Yesterday, I had the pleasure of getting to see the beautiful city of Bath, England, as well as seeing Stonehenge. This was again a trip that the University of Sussex set up, so they had pre-determined sites to see and a schedule for the day. I really appreciate the school trips, they allow us to see the best sites and plan our travel for us, eliminating any hassle trying to figure that out. Long before studying abroad in England was even an option for me, I had wanted so badly to see Stonehenge. The history of the structure is a mystery, because no one really knows how such heavy and large “stones” were placed in that formation in a time way before electrical machinery existed. Needless to say, I was beyond ecstatic for this trip of a lifetime.
The day started at 645 a.m., when a group of about 50 of us set off for Bath. Founded by the Roman empire around 60 AD, the city was admired for the many hot springs by which hot water more than 100 degrees fahrenheit came out of the ground. Now, the city is a huge destination for tourism, but the baths cannot be used because the water is deemed too contaminated for people to swim in. However, our group was able to see the baths by going into the Roman Baths Museum. Filled with amazing artifacts and still having some of the original Roman baths architecture intact, it felt like we traveled centuries back.
After leaving the historic city, we traveled an hour to Stonehenge(!!). Believed to be constructed between 3000 and 2200 BC, the structure literally took lifetimes to build. The site itself is breathtaking because it is on a small hill, with nothing but grasslands and fields surrounding it for miles. I pictured being able to be feet away from the structure, but barriers around the site limited us to being 20 feet away. Nonetheless, it was amazing to be able to see Stonehenge in person. This was truly an experience I will be grateful for my whole life, I can now say I saw one of the 7 wonders of the world. Basically, visit England ASAP!
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