Monmouthshire

On the walls of Caerwent

Tuesday was a very long day, but probably the closest I’ve had to a perfect day ever. We started early – left Cardiff at 7 am – and drove to an old Roman town called Caerwent. There were some walls left and we snapped a few pictures, but it was a little site out in the middle of the country next to some houses, so we didn’t stay long. Our next stop was Chepstow Castle, right on the River Wye. It’s huge – it took a good two hours to explore, and that was running from room to room – or should I say lawn to lawn. There are only ruins now, but you can definitely see fireplaces built into the walls of the second and third stories. Construction started on it in the 12th century and didn’t really stop until the 17th century. They just kept adding onto it. It was a beautiful castle with a spectacular view of the river and the hills. I even got some time to sit and read for a few minutes and just take in the fact that I was sitting in a castle…

Our next stop was Tintern Abbey. For those of you who know me well, this was the most important site. One of my favorite poems was inspired by these ruins, and to actually stand there was a spiritual experience. I even had the privilege of reading the poem aloud to our group, and the power of reading those words in that place was beyond description.

Following Tintern, we went to Monmouth Castle, or what was left of it. These ruins were not spectacular – there was pretty much one wall standing and then a big modern building next to it that housed a military museum. It was interesting to say the least. The museum obviously did not get very much funding and though it had some really cool artifacts, the entire establishment had the feeling of a sixth-grade history project: green felt shelving in cheap glass cases, computer-printed labels cut out by hand and held in place with thumbtacks. Kind of depressing, really.

The last place we visited Tuesday was Raglan Castle. By this point I was a bit castled out, but the ruins were so fantastic and so expansive that it was still quite impressive. This was the last castle built in Medieval England, so by then they had things mostly figured out. It had a great moat, with lily pads and goldfish and even an alligator or two. Ok, so there weren’t alligators, but the architecture was much finer and the floorplan more intricate than Chepstow, Monmouth, or Carreg Cennen. It had multiple courtyards, one originally with a fountain, and we got to climb to the top of the tower and see for miles.

Great Hall of Chepstow CastleView of the Wye River from Chepstow's wallsMe at Chepstow A view from the outside of ChepstowChecking out the view :)I'm at Tintern Abbey!perfect view of Tintern from the parking lotMore of TinternView of the once-stained-glass windows Great shot of the interiorDon't make me leave!Standing in Tintern Abbey, holding my Wordsworth One last lookAll that was left of Monmouth CastleMe on Monmouth BridgeIn front of RaglanOnly part of Raglan, fron the frontSome of the ruins from the inside of RaglanLooking down from an upper wallView from the top-most tower Side view of Raglan, complete with a lily-padded moat

Tuesday was a great day of dream-fulfilling :)

Uffington White Horse and Oxford

I have so much to catch up on! The last week has been a very busy one; we visited 18 sites in five days. So I’m trying to recover on sleep, laundry, journal entries, and blog posts :)

Monday we started the day by getting in the van and driving to Oxfordshire. Before getting to Oxford proper, we stopped at a Roman age hill fort to look around and see the chalk horse dug into the side of the hill. In probably the Bronze Age, a trench was dug (archaeologists aren’t sure by whom) in the shape of a horse and filled with white chalk. It’s very large and can only really be seen well from the air or from the valley below. Anyway, we climbed the big hill and had a simply gorgeous view of the countryside. We hiked around the horse and I even sneaked a small piece of chalk. Shhh! We spent some more time getting pictures and looking around, then walked back to the van and drove to Oxford.

Oxford has an amazing history and incredible architecture. Sadly, the day was quite rainy and while we did a walking tour around the various colleges which make up Oxford University I got pretty wet. Not to mention that there seemed to be a noxious smell permeating the entire town. Our group agreed that Oxford smells bad. But otherwise it’s beautiful!

