Barcelona, Spain and Christmas

I never made an entry for Spain! I went to weeks ago with my friend Michelle. I am FAR too lazy to write a long entry for this trip, so I'll just say that Gaudi is amazing and that it's really difficult to be in a country in which I do not speak much of the language.

So that's all I'm going to say about Spain. It was awesome.

I'll be leaving Cheltenham on Saturday, the 18th. I love it here, but I'll be ready to go home and celebrate Christmas and see everyone! All the shops here are full of people getting Christmas presents. Primark is open later specifically for Christmas shopping - all the way until SIX IN THE EVENING. Impressive, right?

I've decided I like blogging but I want to write what I want to write about! I will begin another blog when I go home. It's just about everything that I find entertaining. It's here. It's mostly so that I can keep track of stuff that I do and read and watch.

After a few more papers (well, eight more) and a LOT of packing, I will be ready to go home. England, you have been good to me!

Bath, England & Thanksgiving

I'm getting lazier and lazier with blogging. No pictures, again. They'll be on my facebook at some point so you can look at them then. If you can't access my facebook, let me know and I'll send you pictures.

Bath
So we went to Bath this past Saturday. It was a relatively short trip. First Sandy and Denise took us to Sally Luns Buns, which is a tea shop in which you are served giant buns with jam and clotted cream. Kind of like a huge scone, but the consistency is a little different.

We saw the Roman Baths, of course, but I didn't know much about them because I missed the BCA class that week since I was in Ireland. Then we split off into smaller groups and did whatever we wanted. My group went to the Jane Austen center - well, centre - and took the tour there. Then we swung by where she used to live, which was just down the street. We wouldn't have known about it if the tour guide hadn't told us, since it is unmarked and is now a dentist's office.

Then we went by the Fashion Museum. But since I don't care about Princess Di's dresses, I skipped it and peeked into some shops for forty-five minutes, including a really awesome book store. Then we did some shopping. I got a few gifts for people.

We stumbled upon some really interested shops. In a store called "Mee" I saw the most amazing leather jacket I've ever seen. After inspecting the price tag (945 pounds) I decided I probably couldn't afford it. I also saw a store called Iksentrik and another one which was artsy and awesome.

Thanksgiving
The English don't celebrate Thanksgiving, so Sandy and Denise took the BCA students to a restaurant where we were served a Thanksgiving meal. So yesterday a bunch of us got together to color pieces of paper by drawing hand-turkeys (remember those from elementary school?) and just kind of chill out.

Then we all we to this restaurant (called a carvery) and we got our drinks and meal paid for by the BCA program. We got free drinks (I got apple and mango juice) and free buffett-style meal: ham, turkey, roast beef, yorkshire pudding (an English flaky roll), mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, cooked carrots, cooked onions, cheesy cauliflower, cranberry sauce, lots of different kinds of gravy, some kind of yam/squash, and a sundae for dessert.

I also got my passport back. There was actually a huge thing where they said that mailed it and they lied and then Sandy called them and the manager saw the envelope laying around so he immediately mailed it one-day post (which cost 20 euro, the equivalent of 26 American dollars) and didn't charge me since it would've cost like five euro otherwise. So I got it back, and it's alright. I'm an idiot, but I'll never be careless with my passport again.

Anyway. Thanksgiving was really fun, and the food was wonderful, and I loved celebrating Thanksgiving in a new way with my new friends in a new country. But I couldn't help but think of my family yelling- I mean, talking - and eating a ton and being together and being happy. I'm absolutely excited to come back for Christmas. Yay Christmas! (It hasn't snowed here yet, by the way.)


Michelle and I leave for Spain tomorrow, and we return on Monday. That may be my last trip outside of England for the semester. We'll see.

Dublin, Ireland

Obviously, this is a long entry. I'll come back in a few days and add pictures.


