, it was back on to the bus for the next stop, Dozmary Pool. I fell asleep for that hour and a half portion of our trip and when I woke up we were in the middle of absolutely no where looking for the Dozmary Pool, which is apparently (and again supposedly) the final resting point for Excalibur.  We stopped at the pool, it was freezing and windy, we took a few pictures and dodged a few cow patties, and then headed back on the bus for our next stop which was to be one of the oldest Inns in the UK.  The Jamaica Inn was just kind of sitting in the middle of no where on the way to Dozmary Pool and we stopped in for a quick pint (or at least everyone else did!). It was an Inn used for smugglers way back in the day and there is all kinds of crazy history attached.

We got back on the road and headed out to Cornwall and Arthur’s Stone, which is what is claimed to be Arthur’s tomb and final resting spot. It was so pretty but kind of funny and you can tell they’ve tried to turn it into a tourist-trap type place. We moved on from there and headed into Tintagel which was probably 10 minutes at that point.  Tintagel is gorgeous and quaint and absolutely one of the most precious towns we’ve seen thus far. It’s situated right on the English coast and everything about it is magnificent…except for the hotel we stayed in….

The Camelot Castle hotel, yea I googled it and I promise you their website is NOTHING like the real place. This is somewhere that you can only see to believe. Just a little back history—there are three owners. Two are married, yet they are brother and sister….they were married on the anniversary of September 11th, in Afghanistan, to prove to the world that there was still peace. The other is like the creepy third wheel hanger on, and he is the self proclaimed worlds greatest (living or dead) artist. Oh My Gosh. His art was atrocious…. check him out if you feel so led….

http://www.tedstourton.com/

So there’s the story of these crazies who own this place, and I could see how at one time it was a wonderful beautiful hotel, but oh wow, it was more or less like camping indoors. Laura and I bunked together and we were more than happy when it was time to check out in the morning.

We ate at a tavern called the Port William Inn and it was amazing—the views were breath taking. We literally were eating on the edge of a cliff! The food was magnificent and definitely way too much. Laura and I shared fish and chips and chili because we couldn’t decide what we wanted. It was way too much food and we all over indulged, but it was well worth it! We headed back to the hotel and everyone was pretty much pooped so we hit the sack pretty hard (or table in this case…I think I would have been more comfortable on the floor!).

The next morning we had a bizarre little Camelot Castle Hotel breakfast and then headed out to explore all of the beautiful history that Tintagel holds. We hiked cliffs, and the castle ruins, and spent a lot of time on what seemed to be the top of the world. There are no words to describe the beauty of this place…it really was one of those places you just have to experience for yourself. It’s kind of like you are in awe of everything the entire time. The cliffs, the greenery, the castle ruins, the beautiful blue Atlantic water, everything is just completely picturesque.  I loved every minute of that day (after breakfast that is). The boys all went all the way through Merlin’s cave to swim, and the girls and I stayed behind to climb some rocks and enjoy the beach. No way I was swimming, it was cold and the water was WAY cold. But the boys did and they had a great time. We found some beautiful rocks—just flat and smooth and gorgeous—and really just had an overwhelmingly wonderful day.

After our outdoorsy adventures we headed into Tintagel town for lunch and shopping. We ate traditional Cornish Pasties (pronounced PAH-STEE) and I will say they weren’t my favorite. However the clotted cream and Scones…now that was a different story. Cornwall is known for their clotted cream and wow it is delish. After lunch we had time for a few shops and I got a really gorgeous necklace—it’s a Celtic L and I love it! Kyle got a baby Excalibur sword, and it’s quite cute.

We jumped back on the bus and headed back towards Oxford with hopes of making it back for the World Cup game. After a nearly 5 hour journey, we made it and everyone got to see Spain triumph! It was crazy here that night, there are Spaniards everywhere in Oxford and it was loud for the rest of the nighT! 

Yesterday I spent the day reading, and ran to the grocery store for some food so I don’t have to run out to lunch every day. I read for a good 5 hours in various places and then got ready for our second high table dinner. Our speaker last night is an expert on mafias and everything was quite interesting that he had to say! Dinner was a steak and delicious potato thing and asparagus. After dinner everyone headed out for a bit and we found a very fun new place that has these great big booths with tons of room for tons of people!

Overall it was a great weekend with great people. Kyle and I had the time of our lives and everyone who didn’t get to go on the trip is so jealous and thinking they wish they had taken our class! Today I’ve got to spend my day working on my paper that is due on Thursday (yipee) and then this weekend is the Open!

That’s all for now, I know it’s a bunch! Got to keep my people updated :)

LOVE to ALL