Stonehenge and Bath

First of all, woke up at 6am. Showered, and got on the overground to the underground (tube) to meet the bus (or coach as they call it here) at a tube station at 8:15am. We had about a 1.5hr drive to Stonehenge. As we were leaving london, our tour guide gave us a bunch of random facts about the area's we were driving through. Eventually, she let us all go to sleep since she knew we were all very tired.

So everyone thinks that Stonehenge is just a bunch of rocks.....it's much more than that. First of all....HOW DID THEY DO THAT!?!?!??!?!? The rocks are HUGE!!! At first glance, you are just overtaken by amazement that they were able to construct it. It really is beautiful to look at. The texture on the rocks, the way the light hits it. Ughhh it was awesome. Also trying to figure out why they built it in the first place....probably a sun temple....


After another 1.5hr drive (about), we were in Bath. First, I need to talk about the views on the way in. Unfortunately I wasn't sitting near a window so I wasn't able to get any pictures, but just looking at the town as we winded down the road was INCREDIBLE! We started in Bath Abby, which for some reason made me feel as if I was in Italy. Maybe it was the fact that we were right near the Roman Baths (which I did get to go in and see as it was part of the tour price). But that small town feel just overtook you as you walked in. The colors of the buildings, the architecture in general...it was all beautiful. Once we got there, myself and a few others who I met on the bust went to get some lunch. I had delicious tea and cheese scones. After that, we all walked around for a little. I went in to look at Bath Abby, the big cathedral. The architecture was beautiful. The ceilings were gorgeous. The colors....everything. After taking plenty of pictures, I moved back outside and walked around the area and looked into a few stores and at some displays street vendors had up. I then met up with the tour guide for an architecture tour of Bath. She took us to all the little nooks and crannies in the area we were in. She showed us houses and explained how people lived many years ago in them. It was really cool to see the architecture, but the coolest moment was when we came upon this large green in the middle of the city. I was in a lot of shock, because you don't usually see a large green area in front of housing in a city...but I guess that's what makes Bath, Bath.

After that, we headed into the Roman Baths. I have to admit, I was pretty tired at this point as it was about 4:30pm and I had been up since 6pm on my feet looking at everything I could see...BUT nevertheless, the Baths were cool. The fact that I was walking where people used to walk so many years ago (and yes, we do that in many places....but this was preserved) was really cool. It was interesting to see how the springs worked as well as how the water flowed throughout the baths. There was a museum, but our guide said to move through the museum and see the baths...because that was the cool part. The complex was large with many parts to it. Some of the Baths even had water in them which was cool.

After the Baths, we headed back to the bus to begin our journey back to london. It was a long bus ride, but I slept for a good portion of the trip. Once we got back to london, I pretty much crashed. But overall, I would say it was a fantastic day. Only regret...I wish I could have spent more time in Bath.


Here are a few pictures from my day from my point and shoot (I'm saving the good ones from my DSLR for my final album that I'll make and show people):

 Bath Abby

 The Roman Baths

 The Green Area I was Talking About

The Sunset as we were driving home....

Post Coming Soon....

Hey everyone. So I woke up at 6am this morning to go to stonehenge and bath. It was amazing, and I'm going to write about it and post pictures but right now I need to go to bed. So tomorrow this post will be replaced with a proper one.

Thanks!

Music and Theatre

So this post is going to talk about my first live music and live theatre experiences during this trip in london.

First, I will start off by saying I got to skype with my parents earlier today which was very nice. (Enjoy the shout out mom and dad?)

But last night I got to see a musician by the name of Ben Howard perform at a record shop in east london. He was fantastic. It was SO cool to see an up and coming musician starting his career. He was surprised by the amount of people who came out to hear him play. And I was surprised when almost all of those people left before the main band started. It's cool when the opening band attracts a bigger crowd sometimes.

The next day (Wednesday) I had my second class called London Theatre. The class is 1.5hrs and sparks a discussion about theatre and what it means to us and how it affects us. Every week we go to see a show at night and then talk about it the following week. So basically, I get to see 10 shows without paying anything extra. Tonight we saw our first show which was called Decade.

