April 19th Saturday
Today was Leslie’s actual birthday. Sadly, she wasn’t able to sleep in. We had to get up at 7:30am. We had decided to take the morning Stonehenge tour as a replacement of the one that was canceled. We got ready and headed into town. We stopped by Starbucks and I got a lemon poppy seed muffin and a caramel hot chocolate.
We met up in front of a glass store at 8:30 for the tour. There were a few other people on the same tour. Our guide/driver was a younger man with curly black hair. He was rather funny. We got in the van and he drove us out to Stonehenge. As we drove he explained some of the history of Stonehenge and the area. As we drove up I could see it on the hill. I was so excited. I have wanted to see Stonehenge for as long as I can remember. We parked in the parking lot and our guide bought our tickets. Sadly, the weather was dreadful for our little visit. It was raining and the wind was blowing it sideways. It was deathly cold.
We went through the tunnel that takes you under the street to Stonehenge. The first thing I was struck with was how small all of it was. I had been under the impression that Stonehenge was really quite tall. It was maybe a little over one story tall. It was still impressive but it wasn’t what I had been expecting. We took our photos with it and walked the path that circled it. We were given audio guides for information on it but it was so cold and windy that we just wanted to get inside. I tried to stay as long as I could to take pictures and look at it. It was kind of cool to see Stonehenge in a misty haze. I was glad we’d made the trip to see it.
Finally, we’d made our trip around Stonehenge and made our way back through the tunnel toward the gift shop and ticket booth. I bought myself a miniature pewter model of Stonehenge. I got my dad a bookmark and my mom a pin. For my brother, I got him a black rubber stone with the logo “Stonehenge rocks!” on it. We’d gotten a big kick out of the gimmick.
After making our purchases we went outside and waited for those in our group that were buying hot drinks. We all gratefully piled back in the van. I felt bad getting the seat wet. I was soaked from head to toe.
Our little tour continued onward. On the way, we passed houses with thatched roofs. Our tour guide was pointing out little thatched figures on the roofs. We saw a cat and an owl. These were the signature of the thatch worker who did the roof. In older times, the thatch worker would leave a thatch figure on the roof until the payments had been fully made. It was to shame the residents into paying the full price. Now, though, the figures are left up there as a sort of business card of the thatch worker.
Our next stop was a charming little town called Lacock. It turns out they filmed a lot of the early Harry Potter films here. But the film crew took advantage of the town and its people so they weren’t invited back. The newest director has rebuilt those ties though and the newer films will have scenes from Lacock.
We parked the van and everyone made a pit stop. Then our guide took us on a little walking tour. We learned about the little town and its residents. Throughout the town, there were all these strange figures. It was apparently a scarecrow contest. Every year the town has a fundraiser where they give a theme and people and businesses have to create scarecrows. People go around and guess what the scarecrows are. I saw things like Tom and Jerry and Catwoman. Our guide also showed us a tanning barn where they used to hang up the leather. He also showed us the highlight of the trip: Harry Potter’s parents’ house. This house was used in the making of the movies as Harry Potter’s parents’ house. We made sure this wasn’t Daniel Radcliff’s parents’ house. We all smiled and took pictures in front of it like the nerds that we are. Some of us seemed just as excited by this house as they were by Stonehenge.
We also saw a small church where I believe it was Camilla’s niece got married. It had an interesting looking graveyard. Our guide showed us a little bit more and then told us to meet at the van at a certain time. We poked around a little bit and ended up going into a bakery where some people bought some cupcakes and other treats.
We piled back in the van and we drove back to Bath. It had been a fun tour. We thanked our guide and piled out of the van at the main square. We decided to stop by the MKPD house (Meredith, Keith, Patrick, and Devon) so that Casey could pick up her suitcase there. We said hi to Patrick and Devon since the others were out. Leslie invited all of them to her birthday lunch.
The birthday lunch took place at Mai Thai. It was a fun Thai restaurant. I was definitely in the mood for some Thai. We sat at a big long table. There were lots of people there. I got to sit next to Keith and catch up some more. For lunch, I started with the coconut milk chicken soup. It was delicious. Then I had Pad Thai. It was all very delicious. It had been a long time since I’d had either of these dishes.
