Weekend in Paradise

Friday, March 18
We all herded onto the bus and rolled over to Dyrham Park before continuing on to Bath.
At Dyrham ("deer" park) we saw a late 17th century old manor house and the grounds
Everything was so green...due to the rain falling on our heads.
Thank goodness I remembered to bring my umbrella.
The gardens were beautiful and there was a charming private cemetery nearby.
We had entrance to the house and were able to see how the rooms were set up.
Manor houses were basically the residence of wealthy slave-owners back in the day.
We got to try "perry"? Wine made from their own grown pears?....it wasn't bad.
They also had a gift shop and since I was headed to a Jane Austen city...I had to buy a book of Austen quotes. :)

the Dyrham manor house

Bus ride from there to Bath.
My goodness...everyone was so squirrelly!
I guess everyone finally woke up. lol...
but this meant that the bus became very noisy and people were making unnecessary comments after everything Mark said. This wouldn't have bothered me so bad if I wasn't so sleepy and had a headache. I was annoyed.
So when we got to Bath and had checked into our YMCA hostel rooms, all I wanted to do was sleep...I knew that would adjust my attitude. Everyone else decided to go out for a walk in the city for our little free time before we went to the Roman Baths...I don't even think Emily my hostel roomie knew I was planning on taking a nap.
Because I couldn't hear much that Mark said on the bus, I assumed we were meeting in the hostel lounge to walk over together to the baths....so I woke up in time to freshen up a bit and went down to the lounge.

....empty....
crap! Where is everyone??
It hit me that we were probably supposed to meet Mark at the baths...so I called someone to confirm this...who put me on the phone with Mark...who directed me to the meeting place. haha! I didn't even look at my map...I just walked outside and looked for the tall spires on the Bath Abbey and made a beeline for it because they were waiting for me (or so I felt).
I hate being late, having people waiting for me, and feeling left behind. These things all at once?....you get a frantic Amy...especially when she just woke up from a nap and is still a little groggy. lol

So I zig-zagged through the crowd in front of the Abbey (some wedding was going on) and found Mark waiting for me. I went to him and we started to go into the Roman Baths when someone grabbed my arm from behind. I expected it to be one of my friends on the program...or some creeper on the street...either way I spun around to glare at them. I was really in no mood to have people grabbing me.
But I turned to look into the face of my Dad! haha! I was so startled!
I knew they were going on a day trip that day and Bath was one of the places, but I did not think I would end up actually running into them.
I would have been very excited to see them. But unfortunately sometimes I have a one-track mind. "Dad! I'm already late!!" :( 
He kept asking if he could have my key...but I was so exasperated after what I had just been through that my mind was not thinking properly. lol! "Are you staying at the YMCA too?" haha...no, he meant my Vandon key so mom could sleep in my room away from Dad's snoring. So I gave him my key and rushed off to join my group. I felt like I blew him off and I feel bad about this now. But at the time I felt like everyone was waiting for me and Mark was right there. sigh...oh well...Dad understood.

After taking a little time to compose myself...lol, I get really shaken up when my pre-organized schedule is messed with. Organizer is definitely my spiritual gift. lol...one of them anyway. :)

The Baths were really cool! I love Roman architecture and historical ruins.
Here's a little info about the Roman baths and the city in general:

"The Romans were the first people to tap the hot springs of Bath, constructing a bathhouse over the springs so that they could enjoy the benefits of the waters. The Roman Baths flourished until the fifth century AD, lying forgotten until they were finally excavated some 1400 years later, actually missing out on Bath's Georgian heyday, when the nearby Cross Bath and Hot Bath were in use. It was during this period that many of Bath's landmark honey-coloured buildings were constructed."

 It's incredible to think that such a beautiful place like this could somehow get buried with time and needed to be excavated. I loved the designs, old statues, and redish-stones. An ancient spa and social meeting place! I love being able to see history in front of me! So cool! :) The waters were green with a lot of rust...but what else would you expect?

the water was a little steamy

outside of the Baths...and the city square...a popular hangout during the day

the Abbey in Bath was beautiful in the sunset

That night I went to a pub with some of the group to get some food. I think I ordered beef stew...it was very good and surprisingly cheap! So I couldn't pass up the dessert! I think it was a raspberry crumble with vanilla ice cream. SO GOOD!!

