Day #56!!!! Stonehenge & Scotland Adventures...We are his Masterpiece!

Wow! I can't believe its already NOVEMBER!!!! Last month seriously just flew by. I have found myself really behind on here! haha So here I am, sitting at a coffee shop on campus between classes looking out the window, it just started raining here, pretty much perfect time to sit and try and catch you all up :)

~Stonehenge~

Saturday October 22, 2011:
The school took a group of about 30 students to Avebury and the Stonehenge. It was a really nice Saturday day trip! It was however very chilly :) It never looks as cold as its going to be here (something I have learned)! We first went to Avebury and looked around for about an hour and then had a tour! The stones there are actually older than Stonehenge, and much bigger! I am not sure why but I find it really interesting the fact that no one knows why the stones are there. The tour guide kept saying we just aren't really sure what they were used for and stuff. There are so many different theories and ideas as to what they were used for but no one really knows.

The Church of Avebury!

There was a bunch of cute little sheep (actually they were rather large lol)! I actually stepped in Sheep poop while I was walking around this field and therefore Caleb gave me the nickname SHEPOO! haha :)

Part of the small circle at Avebury

The larger circle!



These two stones are named Adam and Eve! They are thought to mark the Entrance to the circle!



Allison and I :)

After Avebury, we went to Stonehenge! It was really cool and just so interesting to think how they got the stones to stay standing and even have the ones on top of the others. Talk about some strong heavy lifters ;) After looking at the stones for a few minutes we decided to take pictures :) haha we had a lot of fun posing in crazy ways, especially Caleb who did yoga poses, and a headstand, atleast he attempted a head stand ;)

Jumping haha

This one was my favorite! We decided to be a "Live Stonehenge" ha I have to add in the dialogue of this picture though!
Caleb- "Act like stones you guys"
Me- "Uh...how the heck is a stone supposed to act?"
Caleb- "I don't know, stonish I guess."
Me-LAUGHING hahahahahaha !!!

There Yoga teachers would be proud!

Headstand? haha

Our Group :) ...well part of it anyways!

:)

~SCOTLAND~
Before I start this adventure I just want to inform you that it stopped raining here and the sky is really blue... It will probly rain again in about 30 minutes :)
Okay back to Scotland!!

This past weekend I was able to visit my DEAR friend EVAN GRAY in Edinbugh, Scotland! Erin also came from Italy so It was such a great little Roma Trip Reunion!! :) I discovered that although the train takes a really long time, I like traveling by train! No stress from security and having to get there hours in advance and everything. You can arrive just a few minutes before the train departs and hop right on. Also if there are ever delays they are usually only 10 minutes or so..instead of hours! It was a 7 and Half hour train ride though...gave me lots of time to read, write, sleep, read some more, write some more, and try and sleep some more :) I arrived Friday night around 7:40 and Evan met me at the train station. We went straight to dinner. We had reservations at this nice Indian place. Erin and Katie met us there! First time to have real Indian food! and OH MY GOODNESS it was AMAZING! Yummy! 

Saturday morning we woke up pretty early and went to catch a coach tour to the HIGHLANDS!! We woke up so early that we saw the sunrise :) 

Looking down The Royal Mile!

 Our first stop was Sterhling! We got go into the big castle! I was a little disappointed at first as to how much of the castle they re-did and they made it very "fake" looking, but then I learned that when it was under attack much of the inside artwork and everything was destroyed! It had a really awesome view though :)

I think we were made for royalty:)

We made our way to a little town for lunch and then our final destination was Lock Lomond. While we were in the coach our tour guide would tell us stories and history about the area! Of course she had to mention William Wallace, the Scotish hero from the movie BRAVEHEART, which I must say is one of my top movies. We got to pass by the Wallace Monument, which has the sword of William inside. I wish I could have been able to go inside but I was able to snap a picture of the monument as we drove by.

Not a very good picture but I was in a coach driving away :)

We then made our way to Loch Lomond and climbed up a trail a little ways, the view was just breath taking! The little "nature walk" was just so beautiful!

We made it to the top! :)

It could have made an animal a nice little shelter! :)

I had to make sure my rainboots worked :)

Evan and Erin!!

On our way back to the Edinburgh!

