Alien Encounters of the British Kind

Today was an action packed day. We (Lauren, Sarah, and myself) went on a bus tour to Stonehenge and Bath. We got to learn about all the conspiracies behind Stonehenge and see a few celebrity homes in Bath! All-in-all, I'd say it was a successful day.

Here we have Stonehenge. It's thought to be over 5 THOUSAND years old, and is the most recent stone fixture to be in this spot. The theories for what Stonehenge's purpose is are as follows:

1. A calendar- The positioning of the stones would have told the time of year and, as they are situated on a hill, would have been visible to the entire area. 

2. A temple- There is a large platform looking rock in the center of the surrounding rocks that looks like an alter, which is why the professionals think it was used as a temple to worship the sun god. It's located at the top of the highest point in the surrounding area, so it was closest to the sun. Seems plausible.

3. An alien landing platform- This is obviously the most scientific and realistic explanation for these gigantic slabs of rock. 

My own personal option? I think the aliens put it here on earth to serve as a temple for the humanoids to worship their intellectually superior galactic creators AND is also a calendar to tell when they will return to earth to collect their mutant offspring. Totally logical.

Now the crazy part about these rocks (as if aliens aren't crazy enough) is that this type of rock (Blue Rock) isn't indigenous to this particular area of Britain. It would have to have been moved over 140 miles from Wales to its current location. 

Some clever scientists tried to recreate the process of building Stonehenge with the materials that would have been available 5000 years ago. They built a boat over in Wales and when they loaded it up with some slabs of blue rock, the boat immediately sank to the bottom of the ocean. Now, please tell me how the heck these thousand pound hunks of rock could have been moved without the use of modern technology? Answer: superior alien technology, that's how!

Another view of Stonehenge. There are only so many pictures you can take of a rock formation.

(Editor's Note: the original plan for this post was to paint the different theories right onto the pictures to make them more exciting, but the author's computer hates her and decided to not allow her to be creative with the paintbrush. Damn you, Apple!)

Here we are!

An actual known function of Stonehenge was a burial ground. Scattered around the formation are these mounds that are burial sites for important people in the ancient community. This one in particular must hold a very important person given his proximity to the formation. Most of the other mounds are much further away.

Here we have the heel rock. It just marks the end of the Stonehenge Area. 

After we spent an hour looking at these lovely rocks, we headed over to Bath. Let me tell you, Bath is BEAUTIFUL. It is by far my favorite place we have visited thus far. Its an old town and lots of famous people live/have lived here.

 Jane Austen's flat!

Oh hey, even Nicholas Cage generates trash! (Besides 90% of his movies)

Sup, Johnny Depp?

(He lives on the top floor)

The Jane Austen Centre. Here's a little Jane Austen trivia for you: Ms. Austen hated living in Bath. While she was here her father died, her best friend was killed in an accident, and she was jilted at the altar. Poor, Jane. Now I know why none of her novels have anything good to say about Bath.

This one's for you, momma!

This is the Bath Museum (or maybe it was the thermal spas. I can't really remember). Either way, all of the buildings are that same honey-colored facade because the first prominent English man who moved to Bath bought the stone quarry and required everyone to buy his stone, thus all of the buildings look vaguely the same. I personally love it. It's got an old, quaint feel to it.

Now that is skill!

Trivia Time: in order to perform for money in the streets of Bath, each person must perform in front of a panel that grants a license to perform on the street. So all of the people who do their thing are legit. One woman we went by is a famous opera singer and performs all over the world in sold out concerts.

Here we have the Bath Abbey. They were preparing for a service when we went inside so we weren't allowed to take pictures. It was really pretty inside though and its know as the Abbey of lights because most of its walls are made of windows.

Another view of the Abbey.

Here is a view of the typical street. There are lots of shops and cafes. I could definitely see myself living here some day. Its just so beautiful and peaceful.

This is the obelisk dedicated to Queen Anne. Whenever a member of the Royal family visits Bath, they erect a obelisk in honor of them. Anne came to Bath in hopes that the waters would heal her inability to bear a son. The waters are known for their healing properties and its not just a farce. The water contains over 50 minerals that are proven to be beneficial to one's health. It tastes terrible because of all those minerals, but I guess if you come down with Leprosy, I'd be willing to put up with the bad taste.