The pub had a fun atmosphere. We even got a little live music from an old-timers band later in the evening. We had only planned on staying there for dinner, but ended up staying the rest of the night. haha! The locals were very friendly...a couple of the girls from our group discovered this. *wink* Poor Rachel had a creeper after her all night. He was from a group of guys who go to different pubs to watch the Rugby matches. We actually saw them the next day in the city square...wearing the same shirts and smelling awful. Yuck. We ran away before they could recognize us. Lol!

Saturday, March 19th:

our hostel gave us an English breakfast...but it really wasn't quality eating. lol, those sausages were nasty. 

We were supposed to go on a boat along the river Avon that morning but it didn't work out, so instead Mark got us sight-seeing bus tickets. This was still neat! It was a great way to see the city...from the top of an open double-decker bus. I did both tours, one of the city and one of the surrounding parks and hills. Wish I could have gotten a picture over the city...but the bus was moving and trees were flying by. 

It is required that all of the buildings in Bath are made from Bath stone. This stone looks dirty the older it gets...so many houses looked ancient and historical! I definitely felt like I was in a Roman city!

Our tour guide pointed out one of Jane Austen's houses when she lived here! Jane actually hated Bath...she preferred the country to the city (sounds like me). When she lived in Bath, her family became increasingly poorer and they lived in a number of houses according to their status...until they were nearly in the slums. But their generous brother offered for them to live in one of his houses in the country...where Jane had the proper atmosphere to finish/write the majority of her books. Her attitude towards Bath can sort of be made out in her novels. I've only read three of her books so far, but plan to read all of them...and Persuasion is the only book with Bath in it that I've read thus far....so I was very excited to see the city where the wealthy took their "holiday" in Jane Austen's time. :)

the door with the plaque by it is where she lived

After the bus tour we kind of just walked around the cute streets and shops for awhile and watched the street performers.

My favorite street was the one right behind the Abbey with all the cafes, tea shops, and bakery's with fudge and candy apples. We got to taste some maple nut fudge that one shop was making...gooey, warm, and delicious!!

We also saw the inside of the Abbey. It was nice and bright in there...compared to some churches. I loved the high gothicly-designed ceilings.

After eating a pasty (not a huge fan), Jessica and I skipped off to the Jane Austen museum!!

the Jane Austen Centre

The museum was located in a flat, another location where she lived in Bath.
It was small...but they don't have many artifacts from her life since she didn't become famous until after her death. I wasn't expecting anything massive.
We enjoyed walking around learning a little more about one of our favorite writers. :)
The gift shop was heaven! lol. I had to really practice some self control to keep from buying the whole store!!
My favorite purchased items are a wax and seal kit...so now I can write and seal fancy letters with an "A" for Amy:)
and....are you ready for this?
A Pride and Prejudice comic book!!
Yes.
A comic book!
So Awesome!!!
I'm purposefully not reading it until I get home. :)
We then went to the tea rooms upstairs and got a lovely table in the sun.
We had proper tea...Austen style. :) I got crumpets as well. My first crumpets. I think I'll stick with scones from now on. lol, they were nothing special.
The walls were decorated with illustrations from the books and movies.
I got my picture with Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth)...rockin the side pon. haha! love it!

the only image we have of Jane Austen...a picture drawn by her sister Cassandra. (the original is in the Portrait Gallery in London...much smaller)

my crumpets

After we left we just walked around some shops for awhile...including Pulteney Bridge (one of the only shop-lined inhabited bridges, in the UK anyways).
I saw a hat shop and had to go in. lol...those hats were huge!! If I only had a horse race to go to, haha! I felt like it could have been the mad hatter's shop from Alice in Wonderland. :)
I grabbed my swimsuit from the hostel and we went back into town to find some others who might like to go to the spa with me. Most everyone was in a pub watching the rugby game. Those pubs were packed! Let me tell you....they take their rugby seriously!!
No one wanted to go with me however. :( Apparently they had heard it wasn't worth it (which was not the report I had at all!)
I was a little frustrated, but I got a quick bite and by golly...I just went to the spa alone!!