Where: Dublin, Ireland
When: November 13 - 15
Who: Me, Jessye, Amanda, Michelle, Chiara, Max
How: Trains and a Ferry

Day One

8:00 am - In the morning we walked forty minutes to the train station and I went to pick up the tickets. Unfortunately we each had three tickets for the trip over and the trip back, which meant there were thirty-six tickets to print off, and we had underestimated the time it would take for us to walk to the train station. We missed our first train, which messed up the entire schedule and we took like six trains and were running on and off them for a few hours until we got to Holyhead, Wales which is where our ferry was supposed to leave from. When we got there, we ran from the train station to the ferry station and were two minutes late for the ferry. The ferry only runs twice a day, so we had to wait three and a half hours until the next one. In the meantime, we decided to explore the town.

2 pm - First we went to "Bargains Galore," which was basically a store full of old crap. It was all dusty and dirty and, if it could be, rusty. We enjoyed this very much. We also went to a thrift store and tried on strange clothes (I tried on an intense, sequin-covered shirt). After some more shopping, we were hungry so we decided to find some food. By now it was around four in the afternoon on a Saturday afternoon, so we figured there would be lots of places open. No such luck. We passed four or five closed food places where we found something that was open and ordered a pizza. (Question: why does everything over here close so early? Everything in Cheltenham closes at 5 pm, except for pubs. Also Burger King, which is open late for the clubbers and which hires a BOUNCER. Yes, a Burger King bouncer exists.)

5:30 pm - We went back to the ferry station and ate our pizza, and then eventually we headed over to a bus that took us to our ferry. The ferry was actually a lot nicer than we thought it would be. As I am prone to motion sickness, I hunkered down, turned up my ipod, put on my face mask, and slept the entire ride over. One of my comrades ended up getting sick and throwing up in the bathroom, which was unfortunate.

8:00 pm- When we got to Ireland, we had to take a bus into the city. Then we were supposed to take another bus to our hostel, but we couldn't find the bus. I whipped open the map portion of my Ireland For Dummies book that I found in my dorm room when I got here, and saw that we could just walk to the hostel and save ourselves the cost of a bus. It took us a while, but we finally got there. For some reason, most of the streets weren't listed on the map, and the ones that were listed were slightly different. We stayed in Avalon House hostel, a chain of hostels which can be found all over Europe. It had free internet, free breakfast, a pool table, a ping pong table, television, and Michelle got us a 10% discount.

10:00 pm- At this point, we were getting hungry, so after settling into our room, we went out in search of dinner. We found a pub called The Hairy Lemon. I got the Traditional Lamb Stew for dinner and Jessye and I shared Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert. The atmosphere in the pub was great, and we were amused to hear that the music choices consisted entirely of American hits from the 70's and 80's.

11:30 pm - We headed back to our hostel with full bellies and went right to sleep. The six of us were in a twelve person mixed dorm that had a cool spiral staircase to the next floor (we were six of the eight people downstairs). It smelled like feet and unwashed people, but you get used to that after the first few minutes.


Day Two

We were excited for Sunday because the whole day was planned for us. We were taking a tour called The Wicklow Mountains Adventure, from 9 to 5. We had learned our lesson from Saturday, because on Sunday we woke up at 8 or so and had our free breakfast before leaving at 8:50. After Michelle kindly got directions to our pickup location, we set off to St. Stephen's Green. The pickup location was a bit vague, and then our bus was late so for a while we thought it wasn't coming at all and we got nervous. Then it came, and off we went!

The tour first took us an hour away into the countryside, where we saw where scenes from PS I Love You and Braveheart were filmed. We also saw a house that's used by famous people when they want to escape from things and go to Ireland (used by Michael Jackson and Tiger Woods, our tour guide informed us). In addition, we saw the water that's used to make Guinness and we stopped at a bunch of scenic mountain and cliff areas. We took a tour of a monastery and of Avoca Hand Weavers. We stopped in the late afternoon to eat at a restaurant called Fitzgerald's. Ironically, the only music played was Johnny Cash (the whole hour we were there, only Johnny Cash! Ridiculous).