Another street

A nice courtyard and some more buildings.

Alas, that ends our trip to Stonehenge and Bath. I am super glad we decided to do this trip (thanks, Sarah!). I learned so much and I will definitely be returning to Bath in the future. I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to visit. Just remember your foil hats incase the aliens decide to come back while you're there!

A Trip to Chinatown

Today I met up with my Alpha Xi Delta sister who is also studying abroad in London and some other friends and we went to Chinatown! It was quite exhilarating and freeeezing cold. We ended up eating at a nice buffet place on the main street. I had lots of rice and sweet and sour pork and these little crispy wonton lookin' buggers with chicken in them. The only thing I was disappointed with was the lack of crab rangoon!  

It was no Panda Express, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

 This nice dragon-monkey mutant child was chillin' on the side of a building

Pretty paper lanterns

The main drag

Fancy a whole chicken? Or a squid?

It rained so we took the bus back. Someone thought it would be a good idea to CLOSE THE ENTIRE BAKERLOO LINE ON A SATURDAY. If that happened in Chicago, the people would rise up and burn down the tracks.

Ridin' on da top a da bus!

Now I must go make my foil hat to take to Stonehenge so that the aliens can't invade my brain.

Cheers!

South Bank Excursion

Today was one of my favorite CEA Program excursions thus far: the London Eye! I was a little nervous to go on it because I'm terrified of heights, but it really wasn't that bad. It's not as shaky as the ferris wheel on Navy Pier (the Eye isn't shaky at all actually) and the view was amazing! Most of my pictures from inside our little pod didn't show up well, so enjoy the ones I managed to take!

This is from Westminster Bridge.

Moi.

(Super pale and that coat makes me look fat)

After our ride we went on a pub crawl/short tour of the South Bank area. The history is really interesting and there is a lot more to do than I originally thought. There is a book market along the river that you can bet I will be at next weekend.

Pretty lights in the trees

The Millennium Bridge. Most famous for its scenes in the Harry Potter movies. Damn those death eaters!

Oh, look who it is!

We walked by The Globe! One of my top "to-dos" while I'm in London is see a play here.

A cool directiony thing that tells you where different cities are.

The entrance. 

This is a little tribute to the River Thames as it was hundreds of years ago. The river used to be about a third wider and flowed much slower, so it would freeze in the winter. People would skate on it and they even put an elephant on it who, sadly, fell through the ice and died :(

This is a part of the actual wall that the Romans built around Londinium back in the early 200's. 

A pirate ship!

I forgot whose pirate ship this is, but its really cool and you can pay to go on it during the day.

Along the way we stopped at three pubs which were a welcomed break from the bone-chilling cold wind that attacked us from the river. Cassandra our program manager person bought us a few drinks. I actually drank one of them which was a strawberry-lime flavored cider. It was quite tasty. All of my friends should be shocked that I actually enjoyed an alcoholic beverage.

Thus concludes our romp down the South Bank. I will definitely be going back there during the day time someday soon. It seems to be a very artsy place that I would enjoy. 

Tomorrow brings a trip to Chinatown and Sunday we are off to meet the mothership at Stonehenge! 

Cheers!

A Look Into My Food Cupboard

Today I went to one of my favorite places in London: Waitrose! Its a higher end grocery store that is always filled with older people and yuppies with their infant children. I like it because its quintessential British food and prices are relatively reasonable. Here is an exclusive look into my food cupboard:

As you can tell, I eat a lot of carbs. The Multigrain Cheerios are pretty expensive, but they are an American delicacy that I can not do without. I tried the Waitrose brand "Multigrain Hoops", but there is just no comparison. 

I eat toasted PB&J almost everyday for breakfast (and sometimes lunch and dinner) so I go through a lot of bread but today I decided to switch it up with some cinnamon raisin bagels!

Due to my virus/bronchiti/really bad cold, I went a little heavy on the soup. I got three cans of the same kind so I hope it tastes alright. There is also some pasta, pancake mix, and hot coco mix back there.

This following picture sums up my evening: 

a brand new roll of my favorite biscuits and my favorite television show, White Collar.

