I spent a lot of last week roaming around Bath some more (as I did the previous week as well) and by the end I was starting to get a hang of the geography, and how not to get lost. And if I did somehow get lost, it really wasn't that hard to eventually find something familiar and figure out where I was again. It was actually really nice to have so much time to just unwind, take things slowly, roam around, and see what there was to see. Last week was also when we discovered Wetherspoons, which is a chain of pubs around the UK which happen to sell a very particular flavor of Kopparberg cider called Winter Fruit (to which B and D grew very much attached to) so that became one of our typical spots to go. I really dig it there since they had all sorts of interesting things on tap as well (about 5 or 6 different varieties with great names like Bah Humbug and Good King Legless). Oh, and I have decided that Cornish Pastys are quite possibly the best food in existence, for their sheer simplicity, deliciousness and variety. 
I also grew quite familiar with some of the street buskers around town, including this guy here. It's a little hard to make out from this picture, but he has a guitar sitting on the ground by his feet. He's using his right foot to pump the wheel (which is kind of like a cog with a pick on it, strumming the strings) and his left foot is pushing pedals which are making the chords. At the same time, he's playing the lead on the violin. My explanation really can't do it justice, but trust me, it was really cool to watch.
On Saturday, Bridget and I hopped on the train from Bath for a day of adventures in Cardiff! She had been there before with Diana, but they hadn't seen the castle, so we decided to do that. After having some chips for lunch (of the UK variety), we got ourselves tickets for the Cardiff Castle tour. We had a really great guide showing us around the place, which was absolutely incredible. It went through a pretty heavy restoration in the mid-1800's into a Gothic Revivalist style, and we got a really in-depth look at everything that wasn't currently being renovated. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take any photos inside, but it really was like walking around inside a big work of art with someone there to point out all the history and nuances of the place. Extremely cool.
Then we were left to roam around the castle grounds, and in the middle of it all was the Castle Keep. So with fire in our eyes, we crossed the moat to conquer it. Bridget wasted no time, with her fist pumping (and purse in hand), conquering the second floor of the keep. There were three or four levels to climb, with lookouts on each one, and the view from the very top one was really cool (although I have to admit that the Millennium Stadium in the background doesn't really do much for the old Welch architecture surrounding it). 
So to make up for that, here's one with the Welsh countryside in the other direction. (And wouldn't you know it, one of the rare times someone takes a picture of us, I'm not even looking forward.)
Then a day and a half later, I was on a train (well, three trains) heading back to Heathrow for a rather uneventful flight back home, having had a fantastically fun couple of weeks. I'm glad I'm going to be back there really soon. (More on that a little later.) But for now, it's time to adjust to subzero temperatures, a ridiculous amount of snow (and it's still coming down!), getting my sleep schedule back to normal, and only one week to go until Xmas.
No comments:
Post a Comment