For dessert, the restaurant brought in the cake that Emily had secretly bought. It had candles lit on it. Leslie was really surprised and blew out the candles. It was a cute cake with little bears in cars driving around on it. We sliced it up and served it around. Emily told the story about how she tried to get the store to put “happy birthday” on it.
Emily: “Do you have any cakes that say happy birthday on them?”
Store: “No.”
Emily: “Can I get one of these cakes and have you write happy birthday on it?”
Store: “No.”
Emily: “Not even if I pay extra?”
Store: “No.”
Emily: “Well can I write happy birthday on it myself?”
Store: “No.”
Oh well at least she tried. The candles made it seem birthday enough anyway. We had a fun lunch and then dispersed. We had another trip to go on. That afternoon we were headed to Bristol. Leslie, Bram, and I headed to Leslie’s place. Leslie and I packed our things and then Bram walked us to the bus stop.
There, we bought the £4 bus ticket to Bristol. It was Emily, Casey, Glynnis, Leslie, and I in the bus. The ride didn’t take that long. Though it was funny when we realized how loud we were talking. Everyone in the bus was looking at us.
We got off the bus in Bristol and tried to find our hostel. The bus had to drop us off before the actual bus station and our directions were from the bus station. We eventually found our way there. It was called the Full Moon. We checked in. The interesting part was that we didn’t need keys. They registered our fingerprints. We just had to put our thumb on the finger pad to open the doors. It was pretty futuristic.
We went in and put all our stuff down. Casey had come here to meet a friend of hers named Mike. She got ready and went off to meet him. The rest of us showered and got ready ourselves. Once ready, we took a taxi into town. Our taxi driver asked us where we were from and we said cheerfully “the states.” He peered at us in the rearview and said “Well, you’re not too popular in the world now are you?” Leslie just smiled at him and said “But as individuals we’re okay!” Everyone griped about it once we got out of the cab.
We looked around and found a restaurant called the Gourmet Burger Kitchen. We weren’t in there until 9:30 or 10pm. I had a Mexican burger. It had the beef patty, sour cream, avocado, salsa (complete with beans), and lettuce. When it arrived I couldn’t believe my eyes. They were the biggest burgers I’d ever seen. I was so hungry that I ate most of it. I also got a lime milkshake to drink. It was good but could have used more lime flavor.
After we finished dinner we went to meet up with Casey and Mike at a bar. I tried a white Russian there and it was pretty yummy. We had fun talking there.
After the bar we made our way to a club. While we were walking, a group of drunk guys passed me and one of them smacked me on the ass. I whipped around, glared at them, and flipped them off. I wanted to yell swear words at them but didn’t want them to decide to come beat me up. It put me in a bad mood.
Then we arrived at the club and found out that it cost £12 to get in. That’s $24! Again, I wasn’t pleased. I tried to cheer up since it was still Leslie’s birthday but I felt really grumpy. I just wanted to go back to the hostel. We had to wait in line for coat check. Once we did we walked out onto the huge dance floor. I’d never been in a club so big. This looked like something out of the movies. When we walked out, they were playing loud techno music. The bass was so strong that I could feel it pounding in my chest. I wasn’t a big fan of the music.
Leslie, Emily and I left Mike, Casey, and Glynnis in the big dance floor. We wandered upstairs and found another smaller dance area. This area was more of a rap and other type of music room. It still wasn’t my kind of music but it was better than the techno. This room was a bit creepier though. It was poorly lit and the people in it looked tougher. As we were dancing, we heard a girl scream. We turned around to see a fight breaking out. Two guys were throwing punches at each other as the girl screamed on the side. I grabbed Leslie and pulled her away from the fight. The security guys came in and dragged them away. Everyone looked around nervously and started dancing again. The three of us looked at each other and said “whoa.”
I still really wanted to leave but we ended up staying until 4:00am. Casey wanted to hang out with Mike more so they left and the rest of us went back to the hostel. Or at least we tried to. We had a map that showed us where the hostel was, but we’d left it behind at the restaurant. Now we had no map and no idea how to get home. We walked and wandered around looking at the maps on the street. Eventually we managed to find the hostel. I was so relieved to find it. It felt like we’d been wandering around forever.
We got to the hostel and made our way to bed. To add insult to injury, the bed felt like it was harder than the floor and the pillow was a bean bag. At least I was tired enough to just go to sleep.
