Southampton/London

9.8.12

First off, I would like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY! My phone stopped
working, so I can't call, but I hope a shout out on my blog can do
justice :)

Secondly, I just got back on the ship after spending a few days in
London! I wish we could stay a few more, but I felt that way about
Ireland too, and I think I'm going to feel that way about every country
I visit!

The first day in Southampton (9.5.12), a few friends and I went to
Stonehenge! (Nate, if you're reading this: real-life civ and I went
there first, so does that mean I "built" it first? haha!) Stonehenge was
absolutely amazing! It was awesome being able to see such an
awe-inspiring sight! I ended up getting a hoodie from there that says
"Stonehenge Est. 3,000 BC" haha :) Anyway, it was out by some farms, so
it was interesting to realize that yeah, people live right next to it!

On my dad's birthday (9.6.12), we booked it to London! Colleen and Amy
were at Harry Potter World, but Danielle and I walked around for quite
some time. That night we all went up into the London Eye. I was
surprised it only took a half hour to go around because of how slow the
Eye was moving, and how big it is too. But the city was gorgeous at
night all lit up, and I would definitely recommend it to everyone!

Yesterday was our day mainly for sight-seeing. We started off going to
the Paralympics! Colleen and Eugene had tickets already bought before
our voyage, Danielle managed to buy one off someone else, and when we
asked an official if there was anyone else looking to sell tickets, they
gave me and Amy tickets for free! I'm glad we all got to go because it
was quite something! We saw wheelchair fencing, table tennis, and
sitting volleyball.

Wheel chair fencing was interesting because they couldn't move; the
wheelchairs were strapped down. I don't know much about fencing, but
from what we saw, they had to hit a certain part on each other to get a
point, and every 5 points they would switch out people from their team.

Table Tennis was cool because one hand stayed on the wheelchair while
the other was using the paddle. The most intense match we saw was
between the Chinese and the Germans.

Sitting Volleyball was probably my favorite event, and hardest to
describe. It wasn't for those who were in wheelchairs, either, and
sometimes we saw players using their feet. It was interesting to see
the size of the court and a few of the different rule changes as well.

After that, we attempted to go to Abbey Road...apparently, there are
two. So we went to Platform 9 3/4 first, and then hit up Baker Street
(unfortunately, without Jon Watson), and then went to the real Abbey
Road since it was close to Baker St.

As we got off the Tube and were walking back to our hostel, we finally
found a Tardis. (sp?) Amanda, I had been looking for one the entire
time we were in London and couldn't find one anywhere! It would be right
outside the Tube station in front of our hostel, because that's the only
place we weren't expecting to see one haha. Anyway, I have a bunch of
pictures to show everyone, but since I'm on the ship, it'll have to wait
a week or two.

We're off to Belgium tomorrow, and I'm not bringing my laptop around
Europe, just an FYI! So from the 11th-15th don't expect me to e-mail or
write anything!

Plans for Belgium:
10th-Head to Brussels, visit the EU!
11th- DISNEY PARIS!
12th- Paris sight seeing
13th- Luxembourg/Germany
14th- Amsterdam
15th- Head back to Antwerp!

If anyone has any questions for me, I'd suggest you e-mail me before the
10th! :)

SH