Glastonbury/Stonehenge

Fog blanketed the English countryside this morning as we made our way from Bristol to Glastonbury. It created quite the mystical effect as we visited the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey and the supposed grave of King Arthur. I could not stop taking pictures. After the abbey we climbed the Tor hill, much more of a climb than I ever expected to find on this island, and we had a wonderful view of farms and rolling valleys. The cows also seemed to enjoy the view, lounging at the top, their relaxed postures seemed to mock our out-of-breath states. It was refreshing and well worth the effort. There is 'Chalice Well' in Glastonbury, where the underground spring makes its way up through the Holy Grail left by Joseph of Aremetheia, and its water also has healing powers, much like in Bath, and also much the same taste. Whether or not a grail is involved, there was a lovely garden and many beautiful flowers for our enjoyment. The town of Glastonbury is famous for having a high population of hippies. Seriously, there was an entire street that had stores such as 'The Psychic Piglet', 'Enlightenment', 'Natural Earthlings', and 'The Goth Image'. 16-year-old me would not have been able to leave, as it is, I contented myself to take pictures on the outside, but did not let myself go inside for fear of old habits dying hard.

Stonehenge. Our tour guide warned us that it might not be as big as we expected it to be. This was not the case with me. The stones were just as large as I had imagined them, maybe even a bit bigger. What I did not have the impression of prior to viewing was how crowded they were. For some reason I had it in my head that there was a larger open space in the middle of the outer circle. There is no real open space at all, rocks are topsy turvey all inside it. The stones were a darker shade of gray than I expected, but I'm sure the lighting of the evening sun effected the color. Like all stone in England, there was a moss covering on some of the surfaces. Needless to say there were a lot of tourists, but my friends and I had fun walking around and trying to take funny pictures.

Several times this weekend I have thought what I have thought many many times since I have come to England which is: Everything grows here.