18/3/13 (Canterbury, St. Patrick's Day)

So I have been quite busy over the weekend. Sorry about that, but it has been a great time. I hope from this blog post explains what I did well enough until I can get home and tell you more about this weekend!

15/3

So basically, I have figured out that it is every other Friday when we have an excursion. So, being last Friday we had none, this Friday we had to go somewhere. That somewhere was actually two places: Dover and Canterbury. So after getting on the bus at 8.30, we headed off to Canterbury. Now, this place may seem familiar because it was the location of the pilgrimage in Chaucer's story "Canterbury Tales." The point of the story was a bunch of pilgrims were headed from London to Canterbury by foot to see the cathedral there. Well, we got a chance to see the cathedral, and it was mighty fantastic. 

See? No joke.

We got a guided tour of the cathedral, which is now a part of the Anglican church. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the second highest official of the church (following the queen). The cathedral was a buzz because a new archbishop was about to be inaugurated this Thursday. So they needed to get it prepared, not only for the camera and the pomp and circumstance which surrounds that, but also the queen is attending so there needs to be a little extra protection. 

Here is a view from behind and in front of the alter. If you can see, there is a big rock chair that is around 500 or so years old, on which the archbishop sits. You can also see how huge the church really is. The tour was great, but the time spent in Canterbury was just as amazing, if not more.

Of course, I forgot to mention that I got separated from the group. This is a common occurrence during these excursions. So I have come to accept that I cannot be in a group. So I started wandering around by myself. First thing that I did was buy a crepe. It was just a plain sugar crepe, but it was 1) delicious and 2) only 2 Pounds.

After that, I walked down the high street until I came to the river, which was the unofficial end of the high street. So I turned around and started walking back, because I wanted to see all of it and I started in the middle of the street, so I only saw half.

I forgot to mention that it was another beautiful English day.

Anyways, I stopped into a bakery to get a cake. I got a carrot cake, which was only a pound. What this means is that I was happy that I got a cake, and was only eating sweets. I am a bad adult but boy was I in a good mood. After I ate the cake, I stopped into a little cafe. It was a local place with two adorable girls working. So I got a pot of tea and a croissant to munch on because I still was trying to eat cakes and desserts for all my meals because I am 5. Then one of the workers went on lunch break and had a huge bowl of soup that she was eating right next to me. So we started talking. She was a sweet girl. I finished my tea and croissant and left (after saying goodbye, of course). Then I finished walking up the street and started wandering off the beaten path. I found an art gallery with some of the most beautiful modern art that I have ever seen. If I was rich, I would have bought abut 70% of the works in there. Erik, check it out by clicking your name.

We boarded the bus at 13.45 to head to Dover Castle, a medieval castle constructed by William the Conqueror (a common theme throughout my travels). The weather took a turn for the worse, but that didn't matter too much because we got to see a castle!

That is an active door, which was shut after we entered.

This is the main keep, which is quite unlike German castles, but English castles
seem to be quite study and intimidating, instead of lavish. 

It was quite a cool castle. We walked around it for about an hour with a guide who was quite knowledgeable. 

By the way, did I say this castle was situated quite high above the town of Dover? Well as you can see, it towers over it. Which must have been impressive 700 years ago, as it is still impressive today. 

We got to go up to the highest point of the castle, which the wind was blowing harder than any of us expected (mind you, the wind was blowing so hard in the grounds of the castle, I had to do a little dance move when one particular gale burst nearly knocked me over). 

Just a mess, but it was great to be up there. Also, we both look exhausted.

After that, we took a detour which Mark or Jen have never done. We headed to the Cliffs of Dover National Park. It was more than amazing. The views were just breathtaking, even if the wind was whipping at us. It actually made us all cold, but being able to see what I saw was more than worth it. 

If you look hard enough, you will be able to see France. There were paths all along the cliffs, which I may just return to because they were that amazing. I honestly could have walked 5 or 10 miles along it, listening to the water . Oh and by the way, I was joking about seeing France. It is way too cloudy and foggy to see it. But on clear days, it is visible. So that is like twice a year. 

