Outside of London, Part 3

The next day in London I went to church at Westminster Abbey. Now being a sweet little Mormon girl who has never been to another church it was quite the experience going to an Episcopal church. After the Eucharist we rode a train to the outskirts of London to Strawberry Hill. Now a little background. One of the classes I was taking was Gothic Literature. The author Horace Walpole wrote the first Gothic Novel. He built Strawberry Hill as a sort of mock up of the Gothic architecture that his story was based around. Sadly they are in the process of remodeling the mansion so it was a little bit disappointing, but there were some very beautiful aspects of the house.

Strawberry Hill

Strawberry Hill

Strawberry Hill from an upstairs window.

The library in Strawberry Hill. This is what I want my library to look like.

Jessica, Amber, and my feet. They made us wear these booties in Strawberry Hill

The interior of Strawberry Hill.

The Great Hall in Strawberry Hill. We watched a video on the remodeling of the house, this room is covered in Gold leafing. I think the finished project is beautiful.

The ceiling in the Great Hall.

A stairway at Strawberry Hill.

The front of Strawberry Hill.

The next day several of us went and toured the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. That night we went and saw Henry IV part 1 in Mexican Spanish. I really enjoyed this play and I was actually able to understand a good portion of the play since I have a basic understanding of Spanish.

I saw this on the way to the Globe Theater. I just had to take a picture.

I love these, this was at the Globe Theater. I think it was a part of the Globe to Globe that the Shakespeare Globe was doing.

Inside the Globe theater.

Inside the Globe Theater.

Inside the Globe theatre.

The thatched roof of the Globe Theater.

After touring the theater several of us went to the Highgate cemetery. If anyone has read Dracula or The Graveyard Book you have heard of Highgate cemetery. It's an old cemetery that was once a quaint little cemetery that had a great view of London. Now it is overgrown and a little bit creepy, and because of the trees you can't really see London anymore.

A chapel on the way to Highgate cemetery.

In Highgate cemetery.

In Highgate cemetery.

In Highgate cemetery.

In Highgate cemetery.

A pretty spiderweb in the leaves. I got a little distracted while in Highgate cemetery ;)

A crypt in Highgate.

Tombs in Highgate.

In Highgate

Tombs in Highgate.

Karl Marx's grave in Highgate.

Highgate cemetery.

Highgate cemetery.

A cathedral near Highgate cemetery.

The next day while several people went to the WB Harry Potter studios me and a few of the others went on a day trip to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. I know several of you will be upset with me for not going to the Harry Potter studios but I think that I made the right decision. I'm upset that I didn't have more time in Bath because I would've loved to go to the Jane Austen Center, but sadly we only had time to see the Roman Baths.

Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

Look at Windsor Castle behind me. The flag lets you know whether the Queen is home or not. If the British flag is showing, which it was, means that she is not home. That's alright though because I had seen her already :-D

Windsor castle.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

A guard at Windsor Castle. They really do not move.

Stonehenge! This was totally worth seeing. I think seeing Stonehenge was when I finally realized where I was. I mean I knew I was in England but I don't think that it really sank in until I was at Stonehenge.

OMGoodness! I'm actually at Stonehenge!!!

Isn't Stonehenge beautiful?

Am I really here? Is that really Stonehenge behind me?

Is that Stonehenge behind me? Why yes it is!

*sigh*

aaahhhh

The heel stone.

That's the sacrificial stone to the right.

So beautiful.

That's what it should've looked like when it was originally built.

Rapeseed fields on the way to Bath.

A cathedral in Bath.

The Roman Baths in Bath.

The Roman Baths. These were originally made by the Romans several centuries ago. Then they were later dug up and rediscovered by the British and people would take the waters because they were believed to be healing waters. They're no longer used which is fine with me because that water looks disgusting.

This was the cathedral next to the Roman baths.

This water is weird looking. It's because it comes from a natural spring deep in the ground. The Roman baths are pretty much just a fancy hot spring that the Roman's decided to build around.

Has anyone read or seen Northanger Abbey? Well if you have you will have heard of the Pump Rooms. People would go into the Pump Rooms to take the waters. These are the same waters that come from the hot spring as the baths. These waters are safe to drink, however they are a bit weird tasting. They tasted like the hot water you would gargle when you're sick with a sore throat. So it tasted like water with baking soda and salt. This is Morgan and me drinking the waters. We sucked it up and drank the entire glass full. This could be considered something Jane Austen.

The statue outside the Roman baths.

Driving through the Streets of Bath. These streets were actually familiar to me because they can be seen in several Jane Austen movies.

The Circus in Bath. Several movies are filmed in this location, including several Jane Austen movies ;)

The Circus. They were actually filming a movie as we drove past. Sadly I doubt it was a Jane Austen movie since they were dressed in Modern clothes.

The view from the bus. That's Wales in the distance.

More of the countryside.

This is the end of part 3. Next will be my trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, so keep an eye out for many, many more pictures from my amazing adventures in London!!!!