Procrastination Station

I have a small project due on Thursday for my Victorian London class that requires about 1,300 words (aka a piece of cake compared to my 30 page research project last year). But, alas, I have no motivation to actually complete the dang thing. And since I've received several requests to blog more, I bring you a lesson in Procrastination 101.

I bought a dozen postcards the other day at a little touristy trap giftshop outside the National Gallery. All these puppies for one pound! Unbelievable! I've already filled out several of them, and just have to find out how to send them through the Royal Mail.

So, which one will you get?!

(Chances are, if you are actually reading this, you will receive one of these bad boys)

Lookin like the unibomber in my new puffy vest.

Its from the brand Jack Wills and I got it on sale (holla!). 

The best part is that their mascot is a pheasant in a little suit and top hat.

Now that is a classy bird.

Lastly, I have developed this nasty little cough that sounds somewhat like a crashing freight train, so I've adopted this little bottle of medical elixer as my new best friend. It tastes like concentrated black licorice syrup and gives me the shivers all over when I choke it down, but the stuff actually works.

I take a small swig whenever I feel like my lungs are about to resurface out of my esophagus and call it good.

Now, I shall go dig my £4.95 (that's SEVEN American dollars, btw) pint of Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream out of the freezer and actually write this pesky paper. 

Only not really.

Weekend Recap

This weekend was pretty exciting. On Friday I went to the National Gallery to see some timeless works of art and to laze around Trafalgar Square. Alas, the rain prohibited me from lazing around the square, but I did enjoy the Gallery! I wasn't entirely sure if photos were allowed to be taken inside (I didn't see anyone with a camera so I didn't even take mine out of my bag) so I only have pictures of the outside. Not as impressive as the art inside, but still beautiful nonetheless. 

First up we have a bird on crack. Just look at his eyes; those are the eyes of a crackbird.

Trafalgar Square

The National Gallery. Its a LOT bigger than it looks.

There is nothing I want more than to jump in that fountain. Someday.

Saturday brought our trip to Stratford, birthplace of my boy Shakespeare. Lauren and I did an independent trip out there and although it was really cool and interesting, 7 hours in Stratford is too long. The Royal Shakespeare Company doesn't do performances in October so that left out a big chunk of time.

Anyways, here are some of the highlights:

Bards Walk: a high end shopping area. 

All ready for Christmas!

When I first saw this I thought, "Oh, how lovely! A statue of Shakespeare."

Then it moved. And I jumped.

First thought: "Oh, an old building!"

Actuality: the house Shakespeare was born in.

A nice memorial

The Creaky Cauldron. Bears a striking resemblance to The Leaky Cauldron from Harry Potter.

Coincidence? I think not.

The entire building of The Creaky Cauldron.

A statue of a fool. A reoccurring image throughout Shakespeare's plays. The quotes on each side of it are from some of his works. 

My favorite jest quote. (Also a known favorite of David Foster Wallace)

Book shop. Duh.

Quills in the colors of Alpha Xi Delta!

This one's for you, pops! (You know which store I'm talking about)

Some lovely Tudor style buildings.

Shakespeare is even featured on the bank building.

A church. I seem to have forgotten what its called, but I know it isn't the Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried.

Tudor World! If it didn't cost money to get in to, I would have been all over this. If you know anything about me, you would know Tudor England (along with Victorian England) is tied as my favorite era of British history.

The Royal Shakespeare Company

We walked along the Avon river. It was lovely.

These water foul are menaces, I tell you!

A nice bridge

This is the alley way of Tudor World.

Something of Tudor significance.

If you want some good American cuisine while in England, it's gonna cost you £10 (or about $16)

We then took a little river cruise on the Avon river. It was lovely and peaceful except for the teenage girls on a neighboring boat who were squealing and laughing and almost tipped their boat over. I would have paid to see them fall into the river.

This is Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried. We went by it on our river cruise.

I really liked this house.

This bridge reminds me of the Japanese garden bridge that Monet painted half a gazillion times during his life. Ironically, I saw a few of the paintings from this series at the National Gallery.

(How's that for tying my whole weekend together?)

Now it is Sunday afternoon and a dreary day in London. I'm working on laundry, cleaning, and homework. Let's hope the pineapple scent of my cleaning supplies doesn't put me in a chemically induced coma.

Cheers, mates!