The great thing about this tour is that it gave us the chance to see the beautiful countryside in addition to the city. As I've heard from other people, every picture looked like it should've been in a postcard. If you know anything about Ireland, these are the official titles of where we went, according to the website: "Glendalough, Glenmacnass Waterfall, Sally Gap, Avoca Hand Weavers, Military Road & PS I LOVE YOU Film Locations."

7:00pm - We got back and decided to go to the newly opened (this year) Leprechaun Museum. This can accurately be described as a "hoot." Our tour guide, Mark, was hilarious and made it a fun time. My favorite room of the museum was the one in which WE were the little people- we sat on giant chairs (which we were told not to do) and warmed our hands at a giant (fake) fireplace. (Yes, I'm usually one of the "little people," but not to this extent.) We were the last people doing the tour, and at the end Mark recommended that we go to The Church for dinner. We agreed, and were quite pleased with it.

9:00pm-While it was difficult to find somewhere to sit at first, in the end it was worth it. I'm looking at the website now, and apparently it's quite popular: "Known simply as The Church, we are Dublin's most unique establishment. With five distinct settings on four levels, The Church has wowed visitors from all over the globe since opening." It is described as a cafe, bar, restaurant, club, and a tourist attraction. While we were eating, live music began. It sounded pretty Irish to me.

10:00pm- We walked back to our hostel from the restaurant, which took us almost an hour because I took us in the wrong direction for a while. Eventually we got back and Jessye and I played ping pong for a while. Then me, Amanda, Michelle, and Chiara decided to go hang out in a fun pub/club. Unfortunately it was a bit sketchier than we thought it would be, so we took our time looking around and eventually found a place with live jazz music. We got back to the hostel and were in bed before midnight.

Day Three

8:00am- We woke up and got ready and left by 9 again. First we headed to the famous Guinness Museum. It took us an hour to walk there, and in the end we decided we didn't want to spend the time and money on the tour, and just took pictures.

10:30: We walked back along the river and did some shopping on our walk to the bus station. I was specifically looking for a store I had been wanting to go to, Forbidden Planet. It's described as a "Cult Entertainment Megastore" and it is INCREDIBLE. I had found it online somehow, and they're in major cities in the UK and Europe, and there is only one in the US (in NYC). So I finally found it and it was everything I dreamed: three floors of nerdy goodness. I finally decided to buy a shirt to commemorate Ireland and my time there (it was not Irish at all, but it was my souvenir). Unfortunately the smallest size was a men's large. (I have since bought thread and am planning on attempting to alter the shirt to fit me.) We stopped in a touristy shop, and a grocery store for some snacks, then continued our walk to the bus station.

11:30am - When we got there at 11:30, we were told there was a bus at 1:15 that would take us to our ferry. After eating our snacks, we looked at the map and decided we could walk to the ferry dock before the bus would come. (Why didn't they have more buses going there? It mystified me.) The walk along the river was really picturesque, and I was glad we had decided to walk. After forty minutes, we started seeing the ferries. Then a taxi van pulled up beside us and the driver told us that it would take us around forty minutes to walk there, and that was if we were walking quickly. He said he would take us there for three euro each, and we thought about it then agreed. After the drive, we realized we may have not made it for our ferry and were grateful that he had stopped (he said he had just dropped people off and turned around just so he could drive us).

1:30pm - We got our tickets checked and went to wait for our ferry.

2:15pm - We got on our ferry. This time I went out on the deck and took pictures with everyone and said goodbye to Ireland as the sun set.

5:30pm - We were about to get off the ferry when I thought, "We'll probably need our passports to get back into England." And I discovered my passport was gone.

For the next four hours or so, we hopped from train to train and I called the hostel to recover my passport (I was about 85% sure that that's where I lost it.) They did not find my passport. We got back to Cheltenham at like 9 something and walked the forty-five minutes to our dorm and had dinner together, exhausted.



Two days later, I was on the phone with the hostel and while I was on the phone, someone brought my passport to the front desk. So all's well with that.

