Heat Wave 2011

'Ello Mates!

I'm still catching up on blogging my experiences.  Today I'll be reminiscing about the day trip Sarah and I took to Claverton Wier the last week in September.  After four weeks in England I had become relatively adjusted to the overcast eighteen degree (Celsius that is) weather.  Then one morning a awoke to a ten degree jump and crystal clear blue skies.  One of the first weekends here some British blokes mentioned the weir.  We had no choice but to take an English country adventure. 

A short bus ride and a quick walk over the railroad tracks led us to this beautiful meadow.  Turn right and less than two minutes later revealed the most splendid weir I have ever seen.  Okay so I've never actually been to any other weirs, but this one was perfect.

We spent the rest of the day swimming,

dancing,

snoozing,

and entertaining a few visitors, including this man who photographed Sarah's ballet positions from afar,

and this man, running in the background, who stopped by for a quick skinny dip.

After returning to Bath, we joined Manda and Amy at the Crescent, for a picnic dinner and to relax in the grass.

I rounded off this wonderful day with British vs. American Pub Trivia at the Huntsman with the rest of ASE.  Although we lost, a good time was had by all.

Oxford Invasion

Hiya!

My dearest apologies for not blogging in the past few weeks.  There's been adventures to the Claverton Weir, London and Wales, papers week, poetry readings, themed dinners, plus my school placement and volunteering at the Julian house.  I've been so busy that I haven't had enough time to devote to my blog.  But these are just the scenes for next week, today we're going to discuss Oxford. 

http://helpfors.narod.ru/GreatBritain/Oxford/university_college.html

From September 17th - 23rd, ASE invaded University College, in Oxford, which some may say is the oldest college in the Oxford University system.  Once we arrived we were shown to our rooms.  Yet again I received a quirky room with lots of character, that began to grow on me just as my home at Prior Park has.  It was tucked under the staircase with low, dormer ceilings, crooked, black beams decorated the walls.  I felt a little bit like I was entering a cave, but the charm grew on me.  I also had this room to myself, and it was not only one room, but also included an attached living room.  I grew a bit lonely without my housemates constantly around.
 

Sleeping in the Christ Church Garden

After lunch (finally a break from cooking for myself) we had a welcome speech from the Dean, and a walking tour to get us acquainted with the city.  Proceeding the tour Sarah, Amy, Manda and I went on a little shopping spree and took a detour to get ice cream on our way to the Christ Church Garden.  We united with the rest of Prior Park for dinner at the Nosebag (the best vegetarian-ish restaurant I have ever eaten at), and finished the night at the Univ Bar at the dance they put on for ASE.

Attempting to Rotate Punters

By far the highlight of the weekend was punting on Sunday.  Punting is basically steering a boat with a long metal pole along the river, like they do in Venice.  I may have not been the best at navigating our boat via pole and our group may have had a few collisions with trees and shrubs (not to mention one terrible incident including a sleeping duck) but we did successfully make it around the loop.  And managed to have a few good laughs. 

Dysfunctional Punting

During the week I did not have my education placement or tutorial and therefore had plenty of time to devote to exploring Oxford.  On Tuesday I walked to the Museum of Natural History where they had tons of dinosaur, elephant and other bones, and taxidermy  animals that kids could touch.  However, I was most interested in the fossils.  I also wandered into the Pitt Rivers Museum of anthropology and archeology.  I was fascinated by all of the artifacts that were on display, particularly the musical instruments, children's games, and body art.  I loved Pitt Rivers so much that I had to go back again another day.

Amy and I in the Ghost Forest exhibit at the Natural History Museum

I also packed in a Tour of Christ Church, home of Harry Potter set locations, including a staircase.  *gasp*  Okay so I'm not a huge HP fan, but it was still pretty cool.  ASE also offered an Indian Food Evening, which is easily becoming my favorite ethnic cuisine.  Nan om nom nom nom nom. 

Fish and Chips at the Eagle and Child

The rest of my week included trips to the Ashmolean Museum, and the Museum of the History of Science, not  my fave museum.  We dined at the Eagle and Child, where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien used to meet, and drank cider at the Turf, where Bill Clinton was accused of getting high.  Scanning local book stores to read poetry.  And a lovely walk through the botanical gardens.  Our trip to Oxford concluded with a formal dinner in the Univ dining hall with our tutors and staff.

Prior Park Ladies

En route to Bath, ASE brought us to Blenheim Palace home of the Duke of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.  Although our tour guide left something to be desired (i.e. personality) the house and gardens were exquisite.  Of course Amy, Sarah, and I took time to frolic like small children: climbing trees, playing Pooh sticks, and rolling down hills.  We also discovered the Temple of Diana, the Rose Gardens and a small waterfall.  Although the entire week was incredibly lovely, I am quite excited to be back home in Bath.  

