The Road to Healthy: The Day I Almost Died

Lovely Lara,

Good thing I spoke to you before I left, because I almost didn't come back from Wales in one piece. I'll elaborate on my unbelievable weekend:

We took the lengthy bus ride at 7:30 am, so most of us slept until we made our first rest stop to use "the toilets." I assumed the British would be much more vague and proper about the term, using something like "loo" or "restroom," but nope, toilets it is. When we arrived at our first destination, we visited old barracks, saw a cemetery from the 1800s, and watched teenagers reenact battles with wooden swords (it felt very "Role Models").

Enjoyed this and a Pink Lady apple for breakfast, this is absolutely pure fruit juice and I'm in love (apples, kiwi, grapes, banana)

So many wooden swords to be played with...

Next, we made our way into a neighboring town for lunch, and then walked over to visit the Caerphilly castle. My friend, Alicia, had decided on the rule of doing "one badass thing per day," so we ended up climbing up part of the castle wall to take a picture in a windowsill. There was even a wedding starting while we were there, so we were all going to stay for some cake and attempt British wedding crashing, but were sadly told we had to move on to our next destination.

In front of the Caerphilly Castle

On the way in!

We ended up staying in the small, but adorable, town of Swansea (yes, it is on the water). My group of friends and I walked into town and decided to have dinner--and apparently so did every bachelor and bachelorette party in Swansea. Every restaurant and bar was filled with groups of men putting on women's skirts and bras, and scantily-dressed women parading around the streets in boas and vibrant costumes; amusing us all with their silly antics and loud voices. After a rowdy night in our new favorite down, we all boarded the bus and headed to the "Big Pit" to for a mining tour the next morning <-- and here's where things got weird...well maybe equally as weird as men wearing women's clothes.

"Bangers and Mash" at dinner

Stereotypical fish and chips

The mines are active and methane gas still runs through them, which means that we had to leave all electronics upstairs because if something sparks, we would all be blown up in a matter of seconds. Halfway into the tour (300 ft below ground in a cold, damp mine), a girl next to me turns over and asks "So is it okay if I have my phone on me?" Well that didn't sound right. In absolutely no way was that okay, actually. So the girl, who is carrying a large purse the guide OFFERED to take from her several times before we went down into the mine, goes up to our guide, a jolly Welsh fellow, and informs him she has her phone. "Good thing nobody called you," he responds, "Ring, ring, boom, boom. Anything else?" The girl then doesn't just hand him the phone, no, she hands him 2 phones, an ipad, an ipod, and a camera. We all felt lucky to be alive when she feigned sick 3 minutes later and had to be taken upstairs, her electronics joining her above ground.

Almost my eternal resting place, Big Pit

Happy to be alive, we made our way into the town over for lunch, and then made a quick detour at Tintern Abbey, before boarding the bus and heading back to London. Please send me a picture of your face so I can cherish it and thank someone up there for loving me enough not to let me get blown up today.