the longest post ever...

To my most devoted readers, Grandma & Aunt Yvonne, this LONG post, is for you two lovely ladies! :)

So, I am going to recount my last 4 weeks. In order. With pictures. Get ready! ....

On Saturday October 3rd, the BCA group was taken to the city of Bath. The historical site known for its natural hot springs, where many people flocked to religiously.  For me, it was my second time getting to see this beautiful place. And I loved it the second time around even more! It was nice to experience it with friends, new and old.  When we arrived in Bath, we were taken to a place called Sally Lunn's.  This is the oldest house in Bath. It is also the home of the famous Sally Lunn Bun! (A bun that was, at least, 5 inches in width that we ate with butter, clotted cream, and jam! Also served with the best tea I have ever had!)  It was delicious!

After eating our mighty breakfast, we were taken to the Roman Baths for the audio guided tour. The audio guide looks something like a big cellphone that you listen to around the entire place, and it is really informative.  They even had "actors" that would walk around the baths pretending to be in the Roman times. It was really cool.  

Although I have been to Bath before, this time around was even more special because I got to do a lot more in the town that I had when I came the first time.  For any of you Jane Austen fans, Austen lived in Bath for a few years, and it gave her the inspiration to write two of her famous books, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.  I got to visit the Jane Austen Center, which showed a lot of history on Austen and how she lived in Bath. I even got to see one of the houses that she lived in while in Bath.  For the English major, this was WONDERFUL!  After visiting Jane, we went to a place called the Royal Crescent. Which is a huge piece of land, which is covered, (only half way) by apartment buildings. Sounds weird, but it was beautiful! :) We ended our day in Bath successfully by finding this nice little cafe where they served us the most delicious panini sandwiches! 

That was weekend 1!

On Wednesday, October 7, a few BCA girls and I caught the 94U bus and took it to the next town over called Gloucester.  In this pretty town, there is a HUGE cathedral, where, wait for it, some of the HARRY POTTER films have been made!!!!! AHHHHH! :) We got to go to the cathedral and walk the hallways where immediately we recognized the sets from the movies! It was amazing! And, being with other Harry Potter lovers, it was such a fun day! And on top of all this, it was a BEAUTIFUL day out! It was meant to be! 

Done with week 2! :)

On Saturday, October 17th, Kristen and I went back to London for our second time, where we would meet my cousin, Mandy, and her friend, Anu, who had been traveling Europe for the past two weeks. (Back story) I promised Kristen I would write about this experience...

Friday night, October 16th...Kristen and I were eating dinner and planning out our trip for 

the next day, when she realized she had no idea where her credit card was. We searched her entire room! And, we made a 

HUGE mess! But, two hours later, many drawers and other things all over the ground, we found it, in her wallet, which we checked 3 times. SO...the moral...when something is lost, stay calm, look EVERYWHERE, and check everything multiple times! ;)

Anyways, the next morning we woke up and caught the 9:45 bus to London! When we got to Victoria Station, we met up with Mandy and Anu and were off.  We ate lunch at a pub called The Shakespeare. :) It was wonderful! I love being immersed in this culture! After lunch, we went to The British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone (2nd time!) and the other wonderful things. Something that is really great about London, the museums are FREE! It was really cool to see the museum again and experience it with my cousin and friends. (Side note: this is the SECOND time Mandy and I have met up in Lond

on. The last time was almost 2 years ago when I went on my January term trip and she was studying abroad in London. Now, our roles were reversed!)  After the museum, Kristen and I begged Mandy to take us to the Millennium Bridge, where, in the 6th Harry Potter movie, the bridge is destroyed by Death Eaters. (I feel like my entire study abroad experience has so

mething to do for my love of Harry Potter).  After crossing the bridge, Mandy showed us the Globe theatre, which is now closed, sad day, and the actual place where the real Globe stood before they tore it down.  It is so hidden in the city that many people don't even know about it! Afterwards, she took us to the OLDEST pub in London, called The George Inn where we all enjoyed a drink and some laughter.  It was at 7:10 that we realized we should probably hurry back to the station so we could catch our 8PM bus back to Cheltenham.  For some reason, the transportation system in London was crazy on Saturday night, and so, long story short, we ALMOST missed out bus. We pulled up to the station, by taxi, at 7:59, and ran to our gate. We ran on to the streets and caught our bus right before it was to leave the station. Close 

call, but we made it! :)

End of week 3!

 

And finally, this weekend! :) We're almost caught up!

On Thursday, October 22, our friends Katy, Erin, and Julia, who go to Manchester with us, and who are studying in Northern Ireland for the semester, came to visit us here in England! We picked them up from the rail station and it was SO WONDERFUL to see familiar faces! We went to dinner at a pub and then enjoyed catching up and hearing all about Ireland and them about England on Thursday night.  On Friday, after my classes, we all went to Gloucester Cathedral (my second time!) and experienced the thrill of Harry Potter again! :) hahaha. On Friday night we all got to go out together and have a good time! It was really nice to be reunited with the girls, even though we miss our girls back home! (WISH YOU WERE HERE!)

On Saturday, we took it easy and slept in! We then went and showed the girls around town! It was neat to see it through a newcomers eyes, as well as seeing some things I had never seen as well. We then made dinner together and watched a movie. 

Today, we woke up and went to Starbucks for a pick-me-up and breakfast! :) We then did some shopping and then went and explored Pittville Park, where there are still some hot springs. (Cheltenham is also known as Cheltenham Spa, because it also was a spa town, along with Bath, where people would come to enjoy the springs). After the park, the girls had to leave to catch their train back to the airport.  Kristen and I then went out to dinner with some of the other BCA girls to a T.G.I. Friday's (AMERICAN!) 

AND>.......you are now caught up in the life of Cambria abroad.

:)

oh! I've been working on my first paper of the semester, (I haven't written one since May!), and I spent 7 hours in the library writing it, and plan to devote my entire day to revising it tomorrow in the library again! It's due on Tuesday, where there is a WHOLE complicated procedure on how to turn in assignments. I'll let you know how it goes! :)

This coming Saturday, HALLOWEEN!, the BCA group is going to Stonehenge! It'll be really cool! 

Hope this suffices my devoted readers! :) Love you all!

-Cam