Because people can't use the historical Roman baths, they have a modern thermal spa nearby.
It's a little expensive, but I needed some relax time and it was SO worth it!!
The first room I went to was the sauna. In this large steamy room, there were four smaller glass- hot-sauna compartments that you could sit in. Each compartment had a different scent put into the air. The heat, steam, and strong smell really cleared up the sinuses!
My favorite scent was a musky pine smell. There was a minty room as well...but it made my eyes sore.The rooms were so steamy that you could hardly see anyone else.
Once you had enough of the heat in these small compartments, you could go out into the middle of the room and stand under pouring water from the ceiling to cool off. :)
There were also basins along the walls of the room that you could rest your feet in bubbling water. So lovely. :)

On the roof of the spa there was a large pool...basically a large hot tub, one side even bubbled. I went at night, so everything was lit up and I could see down into the sparkling city. Ahhh...
Mark had told us earlier that the moon that night was supposed to be closer to the earth than it's been in many years...and therefore larger. So I was able to see the big bright moon and stars as I soaked. :) How perfect!
I saw Jason in this pool, a guy also in the London program, and we chatted for awhile about what we had done that day. He told me he went to the American museum in Bath and learned about how the British basically think of our "American cowboys" as "Greek Gods" or mythological heroes! lol!
mmm
It was so nice. :) I'm not a big swimmer, but saunas and hot tubs with the moon and stars above me? yes please!! :) Great ending to my wonderful day.

the moon that night!!!

Sunday, March 20th:

I was determined to get a famous Bath bun from Sally Lunes bakery before we left Bath.

So I got up early and headed out...crossing my fingers that they were open on a Sunday morning.

Of course not. Hardly anything is.

I ended up walking down the darling bakery-lined streets, fresh morning air, and very few people. Mmm...it was nice. :)

I love going for morning walks when the streets aren't busy...everything is so peaceful and quiet.

I can't do this in London...not as safe as a smaller city like Bath.

I found a shop that was just opening up and bought a Bath bun (nothing special...just a bun with raisins and crusted sugar) and went to Costa to get tea. It was nice to actually be able to sit by the window and enjoy my tea and bun without feeling so crowded! Loved it!

The morning was gorgeous. Perfect weather and the sun made everything golden. :D ahhh...

One of my favorite streets in Bath...with Sally Lunes...where I was "supposed" to have breakfast that morning

We were all really sad to leave Bath. I know I didn't want to leave! It felt much more like home than any place I've been here so far. The atmosphere of the smaller city, combined with the beautiful sights and countryside were very refreshing. I couldn't live in London for more than a semester...but I could definitely see myself being able to live in Bath. :)

But...sigh...we had to move on. :(

We all got on the bus and drove through the beautiful rolling hills and green sheep pastures of the Cotswolds to a small village called Lacock.

I didn't know what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. :)

"Set in rural Wiltshire, Lacock village is famous for its picturesque streets, historic buildings, and its more recent role as a television and film location. The Abbey museum celebrates the achievements of former resident William Henry Fox Talbot, famous for his contributions to the invention of photography. Dating back to the 13th century, Lacock remains largely unchanged over the centuries and has many limewashed, half-timbered and stone houses. During the Middle Ages Lacock became a prosperous and thriving town through its wool industry. 

This is all I knew coming in...OH! and that Harry Potter was filmed at the Abbey. :)
So, of course, I made a beeline there. :D
The Abbey was separated from the rest of Lacock, surrounded by woods and pasture.
I walked around it and found the entrance, felt like I was entering the basement through the open stone door....then...
BAM!!! HALLS OF HOGWARTS!!
I might have started giggling and bouncing around. sigh...I can be so immature sometimes. :)
They used the cloisters of the Abbey as the hallways of Hogwarts in the first movie....along with some of the surrounding arched-ceiling rooms as classrooms and where Harry finds the Mirror of Erised!
Oh my goodness!!
I was SO THERE!! unreal!
I just stood in the halls looking all around me gaping. lol! Dude, Harry Potter walked this same foor! :)
The rest of the Abbey was an old country house that we could tour...and also see the window where the first (ever?) picture was taken!

enter the Abbey through this door

HOGWARTS

Next I caught up with Megan and Jake and we walked over to the town...stopping for a bit to eat in the Stable tea room. Like usual, I got my cream tea and scones with clotted cream and jam....along with a bowl of leek and potato soup.
Mmm
...I write about food a lot. It's kind of a problem. I just love to eat!
We then explored the streets of Lacock...so darling!! They have taken great pains to keep the village looking authentic and historical. Not a telephone pole in sight! :)
Because of this, many movies have been filmed here. Two of my personal favorites being Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version...as Meryton) and Godric's Hollow in Harry Potter!
The stone and limewashed with timber houses were so charming and quaint!
This is the kind of England I dreamed about coming to...not the bustling modern-day London.
Mark told us that to own a house in Lacock is VERY expensive. Most of the cottages in the village are owned by wealthy people in London who use them as summer or weekend get-aways.
ahhh....maybe if I marry a rich man someday he can buy me a summer house here. :)
We walked over to the church and graveyard where Harry's parents are buried in the movie. I also went in the church and found a photo album in the back with pictures of a Wedding that the royal family had attended there not long ago. haha! oh...Prince Harry and Harry Potter. :)

maybe the house where Harry met that creepy snake lady

the chapel the royal family went to a wedding in...and the graveyard from Godric's Hollow is right behind it

