Stratford and Bath
Sorry I haven't updated in a while but this past weekend was the Ithaca College London Center's subsidized trip to Stratford, Bath, and Stonehenge. So since this weekend I really hadn't had much time to unwind and get back into London mode.
Just a quick little bit on my feelings about Stratford and Bath...I appreciated Stratford for it's historic relevance in Shakespeare's birthplace, and the current home for his tomb,but other than that the town was nothing extraordinary. I stayed in a lovely Bed & Breakfast with an extremely comfy bed and nice decor, but that was probably the only real highlight of the stay. That and walking out on King Lear, where after 2 hours of sleep and boredom I couldn't bring myself to stay for two more.
Bath was much more stimulating. The town reminded me of a real European city, reminiscent of Toledo and Grendada from my Semninar trip to Spain. Entirely built on a hill by the River Avon by the Ancient Romans, Bath really left a nice impression on me. The coach arrived just as the Bath rugby team lost, so there were Bathians all over the streets in their BlackThorn Bath jerseys. We stayed at a dodgey YMCA, but I was with 3 of my good flatmates, Jamie, Rocky, and Gak, so we made the best of it.
Best part of Bath was at night. First we went to the Salamander Bath Ale House, which sold authentic Bath Ales. It is the only pub in the world that sells authentic Bath Ale on tap, and I know because I asked the bartender. After the Salamander, we went to some Irish bar that was quite hopping, but I found my way to a game machine where two Brits were playing video Monopoly. They appreciated my American knowledge, for they had no idea what state Baltimore was in. Jamie came over and we took a crack at the game ourselves, and did rather well. We were rolling until a bouncer escorted Jamie out for bringing his own drink into the house. I did the right thing and left with him. This turned out to be the right decision.
We walked around the town abit and ran into quite a cast of characters, including 2 peacecorpers from Seattle, a loony old hoot who was convinced that the sky is really just a really high ceilling and that the stars are looking at us, two Bathian musicians, and a group of recent HS graduates who are getting ready for their first year of uni. We spent the most time with these kids, as they were absolutely fascinated with the fact that we call knickers "pants" and spell flavour without a "u." We chatted with them about these profound cultural differences until the wee hours of the night, when they walked us back to our YMCA home where we retired for the night.
Next day was Stonehenge. Pretty cool; Kotel was better. I know it's not really fair to compare the 2, but I will anyway.
Well, tomorrow I go to Vivian and Steve Rose's house for Rosh Hashanah dinner. Should be an interesting experience. I talked to thier eldest son, David, on the phone today; he seems nice.
Ok. Gotta come up with questions for Star of the Sea. Too bad I only read a sixth of the book. Oh well, the prof likes me so there shoudln't be much of a problem.
Just a quick little bit on my feelings about Stratford and Bath...I appreciated Stratford for it's historic relevance in Shakespeare's birthplace, and the current home for his tomb,but other than that the town was nothing extraordinary. I stayed in a lovely Bed & Breakfast with an extremely comfy bed and nice decor, but that was probably the only real highlight of the stay. That and walking out on King Lear, where after 2 hours of sleep and boredom I couldn't bring myself to stay for two more.
Bath was much more stimulating. The town reminded me of a real European city, reminiscent of Toledo and Grendada from my Semninar trip to Spain. Entirely built on a hill by the River Avon by the Ancient Romans, Bath really left a nice impression on me. The coach arrived just as the Bath rugby team lost, so there were Bathians all over the streets in their BlackThorn Bath jerseys. We stayed at a dodgey YMCA, but I was with 3 of my good flatmates, Jamie, Rocky, and Gak, so we made the best of it.
Best part of Bath was at night. First we went to the Salamander Bath Ale House, which sold authentic Bath Ales. It is the only pub in the world that sells authentic Bath Ale on tap, and I know because I asked the bartender. After the Salamander, we went to some Irish bar that was quite hopping, but I found my way to a game machine where two Brits were playing video Monopoly. They appreciated my American knowledge, for they had no idea what state Baltimore was in. Jamie came over and we took a crack at the game ourselves, and did rather well. We were rolling until a bouncer escorted Jamie out for bringing his own drink into the house. I did the right thing and left with him. This turned out to be the right decision.
We walked around the town abit and ran into quite a cast of characters, including 2 peacecorpers from Seattle, a loony old hoot who was convinced that the sky is really just a really high ceilling and that the stars are looking at us, two Bathian musicians, and a group of recent HS graduates who are getting ready for their first year of uni. We spent the most time with these kids, as they were absolutely fascinated with the fact that we call knickers "pants" and spell flavour without a "u." We chatted with them about these profound cultural differences until the wee hours of the night, when they walked us back to our YMCA home where we retired for the night.
Next day was Stonehenge. Pretty cool; Kotel was better. I know it's not really fair to compare the 2, but I will anyway.
Well, tomorrow I go to Vivian and Steve Rose's house for Rosh Hashanah dinner. Should be an interesting experience. I talked to thier eldest son, David, on the phone today; he seems nice.
Ok. Gotta come up with questions for Star of the Sea. Too bad I only read a sixth of the book. Oh well, the prof likes me so there shoudln't be much of a problem.
posted by xdredd at 11:49 AM
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