Gigantic Tree at Blenheim

Now Scene's for Next Week

Claverton Weir

London

 

 

Wales

And so much more!

Taking Time to Smell the Roses

'Ello Mates!

Last Friday I had a wonderful time at the Bowood House, although it wasn't at all what I was expecting.  I thought that it would be a historical house set up like it was still the 18th century.  But basically it was a big stately home, with treasures on display that the Shelburne family brought back from their holidays around the world.

The Bowood House

The gardens were beautiful.  Capability Brown designed them for the family, and he went through great lengths to ensure they were gorgeous, but still natural looking.  Although the world traveling theme did not stop at the house; trees from all over were sent back to England and grouped together, there was even a Californian Redwood.  Rumor has it that Lord Shelburne demanded a pond in his garden, so they flooded a village in order to create one.  Scuba divers have discovered the remains of two cottages in the pond.

My favorite part was the pitch black cave that we climbed through.  It was quite an adventure.  We finished off the afternoon with tea and cake.  That's one British tradition that I could definitely get used to.

Friday night we went to Po Na Na's for Squeeze the Cheese Night.  It was definitely one of my best nights at a club.  Who doesn't want to dance to "Grease Lightning," "The Safety Dance," and "I Think We're Alone Now?"

Po Na Na's

On Saturday I went to the Prior Park Landscape Garden for the first time.  It was necessary because I live on Prior Park Road, but it was also free on that day.  It was well worth the hike up the hill, because the views of Bath were truly breath taking.  I will definitely be paying the five quid to go back again!

View From the Top

After class on Monday I may have bought shoes instead of groceries. But I'd like to think it was a good life decision.  Later Amy and I went to a poetry reading in Bradford-Upon-Avon, a cute little town that I would love to see during the day because of the quaint shops. 

Why are my eyes always closed?

Next week ASE is taking us to Oxford.  We will be living in dorms at Univ College, no more cooking for myself!  Our classes will continue from there.  I'm also going to try punting, try curry, and see some tourist attractions.  It's bound to be a fabulous time.

Rubber Ducky You're the One

Hiya!

I'm starting to settle in quite nicely to Bath; after nine days it already feels like home.  On the first day I felt a little bit like a lost puppy.  It was impossible to navigate the tube tunnels.  I packed way too much, which lead to difficulties carrying my luggage up and down stairways.  And I had no idea what to expect when I arrived.

However, I arrived to something quite home-y to me: construction. Very familiar to me in Rochester, NH, as was the feeling of confusion due to said construction.  Once I found the ASE group they drove me to my house and I began to discover its many quirks, including the shower in my room.

WTF?!

The rest of my week was fairly uneventful, mostly failed cooking attempts and diagnostic tests. The noteworthy events included a visit to the Bath Abbey, a photo shoot in the park, the farmers market, several pubs, and meeting our tutors at the Victoria Art Gallery.

Outside of our lovely home

On Sunday my entire program took a trip to Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Lacock.  Stonehenge was exactly how I expected, an over-hyped tourist attraction.  But we managed to make our own entertainment through an impromptu photo shoot. 

Jumping in front of Stonehenge

Salisbury Cathedral was by far my favorite attraction of the day.  I am fascinated by beautiful old churches.  This one was built in 1220-1238, which is a massive accomplishment in it of itself.  It also has the largest spire in Britain, and is home to an original Magna Carta.  Plus it has the prettiest stained glass behind the alter that I have ever seen. 



http://anagama-nz.blogspot.com/2011/02/stained-glass-at-salisbury-cathedral.html


Later we visited Lacock Abbey, the sight of several Harry Potter scenes in the first two movies.  Also of historical significance because of its establishment as a nunnery by Ela, Countess of Salisbury.  The Abbey was sold in 1538 and converted into a family home.  We ended the night at the George Inn with a traditional English dinner complete with delicious crumble.

Lacock Abbey

Since then I have finished my first week of classes, and reality has begun to sink in.  Now I will need to devote some time to reading and such, but I am still enjoying the many things that Bath has to offer.  I have yet to discover the perfect cafe for me to complete my homework, which means that I will be spending ample time testing out various coffee shops.  I have also been through a similar process with pubs, including a night at the Pig and Fiddle where I discovered that I actually enjoy football (aka soccer.)  I don't know why it isn't more popular in the States because it is so much more entertaining.  Clearly I'm meant to be English. 

