18/2/13 (Weekend to Bath)

I really like how I go days without blogging and then suffocate you with like four days of information. I apologize for that. However this weekend I was gone and didn't have internet, so that is the reason for it this time.

14/2 Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day started like any other Thursday. I woke up early and had to go to class. So once I got out at noon, I went and had a wonderful bowl of cereal. I love cereal. After that, I left at 12:45 with Nicole and Elisha to head to class, which was to be held in Westminster Cathedral. We took the 7 bus, and I sat right up front on the upper deck. Luckily I was with them, because I fell asleep on the bus. They woke me up and we found the cathedral. We got there a little early so we explored around. We found a giveaway where we had to fill in a time and sit on a chair of ice to get some chocolate. So we did it:

Behind us is the cathedral.

There was also a man with a hawk doing his thing... because you know... London.

This is St. Patrick's Chapel. If you look above the
statue of him, you'll see how it is just brick. Eventually
this will be filled in with a mosaic commemorating him
and Ireland. 

What I found interesting about this is that it is not built in the normal, Gothic style that most Catholic cathedrals are build it. The reason for this is because Westminster Abbey, which is right down the road, is built in the Gothic style, and that is a near perfect example of how to do it. So they decided to differentiate and build in a more eastern style.

On the inside, they decided to leave a lot of the mosaics unfinished, so as to let future generations complete it to their desires. This cathedral is also relatively young: it was finished around the turn of the 20th century.

 Both of these are symbols found in St. Patrick's Chapel. To the right, surrounding the red are two snakes, which as legend goes, St. Patrick chased out of Ireland.

We had a tour guide that took up around the alter. There is a place in the back for the choir boys.

A lot of the desks in the back had graffiti-like carvings on them

We also got to overlook where the congregation sits. It was stunning.

Sorry about the quality.

Finally, we got to see the chair in which the most senior person in the church sits. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XIV both sat here. We weren't allowed to sit, but it was still amazing to see.

Later that night, we all went to a club called Tigertiger because we had free tickets. I am not one who is big into clubs but it was a decent time. There was a big group of us, so that made it more fun. I think we left around 2 because we had to be up and out of Woburn Place by 8:30 the next morning. 

15/2 The day after Valentine's Day

Upon boarding the bus at 8:30, most people were quite quiet. We had a weekend trip which was going to Bath and Avebury, but I will get to that later. First, we went to Stonehenge to check that out. It was pretty much amazing. Just brilliant.

If you look to the upper right, there is a little black bird

We were blessed to get such amazing weather for the entire weekend. It was sunny and rarely cloudy at all. Which made it semi warm and tolerable!

After Stonehenge, we went to Bath, which was one of my two favorite places that I have been so far. Fact: Nicolas Cage and Brad Pitt both have houses here. 

Nicholas Cage's penthouse is the circular area.

The first thing we did was visit Roman Baths. They were build around 100 a.d. and have survived since then. They are natural hot springs which makes the water absolutely lovely (apart from the sulfur smell and metallic taste). Matt and I spent a lot of time here, just sitting by the bath and watching the ducks swim.

After that we explored some more, spend some time at a pub called the Pig and Fiddle. I would highly recommend it to anyone who visits Bath ever.

16/2

We woke up early for two reasons: free breakfast and Spa day.

The breakfast was great. That is all I have to say about that. We went and got in line at 9:00 for the spa, which is a five star luxury spa. We each paid 26 Pounds and spend the morning relaxing. To see the spa, click this. It was amazing. The steam rooms had four pods that were all different flavors. One was mint and eucalyptus. After two hours of that, we went to grab lunch. We grabbed a pasty, which was basically a pot pie wrapped in bread. I got a Cornish one, which I have no idea what was in it. Delicious none the less. After, we met at 13:00 for a rugby match. It was incredibly exciting. Like no jokes, I would have loved to gotten into rugby. The hits these guys put on each other were just punishing. Here are some photos, which again, it was beautiful out.

After that, we wandered a bit. We found, in a candy shop some Lucky Charms... that cost 12 Pounds for a regular box. That is around 18 Dollars. Unbelievable. Then, Matt, Jake, and I explored a bit more and went to dinner. We went to a French bistro, where it had a unique way of ordering. We ordered from the set menu, and got three plates; two entrees and a starter. But the portions of each was quite small because the premise was to try as much as you want. We finished and were full but not stuffed. I love that feeling that French food gives you.

At night, we went out in a group of like 7 of us. The first place we went was quite dodgy. It was upstairs in this alleyway, but they had pound drinks, so good enough. We eventually ended at the Pig and Fiddle again. Still, just a solid place. 

17/2

We left around 9:30 for Avebury. This town is owned by the National Heritage and is a World Heritage site. Why it is is because there is a twenty foot ditch dug about 5000 years ago with stones placed all around the ditch. These stones, the heaviest being over 100 tonnes, were all placed by hand and to get one in, was estimated that it would take 250 cattle and 250 men. It was completed in a measly 500 years, give or take 100 years. Oh yea, and the ditch was all dug out by shovels of cow shoulders and picks or deer antler. When they found the bodies in one of the burrows, they all had signs of arthritis. Surprise. 

The largest stone of the lot.

This is our tour guide. He was amazing. He had such a funny since of humor and
was very knowledgeable about the stones for a volunteer. He was just blunt with
his jokes, which made it all the more funny. 

In Avebury, I walked around alone for a while just taking in the silence. There was an organ there in the local church, so I took those photos for Mez. It was a very old church. We got back to London around 17:00, and I just got caught up on life. I think I fell asleep around midnight, because I was honestly too exhausted to do anything else. 

18/2

Today, my plans are to relax and go to bed early. I will go to Store Street to talk to the director for a little  bit. I will also take a trip up to Kings Cross to print out some tickets. I do not have to work this weekend, so I am taking a trip to Oxford University. It should be amazing. I have the entire day to explore there, I leave Paddington around 6:20 and don't return until 22:00 or something like that. Other than that, I may go shopping or something boring like that. Maybe walk around Westminster a little, but no promises. Talk to you all soon!!