Trip #4: Avebury and Stonehenge (England)
03 Mar 2010 1 Comment
in Study Abroad, Travel Tags: beauty, clouds, Harry Potter Bingo, Travel Writing, World Heritage Site
Avebury
That morning, I wasn’t sure whether or not I should wear my rain boots since the weather was looking up. But as soon as we got off the bus in Avebury, I was so happy with my decision to put them on. We were walking in mud all day.
Avebury is a circle of stones that isn’t as famous as Stonehenge. I didn’t know it existed myself before I signed up for the trip. Both sites are historical landmarks, yet very different. For one, the diameter of Avebury is huge, so huge people built a town in the middle. They had dug a trench around the whole area too. It was a very secretive place. There was something mystical about it because it was an awe-inspiring white pearl of land, its color caused by clay. Today, grass has carpeted the entire site.
The two largest boulders constituted the entrance, one of which was called the Devil’s Throne. None of the rocks were shaped by man, the way the ones at Stonehenge look like fish-sticks. They were all pegged into the earth, point down, rough and jagged and irregular.
We strolled around the small town, and the first place we went into was a barn that was turned into a history museum about Avebury. We also walked through a graveyard and went inside an Abbey. The door had a sign that said “Push Hard.” The irony made me laugh. Spirituality and religion aren’t things you can mosey into. They take time to understand, effort to internalize them and make them a part of your life. You do have to “push hard,” with any religion.
Chantal and I made another hit on Harry Potter Bingo. We dubbed a stone dovecote Hagrid’s Hut.
Beyond the stone circle and town was an endless stretch of green fields in all directions.
Stonehenge
After a 45 minutes bus ride, we arrived. I had dozed off, and woke up suddenly to people exclaiming, “It’s Stonehenge!”
The carved stones were grouped more closely together than I had expected. We were given audio guides and tromped the muddy circumference of the site as we listened to them. We weren’t allowed to touch the rocks as we were at Avebury.
Of course, there was a gift shop and a food stand. I drank hot chocolate for the first time since I’ve come abroad. It was delicious.
Here are facts I learned about Stonehenge:
- The name means “Hanging Stones”
- It had a religious purpose. Archeologists found the cracked skull of a 3 year old, which indicated that sacrifices were made there.
- It had astronomical significance. They used it to tell what time of the year it was, depending on which arch of stones the sun shined through.
- There were mounds around it, where the dead were buried.
- The rocks are an average of 13 feet tall.
- 1/3 of the rocks are underground
- The bluestones in the middle of the circle are from Wales.
- They used rafts to float them over water and rolling logs to travel them over land.
Honestly, I can’t remember much else. I was a bit underwhelmed. I think it’s because I’ve seen pictures of Stonehenge since I was in elementary school, and it looked exactly like all the National Geographic photographs. Actually, some photographs are even cooler because they are taken during sunrises, sunsets, meteor showers, or eclipses. The day we went was cloudy and cold.
It’s cool to have seen it in person, but it’s not like I’m going to go around saying, “Hi. I’m Salma. I’ve seen Stonehenge. What have you done?”
I think I was more fascinated with the clouds than the manmade wonder. I’m not being sarcastic. Hundreds pile upon each other in smooth, round scoops. On eye level, they are mountainous formations, sitting on the horizon as if they protrude from the ground and have watched over the land for centuries. They could be hiding an entire universe behind their backs, a world in each sloping valley of white. Above you, they are lofty palaces suspended in the sky. Because they are full and voluminous, they drift ever so slowly with an air of majesty. When we were driving back to the university, and the sky was all peach and plum and raspberry, I couldn’t stop staring. These are the skies you only see in Victorian paintings.
The sky was a glassy, blue mirror reflecting all the most magnificent snowy mountain ranges, as if to say, “Nothing you build will rival the Earth itself. Even a reflection of the land is more beautiful than what you’ve made.”
No wonder all the best artists and writers came from this side of the world. The sky and land are constant inspirations.
~ Salma
Trip #3: Oxford, England
02 Mar 2010 3 Comments
in Study Abroad, Travel Tags: architecture, cake, Harry Potter Bingo, hats, museums, Travel Writing
After traveling to Cardiff and Amsterdam, the most important lesson I learned was to keep your travel group small. Exploring with more than 5 people is a bad idea. 4 is the ideal number. Leanne and I made friends with one of the many girls from Colorado, and the 3 of us stuck together during our day-trip in Oxford.
I. Loved. Oxford. The town of academia was shaped by Gothic buildings, cobbled streets, and small shops. What I didn’t know about the city is that it’s home to more than 5 other universities besides Oxford University. All the domed and pointy buildings had huge, intimidating doors, one university beside another and another. Entrances opened up into green or paved courtyards, roofless hallways between one wing and another.
We visited the Pitt Rivers Museum of Anthropology and World Archeology. We walked through two main rooms. The first was a maze of cases that held artifacts from all around the world. We were primarily interested in seeing the shrunken heads. The second room was filled with dinosaurs, exotic species, rocks and minerals, and replicas of animals, whose fur or feathers we were encouraged to feel. This room reminded us of The Great Hall, from Harry Potter, with its perimeter of pillars and high, glass ceiling, held up with crisscrosses of carved wood. The uncanny resemblance gave rise to Harry Potter Bingo, a game Chantal and I made up to add some fun and hilarity to the rest of our escapades through Europe. (We are both huge Harry Potter fans.)
Afterward, we wandered around gaping for a while, breathing in the air of intellectuals. We also took the classic tourist photo inside a British phonebooth. We found an indoor market inside the town and it was very clean and quaint. My two favorite places were a gourmet cake shop and a hat boutique. The gourmet cakes were amazing. There was one wedding cake that mimicked a snow-covered mountain, with the bride and groom in winter gear holding snowboards. They also had a giant strawberry, cupcake, and hot dog. On a smaller scale, there were palm-sized girls and boys in graduation dress, and blocks of cake coated in icing and the words “A Gift From Oxford” drizzled on them.
After visiting the handmade hats store, I am on a mission to become a hat person. Because I have big, curly hair, I had decided that hats just don’t suit me. But I have changed my mind. If I find just the right one, and I wear it often, I will get used to it and so will everyone else around me. Plus, I’ll come back home looking very European. Haha.
I was jealous of the students studying abroad at Oxford. But then I remembered that my university is on the beach, where the clouds retreat to reveal a blue sky and warm sun at least 3 times a week, and I wasn’t jealous anymore.
~ Salma
