Newmarket & Bury St Edmund's

Today I am thinking a lot about my boyfriend, Philip, and my friend, Julie. They both had surgery this morning.

I have two full days left in Cambridge. It is unbelievable. This week I have become very aware that my time left is short. I've been trying to pay attention to how I feel while I'm here and really take in that I am in England.

Yesterday I went to a town called Newmarket, which is a 20 minute train ride west of Cambridge. My house parents had mentioned a few times in passing that I should go, but until I went to Norwich last weekend, it hadn't really crossed my mind much of a place I'd actually want to get to. We passed Newmarket on the bus to Norwich and saw some horses being exercised early in the morning and it sparked an interest in me. (Newmarket is known for horse racing.) So... yesterday I went. I found the National Horse Racing Museum on High Street in the city centre.

(You're not supposed to take pictures in the museum, but I did anyway.) The museum was interesting. I've always loved horses, but am actually kind of afraid of them. I'm not sure how much I agree with racing them--it seems like it could be a cruel sport. But anyway, the museum was nice. I've decided, though, that I'm totally over museums for the time being.

I walked throughout Newmarket in search of real horses. In fact, I walked a long way looking for horses. I found Newmarket Racecourses, which was on the outskirts of Newmarket, and I saw lots of pasture and a deserted stadium. No horses, though. Actually, I take that back. I did see one horse. A white one, being ridden by someone who looked as though they could have been a jockey. They were probably half a mile away from me.

After that, I did so much walking that I was just tired and wanted to go home. I found a cool cemetery on the way back. I negotiated the incredibly confusing train schedule and made it back to Cambridge.

Today I went Bury St. Edmund's. A weird name for a town, but St. Edmund was a king and now is a martyr. Bury was so amazing; I'm so glad that I went. There's a cathedral there, which automatically sparked my interest. It was smaller than the ones in Ely and Norwich, but still amazing.

This picture also shows some of the gardens. They were huge and beautiful. I am just amazed by how much care these people take of their gardens. On these grounds there are also ruins from the Bury Abbey, which was once one of the richest Benedictine monasteries in England.

They date back to the 11th century. The grounds were vast and there are ruins everywhere throughout it. It was so interesting to read about the layout and think about what the place must have looked like when it was running and what type of life the monks living there must have had. I also love thinking about how many people have passed through. I mean, it's almost 1000 years old! That's insane! I'm so glad that I went to Bury.

Tomorrow is my last day in the office. I still have a little work to do on the project... probably less than 2 hours worth, but we'll see. I just cannot believe how fast the time went. Eight weeks gone. Incredible.