We were all sad about having to go back to London. I could have spent a week in Bath and Lacock. Definitely my kind of England...cozy cottages, small villages, rolling green hills and sheep. How lovely!
Like I said, it also had that "country" feel that made me feel comfortable and at home.
I'm so glad the weather cooperated with us.  If I wasn't already...I fell in love with England this weekend!!! :)

Ma and Pa!!

Saturday March 12th:

My parents arrived!!
For awhile on my way to meet them at the airport I was absolutely alone on the tube! It was so weird!! Usually it is bustling with people and one time I was even pressed up against the door so that when it opened it banged into my elbow and my whole arm when numb and tingly...and it was NOT funny...I had a bruise for days!!
So it was very strange and quiet...but that soon changed as I got closer...including certain individuals staring at me. lol. Long tube ride to Heathrow airport...over an hour!
...so I was late to meet them. woops! I felt SO bad about it. :/ I raced to where I thought they might be. I found the arrivals area and started to head to the board to see when they got here and saw mom coming to me with a huge smile out of the corner of my eye. :) I think I did a little dance-run over to hug her and dad. haha! That must have looked pretty silly. They apparently only took 5 minutes to get through customs (I thought it would take a lot longer!) and they had been waiting and looking for me in the airport. Oops...sorry!!

Took the tube back to Vandon and just kind of chillaxed while they rested up. :)
Traveling is exhausting...I know this full well.

Walked over to get their Oyster cards from Victoria Station...stopped for McD's on the way (Dad needed home food already? what?)...the ice cream and fries were lovely though. :)
We proceeded to walk to some touristy areas: Buckingham to Trafalgar (stopped and caught the changing of the horse guards by luck!! sweet!), showed them Leonardo's cartoon, then tube over to Victoria and Albert museum to show them Eve and David. :)
Poor Dad was ready to be done after all that. Having an injured knee and coming to a place where a lot of walking is necessary isn't fun. :( So we took the bus back (...and I had a mother about rip my head off on the bus for wondering out loud if she could enter by the side door....whoa buddy).

where the horses are kept

changing of the horse guards...lucky my parents were with me...Dad lent me his shoulder so I could stand up on the narrow ledge and see over the crowd. :)

I love Trafalgar square

Mom and I went grocery shopping and made chicken fried rice that night. She got a taste of what the grocery store is like in London...much smaller and compact!
It was so nice to cook with my mom and not have to do everything on my own! Sometimes I don't like being an adult. :)

Sunday March 13th:

Kind of a gloomy morning...rainy.

we went to Tower Hill to get tickets for the Tower of London and walk on the Bridge.

Then took a bus over to the East End to find the place I booked for our Sunday Roast. :)

charming pub/restaurant called the "Water Poet."

We arrived early, so I led my parents through the rain to browse through Spitalfields market and Brick Lane market (only open on Sundays...except when it rains...just our luck).

However, we saw an indoor market that was bustling with people off of brick lane...this happened to be the Truman brewery market!! LOVED it!! S

team hit our faces as we stepped inside, with all the food stands set up making ethnic foods...and all the stands were selling homemade artsy and vintage stuff. Hope to make it back some Sunday. :D

Our Sunday roast, a traditional British meal, was very good.

We got two huge plates....the chicken and beef roast. But they piled the rest of the plate with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onion, parsnips, oh! and yorkshire pudding. :) yum!

the Water Poet

The place itself was very atmospheric and cozy...dim lighting, old furniture, and weathered wood tables. Rustic!

We then spent the afternoon in the Tower of London....learning and experiencing a bit of history. :)

The Tower of London was basically a multi-purpose castle in the center of the city....castle, dungeons, torture center...you name it. Our tour guide told us all about why the ravens must never leave the tower and where King Henry met Anne Boleyn.

