Updates from Stan's Visit!

Hello friends and family, I know it seems that I have neglected you for so long. But you see, my boyfriend Stan has been in town this week and I've been having epic adventures with him! I'll try to cover briefly all the things we did while he was in town (minus the things he did on his own - like visiting Greenwich, the British Museum, and Natural History Museum) while I was in class or at work. [Side Note: Stan did come to class with me one day when we had a field trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The professor didn't notice at all!] You can also click on the pictures to see more from our fun trips.

Stonehenge - Our first Friday we visited Stonehenge. While the stones are impressively large, and there's an eerie mysterious feel about the place (it's so old!) it was also very touristy. You had to take a tour bus to get there... and it didn't help that the freeway went RIGHT NEXT TO the stones! Nevertheless, Stonehenge is one of those historical things that you simply must see to appreciate.

We actually had more fun walking out into the downs (= fields) around Stonehenge and climbing on ancient burial mounds. I have some pictures of us exploring a series of family mounds out in the middle of a sheep field. It reminds me a lot of Dad and my trip to Ireland - these ancient ceremonial sites just sitting out in the middle of sheep fields!

After Stonehenge, before getting on the train back to London, we stopped for lunch in Salisbury - a nice, quaint little English town which acts as the "gateway" to Stonehenge.



Cliffs of Dover - The day after Stonehenge, Stan and I got on yet another train and went hiking out along the Cliffs of Dover. The cliffs are amazing natural wonders, and the hike was probably my favorite part of Stan's visit. We spent the whole day on a 5 mile hike up through town and along the top of the cliffs. There was snow on the ground, but the weather was perfect (no rain, not too cold, not too muddy, etc.) We had some breathtaking views of the Dover Castle, British Channel, fields, and even France! We also took a small side path that hugs the cliff down to a black, stony beach. There's an old WWII bunker down there facing the ocean. We explored inside, though carefully because it was dark and creepy in places.

The one downside with the Cliffs of Dover was the fact that the city, outside of the natural landscape, is a busy Ferry town - having the closest connection to France. Therefore there's a lot of traffic (boats, cars, trucks, busses, etc.) polluting the area.



Valentine's Day - On Valentine's day we took it easy. We walked around Regent's Park, went to see the Tower Bridge, Tate Modern museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, and then rented movies to watch when we got home. Stan took me out for a delicious Indian food dinner though!


Speaking of food, while Stan was here we took turns cooking for each other in my apartment kicthen. We had simple but yummy meals like pasta, curried turkey, and even Fajitas with home-made guacamole. All the time Stan was here, we only went out for dinner once!

London Eye - Because the rest of my week was filled with classes and internships, our last big adventure together was to see the London Eye on Stan's last night in town. We started off by visiting Hyde Park (London's largest park) and walking about three miles just wandering and exploring. When darkness started to fall, we walked down the Thames to the London Eye (the big Ferris wheel). Now, in the summer months the wait for the Eye can be hours long, and the cabins themselves packed with people so it's hard to get a good picture. Fortunately for us the rain and winter season kept the lines very short and we were on the wheel in no time, with plenty of room in the cabin to take fantastic shots of the city at night! Thought the rain did limit visibility, there was still plenty to see.



And now Stan has gone back home, and it's back to homework for me. It was great to see him out here, though, and an excellent chance to have fun adventures around England!