On the 25th, I wrote that the class was off to Lacock. I skipped a page in my diary and didn't notice I left this entry out...so here it is. My bad...
We actually visited three places today: Stonehenge, Avebury, and Lacock Abby. We went to Stonehenge first; it's out in the middle of nowhere just off the motorway. Everything is all flat and green, so my eye was easily caught by the structure. Bob (our coach driver for the whole trip) let us off in the parking lot and Dennis took us over to the ticket counter. He had bought a tour group package on behalf of our class and presented it to the ticket seller. Unfortunately, Stonehenge didn't honor the package he bought. Dennis told us that if any of us wanted to see Stonehenge, he'd pay for our admission (the assumption is that he'd get reimbursed by SJSU). All of wanted to see the structure up close, so Dennis paid for everyone except himself, Jill, and Karla (they've seen it before). There is now a path that visitors follow around the rocks; visitors are no longer allowed to move among the structure itself. We spent 30 minutes following the path and listening to the audio tour and learning about the history. As soon as we returned our radios and got on the coach we were on our way to Amesbury.
Amesbury is similar to Stonehenge because there is a stone structure in the shape of a circle surrounding a small village. The stones are smaller than the famous Stonehenge, and are arraigned in a circle around the village. The legend is that this circle structure will help the aliens to know where to land their spaceships (in the fields surrounding this area were several crop circles-alien related?) We stopped in Amesbury for 2 hours to have lunch, look at the stone structure, and to look around the village. Then we were on our way to Lacock.
Lacock is known for its Abbey because scenes for Harry Potter were filmed there (although I'm sure in England, Lacock Abby has a different meaning for its citizens). I toured the house first out of respect; the house belongs to one of the first photographers in England and his family. Then I entered the Abbey and poked around for a while. Onward I went moving to the Cloisters; I was outside looking through a doorway and into a courtyard. From where I was, I could instantly tell this was the courtyard for the HP movies. Awesome!!! I walked through the door and hallway, and I was able to see the whole courtyard. OMG-this is Hogwarts' courtyard!!! I've finally made it to Hogwarts!!! The Curator showed me where one of the HP classrooms was. I stepped inside and although I recognized from the movies, it took me a few minutes to realize which classroom. After walking around it for a couple of minutes, I realized which one it was...Snape's dungeon (oops-I mean Professor Snape's dungeon) from HP 1. I've actually been in an "HP classroom...This is sacred and hallowed ground!!! This was a religious experience. All Potter freaks need to see these "sets". The actors were actually here filming the movies-Dan, Rupert, Emma, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith...all of them. Alas, I saw no witches, warlocks, or wands-what a bummer!
After we left the Abbey, the others toured the small village that was next to the grounds. I sat down for a while because (if you remember) my knee was aching. I wrote up my contract for the paper I decided (finally) to write so I wouldn't get just a C in the class. Dennis approved my contract after I added a few other things to the contract. I'm going to compare/contrast a reputable and tabloid newspaper form the US and UK to determine which country's papers is more formal.
A really strong storm blew in tonight. I sat on my bed looking out the window, and for an hour I just listened and watched it. My window was open so the storm sounded stronger than it would have if my window had been closed. The wind, the rain, the thunder and lightening; it was very peaceful and relaxing to just listen and watch nature; a great end to a great day!
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