We saw the armory (armor made for a fat King...never seen that before)

...and the crown jewels (that diamond was HUGE)

...and climbed a lot LOT of stairs.

Oh! We also saw where the prisoners were tortured and carved words into their cell walls.

Interesting stuff. :)

view of the Tower Bridge from the Tower of London

Monday March 14th:

Internship...soooo tired.

I about had to peel my eyelids open at times.

Being a tour guide can be exhausting. haha!

When I got back my parents and I just walked around the Westminster area to see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, London Eye, and Abbey lit up at night. Beautiful!!

Mom made supper...hamburgers!! Gosh, have I missed my beef!! mmm

Tuesday March 15th:

James let me have the day off to spend with my folks. :)
So we walked the five minutes to Buckingham Palace early to claim a spot before the crowds got there to see the changing of the guard. I learned my lesson from the first time. ;)
We found a good spot by the gate where we could also sit on the ledge for awhile. But as the crowds got thicker we had to stand.
I knew that the changing actually started with a band marching in from the street...so I was turned around watching and listening for them...but those around us didn't know and every time they saw the two guards who are always outside the palace move...they started to freak. haha!
We ended up having a lovely gang of Spaniards behind us who were loud with no personal space issues. Arg! We were basically pushed into the gate during the ceremony and the girl behind me was almost crawling up my back to see.
"Excuse me....we got here early in order to see...you should have done the same...I'm not a human jungle gym thank you very much."
I didn't say it, but she probably wouldn't have understood me anyway. haha! :)

The changing of the guard was pretty cool. Something I only need to see once though...especially when the crowds are always so crazy.
The band played some Beatles too!! Yesterday. :) love it! And the band was really good...definitely put my high school marching band to shame. As they should, they're the Royal band after all. :)
They all looked a bit like the guards from Wizard of Oz..."ohweeoh...YOho!" lol

After that we went to Westminster Abbey and saw the inside.
Despite the snippy guy who wouldn't let us have our audio guides until we told him our language was American, not English,
It was gorgeous...I especially loved the cloisters, gardens, and poet's corner.
Lot of people buried in that Abbey...kings, queens, poets, knights...
I thought it was very interesting that Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth...sisters and enemies in life...were buried right next to each other. Hmm
It was fun to hunt down famous poets and writers' names in the poets corner...Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Dickens, etc. :)

After that we went and ate fish and chips at the Laughing Halibut....on Strutton Arms, the same street where I had my first fish and chips.
Except this place was legit!! REALLY good stuff and fresh!! :)
I think I got haddock.
...the fish wasn't half breading, they actually had tartar sauce to use, and they gave you a ton of chips. We were so stuffed!! It was worth it though.
The locals were packed into the place as well.
You always know it's going to be good when the locals go there. :)

After eating I had to do homework the rest of the day...unfortunately. :(

Wednesday, March 16th:

Not as eventful.

In the morning we went to The Albert (a pub on the corner of Buckingham Gate and Victoria) so Mom and Dad could have a traditional English Breakfast.

Somehow all three of us were confused into thinking it was St. Patrick's Day...haha! We were so sure of it!! But I was corrected later in the day. Whoops. lol! Day early I guess. :)

The breakfast was pretty good. Not as good as the homemade one James gave me at my internship...but still good. :)

And homework again. For my art class we went to Tate Britain and I saw an art exhibit that made my skin crawl. It was called the Coral Reef and it was basically a maze of small rooms, each room with very little things on the floors and walls. But it was so quiet and some of the things in the rooms were really creepy...as if someone was living there and was hiding behind a corner to jump out and scare me. I was paranoid and hovering by my two other friends the whole time. haha! It's hard for me to acknowledge stuff like that as art...but the artist made me feel things in a way a normal painting wouldn't. Part of art is producing a response from the viewer...and this artist definitely achieved that. haha!

Thursday, March 17th:

Okay, now it's St. Paddy's Day. haha!

After a long night finishing up my paper about a Christian couple who were denied their request to be foster parents because of their views on homosexuality, and a long day of classes included my own presentation on British family life (Homework Hell week, as I call it),

I very much welcomed the afternoon tea that my parents treated me to. :)

I picked and reserved the place...but come-on...would my Dad normally go to a place like this? lol

Normally my afternoon tea is just clotted cream and jam with scones and butter tea...but this was a full afternoon tea....

complete with finger sandwiches, cupcakes, little brownies, scones, and some foamy desserts.

There were SO many teas to choose from. I think I got a fruity tea, if I remember correctly.

