Well it’s been another week gone. I can’t believe how fast time is flying by here. I want to slow it down and savor everything. It’s hard to believe that in less then a month I will have to give up my British citizenship. Soon I will be stateside instead of living all of these crazy adventures. Speaking of crazy adventures let me tell you some stories about this past week.
Monday started the first school week of November. It was hard to get back into the swing of things after spending a week in sunny Madrid. I also had to get use to the weather and the darkness. Due to the time change, it gets dark over here around 4:30. I was so disoriented because even though Madrid had changed time too it so was not dark that early. But in England, with the already overcast skies seems to get dark quicker. After a full week of classes, Thursday night we had a play. We saw Enron, a play about the downfall of the American energy company. This was an AMAZING play. There was singing, dancing, comedy, and solid information about what went wrong. And since it was about an American company, a lot of the images and music was American which left many of us happy when we left the theatre. I can see why Enron is the hottest ticket in London right now.
On Friday, we left for our weekend away in the countryside. Our first stop was Stonehenge. We took a tour of this famous site and learned all about the history of the construction and importance. Then we left Stonehenge and went to on to Salisbury Cathedral. We had lunch and some time to explore the city of Salisbury. We girls found heaven on earth, aka Candyland!! We spent probably 20 minutes in there trying to decide what we wanted. Then we went to the cathedral and had a tour. Our tour guide was this AWESOME lady who was just so animated. She loved questions and told us so many different and cool stories. After that we got back on the bus and headed to Bath. We arrived in Bath and checked into our hostel. We stayed at the, wait for it… YMCA. I can officially sing that song! After settling in, a bunch of us went out to find a pub with good food. We found one and began to enjoy our weekend. A lot of drama followed afterwards, but I’m going to skip over that mess. We ended our night at a club called Po-Na-Na’s that had a “Squeeze the Cheese” theme that night. I have no idea what that was about, but I am guessing it has something to do with all the crazy pop songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and today. Talk about cheesy music. They even played YMCA lol. We had lots of fun, and then walked home in the rain around 2 in the morning. Luckily I always have my umbrella with me.
Stonehenge, baby!
Me with Stonehenge
The usual from Trev and I
I love the English countryside
Heaven!
Salisbury Cathedral
Fountain in the Cathedral
BEST TOUR GUIDE EVER!! The next morning came bright and early. After breakfast at the YMCA (you can get yourself clean, you can have a good meal… sorry, just couldn’t resist lol), we went to the Roman Baths. We saw the ruins and the original baths that the city was named after. It was really cool, and I really enjoyed it. Afterwards we were free to do what we wanted. A couple of us were not functioning after the mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting night so we went back to the hostel for a quick nap. Then after we woke, we went out shopping. We also saw a very cool street performer who wore one of the crazy outfits I have ever seen. Then 6 of us girls and 4 of the boys went to the Spa. There is a spa that has mineral water pools heated by the same thermal vents that heated the ancient Roman Baths. We hung out in the basement pool, took a few steams in the Steam Room (my new favorite thing to do. Loved the mint scented one. It opened up my pores and left me refreshed.), and chilled on the roof top pool with an amazing view of the city and even some fireworks (people were still celebrating Guy Fox Day). Afterwards, we came back to the hostel, showered and changed, and went out on the town. We met a Bachelor party with the theme of “Top Gun” the movie. They were very funny. Afterwards I called it a night since I was still dead tired and not feeling up to a full night of partying (it was already midnight at this point).
BATH!!!
I studied these Emperors last semester
I actually don't know why I allowed this pic to be taken nor why I uploaded to here
The Roman Baths
BEST STREET PERFORMER EVER!!!
He was hilariousSunday morning after breakfast we got on the bus and headed to Castle Combe. This is supposedly the ideal English countryside town. We spent about an hour walking around. We saw a Manor and walked through a maze of a garden. It was really beautiful. We even saw the beginnings of the towns Remembrance Day parade. Soon it was time to leave Castle Combe and then we headed to the town of Avebury. Avebury also has a Stonehenge, though not as well known or preserved. We walked around the town, looked at the stones and wondering sheep, and finally ended with lunch. Then we got back on the bus for the last time and headed home. We were in London by 5 o’clock.
Sign that will rest in my front yard one day Monday was a cool day also. I awoke and attempted to start my 5 page history paper, but did not get very far. Then Josh and I went and met our Australian friend Sarah, the girl I had met, roomed, and hung out with in Madrid. She came to London for a few days to spend time with relatives before going to Asia to hike for her last month of traveling. We caught up on what each of us had been doing in the week we had been apart and ate I a favorite restaurant of mine and Josh’s. Then Sarah and I went shopping on Oxford Street. I parted with Sarah and headed to class. After class we had a group outing to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. We got to hear Diane Schurr perform and generally had a good time. I even fell in love with the cute drummer lol.
Tuesday brought a full day of classes. We watched this really disturbing movie in Media and Society called Kiduthood. Its about young teenagers living in England and the different gangs that have formed and the problems they face. It was really good, but so sad and graphic. In film class, we discussed A Clockwork Orange and then went to the Kubrick Archives. That night, we had a play. We saw “An Inspector Calls.” It was a very good play and really interesting, but unfortunately it was not enjoyable. There were many school kids in the audience last night and they were all VERY VERY rude. It would be different if they were 1st or 2nd graders who did not know better, but these kids were at least 13 and older. The ones sitting right behind us were having normal voice conversations half of the time, making cat noises, and passing around a lot of noisy food. They did not seem to realize that people are quiet during plays. It was really frustrating. Well that’s it for this evening. I am off to our group meeting and then heading to the London Eye. I’ll write again soon!
Tuesday brought a full day of classes. We watched this really disturbing movie in Media and Society called Kiduthood. Its about young teenagers living in England and the different gangs that have formed and the problems they face. It was really good, but so sad and graphic. In film class, we discussed A Clockwork Orange and then went to the Kubrick Archives. That night, we had a play. We saw “An Inspector Calls.” It was a very good play and really interesting, but unfortunately it was not enjoyable. There were many school kids in the audience last night and they were all VERY VERY rude. It would be different if they were 1st or 2nd graders who did not know better, but these kids were at least 13 and older. The ones sitting right behind us were having normal voice conversations half of the time, making cat noises, and passing around a lot of noisy food. They did not seem to realize that people are quiet during plays. It was really frustrating. Well that’s it for this evening. I am off to our group meeting and then heading to the London Eye. I’ll write again soon!
Also, here's a link to the rest of the pictures (I should have discovered this earlier lol):
Much love,
KP
KP
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