Bath and Baking

Last week me and my flatmate Mary ventured out of London and into Bath, a small city a couple hours west where we met up with several international students. Bath was originally a resort town when the Romans settled here back in the day. There was a large spa at the center of town which was a site for bathing and socializing. It is still very much intact today, and we had fun touring it. In the main bath you could see the steam rising above the water. Hard to believe the Romans used rainwater which was then heated by geothermal energy to bath in. If you do ever find yourself in England, this is one stop I'd highly recommend. Yeah I know all this "recommending business" is making me sound artificial here. Sorry about that.
This week overall has been pretty calm but I do want to continue to let you know about my food situation. I did finally find guacamole. Sainsbury's, a local supermarket, carries it but it's located with "dips" and not "world cuisine". I also found this pudding cake that they sell and this great vanilla custard that you can put on top. If you're not counting calories it won't disappoint.

And now, more pictures.

list of grievences

I haven't done a lot of touristy things lately. Mainly just some necessary things like... eating, reading, job applications, class, grocery shopping, and more eating. As promised, you will see Greenwich photos, but first I thought I'd take this opportunity to express a little discontent, just as the colonists did to King George III way back in 1776.

-Bitter cold has persisted so far. Yes we did get a few sunny days in the 50's but that's about it. Not only is it cold, but there is always precipitation and wind that accompanies it. Also remember, this is a walking city unless you're willing to pay a few quid, which brings me to my next grievance.
-London burns a hole in your wallet. Imagine New York prices on steroids. Remember that pounds are worth more than dollars, only you usually don't pay fewer pounds than you would dollars. A $5 sandwich in the US probably costs 5 pounds here.
-The healthcare system here is great, but if you're not on it you might have to go to a few places to get a blood test. I found that out the hard way. The only saving grace was that I found out that there are great views of the city from the top of UCL hospital. Wish I had brought my camera.
-Some things are inefficient. You have to ask for a check in a restaurant, which people sometimes forget to do. You bag your own groceries, which can be difficult if the bags are hard to open, as I found out. They make coins for both pounds and pence, so you end up with a load of coins every time you get change back, which you then have to sort out and gradually use up during various purchases.

 Notice that this list isn't very long. There are so many more positives than negatives, but since you've been hearing about the positives so much, I thought I'd change it up tonight to make things interesting. You may hear me complain from time to time.

old stuff

Well there's certainly a lot to talk about. When last I wrote I had not straddled the prime meridian, ridden on a high speed European train, or seen the Magna Carta up close. Now I can say I have done all that and more.
We checked out the British Library on Saturday. It was filled with artifacts dating back to around 1100 or so. I'd say some of the most interesting things were Shakespeare's first folios of several of his plays, written in old English and almost impossible to decipher. The Magna Carta was particularly meaningful to me, having learned about it back in high school civics class. It is one of the first documents that laid the groundwork for democracy. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures in the gallery, so you'll just have to see it for yourself. Later we walked next door to the grand old Kings Cross Station. As you know I love train stations, but this one is extra special. It is the departure point for Harry Potter's Hogwarts Express. So naturally we had to make a pilgrimage to the famous platform 9 and 3/4.
The next day was the first time I truly felt like I was a long way from home. We got an early start to join our tour group at Liverpool Street Station where we caught a train to Cambridge. It was a fast, smooth ride which was quite enjoyable. North American rail infrastructure doesn't even compare. We got to Cambridge in a little over an hour and walked into town. It is a cute, European style town of about 100,000 during the academic year. There are lots old, narrow cobblestone streets lined with intriguing shops; a telltale sign that this is a college town. The wind was in full force, so we weren't exactly comfortable on the tour, but the remarkable sights made up for it. Cambridge is separated into about 30 small colleges where students majoring in a certain field live together. We didn't go in most of them since you had to pay, but we did visit Trinity College, where Sir Isaac Newton studied.

 We also visited one of the oldest churches in Cambridge as well as the River Cam which runs through campus. Many people go boating (called punting) on the river on nice days, but we didn't see any takers on this day.

After a long day of travel I wrapped things up by watching to first half of the Super Bowl. I'm not a huge NFL person but I did really want the Ravens to win since I know so many people from Maryland, including some of my family. There's also the Michael Oher factor, and the fact that they were the underdog. I'm very happy for them. Baltimore deserves it and the fans deserve it. Well done Ravens.
Now, there's today. I haven't uploaded pics from today yet but I will in the next post. We took a bus to Greenwich to check out the Royal Observatory. It is the birthplace of some of the oldest clocks and navigational tools dating back to the 1600's.We saw several of these artifacts and checked out the site where the prime meridian lies. The wind was howling today too, but that was partially due to the fact that we were on a hill. We took several pictures there. There are also great views of London and the River Thames from this spot. Tomorrow's my 3-class day so I'll sign off now. More photos to come.

Week 2

Hard to believe I've been in the U.K. over a week now. This was the our first week of classes at City. I only have class on Tuesday and Thursday but there is a good deal of reading and most of our assignments are done outside of class, so I suppose it all balances out. All of my instructors seem really nice and welcoming, so I think it will be a good semester. There's a handful of exchange students in all of my classes, which I suppose is intentional. I'll admit that whenever I hear an American accent I get a little warm and fuzzy inside but I've enjoyed meeting people from all over. Last night me, my flatmates, and a couple of international students from Australia and Finland went clubbing. Must say it was an interesting experience. This weekend we're going to hit up Cambridge so my next report will focus on that.
Now I have to talk a little bit about the food, because you know I wouldn't be who I am if I didn't. The dining options on campus are limited. However I have absolutely fallen in love with Exmouth Market; a pedestrian mall where vendors set up during the lunch hour every weekday. It's a 5-minute walk from campus. The other day I got a huge box of Indian food for 5 pounds. Worth every penny. It was the most I've eaten in one sitting since I got here. I'm telling you, if you're ever in London you should try this place. It's great if you're a student and want a meal that is cheap and delicious. Also, a couple of things about grocery shopping. 1. The eggs are located with the baking items, not the dairy (You really do learn something new every day). 2. Why is it so hard to find guacamole? I tried two full service grocery stores and no luck. I'll make my own if I have to but this lack of green paradise is not okay. See you later after I check out some more sites. I promise you'll get a picture next time.