Decade was focused around 9/11. It was a brand new piece that started from the one year anniversary and had scattered stories throughout going back in time. The first thing that we all wondered was, "Is it too soon to have a piece like this?" We all varied our opinions. It was however 3 hours long, which I didn't love. The piece had a small cast and used music, movement, lighting and a very specific setting to present the story. The setting was the restaurant at the top of the world trade center. It even had views on two sides of what it looked like from the top. That was kind of eery. I thought the piece was well put together and was not too offensive. I'm not sure if it could make it in the US. I don't think that people would be ready for it there. After the show, there was a talkback session with the director and a few members of the cast. It was interesting to hear how it was put together. There were tons of writers from the US and the UK which I think is partly why it was so interesting, because there wasn't simply one writer. I'm not going to go into too much detail about the show, since I have to write a journal entry about it for class....so I'm going to save most of my opinions for that. But, it was a very interesting piece to see.

I was talking to my friend Steve just a few minutes ago about how the idea that we are going to be away from home for so long is starting to really set in. What's nice is that I'm with people who I can spend a good deal of time with before I get too sick of them. And if I do, I can hop on the tube and visit the people at Queen Mary and be fine. Still, it's going to be very hard leaving this place....and it's only week two....

Classes Begin...

Monday. I had my first class. Despite the fact that my 2 friends and I couldn't find the room where the class was until 5 minutes before it started, it went ok. The class was Culture and Performance. Everyone in the class met in a lecture hall for a 1 hour lecture. After that, there was a 30min break followed by 1.5hour seminars in smaller groups. The lecture and seminar were both interesting, though it was weird being in a room where you are the only American. The class reminded me a lot of Muhlenberg with it's style and structure. 

The professor (or tutor as they are called here) was very nice. At the end of the seminar, he called me up to introduce himself to me and asked me how I liked the first class. It seems like the tutors really like having the international students here because they can offer a totally different opinion, especially in a class focused around culture. The tutor told me he was going to make more US references to help pull me into the conversation a bit more. I also found out that the paper I need to write is much shorter than I originally thought, since I'm an international student and wont have as much time to write it as everyone else. 

I've only been here a week, and I feel like I've been here for a month somehow. It's still weird not being home and not seeing all the people I know, but I'm getting used to it. The first week made it seem like we were all on a great vacation, which is kind of what it was, but now I am truly realizing that this is going to be home for the next few months. 

I booked my first day trip today to go and see Stonehenge. I've heard mixed things, but I just feel like it's something you can't miss. A lot of my friends aren't going because they don't think it's worth it. But I'm tired of just sitting around talking about doing things...I want to start DOING them. So hopefully this will be the start of a lot of amazing journeys. 

74 more days.....

Week One...

Week 1 is done. It's hard to believe I've been here for only a week.

Today I went food shopping and cooked dinner with my friend Tom. We made pasta with Chicken Parm. We were impressed with ourselves. Haha.

Tomorrow is my first class at 2pm. Wish me luck!

75 more days to go......

End of the First Week....

It's hard to believe that I've already been here for a week. Actually, a week ago today I was sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight. That's weird....

I'm loving London. I feel like I've been here for a while. Well...maybe....sort of. This first week has felt like a vacation for most of us. Exploring during the day, going to pubs at night...that sort of thing. But it's been good because we are getting to know people and getting used to being here. We have one more day until we start classes. I'm interested to see what classes are like here.

Tonight I went up to Queen Mary and saw my friends from there. It was fun getting to spend some time without the people I see every day. They showed me around their campus, we went for a drink, and then I headed home. The tube stops running a little after midnight for some reason. So if I missed it, I would have to take the bus system back....which is really confusing. Too many transfers. This city, unlike New York, sleeps (I couldn't help but make that reference).

Lazy Friday

Friday was a pretty lazy day. A lot of us spent it napping and doing a whole lot of nothing. For me, I slept a bunch, talked with some friends, had some lunch....relaxing. The exciting part was getting to see our friends from Queen Mary! They decided to come down to us and hang out for a few hours. It was really great to see them and catch up on their trip here. It was also cool to see even more people I know in London. I still can't believe it's been almost a week.....