Ireland was probably my favorite trip so far. Everyone was friendly, the country was beautiful, the city had a lot going on, the food was good, and although many things could've gone wrong, it all turned out okay. Michelle and I were the ones who did most of the map navigating (although Amanda and Michelle were the ones to take us to the Leprechaun Museum) so I'm feeling like a confident traveler now. Michelle and I are going to Spain next weekend, so I think we'll be pretty successful with that.

Cardiff, Wales

My mother pointed out that I've been a bit behind on my blogging lately. Two weekends ago, on November 6, me and my three friends on my flat (Michelle, Amanda and Jessye; we've dubbed ourselves a "flamily") hopped on a train to Cardiff, Wales just for the day.

We went to Cardiff Castle and took an audio tour:

In the middle of the tour, we stopped and sat on a bench to eat our packed lunches (generally sandwiches of the peanut butter variety). 

Amanda, Michelle, Jessye

We climbed the stairs to the top of the keep:

Next we walked to the National Museum of Cardiff (this picture was taken standing on the steps of the museum):

And we did some shopping and lots of walking. It was very cold. We wanted to find a cafe, but instead we found approximately 38459674 Starbucks places. (Side note: Before this semester, I had never actually purchased something at Starbucks before. But my father kindly sent me a gift card to use there and so I've been able to have delicious coffee and snacks wherever I go. Now I know why people go there. It is good. Every country I've been in has had a Starbucks. Anyway.)

Oh, and we saw the Millenium Stadium, which is apparently a big deal. I don't really care about it.

We did a lot of walking and shopping, and eventually headed back to the train station to go back to Cheltenham.

And because I have this past weekend to blog about, that's all I'll say about Cardiff. 

Happy Birthday to my mom. Also: it's officially one month until I come home!

Stonehenge & Salisbury and Autumn Celebrations

My friend Melinda Ramey also attends Houghton and is studying in London this semester. On Friday she took a bus to Cheltenham and stayed over on Friday and Saturday and left on Sunday morning. She joined the BCA group to Stonehenge and Salisbury on Saturday.

We learned in our BCA class that we (as modern humans) know very little about what Stonehenge was used for. We know it has a lot to do with rituals and the seasons. Tim, the archaeologist who led that particular class, discussed all the different henges (yes, there are multiple henges) in England and where the rocks were from (Wales) and what we have guessed about their use. In the 14th century religious people fearing what they did not know attempted to knock down Stonehenge. Apparently we know this because when we lifted the rocks to fix it up, we found a man from 1325 crushed underneath. Coins were found from that time so they knew that's when he lived. I found this amusing because Tim, obviously an intense and gung-ho preserver of history, cackled and said, "Poetic justice!" in a very satisfied sort of way.

I was surprised about how little we know about Stonehenge. When Tim opened up the floor for questions, most of the answers were, "That's a good question. We don't know."

The locals are mostly bored by Stonehenge and wonder why tourists flock to see it. Tim said hippies come to see it during the Solstice. Sandy and Denise (above) feel that way. Since they are the directors of this program, they see Stonehenge twice a year. I guess it would get boring.

Michelle, me, Amanda: being Stonehenge

If you're from Houghton I'm sure you know the cliche of getting a jumping picture in front of Stonehenge. Melinda and I thought it would be funny to do the same, since we're both from Houghton.

Then we all went to Salisbury. The outdoor market was the most interesting thing about the town itself. The highlights were Salisbury Cathedral, where one of the four copies of the Magna Carta resides, and touring the house where some of Sense and Sensibility was filmed. 

I'm also missing New York in Autumn. I have a lovely walk a few times a week to one of the campuses, but it's not the same as being home. 

While I haven't heard of anyone trick-or-treating here, I do know Halloween is pretty big. A group of around ten BCA students got together and watched The Corpse Bride and had general Halloween fun. I dressed up as a bunny (which was inexpensive and uncomplicated) and Amanda and Michelle dressed up as their favorite NCIS characters.