The bus ride home was a quiet one. Being in the wind and cold all day really drained everyone. So after a nice nap, we made it home for dinner. Matt, Jake and I ended up scooting out without a group (somehow) and we went to a pub down the road. I ordered a random ale and was so confused when I saw it was green. So that was quite surprising. Anyways, after that we went to Holburn and I finally got a Kebab! It was so delicious and we were so happy to eat it. 

16/3

We woke up early because we wanted to see some of the sights on our last free weekend. Matt, Leah and I left at 9.30 to head over to Hoxton Street, where I work. Once we got there, we went to get breakfast at a bakery. We couldn't decide between which one we wanted to go to, so we stopped at both. At the first one, I got a cup of tea, a smiley faced doughnut, and a mixed berry tart. It all came to 2.15! So supah dupah! After that, we went to the other bakery and I just got some bread pudding. That was only 50p, so even better! Breakfast for 2.65--not too terrible. 

We then took the bus down across the river to Borough Market. The whole market is situated under a bridge, and you can really hear when the trains go over. Also, the entire market is a food market! So we walked around and looked at all the amazing foods. Some things of note include: cheeses from around Europe, especially France; some of the freshest looking fruit and vegetables; a selection of beef, lamb, and pork cuts that were delicious looking; and finally (and most noticeably) an entire hog's head and about a dozen rabbits, freshly killed, fur still intact with bags on their heads collecting runoff blood. I actually took a photo of that:

The first rabbit shows it the best, in my opinion.

For lunch, Matt and I got a sandwich with wild boar and venison on it. Just fantastic. I will really miss the street food here, because it is so tasty. Also, it is much more exotic than what you get at Applebees (lamb, rabbit, we had a sample of duck which was great, boar, kangaroo, camel, etc). Then we took the bus home and I took the second most fantastic nap (Sunday's nap trumped it). That night, we didn't do too much, but it was still a good time. I got to bed around 1.30, so overall, a productive and quite fun day.

17/3

Upon leaving Woburn at 9.35, we headed to a pub for breakfast. We went to one not too far and we all got Full English breakfasts (eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, toast) and I a cup of tea. Then we walked back to Woburn to let the food digest for about 15 minutes. Around 11, we headed off to the lounge to start celebrating. At 13.00, we left for Trafalgar Square for the St. Patrick's Day celebration and parade. Even Princess Kate was there (I didn't see her though, too many people). We got a drink and had fun taking pictures and talking to people and shenanigans and whatever. 

Eventually, we left the square and headed to a pub. It was nice and warm in the pub and we posted up in one corner. There was a group of about 10 of us, so it was impressive that no one got lost. After about an hour or so in there, we headed off to Leicester Square. We went there because we were all starving. We got some Mexican food there. Nachos for a starter, pulled pork wrap for a entree and a pitcher of sangria split between some of us. After that, we were all so full, we got on the tube and headed home. This was about six. I got home and took a wonderful nap until 8.30. Then we hung out in the lounge some more before getting some snacks and calling it a night. I got to bed around 2.00, so all in all a successful St. Patrick's Day.

18/3

I met with Mark and Jen at 11.50 today just to talk about how the semester is going. I had no complaints, so it all seemed to go well. After that, I took the tube over to High Kensington to do a little shopping. I bought nothing there, but it was nice to see the fancy shops, posh women pushing their prams, and it was pouring so I was miserable. 

I got on the tube to head off to Primark on Oxford Street to get some clothes that I could actually afford. However, I got off at the wrong end of the street, because I screwed up Hyde Park and Regent Park. So after about a half hour walk in the rain (not sprinkle rain... full on rain) I made it there. I was quite miserable still because I was very wet. At least I had the hat on I got for Christmas, so I stayed a little drier that way. At Primark, I got 3 shirts, a jumper, a pair of shoes, an a pair of trousers for 35 Pounds. It was great! I then took the tube home, but got sidetracked at a bookstore. I ended up buying a book. I got The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. I got it because I enjoyed reading The Hobbit so much. I expect that I will be able to find the time to finish it before too long. 

Now I close the night with relaxation before I go to work tomorrow. I should be home by 7.30 because of an event we are putting on. Nevertheless, no worries with that. Also, I got my religion paper back. It counts for 50% of my grade, because grading over here is a lot different. Anyways, I got an A on the paper. So score there! Ok hope to hear from you all soon!