We got back from our tour and were really really tired and cold! So we got Chinese take out and Decided to watch BRAVEHEART :)! It was the PERFECT night! Four girls watching a violent war movie haha got to love it! Although I must say learning the TRUE history to what really happened kind of ruined parts of the movie for me! :/! But Erin and Evan freaking out with all the blood was definitely entertaining :)

The next morning we got up and went to climb Authors SEAT!! ...that was a steep climb!! But the view from the top allowed you to see pretty much the whole city!! :)

After the Climb we went to eat breakfast at a little place called Chocoalte Soup! I Tried the White Chocolate

Caramel hot chocolate, and let me tell ya...It was like drinking pure sugar haha I LOVED IT (for those of you who don't know I like things to be sweet :) ) But after a few drinks it was TOO sweet haha So Katie had to help me finish it!

Erin had to leave to catch her flight and so for the rest of the day Katie, Evan, and I just walked around the city of Edinburgh until I had to catch my train home!

The Edinburgh Castle!!

Evan's School!! So pretty!

So blessed to have her in my life :)

Baby Elephant :) :) :) So So cute!! Had to get a picture with my favorite animal! This was in the National Scotland Museum! Such a cool Museum! ITS so HUGE!!

And of course mailing POSTCARDS :)

Edinburgh was an amazing Adventure, and I am so beyond blessed to of been able to spend it with such a great friend of mine! Its still crazy for me to think that Im getting to see all these incredible places and learn about all the LOADS AND LOADS of history :) I just love it!

During my stay in Edinburgh I had a rather crazy/scary/terrifying experience happen to me! Out of the privacy to others I won't share on here, because the situation its self is not the point, its what I learned THROUGH the situation that I was to share :)!

 I was faced with making some of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make on the spot! I made what I thought to be was everything that I could have done and had to leave the rest to God! Let me repeat that LEAVE THE REST TO GOD! Everyday I am faced with decisions and situations that I make choices on, and as a whole my life and what I am supposed to do etc is in the hands of God. For some reason though I go each day without actually stressing over what is to come because I know that I am in God's hands and his will Shall be done. But this situation forced me to really, and I mean REALLY, trust that whatever were to happen was going to be the will of God, that there was nothing more I could! 

Going the whole day impatiently just wanting to know, made me start to realize how easy it is for me to go the whole day and not acknowledge being in the Hands of God!! I am been incredibly thankful and appreciative while I have been over here, for everything that the Lord has done and all the incredible opportunities I have been able to have, however what about in my everyday life back home? Its easy to be thankful for life itself when I am across the world getting the opportunity of a life time, but I should be just as thankful ALL THE TIME, no matter what the circumstances may be... whether if I am having to wake up at 5 am to go workout for softball, or having to stay up till 2 am, studying for a test, or sitting in traffic on the highway, no matter the situation, no matter where I am, I am always in God's hands! 

Seeing the beauty of the world around me is just amazing to think that God created all of it! But there is somethng else that God created even more Beautiful...and that is US!!! Life is the gift that God has given us. He created us in his own image and made us all Unique in our own way! No two people are the exact same! How incredible!

Its so sad how easily I take life for granted. How I can go a whole day and not realize the significance of that day. Each one of us is a precious MASTERPIECE! Intricatly and wonderfully crafted, there is just no measure to the importance of a life!

I want to end this blog with a little favor to ask. I ask you to just think about the past couple of days..maybe they have been really rough, or maybe they have been really good, or maybe just normal...but no matter what your day has been like I ask you to just think about little blessings you might have over looked, and just thank GOD for them! :) There is always a positive no matter how rough life can get!!

Psalms 139:13-14

"For you created my in most being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

-Lissa

P.S. Sorry that was so long... I just had a lot to catch you up on and a lot to say :)

Acknowledgements got to Evan and Erin for some of their pictures I used! :)  

BELLA ROMA...FINALE!! :)..... Day #49!

Finally...Part 3!!