Yum!

The place was super cute too!! Bea's of Bloomsbury. :)

The table set-up was adorable, brown and white sugar cubes in tiny porcelain bathtubs...

and the light fixtures were a bunch of white teapots with lights in them....contrasted well with the vibrantly colored fabric on the seats. Charming. :)

Dad was such a trooper. I don't know if he's ever had tea before in his life, but he tolerated the girlyness well...and mom and I had a good laugh.

Oh my father...in his john deer hat and carhart clothes...asking the taxi drivers on the street how much gas is...and walking around Vandon house in sandals with tall white socks. lol! We are definitely small-town Iowa farmers. :)

He made malts for us one night! My Dad is the master-malt-maker...in case you didn't know. haha! We have them a lot at home...kind of a tradition...so we got ingredients from the store (or tried to...different brands here in England) and he made malts. Yum! They didn't quite taste the same as when we're at home, but still nice. :)

 After Bea's of Bloomsbury we walked around the area. I was hoping to go into St. Paul's Cathedral, but was disappointed to see that there was an entrance fee and we didn't have time anyway.

So we walked across Millennium Bridge and I showed them the sunflower seed exhibit at Tate Modern before walking past the Shakespeare Globe, Sir Francis Drakes ship, and into Borough Market. Didn't make it in time for the market though, they were all taking stuff down. :(

So that almost concludes my week with the rents here. I had to say goodbye Friday morning before our group set off on our program excursion to Bath...and my next post. :) It was so good to have a piece of home here with me. :)

~Merely Mortal~

Catch up?

So here I am, a month behind on this blog....and yet, I'm still determined to get caught up. Somehow. It's gonna happen.

Here's the problem. Since I only have a month left here, every time I have free time...do I really want to spend it blogging...or seeing the city so I can cross things off my list? Hmm...not a hard answer. lol. Otherwise...I usually want to spend it getting caught up with family and friends or uploading photos from my recent adventure...and blogging just gets put off as a last priority thing. Unfortunately. I didn't intend on it being this way...sorry folks. I'll try my best to get caught up though...for realz!!!

Okay.

Saturday March 5th:

• spent a good few hours at the British Museum (which doesn't actually contain "British" things...lol) off of Tottenham Court Road.  Lots of Greek and Roman ruins. I guess they have the Rosetta Stone, but I didn't make it to that part of the museum before it closed and they kicked me out. :) Hopefully I can make it back to finish browsing through.
• The goal was to go check out Charing Cross Road...where a bunch of bookstores are. However, I forgot about the fact that everything here closes ridiculously early...so by the time I found the road, I couldn't get in anyplace. So I ended up walking around Leicester Square in a complete circle, as it started spitting rain. haha!
• Ended up getting some Wasabi (chinese) and going back to Vandon....pretty good stuff too. :)

the British Museum

Sunday March 6th: 

• I went to a Hillsong church service. It was very different than just about any other church service I've ever attended. It was held in a theater....a place actually used for concerts at night. And the service itself was very much like a concert as well. They used lights and may as well have used smoke machines too. The worship included, along with the band, a line of singers along the front of the stage just jumping around and going crazy. haha! It was strange...reminded me of CIY kind of...but cheesier.  Definitely aimed at young people...but it was not the traditional kind of church service that I'm used to at all. lol! Well worth experience though...I'm glad I went at least once.
• Shopping at Primark. :) Ooo! And I found some boots....about time! lol! ShoeZone...made for poor college students. Thank you!

Tuesday March 8th:

• During the internship we went to the O2 to take pictures (like the advertising pictures I took on my first day for their new website). I described the O2 in my last post. It was really nice to get out and walk around.  Inside the O2, basically a giant tent, they have restaurants all around the edge of it. Pretty cool. :)

the O2

Wednesday March 9th:

• Went to the Royal Academy art gallery for my art class. All sculpture...modern stuff. One in particular was very disturbing... :/ It was basically a picnic scene set up...real food and everything...enclosed in a glass case....with thousands upon thousands of flies alive and dead on the floor and in the food....Disgusting!! I hate art like that. Shock value...not art. :/

Friday March 11th:

• Day dedicated to homework. Yep, that's right. The "study" part of "study abroad" finally kicked in. Sucked because I didn't get it all done and had to finish it while my parents were here. Being a tour guide and having homework on top of it is a little stressful. haha! Not recommended. :)

~Merely Mortal~