This past week I also spent my first day at the Bathampton Primary School.  I was thoroughly amused by the students use of the term "rubbers" meaning erasers.  There were many stark differences between English and American schools.  Firstly they participate in collective worship everyday as part of their curriculum, in a public school! No separation of church and state here.  Also the classroom teacher taught everything, including Physical Education and French.  I was also jealous that I did not learn French in first and second grade.  Maybe then I wouldn't be so useless at learning new languages. 

I have also been taking advantage of the many tourist attractions in Bath.  Last night ASE offered a free comedy tour through Bizarre Bath, which was the #1 attraction in Bath according to Trip Advisor.  Unfortunately I was a little bit disappointed with the tour.  Although I did get in a few good laughs, and hey it was free. 

Tomorrow my Women, Culture, and Society in Eighteenth Century England class is going to the Bowood House, which will hopefully spark my interest in history, which is currently lacking.  This weekend I am also planning on going to the Prior Park Landscape Garden because I feel a little ashamed that I have yet to visit, considering its just down the street from my house.  I gotta a feeling that this weekend will be a good one.

Tapas, Tunes and Tourism in Madrid

 ¡Hola!

As many of you know I spent last week in Madrid, Spain with my camp friend, Nelly.  That week was so jam packed I hardly had time to keep anyone up to date.  We were quite busy whilst in Madrid.  This is how the adventures began:

Wednesday, August 17th
After a mere two hours of sleep I woke up at 4 am to hop across the pond.  The airport was a zoo! I couldn't believe how long the lines were, and my luggage tags wouldn't print out properly because apparently there was another Kristen Fleming on the same flight as me. What are the chances of that?  I got to the gate just in time for boarding and took off at 8:55 am Eastern Standard Time. 

I arrived in London Heathrow at 8:40 pm Greenwich Mean Time, and made my way to meet the lovely Miss Nicola Skipper aka Nelly.  She drove me back to her house in Arlesey.   We ate dinner, and I forced myself to go to sleep despite the time difference. 

Thursday, August 18th
Nelly woke me up at 3:30 am so we could catch our flight to Madrid.  Her dad, Jim, drove us to London Luton, and once again the airport was packed.  We did make it on board our plane in time, but we couldn't stop and buy something to eat.  EasyJet didn't feel like serving us any food either.  So when we landed at the Aeropuerto Internacional de Madrid-Barajas I was starving. 



Our Hotel Room


We took a shuttle to the Best Western Atlantico which was in a beautiful old building and right in the center of Madrid, on Gran Via.  Nelly and I admired our room for a minute and headed off in search of food.  On a side street near our hotel we found some delicious paella, which I quickly devoured.  Although we did run into some translation issues at the restaurant I still considered it a successful mission.  However, it did make me nervous about getting around in Madrid with my weak Spanish skills. 



Paella Yummm!



A long seista was definitely needed after lunch.  Then Màiri McCormack, or Drochit, met us at our hotel and introduced us to Madrid.  I was ecstatic to find a Ben and Jerry's Scoop Shop minutes away from our hotel.  We stopped for a Coke Light near the Palacio Real and caught up on the past year since we had seen each other. 

Later, we walked back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.  One of the first differences I noticed about Spanish culture was how late they eat.  They usually have a small breakfast in the morning and a snack later on, but they don't eat lunch until 2 or 3.  Lunch is also their biggest meal of the day.  We soon learned that many don't begin serving dinner until 9!  Luckily for me, my internal clock was screwed up from the time change so it didn't make much or a difference. 

Tapas with Nelly and Drochit

Friday, August 19th
This was one of my favorite days in Madrid.  Drochit meet us to catch a train to Cercedilla, a small village an hour outside of Madrid.  From the train station we took a taxi to the piscinas naturales.  Now I was expecting to see a little natural forming pond or lake.  Instead we arrived to the most beautiful field of grass, surrounded by lush green mountains, leading to an in-ground pool filled with river water.  It was just a gorgeous day to soak up the 30 °C sunlight.  I took the most glorious nap in the shade, ate a delicious picnic lunch amongst wonderful company, and took a dip the pool. Perfection!




Piscinas Naturales


Once we were back in the city we got ready for dinner in Plaza Mayor, a cobblestone in-closed square, full of street performers.  We sat outside and got a little bit more of a show than we expected.  The Pope came to Madrid for World Youth Day, which took place while we were there.  Thousands of Catholics from all over the world flooded the streets of Madrid.  However, the Pope's visit upset many Spanish citizens, who staged a protest and marched through the square chanting "We are not the Pope's youth."  It was very shocking to see that out of no where, but it did make for an interesting evening.