Before leaving Oxford, I got some good pictures and even had a delightful lunch at The Eagle and Child, a pub famous for the meetings C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein had there (when they were friends, at least). I ordered what I thought was a salad – it said “Ploughman’s Cheese Salad” on the menu – and got quite a surprise. They brought me four slices of bread, two pickled onions, eight slices of white cheddar cheese, a giant wedge of Stilton cheese, and a tiny side salad. But it was actually delicious, and very filling. I got a pretty picture of it before I dug in :)

The saddest part of the day, however, was finding out that the Ashmolean Musuem was closed. It had most of the attractions and we had planned to spend a lot of time there. Oh well. I guess that means I have to come back some time when they’re open!Me on the top of the hillA view of the country from the top. You can see a little piece of the horse on the rightSuch a beautiful day - I couldn't help it!Me in front of...one of the colleges...they all blended together...

Same building, without meThe circle one with some pretty grass......wow, I don't remember any of these places!In front of a bridge modeled after the one in VenicePretty gardensMy lunch - so beautiful!

Kara, April, Elizabeth, Camilla, and Hannah in front of the pub!

Carreg Cennen

Where it sits on the hilltopMe with some of the beautiful scenery in the background just before we began the climb upSome of the inside of the castle ruinsThe promontory point...I'm the almost invisible one sitting on a rock on the other sideJust hangin out at the happiest place on earth!

Now I have pictures!

Sunday:
About an hour out of Cardiff, there are the ruins of this old castle named Castell Carreg Cennen. It sits on a hilltop in the middle of the most beautiful piece of countryside on Earth. The day was partly cloudy, with a really exhilarating wind. From the top you could see for miles in each direction. The entire hill was covered with long grasses that did the most extraordinary things in the wind, all while small clusters of sheep roamed freely.

I cannot explain exactly what it was, but if I could choose any place to live forever, that would be it. Somehow it felt like coming home.

There was this promontory point next to castle that looked a lot like the one that Keira Knightly stands on in Pride and Prejudice. We got some pictures on it and then I wandered down to a ridge next to the castle to write in my journal and just look out at the amazing scene in front of me. It felt like you could reach out and touch the clouds while still firmly seated on the ground. If you ever come to the United Kingdom, make this trip to Carreg Cennen. You will be so glad you did.

P.S. Is it weird if I ask to be buried there?

London Part II

Me in front of the Globe. I promise I was excited, but my feet were so tired!

My view of the stage!The ceiling of the Globe from my view...Gorgeous, but obviously not utilized for the show I went toThe Thames at night, walking back to the tube from the Globe
After visiting the British Library, which, I forgot to mention, also had the Magna Carta, our group took the tube down to the Thames and walked across the Millennium footbridge. It was incredible to watch that famous river flowing under my feet. Just across the bridge was the Globe Theatre, where we met the rest of our group and waited, the first in the "groundlings" line, to be let into the complex. After about an hour and a half of waiting, we finally got into the courtyard and got so close to the stage, I was able to rest my chin on it during the performance. It was pretty amazing.

We saw "A Mid-Summer Night's Dream" and it was excellent. The director had decided to do a Roaring Twenties-style interpretation, and it did not disappoint. There were only eight extremely talented actors playing all the parts, including small musical pieces and some dancing. They did such a wonderful job! We were laughing the whole time and at several points the actors were so close I was afraid I was going to get kicked :) More than one of us caught some spittle in the face, but considering the circumstances that was more an honor than a hardship, haha.

After the performance, it was about 10:30, and we were really tired from standing all that time, plus our all-day walk through the streets of London. We were so ready to just be home, but we had a three-hour train ride ahead of us. At least, that's what we thought.

When we arrived in Paddington Station, we found that our train had left without us, and that there wouldn't be another direct service to Cardiff until the next day. That wasn't a happy moment. But Tom was able to work something out, and we got on a train to Bristol and then a bus from Bristol to Cardiff. The train took about an hour and a half, and then the bus was about another hour. Then we had to walk back to our house from the train stop - about 20 blocks - at 3 am. So Tom cancelled our plans for the next day and we got to sleep in :)

It was a long day, but I'd go back and do it again in a second.

London

I will try to fit everything from our day in London into this ten minute post.

We had to get up at 5 am and be on a train to London at 6. It was a two-hour ride and then we arrived at Paddington Station, which was crazy and bustling and everything I hate. But we got to the National Museum as a group, and looked at some of the paintings there. I got to see a Da Vinci original, even though it was just a sketch. Forgive me for not remembering its name.

