Whoops, I got a little bit distracted the last few days and didn't quite finish my story of Wales.




July 17 - Snowdonia National Park

After catching a bus from Caernarfon at about 9:30AM, we arrived in Llanberis a half hour later. No picture can do this part of Wales justice: it is absolutely breath-taking. (This is after all the place where fairy tales are born and King Arthur reigned). Instead of exhausting, and potentially killing, ourselves Mike and I took a little steam engine to the top of Mount Snowdon. The whole trip took about 2.5 hours, including 30 minutes at the top; being surrounded by singing Welsh people only made the experience better. It is my wish to someday come back to this place to hike and camp in the mountains for some long period of time. Before jumping on a bus to Bangor, we had a bite at a quaint inn with a rather bawdy waitress. Traveling through the countryside on the bus gave us the chance to see some of the very small villages full of 'real' British folk.



July 17-18 - Bangor

Not a whole lot to say about Bangor. It is the home to Bangor University, a University of Wales institution, but as for things to do, basically you can drink, walk around, or both. We chose to do both. It is built into and along a valley, so one is bound to walk up and down steep hills if they want to go anywhere. There is a pretty nice pier at the very northern end of town that allows you to walk pretty far into Menai Srait and look out over the Irish Sea.
When we woke up on the 18th it was raining and predicted to do so for the rest of the day. Although our scheduled train was to leave at 2:30PM, our tickets allowed us to catch any train running that day back to London-Euston, so we boarded the 10:30 and were back in London by 2.

This coming weekend I plan to stay near London, perhaps spending a night in Cambridge and maybe a day trip to the areas west of London: Stonehenge & Bath.

Cheers

Cymru

July 15 - Holyhead

Arrived on Thursday around 2PM without any clue of where I would stay. After some lunch at a dive pub, Mike (a chap from my program) and I wandered the city looking for a cheap B&B. After a few unsuccessful stops, we stumbled upon The Haven, a quaint seaside home run by a friendly older Welsh couple. Once we were settled in and paid up, we walked over toward Holyhead Mountain and the heath along the sea--a truly medieval feeling. After searching (successfully) for a long time for a place that served food after 5PM, Mike and I turned in early to catch an early ferry to Dublin.
However, with the morning brought bad weather and even worse news: the ferry would not be traveling that day. So, after bartering with the inn-keepers to get some of our money back, we bought an all-day public transit ticket and headed to Caernarfon.


July 16 - Caernarfon

After a short train ride to Bangor, we jumped on a slow bus to Caernarfon. Having been slightly unimpressed with Holyhead we really had no idea what to expect, and were feeling slightly wary of northern Wales at this point. The ride to Caernarfon, however, quickly changed those feelings. Our bus weaved through the rural, mountainous countryside, with miles of ancient stone walls, green mountains and mystical valleys. Once off the bus, we soon found the 13th century castle of Edward I, situated on the edge of town right along the Menai Straight and overlooking surveying much the Welsh landscape.(Caernarfon is one of the neatest places I have ever been; I could definitely see myself spending a long time there). Having decided not to book a place to stay prior to arriving, we once again set out to find one. This time it only took two stops to find a very cool B&B with an equally cool owner. The rest of the day we spent snapping photos of the castle, walking around the city and drinking British beer. Mike later regretted doing one of those three things.

The Great Charter, The Renaissance, & The Holocaust

Another busy couple days here. On Sunday I wandered over to the British Museum (again) to see the exhibit on Renaissance sketches. Rather than presenting the finished and famous pieces of work from various artists, the museum showed the working process that each artist went through and the evolution of 15th and 16th century art. No pictures were allowed, however, it would be impossible to capture the essence of the exhibit anyway. Scrap papers, notebooks and rough drafts of da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and more were available for the most detailed examination, inches from your nose if you so liked.

Having booked tickets to Wales for Thursday, I wandered up toward Euston Station to pick them up; it just so happens that the Royal British Library is only a block from the station. On permanent display are some of the literary and printed treasures of British history: the earliest surviving copy of Beowulf (11th century); Shakespeare's First Folio; two of the four surviving copies of the 1215 Magna Carta; Beethoven's working composition for his Violin Sonata op. 30 no. 3.