Freaky street performers

Saturday, August 20th
¡feliz cumpleaños, Nelly!
Nelly and I decided that today was the day that we were going to sleep in for once.  After breakfast we headed off to the Palacio Real, but unfortunately the Palace was closed.  So we went to the Museo Reina Sofia instead, an art museum that's free on Saturday afternoons.  Bonus!!  There was a lot of variety in the art displayed,  but there weren't many descriptions and the audio tour wasn't very good either.  Despite that it was still an enjoyable afternoon.

View from inside the elevator at the Reina Sofia

Later we took a seista (that's quite a common theme), and prepared for dinner at Drochit's apartment.  She cooked scrumptious vegetable risotto, baked 24 beautiful cup cakes, and we washed it down with sangria.  Then Drochit took us on a night out in Madrid.  I experienced my first time in an Irish Bar, which was more fun than I imagined.  Afterwards we went Joy, a nightclub where we danced the rest of the night away.

Night out!

Sunday, August 21st
Once again we started the day of quite late, but we were still able to make the most of it.  It was our first day without Drochit to guide us around the city.  Nelly and I went to Casa Labra for lunch where we had the best croquettes I've ever eaten.  Then we navigated on the metro to the Parque del Retiro.  We saw every site in the Park on our Top Ten list from the Guidebook.  Highlights including the Rose Garden, Palacio de Cristal (which was empty except for a giant slide), and the boat pond.  I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Cave in La Parque del Reitro

Later we were just wandering around looking for a place to eat.  That was when we discovered the best restaurant in the whole entire world.  La Bodega Bohemia.  We chowed down on shrimp, patatas bravas, and my fave Spanish omelet.  Delicioso...

Dinner time

Monday, August 22nd
We purchased tickets for a "hop-on, hop-off" tourist bus that I was wicked excited for because I'd never been on a Double Decker bus before.  Nelly suggested that we get off of the bus near our hotel and do some shopping before lunch, but the World Youth Day events interfered with our plans.  Part of the route got cut off from the tour including the area where our hotel was.  We ended up going around on the bus two and a half times. 

Nelly in San Miguel

Fortunately we could get off the at the Puerta de Sol where I bought a few souvenirs and  wondered around the streets of Madrid.  One of the best spots that we discovered was the Mercado de San Miguel, which offered many delightful treats.  Nelly and I picnicked at the Plaza de España next to an amazing fountain.  Then we frolicked in the playground at Parque del Oeste. 

View from Parque del Oeste

After dinner Nelly had made reservations for us to see a Flamenco show at Las Carboneras.  I honestly had no idea what to expect from Flamenco dancing, but it was an amazing way to end the night.

Waiting for the Flamenco to start

Tuesday, August 23rd
The tourist bus that we took on Monday offered two routes, Historic Madrid and Modern Madrid.  We took the Historic Madrid one to the Mueso del Prado, hoping to see some sights that we had missed out from the detour the day before.  In the Prado, I made it my mission to see all of the masterpieces listed in their leaflet.  At first Nelly and I were quite interested in the paintings, but after a while our attention waned.  However, I did successfully finish my goal.

Hop-on Hop-off bus

I also managed to mostly stay awake on the Modern Madrid tour.  We wanted to have an early night because we were exhausted from the days adventures, but it was almost impossible to find a restaurant open at 7 pm!  Luckily the tourist-y areas were already open for dinner.  We were entertained by some street performers in the Plaza Mayor while we feasted on dinner and walked back towards our hotel for a drink on the terrace and peaceful slumber.

Wednesday, August 24th
We saved the Palacio del Real for this day because Nelly is in love with all things royal.  I was less than enthusiastic about the Spanish Royal Family.  I just don't see the point of royalty.  Tradition?  It just seems like a silly excuse to me.  The palace was still quite impressive because of its sheer massiveness and historical influences.  Afterwards we entered the Cathedral next to the Palace, which was exquisite.  Although I was a little bit bothered by the amount of tourists who did not seem to honor the religious significance of the building. 

Me inside of the Templo de Debod

Next we walked to the Parque del Oeste to check out the Templo de Debod, which was closed when we went to the park on Monday.  This is an ancient Egyptian Temple in honor of the Goddess Isis, which was gifted to Madrid.  Later Drochit took us to a vegetarian restaurant in the La Latina district of Madrid, for our last dinner in the city.  We had a mini photo shoot, which continued on in the hotel until it was time for bed. 

Outside of the vegetarian restaurant

Thursday, August 25th
Back to Reality.  We woke up in order to catch the 8 o'clock shuttle back to the airport.  Nelly's mom, Sue, picked us up at the airport and drove us back to Arlesey.  I'll be staying here until Monday when I take the train to Bath. 

The End.

Congratulations for making it through this entire post! I promise that from now on if I have a week as busy as this I will update the blog more frequently.

Adios mis amigos.