Limeys for Grandpa!

Grandpa told me when I left for London that under no circumstances was I to come back with a "limey". Well sorry Grandpa, I found one that I just couldn't resist! (Jack and I - above - fell in love at first sight) I spent yesterday exploring Portsmouth. It was a bit of a let-down after Brighton, but still educational.

I got to see the Mary Rose. It was King Henry VIII's favorite ship. It sunk about 35 years after it was built. They found one half of it completely preserved in silt! They're working on preserving the wood before they can start restoring the whole ship. It was really cool to see the ship and the artifacts they found inside it. There were lots of shoes, swords, longbows, clothing, and other artifacts perfectly preserved in the silt. It was really fun to get a little glimpse into life during the Tudor reign.

During the day we also took a harbor tour. It was really windy and cold (as seen in the above picture - my hair looks fabulous). I really embraced the windswept look while in Portsmouth. We got to see a lot of battleships and one of the aircraft cariers that was docked! Becca remarked that the aircraft carrier reminded her of Top Gun. Then I couldn't stop thinking about Tom Cruise - the Tom Cruise I knew and loved before he showed the world his eccentric side.


The H.M.S. Victory was dry docked in Portsmouth and I had the opportunity to tour that. It's the ship that Admiral Nelson died on after the battle of Trafalgar. It was so big! The theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean ran through my head throughout the entire tour. I don't think I could've handled being a sailor during the 19th Century. I could'nt even stand up straight in most of the ship. With that thing rocking back and forth on the high seas I would've spent most of my time knocked out from hitting my head!

The funniest thing that happened was when Rebecca and I got ahead of the group and kept going further down into the ship. We got to this part in the very bottom of the ship and we were all alone. It was very dark, big, and empty. The theme music didn't help either. They were playing eerie sounds like the boat was being splashed by water and creaking. At one point we grabbed onto each other and were so scared that we were almost in tears. That's right, we're 20 and still scared of the dark. We rushed up a floor and waited until we saw Sammie, Professor Hawkins daughter. Yeah, a 14 year old made us feel safer. Pathetic, I know. (See picture above...)

At one point we wandered over the the activity center. There we got to live out our fantasy of being in the British Navy. I tried flying a helicopter in a simulator. I should NEVER be allowed to fly a helicopter. I was terrible. I'm also not so great when it comes to shooting a gun... I tried that simulator as well. Rebecca, Allison, and Diana on the other hand, are great marksmen. We also rode this helicopter simulator thing that moved you up and down to make you feel like you were acutally on a helicopter ride. It was really lame and a total disappointment. AND we all felt queasy after. Not fun. Allison and I felt adventurous and tried this climbing wall that rotated. It went around vertically like a conveyer-belt so you had to keep climbing. Then it would turn to make it harder. At one point you get kinda close to being upside-down. (Not all the way upside down, but it starts rotating like that. It's hard to explain without hand-motions...) It got a little hard but we stuck it out and stayed on! It was really fun!

That's pretty much it for Portsmouth. We found the above statue outside of the Mary Rose Museum. We totally understand why Henry VIII got so many girls - he's a total hunk-a-hunk-o Burnin Love. :)

Today we had our midterms. The English Midterm totally kicked my butt, but I'm pretty sure I rocked the History test. After midterms Becca, Diana, and I went to Tesco to get sandwiches for lunch. I swear, I go to tesco at least once a day. I love that place. After lunch Becca and I showered and went to Primark where I blew all the money I didn't spend last week from my budget. I bought the cutest clothes! However, I have decided no more clothes for me this trip!

In a few hours I'm going to see Harry Potter with about ten other people from the group. I'm pretty excited about that. Tomorrow we're going to Hampton Court. I'm so psyched to go! Hampton Court is where Elizabeth I grew up, and where Katherine Howard ran down the Long Gallery in a wild fit and is said to still haunt it!!!! I cannot wait. It's like a dream come true.

We're leaving for Scotland on Monday. Look up Durham Castle. That's where I'm staying for a night! How cool is that!? You know, my favorite summer has always been the summer before I left for college. That summer was amazing. However, this summer is very close to completely blowing that one out of the water! I'm having a blast!