Stonehange and Bath

On Friday my program hosted a free trip to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge is the very old site of some very big stones that were brought from miles away to this very hilly place in Great Britain, and no one really knows why anymore. It was very cool to look at because the rocks are something like 20 feet tall and on our tour I found out that this specific type of rock isnt found anywhere near where they are located, actually over 20 miles away. They said that it would have taken over 60 men over one year to move just one rock. And there are a lot of them. And the area around it is made up of all hills and valleys. So I decided to go with the idea that the aliens did it. It could have been a site for religious practices or some kind of calender, They arnt sure anymore. There are also all of these huge boulders stacked on top of the other huge boulders and they are kind of carved to fit together and it looks all very intricate for people from over 5000 years ago. I guess some people say there is no way that the illiterate people of that time could have put together anything this detailed, so I guess it was the aliens. Well it was raining (of course) so we only stayed for about an hour and left to continue on the Bath.
Bath is this city in Great Britain founded by the Romans because when they were exploring they found these natural hot springs and decided that it was holy. So they built their summer home there (basically) and it was very "posh" for any of the Romans to be seen there. I did find out one interesting fact about it. It was uncovered by the britains at some point becuse after time the land around it kinda of filled it in. Well it brought the city back to life and was made very popular to the English when Queen Ann visited it because she had heard that the water had healing powers and she wanted to cure he gout! So I guess she drank 2 liters of the water everyday and soaked in it for a couple hours and it helped her gout. (Sorry Nanny, I wasn't able to find any bottled Bath water to bring home for you) I did however have a glass of the hot spring water, which was interesting. There is the pump that still operates and they allow you to have a drink of the water which contains 23 different minerals. My friend said he thought it tasted like he was drinking rocks but I didn't think it was that bad. Its kind of weird tho because on the pump you can see all the mineral deposits on the faucet. So you know its all in there. We also found this very old very cute candy shop, so I went in to ask if they had any "plain" chocolate. I guess its what the English eat (its somewhere between dark and milk chocolate) It was awesome so a bought two bars and ate an entire one while I waked around Bath. oops.
I guess the town recently applied to have a new spa built in Bath and they were granted it. So now they have this very nice and new spa that uses the natural springs (which heat the water to about 90 degrees) and you can spend the day at the spa there. So my roommates and I are looking into prices because it seems like something we wouldnt hate to do hahaha. Bath was beautiful but it was raining the entire time, so after our 2 hour walking tour and just being out in the rain with no where to go for a few hours we were happy to get back on the coaches and come back to London.

The next day we woke and decided that it was a good day to go to a market. So we went to Camden market. Its supposed to be this large market area that has food, jewelry, clothes, and hand made crafts. We got a late start but we heard it was open till about 6 so we figured we would have enough time. We found a way to get to the closest tube stop and went on our way. Well were on the tube about two stops before ours and the train stops in the tunnel. We sat there for about 10 minutes before the guy comes on the announce system and says that the train will be terminating at the next stop and everyone has to get off. I thought it was weird but I always hear so much about how the tube always shuts down and there are always down lines on any given day. So we get off and decide we can just walk the rest of the way. Were going up the lifts to get out of the station and my roommates tell me that they were having little freak out sessions on the train when it stopped because yesterday the UK raised its terrorism alert from substantial to sever. I was thankful I didnt think of this when we were down in the tube because I would have freaked out too. So we exit the tube station and there are cops everywhere with bomb sniffing dogs that are smelling everyone who exits the station. So then I started to get a little worried. I went up to a cop and asked him what direction the market was in, thinking that if something was wrong with it he wouldn't point me in the direction of the danger. He politely told me it was about 400 yards on the main road. So we decided they must have it under control and we went on to the market. The market was very cool and I decided that we should go back a few more times before we leave. I found this hat that I really liked but being half of my father, wouldn't pay for it unless I brought down the price to just above half. He wasnt having any of it and I left hat-less. (Im going to go back and get it next time) I bought a scarf for 3 pounds (about 5 dollars), a ring for 2 pounds and a pair of earrings for 1.50 pounds. So I thought the day was a success.
Were getting pretty cold and hungry and we werent even half through the market but we decided that we will save it for another time. Plus at this time its starting to get dark and all the weird people were crawling out of the cracks. (I saw a mad with so many piercings on his face I wasnt sure of his skin color!) We started walking back to the tube station we came from and we start seeing all of these buses that said "replacement rail services". Soi asked on of the still many police officers what was going on and where to go and he said that the chunk of rail near us has been suspended and to get on a bus going to Euston so that we can get home. So we found the right bus stop and get on the bus and go to Euston and find an alternative route home. It wasnt too bad for us but while in the station we find out the half of the rails have been suspended in the city and we were a little on edge until we exited the station thats about a 10 minute walk from our flat. We turned on the news to look for something that had happened but I guess nothing did. The tube is still about half down right now but as far as I know nothing has happened. And we have been told to keep going about as usual, but to just be "more aware". I guess the "severe" here is the same as the US"orange", which we have been on and off of for years, so I'm not too worried. (Family members don't freak out). Cheers!