Last Week continued

The best part of last week’s trip was going to Durdle Door Beach. The view was unlike any I’ve ever seen before. I have been to a lot of beaches before, but never one like this. Durdle Door Beach is in Dorset, England (southern). I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. It was beautiful. ...ok internet is not letting me load pictures. Sorry. You can always see them on my facebook.

We had to hike about a mile to get to the beach. That’s where we saw the most beautiful view of the arch in the rock and the big blue sea and the bright green rolling hills that drop in white cliffs to the shore. Absolutely gorgeous.

A few of us decided it would be a good idea to walk along the pebble beach barefoot. We got pretty far before we realized that it was actually a horrible idea. Our feet hurt! I did find lots of green sea glass and one tiny piece of bright turquoise sea glass.

This week I saw Les Miserables for the first time. It played at the Queen’s Theater. I loved it. The music was incredible and fun. Jean Valjean had the most beautiful voice and such a wide range of notes he could hit perfectly clearly. Our seats weren’t the best. We had the overhang of the next level over us, covering the top half of the stage. We were very worried when we first arrived. But we didn’t miss much. Only when people stood up on scaffolding. 3 musicals down. A few more to go! Billy Elliot is next on my list.

On Tuesday, we went to Hampton Court Palace, which is where Henry VIII lived. It was huge! It divided into sections of William and Mary’s apartments, Queen Anne’s apartments, Henry’s, and someone else…I forget. But it was decorated pretty elaborately, just like it was when they lived there beginning in the 1500s. One of my favorite rooms was a large room where the guards would sleep and hang out, just guarding the front of the king’s apartments. The walls were covered in weapons all arranged in beautiful patterns. There were guns, swords, armor, shields, and more and they were all really beautifully placed. I also loved the Queen’s bedroom and bathroom of course. And the gardens…the gardens were spectacular!

Next stop: The Down House, where Charles Darwin lived. The English class just finished reading Charles and Emma, which is about Darwin and his wife. Since I am not in this class, it wasn’t as exciting for me, but it was still a very cool place. The home is huge, as they had lots of children. The entire downstairs was set up how it was when the Darwins lived there and the upstairs had exhibits of things from his travels and such. It was very interesting. Of all science, my favorite is learning about the evolution of life. I love seeing the history of how things have changed over time and what animals are related. Again, my dad would have loved this place. The Darwin’s back yard is gigantic with lots of different kinds of plants and gardens growing. There is a path called the Sandwalk that Charles and Emma would always walk on. This is where Darwin thought about his discoveries and ideas, so it was very important. It was a beautiful walk. Someday, I would like enough land to have a giant backyard, big enough to go on long walks through, please.