Then we split into smaller groups, and my group went up to the Theatre District to buy tickets for Les Miserables in two weeks when we come back to London for our second visit. I'm really excited for that. I've never seen any high-scale production, so this will be a great way to start. After that, our group went to the British Museum, which is kind of like our Smithsonians. It was incredible. There was no way we could see everything there was to see, so we contented ourselves with the Ancient Egypt and Middle-Ages Europes exhibits. I stood on the other side of a piece of glass from the Rosetta Stone, which was a really cool experience. We had only an hour and a half to spend there, so some day I'll come back and *really* see that.

Next we went to the British Library and saw some amazing original pieces, from Jane Austen to William Wordsworth to Samuel Johnson and Haydn and the Beatles.....Guttenberg Bible and Shakespeare's Folio and just WOW. I almost cried about fifteen times it was so beautiful.

Ouside of the British Museum with my back to Trafalgar Square.

Trafalgar Square. If you look really closely you can see Big Ben to the right and at the end of the street.
I'm in a phone booth!
On the tube at the Piccadilly Circus stop, just seconds before the train came in
A view of the Thames from the Millennium Footbridge

Come back next time for part two: A Mid-Summer Night's Dream in Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Cardiff

This will have to be quick.

The past few days have been nice. We have afternoons mostly free to explore the city and try all the Middle-Eastern food shops and clean. When we first got to our house (which was a very long walk after a verrrry long day), we found out that it had eight bedrooms and three bathrooms. Spacious, right? Not really. We each got our own rooms, but they were dirty and needed lots of cleaning. And none of our sheets fit quite right. One of the bathrooms had no hot water, so it was out for showers, and another bathroom had hot water but zero water pressure, so it was like showering from a plastic bag. One working bathroom for eight girls is not easy.

My bedroom, before I even got sheets on the bed, haha.

Aside from our bedrooms being dirty, our kitchen only had one small fridge. Well, only one that worked. But an entire wall was taken up by two more that were broken. So that was a mess. And to top it off, we didn't have working lights on the first two floors for four days. It finally got fixed yesterday. But we were all afraid to go to our own bedrooms at night, so we ended up all piling onto one person's bed just we wouldn't be alone :)

Now that the power is fixed, the showers are repaired, and one of the defunct fridges is gone, we're doing much better. I'll keep you posted on any further improvements.

Cardiff City:

A pretty park on the way to the grocery store :) Queen Street, the area in the middle of town with really pretty buildings and lots of shops. More of Queen Street, with a little tiny piece of Cardiff Castle on the right City Hall next to the clock tower. City Hall has a dragon, sort of the mascot of Wales, on its top. It's pretty cool. Me at Cardiff Bay for the food festival. It looks cloudy, but it was such a beautiful day for Wales!

Getting Settled and Castell Coch

S'mae! That means hello in Welsh :) I had a great flight over and was very tired and hungry but got to Cardiff safely with a few others from the group. As you have probably guessed, I do not have wireless internet like I had hoped, but I can get on a computer at a public library around the corner from my house for about 20 minute sessions, so this will have to be a short post.

My house is on Dogfield Street, which isn't the prettiest name around, but it's much easier to pronounce than Cyfarthfa, which is where some other people in our group live. Sunday we went to church at the Cardiff Central Branch, which is very sweet and very odd. They rent part of a secondary college to meet in, so there are business posters and such all over the walls. Sunday afternoon we went on a long walk through downtown Cardiff, which is about two miles from where we live. We walk everywhere. The distance between our house and the other house is about a mile, and then another mile down to the city center, where the church building is. We walk back and forth at least twice each day, and my feet hurt. I feel like I should have been in training for this :) But we're having a great time and I think I'm almost adjusted to the time change.

Yesterday we had class in the morning, and then we took a bus to Castell Coch (Red Castle). It's a castle a few miles from Cardiff that was built in the 19th century by a man who loved the Middle Ages, so it's not authentically Medival, but it looks like a fairy tale castle. I took tons of pictures. In a bottom room of the castle we all gathered and sang a Welsh folk song that we learned before we came, and it sounded great with the acoustics of the dungeon. Most of the time since that first outing we have spent cleaning and grocery shopping and fixing all the little quirks of the dump we live in, but those are stories for next time.

I found a little corner to sit in!

I'm at a castle!From the courtyard

I love and miss you all!