Salisbury

Sigh. I love not being in a rush. I have plenty of time, because I split a huge internet thing with Emma, so now I have almost an hour. Not that I'm going to take it all to write the post, but no rush posting today! HA! TAKE THAT INTERNET SCUM!

So yesterday we left the Isle of Wight, which was sad. I think I talked about watching the "sunrise" in the rain and then hopping on the ferry. Then Christian left us, which was even sadder. We're used to leaving new favorite places by now. But not friends. Christian is wonderful. He was invited to come on the trip last minute when Cheryl, Rick's wife, couldn't come until halfway through. So he came, and we all got really close to him, and then after we got off the ferry, we just kinda left him on the side of the road in Portsmouth, and drove off as he walked to the train station. He's going to Italy to meet his parents who are doing a study there. He's just a great guy and we all really miss him.

It's so awesome. Before we left, John Bennion talked about how the goal for this trip was to form a Zion community. And it's really happening. I don't think I've ever been in a situation where 30 completely different people (well, 29 now until Cheryl gets here) can become the bestest friends ever and live together 24/7 for two months. It's not like there aren't challenges. There most certainly are. But we're all SO drastically different and we literally do spend every single second of every single day together. I think the last time it was really just me in a place was my hotel room in Edinburgh that very first night. These people are all so wonderful and I love them. I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to do without them when I get back to Idaho. Thank goodness for the writing class that most of us are taking in the fall.

Anyway, after we left Christian on the side of the road, we drove to Titchfield Abbey. We love ruined abbeys. Question: would you rather be a ruined abbey or a cathedral? Answer: Ruined Abbey. If you pick Cathedral, sorry, we must shun you (especially if it is Yorkminster and not Winchester or Salisbury). Titchfield is one of the places we know for sure Shakespeare actually wrote things. His patron lived there, after it was converted from an abbey into a house during the disolvement of the monastaries during the reign of Henry VIII. Then, during the Romantic era, it was purposely demolished to create romantic ruins. So. :) Sigh. We love the Romantic Era because they gave us one more ruined abbey to play in. We were able to have class there, because the weather was nice. I love it when we have class outside. I mean, I had class in a ruined abbey in England where Shakespeare wrote. Ka-ching.

Then we got back on the coach and drove to Old Sarum. It was the site of Salisbury until one day they just decided to move the city down the road a couple miles. That was nice, but I was just exhausted by this point. We're all reaching the point where we just need sleep. Case and point: I had a 4-hour giggle fit last night. No joke. As Lindsey would say, I was in rare form. Anyway, everyone else hiked from Old Sarum to the hostel, but since I was leader of the day, I took the van with John and Heather L to check into the hostel and wait for people with their luggage. For the rest of the night we just chilled and chatted and had tons of fun and everything. Woot.

Today we walked into town for Salisbury Cathedral. My favorite, just barely over Winchester. Then we quickly walked through a house across the square where they filmed some of Sense and Sensibility (the one with Snape, Snape, Severus Snape). And then we went to the little chapel where George Herbery preached. I LOVE Herbert and his poems. He was in such a high position academically and financially and gave it all up for God. His poems show a fantastic testimony and he was so humble. The parish church was tiny and the only memorial to him was a 5"ish square with a cross and "GH 1632."

Some of us then walked to Wilton House, where an incredibly attractice Earl of...I can't remember lives. It felt like just another house to me, but the people I was wish made it awesome. But they fimled more scenes in Sense and Sensibility there and it was also the inside of Pemberly in the Kiera Knightly version on Pride and Prejudice. Most of the day it was misting though, as England is wont to do, so...

Anyway, that's about it! I'm going to start making lists of quirky little things I love about England and then a list of things that I miss about the States. Hopefully the latter list will help me when it's time to go home. :) Love you all! Cheers!