Craig's Experience in Wales A personal documentation of my journey as an exchange student in Great Britain

As I write this I am at a Subway in Bristol, England. I just got back earlier this morning from the first round of my travels in England and Scotland. I spent a few days in Kettering, England with my good buddy Jamie Hurd and then went off to Lodon for a couple of days after that. My travels then proceeded to Stirling, Scotland for a couple days and then Edinburgh, Scotland for a few days after that. Tomrrow morning I will head off to eh Czech Republic to see Prague for a couple days and then to Krakow for a few days to see the city, go to the Salt Mines (which I hear you can lick the salt in the caves...mmmmmm...) and finally to Auschwitz. Then... on June 14, 2007 I will be heading home to good old Ohio, USA. This most likely will be my last entry on this blog. I have thoroughly enjoyed documenting my travels and sharing my thoughts, feelings and experiences. It has been a true blessing for myself, and I hope it has been at least a little bit for you as well. OK...so my travels right now. Well, England was a real good time. Before I came on the exchange I really was hoping to get to go home with a friend and experience a little bit of life over here. Due to my short time limit on this computer, I must keep this short and sweet. I'd love to elaborate with anyone who would like when I come home in about a week. So Kettering was a blast and London was enjoyable as well. I went into Westminster Abbey, which was pretty darn sweet and also got a tour of Shakespeare's Globe that's just how the old Globe used to be in Shakespeare's time. It was actually quite interesting, despite what you non-English people might be thinking right now. I also really enjoyed seeing in person all those things that you grow up seeing in London - Big Ben, Parliament, going on the Underground, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and so on. I'm glad I could have that expereince at least once during my time overseas. On to Scotland... it was such a dream come true to go there and see and experience everything that I did. In Stirling I got a huge fill of Scottish history with going to the National Wallace Museum and seeing William Wallace's sword and learning a little more about his life, seeing various battlesights and gaining more insight on how the Scots gained their independence. Edinburgh was nice as well, with a variety of exeperiences in a short amount of time. I climbed to Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, a large hill/mountain a little bit outside the city. I realized when I was done how stupid it is to climb up large hills without having any water on hand. Lesson learned. Oh, and wearing knock-off crocs that are 7 dollars at Meijer are not the best option for climbing large, rocky hills. Lesson learned. The view was incredible and really serene - great opportunity I'm glad I could have. The next day I saw the castle, which also was a great time to learn more on my Scottish history. Then, just yesterday I went on a day trip to the Highlands. It was a long day - 12 hour tour total - but BEAUTIFUL surroundings... exactly how you'd imagine Scotland. I felt completely in my element out there with the lochs, moors, mountains and glens. I've got some nice photos... And so here I am. Relaxing before I head off and finish this journey. There is one quote I would like to end my blog and my overall travel experience with: "I have journeyed with confident step" - Walt Whitman