Next weekend I'll be going with five friends to a non-BCA trip to Ireland. Life is good.

Stratford-Upon-Avon

Last Saturday a bunch of the international students were invited to go on a bus trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon. It was an interesting experience being clumped together with other people who did not claim English as their first language. When I got the email about the trip, I suddenly realized, "I'm an international student!"

Jessye, Chelsea, J and I decided to go on the trip. We woke up and began the forty minute walk to Park campus at seven-something in the morning on a chilly day. We saw...

Where Shakespeare was born:

The town:

Where Shakespeare was buried:

A small, white bunny in the park:

A rainbow:

Funny road signs:

And much, much more.

Cheltenham Literature Festival

The Cheltenham Literature Festival is, according to its website, one of the greatest literary events in the world.  I went to seven of the events. Although I started writing detailed descriptions of the stuff discussed at each event, I realized it would take a long time to type up my notes and many people would find it boring to read, anyway. If you'd like to know about a specific event, send me and email or comment and I'll gladly oblige.

Overall, I was ecstatic to be able to be involved. I wish I could come every year! The events go on for two weeks, and the festival features notable people in literature, art, film, and science.

After each author's name, I've included their most recent work. In parentheses, I have added the book I've read by that author already. Sorry about the blurriness of most of the indoor photos- I kept my flash off to avoid being rude.

AS BYATT, The Children's Book (I read Possession)

PHILIP PULLMAN, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (I read The Golden Compass and The Ruby in the Smoke)

Photo taken by Amanda Blank

DAVID ALMOND, My Name is Mina (I read Skellig)

& GERALDINE MCCAUGHREAN, Pull Out All the Stops!

CELIA REES, The Fool's Girl (I read Pirates!)
 & MARY HOOPER, Fallen Grace

AUDREY NIFFENEGGER, The Night Bookmobile (I read The Time Traveler's Wife and started Her Fearful Symmetry)

HIGHGATE CEMETERY 

with Audrey Niffenegger and Catherine Arnold

SIMON PEGG, Nerd Do Well (I watched Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz)

Oxford and the Cotswolds

Another BCA trip! We met outside at 9:15 on a slightly overcast but overall dry day. First, we drove through a few of the Cotswolds, including Winchcombe, Cleeve Hill, Stanway, and Broadway. The Cotswolds are considered the heart of England, and Cheltenham and Bourton-on-the-Water are two of the Cotswolds I've already seen. We stopped in Broadway and looked around the town and had breakfast.

Next we drove to Oxford. Other than the optional planned activity to Christ Church, we were free to do what we wanted in the city. When I traveled with Danielle and Karen a few years ago, we went to Oxford so I saw quite a few things then. I was happy to return, though, because I didn't remember it completely, and there are quite a few things I didn't get to see the first time around.

First we went to the Ashmolean Museum. There was a special exhibit on the Pre-Raphaelites and Italy which I was excited to see since I had already been in the museum four years ago when that exhibit wasn't there. I happily scaled the three flights of stairs up, and discovered that it was for ticket holders only. We only had a few hours so I decided not to pay to see the exhibit. 

Next we went to eat lunch at The Eagle and Child pub, a location at which Lewis and Tolkien used to meet and discuss their writing - and gossip, I'd like to think. The place was packed, so we had to find somewhere else to eat. This is another place Danielle had us visit a few years ago, so I was okay with just looking around. 

I forgot to take a photo of this. This is the photo I took in 2007. 

Karen and Danielle are lurking near the doorway, there.

I went with Jessye and Cassie (two lovely girls from the BCA program) to a shop that sold many delicious things. While our paninis were being cooked, we stood to the side. I happened to glance down and discovered a twenty pound note! Just in case you don't know the conversion rate, twenty pounds is equivalent to $31.91 in US currency. I stood there for a bit to see if anyone would come back for it, and then gleefully, yet hesitantly, pocketed it.