Today was Leslie’s actual birthday. Sadly, she wasn’t able to sleep in. We had to get up at 7:30am. We had decided to take the morning Stonehenge tour as a replacement of the one that was canceled. We got ready and headed into town. We stopped by Starbucks and I got a lemon poppy seed muffin and a caramel hot chocolate.
We met up in front of a glass store at 8:30 for the tour. There were a few other people on the same tour. Our guide/driver was a younger man with curly black hair. He was rather funny. We got in the van and he drove us out to Stonehenge. As we drove he explained some of the history of Stonehenge and the area. As we drove up I could see it on the hill. I was so excited. I have wanted to see Stonehenge for as long as I can remember. We parked in the parking lot and our guide bought our tickets. Sadly, the weather was dreadful for our little visit. It was raining and the wind was blowing it sideways. It was deathly cold.
We went through the tunnel that takes you under the street to Stonehenge. The first thing I was struck with was how small all of it was. I had been under the impression that Stonehenge was really quite tall. It was maybe a little over one story tall. It was still impressive but it wasn’t what I had been expecting. We took our photos with it and walked the path that circled it. We were given audio guides for information on it but it was so cold and windy that we just wanted to get inside. I tried to stay as long as I could to take pictures and look at it. It was kind of cool to see Stonehenge in a misty haze. I was glad we’d made the trip to see it.
Finally, we’d made our trip around Stonehenge and made our way back through the tunnel toward the gift shop and ticket booth. I bought myself a miniature pewter model of Stonehenge. I got my dad a bookmark and my mom a pin. For my brother, I got him a black rubber stone with the logo “Stonehenge rocks!” on it. We’d gotten a big kick out of the gimmick.
After making our purchases we went outside and waited for those in our group that were buying hot drinks. We all gratefully piled back in the van. I felt bad getting the seat wet. I was soaked from head to toe.
Our little tour continued onward. On the way, we passed houses with thatched roofs. Our tour guide was pointing out little thatched figures on the roofs. We saw a cat and an owl. These were the signature of the thatch worker who did the roof. In older times, the thatch worker would leave a thatch figure on the roof until the payments had been fully made. It was to shame the residents into paying the full price. Now, though, the figures are left up there as a sort of business card of the thatch worker.
Our next stop was a charming little town called Lacock. It turns out they filmed a lot of the early Harry Potter films here. But the film crew took advantage of the town and its people so they weren’t invited back. The newest director has rebuilt those ties though and the newer films will have scenes from Lacock.
We parked the van and everyone made a pit stop. Then our guide took us on a little walking tour. We learned about the little town and its residents. Throughout the town, there were all these strange figures. It was apparently a scarecrow contest. Every year the town has a fundraiser where they give a theme and people and businesses have to create scarecrows. People go around and guess what the scarecrows are. I saw things like Tom and Jerry and Catwoman. Our guide also showed us a tanning barn where they used to hang up the leather. He also showed us the highlight of the trip: Harry Potter’s parents’ house. This house was used in the making of the movies as Harry Potter’s parents’ house. We made sure this wasn’t Daniel Radcliff’s parents’ house. We all smiled and took pictures in front of it like the nerds that we are. Some of us seemed just as excited by this house as they were by Stonehenge.
We also saw a small church where I believe it was Camilla’s niece got married. It had an interesting looking graveyard. Our guide showed us a little bit more and then told us to meet at the van at a certain time. We poked around a little bit and ended up going into a bakery where some people bought some cupcakes and other treats.
We piled back in the van and we drove back to Bath. It had been a fun tour. We thanked our guide and piled out of the van at the main square. We decided to stop by the MKPD house (Meredith, Keith, Patrick, and Devon) so that Casey could pick up her suitcase there. We said hi to Patrick and Devon since the others were out. Leslie invited all of them to her birthday lunch.
The birthday lunch took place at Mai Thai. It was a fun Thai restaurant. I was definitely in the mood for some Thai. We sat at a big long table. There were lots of people there. I got to sit next to Keith and catch up some more. For lunch, I started with the coconut milk chicken soup. It was delicious. Then I had Pad Thai. It was all very delicious. It had been a long time since I’d had either of these dishes.
