First Trips of 2010!

Another weekend has passed, meaning another adventure is over, but boy, did I enjoy my most recent trip. This past weekend I headed into London to see all of my Canadian friends as well as some other people. 3 of the girls had just moved into a new flat, and so they were having a house warming party. It was a fun night, and I got to meet a bunch of other 'Bunacers' (other kids on the same program I am) and hear their experiences abroad.

Saturday was a day of rest. After sleeping in, we all went to a Portuguese restaurant and enjoyed a delicious chicken meal. The rain then started pouring down, and so we headed back to the flat. It really was so nice just to lay around, watching scary movies, eating snacks, and just talking with each other.

Sunday, Sam (one of the Canadian girls) and I woke up early to meet our tour group. The first stop was Leeds Castle. This place was incredible. It was one of the most well kept castles I have visited, as it still is in use for banquets, weddings and meetings. While visiting the castle, we also got to see an aviary filled with endangered birds. There were parrots of all types, toucans, cockatoos, and many more. The aviary is actually trying to get the birds to reproduce, so more of the endangered birds can exist. And although you would like to see the birds not in cages, most of the birds at the aviary could not survive in every day life. The highlight for me at the castle, was the maze. This was one of those mazes made completely of hedges, and wow, it was difficult. It took Sam and I an entire 40 minutes to make it to the center, and that was with help. Without help, we would have missed our bus! The next stop on the tour was the village of Canterbury. This place was very neat as it had both modern and historical sections. After a quick lunch, we toured the Canterbury Cathedral. Once again, another spectacular cathedral, from the size, the stained glass windows, and the architectural design. Following this stop we went to see the white cliffs of Dover. I had seen them before on a cruise with my parents, but they were still neat the second time. The tour stopped at the beach for about 15 min. in order for everyone to get pictures of the cliff, the fort, and the ocean. The water was quite chilly, as I experienced when I got soaked by a huge wave, that hit me when I was trying to just feel the water. Our final stop of the day was Greenwich village, known for being zero degrees latitude. Unfortunately we did not have time to sight see here, as we were catching a boat ride on the Thames River. This boat ride was very neat as it took us underneath the London Tower Bridge and the London Bridge. The views of these bridges, as well as the views of the Tower of London, The Eye, and the Big Big Bend area at night, were amazing. It was a great end to a very great weekend.

More adventures to come next weekend...stay tuned!