My last day in Rome (Monday)...I am not going to lie, at this point it felt like I had been gone for a WHOLE WEEK! Evan and Katie left early that morning to catch their flight, but my flight was not until 3:00 p.m. so I decided to go explore the Roman Forum! It was pretty cool! Walked around and got to look at all the old remnents of what used to be the heart of Rome!! :) It nice to just kind of walk around on my own and take in the whole weekend! I sat down and journaled for a little as well. I was however extrememly tired because over the last two nights I don't think I REALLY WENT TO SLEEP...it was just a bunch of that dozing but you can still hear everything and stuff! So yea I was really tired!! I went to a little cafe and read for a bit before I needed to catch my bus to the airport! I had a salad!:) (healthiest thing I ate all weekend haha)

The Arch of Titus!!

just some ruins!

An old Basillica that they have made into a museum now!

Head of NERO!!! inside the museum!

The Temple of Castor and Pollux

Temple of Saturn

A Stadium!

Claudian Aqueduct!

The Journey home:

I was hoping that my return would be just as smoothly as my arrival...but me having a COMPLETELY SMOOTH travel has yet to happen haha... My flight was delayed 3 hours in Rome and so I was really worried that I was not going to make my train from London to Swansea in time. We landed in London and I keep thinking Oh I can definitely make this...THen Came PASSPORT CONTROL! OH BOY! I had totally forgot that when I arrived in Cardiff in September... they didn't stamp my passport!!!!!! WHy? I have no idea! But for the past month I have technically been "AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT"!!!! The guy at the international office at school told me that it was okay, that next time I leave the country and come back just to make sure they stamp it (aka Rome back to London)! I brought with me documents stating I had arrived In September and Was a student and the whole shabang! Got up to the counter crossed my fingers and really hoped all was going to work out. The lady looked at me and was like, where is your stamp?? I explained the whole thing to her and she had to call the head person! Took a little while but he finally said "those Welsh...you don't look dangerous (wink)" and stamped me! :) So now I am OFFICIALLY LEGAL!! haha! Unfortunately that took quite a while... time was not looking good for me! I was running around trying to get on my train to London Victoria...got it! From I SPRINTED to the Tube (London Underground) to get on the train to London Paddington! MADE IT! TICK TOCK TICK TOCK...I had literally 5 minutes!! I just sat on the train praying... oh help that train to be delayed or something!! I got off the tube and SPRINTED (I was trying to burn off all the calories I consumed from the gelato and pasta ;) ) anyways I arrived at my platform... but there was NO TRAIN!!! Missed it by 7 minutes!!! UGH! I went to the ticket office and had to buy a ticket for the next one....thank goodness there was a next one...this one was actually the last train to Swansea that night!! I finally made it home about 2:30 a.m! My oh My that was a LONG DAY!!

Everyone here tells me that I have the worst luck when it comes to traveling! It really seems like everytime I go anywhere SOMETHING happens..a plane or train being late, me missing something, my passport not getting stamped..my luggage not making it etc.. but I am the most BLESSED UNLUCKY person EVER :) becasue I ALWAYS end up where I am going, not always WHEN I was planning or through the route I had planned but I get there!! And I have learned a little bit more each time. At the train station after I found out I had missed my train and bought my new ticket I ended up misplacing my phone and was freaking out...found it and then went and sat down at a cofee shop and just started crying... why? I have no idea.... Maybe the fact I had barely any sleep, and was having to wait for a total of 6 hours on transportation when I was supposed to be back in my room, and focusing on how much I missed home..basically just feeling sorry for myself!!! I sat down and started journaling...I was complaining that God did not answer my prayer and I missed the train......CAN YOU SAY SELFISH!!! I just spent the last three days full of blessing from God and the first sign something goes wrong...I get unhappy!! Ironically I had just finished reading about Moses and the Hebrews. God displayed his mighty power through plagues which freed them from Pharoh and then while sitting at the edge of the sea when Pharoh chased after them... they immediately started questioning Moses and asking him why God would free them just to bring them out to die! LOVE LOVE LOVE how God conitnues to show me little lessons in life and areas that I am in the wrong through all these "don't go as planned" trips! Who is planning them anyways??  I pray that the Lord continues to open my eyes, and to pick at me, showing me where I am in the wrong!!

In conclusion!!!

God is AMAZING!

Rome was an unforgettable experience :)

Italian food from ITALY is WAYYY better!!

I really want to learn Italian now!!

I cannot even MEasuRe how BLESSED I am, and am SO THANKFUL!!

ARRIVEDERCI!!

(goodbye)