For dessert, the restaurant brought in the cake that Emily had secretly bought. It had candles lit on it. Leslie was really surprised and blew out the candles. It was a cute cake with little bears in cars driving around on it. We sliced it up and served it around. Emily told the story about how she tried to get the store to put “happy birthday” on it.
Emily: “Do you have any cakes that say happy birthday on them?”
Store: “No.”
Emily: “Can I get one of these cakes and have you write happy birthday on it?”
Store: “No.”
Emily: “Not even if I pay extra?”
Store: “No.”
Emily: “Well can I write happy birthday on it myself?”
Store: “No.”
Oh well at least she tried. The candles made it seem birthday enough anyway. We had a fun lunch and then dispersed. We had another trip to go on. That afternoon we were headed to Bristol. Leslie, Bram, and I headed to Leslie’s place. Leslie and I packed our things and then Bram walked us to the bus stop.
There, we bought the £4 bus ticket to Bristol. It was Emily, Casey, Glynnis, Leslie, and I in the bus. The ride didn’t take that long. Though it was funny when we realized how loud we were talking. Everyone in the bus was looking at us.
We got off the bus in Bristol and tried to find our hostel. The bus had to drop us off before the actual bus station and our directions were from the bus station. We eventually found our way there. It was called the Full Moon. We checked in. The interesting part was that we didn’t need keys. They registered our fingerprints. We just had to put our thumb on the finger pad to open the doors. It was pretty futuristic.
We went in and put all our stuff down. Casey had come here to meet a friend of hers named Mike. She got ready and went off to meet him. The rest of us showered and got ready ourselves. Once ready, we took a taxi into town. Our taxi driver asked us where we were from and we said cheerfully “the states.” He peered at us in the rearview and said “Well, you’re not too popular in the world now are you?” Leslie just smiled at him and said “But as individuals we’re okay!” Everyone griped about it once we got out of the cab.
We looked around and found a restaurant called the Gourmet Burger Kitchen. We weren’t in there until 9:30 or 10pm. I had a Mexican burger. It had the beef patty, sour cream, avocado, salsa (complete with beans), and lettuce. When it arrived I couldn’t believe my eyes. They were the biggest burgers I’d ever seen. I was so hungry that I ate most of it. I also got a lime milkshake to drink. It was good but could have used more lime flavor.
After we finished dinner we went to meet up with Casey and Mike at a bar. I tried a white Russian there and it was pretty yummy. We had fun talking there.
After the bar we made our way to a club. While we were walking, a group of drunk guys passed me and one of them smacked me on the ass. I whipped around, glared at them, and flipped them off. I wanted to yell swear words at them but didn’t want them to decide to come beat me up. It put me in a bad mood.
Then we arrived at the club and found out that it cost £12 to get in. That’s $24! Again, I wasn’t pleased. I tried to cheer up since it was still Leslie’s birthday but I felt really grumpy. I just wanted to go back to the hostel. We had to wait in line for coat check. Once we did we walked out onto the huge dance floor. I’d never been in a club so big. This looked like something out of the movies. When we walked out, they were playing loud techno music. The bass was so strong that I could feel it pounding in my chest. I wasn’t a big fan of the music.
Leslie, Emily and I left Mike, Casey, and Glynnis in the big dance floor. We wandered upstairs and found another smaller dance area. This area was more of a rap and other type of music room. It still wasn’t my kind of music but it was better than the techno. This room was a bit creepier though. It was poorly lit and the people in it looked tougher. As we were dancing, we heard a girl scream. We turned around to see a fight breaking out. Two guys were throwing punches at each other as the girl screamed on the side. I grabbed Leslie and pulled her away from the fight. The security guys came in and dragged them away. Everyone looked around nervously and started dancing again. The three of us looked at each other and said “whoa.”
I still really wanted to leave but we ended up staying until 4:00am. Casey wanted to hang out with Mike more so they left and the rest of us went back to the hostel. Or at least we tried to. We had a map that showed us where the hostel was, but we’d left it behind at the restaurant. Now we had no map and no idea how to get home. We walked and wandered around looking at the maps on the street. Eventually we managed to find the hostel. I was so relieved to find it. It felt like we’d been wandering around forever.
We got to the hostel and made our way to bed. To add insult to injury, the bed felt like it was harder than the floor and the pillow was a bean bag. At least I was tired enough to just go to sleep.
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