Today, after a good lecture on the conditions which precipitated World War I, the class met at the Imperial War Museum. The rather unusual building houses an armory of tanks, planes, artillery, and military-related paraphernalia from the early 20th century; it is also a tremendously depressing and rage-inducing place. The holocaust exhibit is perhaps one of the most vivid and real experiences I've attended. Again, there is very little I can say or show that captures what it is really like to be there. I think that I can safely say, in tempered, gentle vocabulary, that I hate Nazis.

On a final note, I saw a nice play the other night, After the Dance by Terence Rattigan. I would recommend it.

I am now off to take a shower as I just ran through Hyde Park and am very sweaty.

Cheers

Catching up...

As I had anticipated, I have gotten behind on keeping this updated. Thus I should probably qualify this blog as a very incomplete and sporadic collection of my adventures in England.

First week of classes are done. They appear to be a great supplement to the sites we are visiting and the activities we engage in. Although there was a bit of down time this week, it definitely did not feel like it.

On Tuesday after class I wondered over to the Sir John Soane House Museum, more or less on a whim. If you have never heard of him before, I suggest you do a little google research. To say that his house and collection of artifact was incredible is an understatement. I will probably return to take a few photos later this month.

On Thursday we went to see Henry IV part 1 at the Globe Theatre. It was absolutely amazing; the theater is a nearly exact replica of the original theater which burned down.

Wandered the north bank of the Thames last night and found some amazing and historic pubs along the way. Beautiful area. Planning on going back tonight for some food and drink. This morning all of us went to Westminster and the Houses of Parliament. It was both strongly familiar in operations, while being completely foreign in tradition and history.

I am going to have to cut this a bit shorter than I wanted, as I am running out the door right now. I will post some more tomorrow.

Cheers

How beautiful is death, when earn'd by virtue!
Who would not be that youth? What pity is it
That we can die but once to serve our country.


Happy Fourth of July from London; a lot has changed in 234 years.

Day 2: British Booty

It seems that I am adjusted to the time change now; that didn't take long. Got up around 11 AM local time and was out the door at noon. I decided last night that, since one of the greatest collections of world artifacts is found just about a mile from my hotel, I should at least stop in.

The British Museum is basically incredible. It is designed in the style of ancient Greece: lots of marble and columns and big, open spaces. It is a collection of the things the British empire collected over many centuries from mostly the far, middle and near east. Probably the most famous piece that the museum houses is the Rosetta Stone, which I of course walked right passed and only on my way out realized what it was. It is pointless to attempt to describe or detail all that is in that place; one must experience it for themselves. I did take a few pictures, however, upon returning to my hotel I realized I do not have a proper cable with which to upload the photos: I am hoping that someone with MSU will have one. I will be sure to post them when I can.

As for now, I am taking a little break before I take a walk around Regent's Park and grab a bite (I'm thinking fish & chips tonight).

Cheers

Day 1: Mind the gap

Hello all,

I am going to try to keep some sort of collection of my journey in this 'blog' format. We will see how successful I actually am.

Firstly, I arrived in London at approx. 10 AM GMT (5 AM where it actually matters). after a long walk and then a short stop through customs, I boarded the "Tube" (UK English for cramped) and an hour later strolled into my hotel room. At this point I proceeded to fall asleep for six hours whilst dreaming of the places (pubs) I would see (and the beers I would drink).

Upon waking up, I realized I had not had a proper meal since my breakfast on the airplane (that is probably the best joke I will ever write). So I took the "lift" down to the "lobby" where a friendly "consierge" promptly gave me strange directions in a German/British accent and I wound up in Fitzroy square listening to an annual "open air" opera: La Traviata. I subsequently found a nice little Italian Restaurant on the corner where siesta is not just a Spanish word, and enjoyed a nice, fire-grilled pizza and a glass of red wine while listening to a wonderful production of a Verdi composition.

I will be moving into my flat on Saturday and will thus have a more stable base of operation from which to keep everyone who cares updated (also those who don't care). Until next time, cheers.