A little countryside, a little more city...

January 27th - Our Wednesday trip was to Westminster Abbey. Despite not being that religious, I absolutely love seeing grand old cathedrals. This one was no different. At the time it was built, 1066, the architecture and design was simply incredible. I can understand how individuals became fearful of church... their buildings are still incredible today and I'm sure it would've been mind-blowing at the time is was created. I mentioned in a previous post that our tour guide Angie is an architect who works on conservation of historical buildings. She is an expert on the Saxon era and last year did research on what is decidedly the oldest door in Britain... which is a big wooden door that is on the side of one of the cloisters at Westminster Abbey. She took us behind the ropes and explained how some of the marks occurred. For example, she found remnants of animal skin and paint and figured out that the door was once covered in animal skin for warmth and painted with a red and gold pattern for decoration. They also found slashings on the door from when the Puritans tried to destroy it. Through new technology they were able to find the specific area the tree was from and that it had been used at the monastery that was torn down before the Abbey was built. They are still trying to figure out what was so special about the specific door that made them save it. Angie's theory is that it may have been the door that shut off the holiest part of the monastery... so it would have been thought to possess some holy power. It's all pretty amazing. After our tour I went to ULU (student union for University of London) with 2 other girls and took a live model art class. They both have some experience drawing, so I was the only first time. It was interesting to say the least. I really enjoyed going though and the teacher was very helpful at setting me in the right direction. The 3 of us were in the only Americans so it was also good to get some exposure to British people outside of restaurants and tours, etc. We had a conversation with some girls about American TV shows (which are played all the time here). It was funny because they didn't really like shows that portray city or rural life (like Gossip Girl or Glee) but were enamored by shows that portrayed the beach or Hollywood (like The OC and 90210). I don't think they realize those shows just glamorize the southern California lifestyle.

inside a cloister at Westminster Abbey

January 28th - I went back to Borough Market briefly in the afternoon. It is definitely much better on Fridays and Saturdays... only half the stalls were there. On the edge of the market we stopped at a fruit juice stand ran by an Irishman named Dermot. He told us all kinds of stories of traveling on the California coast and walking into a Southern Carolina home because he admired the architecture. He made it a point that he was not British, he was Irish. He was the sweetest man. I'll definitely have to stop by next time I head to Borough Market.

January 29th - Our first excursion to Bath and Stonehenge! We took a coach (charter bus) out to Stonehenge. It wasn't too overwhelming. I mean... it was cool, don't get me wrong, but it was not the most amazing thing I've seen so far. However, I thought Bath was extraordinary. The structures have been added to so people can tour the Roman baths easily... but the ruins themselves are still amazing. There are still people doing excavations as you walk through the site. The springs are still running through the ancient plumbing and the baths are still hot with bubbles coming to the surface. We sat by the main bathing pool for a little while. It was so peaceful. I tried imagining it back in the Roman times... huge arcs stretched across the pool. Parts of the sacrificial altar and temple steps are still intact. The town that was developed by John Wood... he pictured a town where all of the buildings, doors, and windows resembled each other. The result is more than picturesque. As you may have noticed, I was enamored!

Annie, me, Kristy, Michelle, and Victoria @ Stonehenge

standing above the Roman bath with The Abbey (of Bath) behind me
the main Roman bath
in the middle of one of John Wood's circle of townhouses

January 30th - Our program gave us tickets for the Fulham v. Aston Villa football match! We were originally going to root for Fulham (they were the home team) but ended up talking to the guys next to us who were huge Villa fans (we were in the neutral section). We decided to go with Villa... the fans were more spirited (despite having fewer people as the away team) and the match resulted in a Villa victory of 2-nil! On the tube ride home we were in a car with a bunch of Villa fans. They spent the ENTIRE ride back singing different cheers for their team. It was quite entertaining!

me and Michelle