Updates September 21-24

Friday September 21
This morning, we left Dublin, which was cold and rainy and took the coach to the ferry that took us to Wales. The ferry ride was a couple of hours long and then we got on a new coach with our tour guide Tony. He drove us to Caernarfon Castle, which was so beautiful. It was really cool to climb the towers and see the countryside of Wales. Wales is gorgeous! It was so nice to be somewhere with sunshine and blue skies. We then got back on the coach and drove to see Snowdonia, which is the second largest mountain in Britain. It was incredibly beautiful. There were waterfalls and sheep grazing all over the mountains.
The coach ride to our hostel was incredibly, long, but it was nice to get to know some of the people on the trip a bit better. We finally got in around 8:15 and were able to eat dinner. Overall, it was a fun day.

Saturday September 22
This morning it was extremely foggy by the lake, but thankfully it cleared up by mid-morning. I believe we are somewhere in England, but we keep driving all over and it is hard to keep up with where we actually are. Our hostel from the night before was in the Lake District. From there we drove to Hilltop Farm, which was the home of Beatrix Potter. It was gorgeous up there! I was so glad that I had seen the movie so that I knew more of her story. No wonder she loved it there, because it is totally inspirational, especially for a writer.
We then drove to Dove Cottage where we toured the home of William Wordsworth and went to the museum about him. We also ate lunch in the town on the Lake District at a cute cafe called Villa Colombina. Afterwards, we walked down to the lakeside to take pictures. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking! I love it here!
There are lots of sheep in Britain. I can’t even count the number I have seen. They are all different colors; I’ve seen white, black, brown, and some black and white freckled sheep. It’s fun to see all the different types all over the mountains. The long coach rides are great for seeing the countryside, but after a while it makes me tired and I started to doze off. That makes it really confusing when you wake up and have no idea what part of the country you are in, but at least it is pretty. I am just in awe of the beauty that God has made.

Sunday Sept 23
This morning we had a traditional English breakfast with eggs, sausage, ham, and baked beans on toast. It was strange to eat baked beans for breakfast, but it wasn’t too bad. During the war when there was a shortage of food, that is what they ate for most meals, and the tradition has continued.
We then went to Hadrian’s Wall and the Housestead Fort. We climbed up the hills to see different parts of the wall and the ruins of the fort. The view from up top was amazingly beautiful!
We then got back on the coach and I fell asleep until Tony, the coach driver, woke us up to say that we were in Scotland. So we got out and took pictures right on the border of England and Scotland. We got back in the coach and drove to a wool mill to eat lunch and do some shopping.
We then got back in the coach and drove to our hostel. We unloaded our luggage and then went to tour Melrose Abbey. The ruins there were very intricate and beautiful, and the view from the roof was great because you could see all over the village and into the mountains. We went to a local pub for dinner and then returned on the hostel for our church service.

Monday September 24
Today we went to Edinburgh Castle to tour. Our tour guide was really funny and informative. I wish we had more time to walk around the castle because there was a lot that I did not get to see. We did get to see the Honours, which are the crown jewels of Scotland. While we were there, we saw the sweetest thing. An old man was carrying his wife on his back up the stairs because she couldn’t walk. I just wanted to cry because it was so sweet.
Then we did a walking tour of the Royal Mile, stopping along the way to look at sites and ending at the Holyrood Palace. That was where the Queen stays, and we got to tour most of the castle. It was really neat to see the bedchamber where Mary Queen of Scots lived. We also went to the Abbey and the gardens as well.
We then met the bus and came to our hostel. This was the nicest hostel we have stayed at because it is brand new. We had our own bathroom with a shower in the room! I’m staying this Courtney, Jennifer, Jillian, Lolli, Sasha, Christina, and Leah. We all stayed together last night and had a fun dance party and good girl talk, so we are excited to be together again for two nights. It will be so nice to not have to pack up in the morning and to be in the same place for two days.
Most of the people on the trip with us are really cool. A lot of us have gotten pretty close already. Jennifer is hilarious and we’ve become good friends. Chris and Dave are two of the four boys we have and they are really funny too. I’m sure there is bound to be more drama later with 4 boys and 20 girls, but so far there has only been slight drama.
Tomorrow is a free day in Edinburgh, so we can sleep in and then do some shopping!

So far I have taken 405 pictures.

Wales: http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053437&l=602d5&id=71005171

http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053436&l=61e00&id=71005171

England (not finished yet): http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053443&l=2e943&id=71005171