After finishing our lunch, we began the walk across the city to Christ Church. Along the way, we went into fun shops such as Octopus, looked at the wares of various street vendors selling scarves and earrings and hats, and watched all the street performers from musicians to living statues.

When we got to Christ Church, most of the group was gathered there awaiting Denise (well, BCA) who was generously buying our entry. Christ Church is now most known for being the film location for various scenes in Harry Potter. We walked through the halls first, and then hit up the Great Hall. Cassie complained that it was rather dim in there, and I voiced my disappointment in not seeing the floating candlesticks. I sat in one of the chairs briefly so I could get the whole experience. The tables were set, and although food did not magically appear and I was surrounded by other tourists, for a moment I felt like a real Hogwarts student.

After that, we wandered around more and grabbed some snacks in a small cafe and did more window shopping. Eventually we met back at the museum to drive back to Cheltenham. We were in Oxford for only four hours, so I definitely plan on going back and seeing more of the city. 

Next week I'll be blogging about the Cheltenham Literature Festival. I've gone to two events so far, but I've booked five more, so I'll write about all of them in one entry. 

Missing you all (assuming you are a person I know and love and not a random blog-peruser),

Emily

Cornwall Weekend

On Friday, the whole BCA group got into the coach for our five hour trip to Cornwall for the weekend. We went to a fancy restaurant (the name of which I can't remember) on a golf course for lunch. Then we went to Lanhydrock House, a late Victorian House that included over fifty rooms to explore, a small but gorgeous chapel that is still used weekly, and lovely gardens surrounding the property.

Next we were driven to our hostel in Newquay, called the Surf Reef Lodge. Sandy and Denise had booked other arrangements nearby because the hostel allows only travelers who are thirty-five and under. Newquay is pretty much full of people who come there to surf or for bachelorette or bachelor parties (called "hen and stag" parties here). We had Friday evening to ourselves, so we decided to explore the beach and the town. The whole place was incredibly windy, but very beautiful. On our perusal of the town, we passed lots of stag parties, including one in which the future groom was dressed in skimpy beach garb.

Our first stop on Saturday was Land's End. Besides being a popular clothing store, Land's End is also the most south-westerly point of England. We only spent a half hour at this stop because it mostly involved looking off the edge of dangerous cliffs to the water beyond. Also notable was the Dr. Who exhibit and a miniature village.

Photo taken by Jessye Bostwick

Our next stop was St. Ives. This town caters more to people who are interested in staying for a holiday and shopping. From where we were shopping, we could see the docks and the water. Jessye and I found another charity shop where I bought a shirt and a belt. We were also encouraged to try the Cornish Cream Tea, which we did with delight. Cream tea involves tea and two scones with clotted cream and jam. Yum!

Photo taken by Michael Johnson

After St. Ives, we returned to Newquay and had the evening to ourselves. For dinner, a few of us went to Wetherspoon, a chain pub that I've been to in both London and Cheltenham. The pub was full of young women dressed in crazy costumes for various hen parties. When we got back, a few of us had a dance party in the main lounge.

On Sunday, we packed up and started our drive back to Cheltenham. On the return journey, we had our last stop of the trip: the Eden Project. I'm kind of still unsure about what exactly the Eden Project is, but it claims to be a charity that was created "to remind people of our dependence on, and connection to, the natural world."  Most notable were: the world's largest greenhouses, the giant sculptures made of old appliances and rubbish, the eateries with lots of organic foods, and the area with different displays and fun interactive stuff like a wall with probably a hundred old refrigerator doors with thousands of magnets.

 By the time we got back to Cheltenham, it was around 6 pm and we had only been gone for two and half days, yet it felt like we had been gone for weeks. I was glad to be back in my room and not on a bus. It was delightful getting to know people better, but it's also overwhelming to spend a weekend with thirty other people.

If I went again, I'd probably buy a cheap wet suit and surf board and hit the beach. Charles, our bus driver who was old enough to be mostly bald and have two grown sons, woke up early and went surfing while we were in Newquay. Impressive.

Cheers,

Emily