STONE HENGE + BATH + WINDSOR

It was close to midnight and Hannah, Abby and I were digesting our dinner of chicken and vegetable stir fry, our first attempt at cooking for ourselves. Unfortunately, it was not even close to Chopped-worthy. We had been planning on taking a trip the next morning to Brighton, a coastal town outside of London, but in our strange state of PTSD (post traumatic stir-fry disorder), we impulsively bagged that idea and put down our credit cards for an overpriced all-day guided tour through the English countryside run by a group we found on Google called "International Friends." Seemed legit.

We set our alarms for 5:30 am and stayed up until about 1 am laughing in disbelief at our out of the blue purchase. The next morning wasn't an easy wake up but I made everyone toast with jam (#justbritishthings) and once we got out the door, we stopped for coffee and boarded the Tube in pursuit of the pickup location for our tour.

We were met by our guide and boarded a van, which shockingly turned out to be a super luxurious and comfortable Mercedes. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and told us all about Stone Henge, its history and conspiracy theories. I have been fascinated by Stone Henge for a long time and seeing it in person was so surreal.

    

Next stop was the Roman Baths in Bath, England. Bath felt like a piece of Italy in the middle of the English countryside, and is the site of naturally occurring hot springs where people used to come to heal their ailments. It was basically a spa for the rich in ancient times but apparently the water is now disgusting (which explains its bright green hue). The architecture was insane.

 

I only got one photo at our final destination, Windsor Castle because of their strict no-photos policy inside the castle. Like Buckingham Palace, it was gorgeous and so opulent inside. 

We were all so proud of ourselves for our crazy last minute adventure. It was a spontaneous day but we saw so much of England and checked 3 items off our "places to see" list. We finished the day with our first meal at Nandos (I got a spicy chicken burger with mashed potatoes and a side of olives) and watched the movie Notting Hill  on my laptop. Jam-packed but good day.