Last week in Bath

Today I've been taking care of some last minute errands, like picking up Christmas crackers and more presents. I tried to go to the library this morning to work on my essay, but my card expires today and I can't use the library anymore (you have to use your card even just to go in). I thought that would happen at midnight on the expiration date, but apparently not...So, I can't print out and turn in my essay even if I do finish it before I go. At least it's an excuse to fully enjoy my last few days here and forget about rushing the essay!
I had a weird moment yesterday when I was attempting to pack. I was clearing out my desk drawers and I found my American change. It looked so strange and foreign to me now!
Anyway, I looked over my friends' albums on Facebook to try and get some more good pictures to put up...It's been so sad saying good-bye to everybody lately, and looking over our fun times has made it even sadder.

Rugby game between Bath City and Cardiff Blues...with those wet hoods up front, you can see how rain-soaked we were, but that just made it more fun.

Good-bye party at the Lounge

University of Bath campus...Built in the 60's, it looks more like ECC than Collegiate Gothic...

Christina, Ludovic, Juliana and me at the Lounge good-bye party

David, Rohan and me at Inken's birthday party

Birthday in Oxford

Me, Cody, Marilena and Leonel

The Great Hall

Stairway to the Great Hall

Tom Quad

Exterior shot

Cloisters


My birthday didn't go quite as planned, but it still turned out alright. I have lots of pictures, but unfortunately, my USB ports aren't working, so I can't load them from my camera. I could go burn a photo CD at Boots, but I'll just wait until I get home and do it from Mom's laptop. As the Brits say in situations like this, "I can't be bothered." These pics (that I found on various websites) are better than the ones I took actually...especially my shot of the Cloisters, because I couldn't get a shot without people in it...

So, we got to Oxford too late to make it to Blenheim. Also, there were just four of us: Cody, Marilena and Leonel. I was sad to miss out on Blenheim, but I tried to make the best of it and had us go to Christ Church college. It's absolutely gorgeous. Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis, W.H. Auden, etc. were all here, and bits of Harry Potter were filmed here (as you can see in the pics).
We had dinner at The Bear, a very traditional little pub on a side street that I'd found in my guidebook. I had steak & ale pie--very hearty and drowning in gravy, but good. We got home about 8, I called Mom & Kelly & opened presents, so that was fun.
I'd been trying to get friends to go out for a birthday drink, but most people said they needed to study. The Saracen's Head (the place I'd wanted to go) was closed, so I met John at All Bar One. Luis, Siv, and some of her friends came, but they'd stopped serving too. John and I walked all over Bath looking for an open pub, and eventually we went to Rat & Parrot, which was the first pub I went to here in Bath. Cody joined us there, so I ended my birthday with the boys & a pint of John Smith's.
So, it was a strange birthday, but that's a good excuse to celebrate again when I get home...just 8 more days until I'm back!

Thanksgiving in London

Trafalgar Square with Big Ben in background

The National Gallery

Rosetta Stone

Egyptian Tomb entrance

Reconstructed Temple

Decorations on Oxford Street



The Debenhams from Bridget Jones

Baths and Cardiff

Me at the Roman Baths

Me holding the audio tour thing at the Roman Baths

Me at Cardiff Castle

Cardiff

Febria, David's band, playing at the Barfly




Cardiff City Hall




View from the Keep at Cardiff Castle












Cardiff Castle Keep




A gay bar in Cardiff--there's more than one gay in this village!