Back in London!

     Hello again!
     As many of you may know, I spent the last two days in Cornwall (the southwest of England). It was absolutely gorgeous! A little chilly, though.

     The reason I went to Cornwall was to visit Tintagel Castle, which is along the coast line and is said to be the birthplace of King Arthur. I was staying in a little town called Bodmin, and from Bodmin it takes two buses to get to Tintagel. It was entirely worth the trip. Unfortunately, my camera battery died on me, so I wasn't able to take any pictures. Luckily, as I was getting off the bus, I met a girl named Madeline, who is about my age and turned out to live in New Hampshire, about 30 minutes from where I go to school! The two of us ended up spending the day together exploring and her camera is working, so she will send me those pictures when she can.

     We arrived at Tintagel at about noon and as soon as we arrived we were told that the Castle was closed because of high winds. You have to understand that Tintagel is located on incredibly high (and steep) cliffs on something that is very close to being an island. The winds were so strong that people could barely stand. Not to be discouraged, we decided to stick around for a while to see if the wind died down. We went down to the beach, and then climbed part of the hill. We made it almost half way before the winds stopped us from going any further. I felt like I was about to be blown off the cliff! I almost lost my glasses a couple times, too! After we made it back down (very slowly and holding on to as many things as possible), we took a break and grabbed lunch in the little cafe, chatting about books and such. Sometime while we were in there, it started to drizzle. Eventually we decided to pop into the gift shop and if there was no sign of hope, buy a few postcards and call it a day.

     Luckily for us, just as we completed our purchases, they told us that the Castle had been reopened! We climbed up to the top of the cliffs to see the ruins.

     The view is indescribable. Even with the fog, we could see for miles and the water is a lovely turquoise color. The ruins are just as amazing. You can get a sense of how long they have been standing and get a real sense of the people who lived there at one point. The rooms and windows are so small, though, that it seems hard to think anyone lived there! Like many other old buildings, the doorways that remain are also incredibly low. It's a good thing I'm so short! The well still remains, and there is also even an old tunnel!

     After we climbed back down (being even more careful this time. The wind was starting to pick up again and it was already wet from the rain, not to mention the steps are uneven to begin with), we went back down to the beach. The tide had gone out at that point, as we could venture out a little bit further and poke into the caves that are there. One of them had a pool of sea foam still sitting on the bottom.

     We made our way back through the little town to the bus stop. Let me tell you, those people embrace the tourism trade! Nearly every shop had something to do with either Arthur or Merlin. we poked our heads into a few of them before hopping back on the bus to go back to our respective destinations.

     I am now back in London, having gotten a train back early this morning. After checking into my hostel, I got my camera battery situation worked out, so I can take pictures the rest of my trip (Yay!!). Tomorrow will be a busy day. A bus will pick me up from my hostel at 7:50 a.m. to take me to explore some other King Arthur related sites, including Glastonbury and Stonehenge. I'll get back to London by 6:30 p.m., grab a quick bite to eat, and then head to the Victoria Apollo to see Wicked on stage, something I have been dying to do for a while and am so glad to have the opportunity to do.

     Thursday will be another early morning. My flight leaves for Florence at 9:25 a.m. putting me there at 12:40 p.m. I'll then check in and move into my apartment, which is on the Piazza del Mercato. As I understand, this is a very central location, only a few blocks from the Duomo. Very lucky!