Day 4 -- Hail, Baths, and Castles

Next stop, Wales! 

Well folks, we are no longer in England - we've made it to Wales! My name is Amber Smit and I'm studying psychology and family services at UNI!  

The first three days in London were so much more than I thought they would be. I'm incredibly fascinated with architecture, so London grabbed my attention everywhere we could have possibly gone. The buildings are unbelievable!  

Today was our first day of travel again since arriving in the United Kingdom. We hopped on a coach tour to head to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and the Roman Baths.  

Our first stop was at Windsor Castle. After seeing Buckingham Palace the first day, this was another great place to learn about the Royals. The Queen spends a couple days a week at this castle. We were able to tour rooms, and we also saw St. George's Chapel where King Henry VIII, his wife Catherine and their child are laid to rest. Catherine died in child birth - the lucky one of his wives, considering the deaths of some of his other wives! Charles and Elizabeth are also laid to rest in this chapel.  This is probably one of my top favorite places of the trip so far. I love learning about the Royals and of course, the architecture throughout everything was beautiful.

We had been practicing our accents the whole trip

 
Our next stop was at Stonehenge. Although we were lucky enough to not have any rain during the trip so far, this is where our luck ran out. Just after getting off this bus, we were showered with not only rain, but hail as well! Let's just say our time at Stonehenge was short. I really enjoyed learning about the different theories on how Stonehenge was formed. 

"And then hell froze over"

Brett running free at Stonehenge

 Our final stop was at the Royal Baths. History says that a man who was in line for the throne was healed of leprosy by bathing in the spring. After seeing the bath, the spring, and many of the original pieces of the Royal Bath, many of us drank the hot spring water from bath. You think that's pretty gross, right? Yeah, we did too, but it wasn't all that bad. You're also probably wondering why in the world we would want to drink this. It's said that the water cleanses the inside of the body, is to help with one's health, and make one look younger. Fingers crossed!

Me

"She touched the butt!" - Finding Nemo

Dera and I

Tonight's a night of relaxing and free time to check out Swansea, big day at the University tomorrow! 

Stay tuned for more glimpses into our incredible trip and experiences! 

--Amber Smit