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Published: November 10th 2008
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On Friday, I attended an English Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee). If you You-Tube "Ceilidh," you will find some really funny footage of awkward people dancing around...which is basically what a Ceilidh is. We learned dances from the Jane Austen era, listened to English folk music, and it was actually a lot of fun, despite how dorky it all looks. Then, at the end of the night, people got onstage to sing traditional songs from their own countries, which was really enjoyable. There was a man from Egypt and a woman from Ireland who were my personal favorites. I was going to sing some Beyonce, but then I realized that would not have been appropriate. All jokes aside, though, I had a really good time, and now I can say I know proper English dances...just in case I do meet Prince William sometime and he asks me for a dance.
IFSA-Butler organized a day trip to Bath for its students on Saturday. However, in order to come along, all students from outside of London had to travel to the London office. I guess I should have knocked on wood a couple of posts back when I bragged about how good I was
getting at European transportation. Let's just say I had a bit of an adventure getting myself to London this past weekend.
My friend, Jo, and I decided to take a coach bus instead of traveling by train. Unfortunately, neither of us were keen on completely reading the travel itinerary. I would like to say that the itinerary wasn't 100% clear, but in the end, it really was all our fault. We thought that the 45-minute interlude when the coach reached Stansted airport meant that the bus would just wait for new passengers and then go along on its merry way to central London. Nope. Jo and I were supposed to get off the first bus and find the next correct one to take us to central London. Not knowing this, both of us promptly fell asleep, assuming that the bus would just take us to our desired destination.
I woke up at 7 am. We were supposed to have reached London by 6:30, and the buses leaving London for Bath were leaving at 8:30. I stumbled to the front of the bus to ask the bus driver, and it turned out that we were 10 minutes away from
Gatwick airport, which is on the opposite side of London from Stansted. Oops. I managed to sweet-talk my way into a free ride on a different bus back to central London where Jo and I hailed a taxi and high-tailed it to Butler's London office five minutes before the buses left. Luck was on our side because Butler's buses were half an hour late, so we didn't actually leave London until 9 am. But whew...let's just say that I will be reading every last word in my travel itineraries from now on.
For all the travel trouble we went through, Bath turned out to be worth it. It was the adorable English city that everyone imagines England to be. My new friend, Patty, who I met last weekend during Butler's London Extravaganza (she is studying at York University this semester), met up with Jo and me in Bath. The three of us had so much fun together. The Roman Baths were, obviously, the main attraction, and it was neat to walk around and see something with such historical significance. There were loads of checkpoints in which tourists could stop and listen to descriptions and explanations of the artifacts and
monuments, but my friends and I were too impatient to spend that much time in one place. We had only five hours to tour the city, so we didn't want to spend too much time in the baths, lovely as they were.
Bath is basically 1) the Roman Baths and 2) beautiful parks. Oh, it was such a lovely autumn day! Royal Victoria Park is overlooked by the Royal Crescent, a semicircular terrace of really majestic houses where all of Bath's wealthy socialites live. We also saw The Circus, a circle of 30 houses where famous residents like Thomas Gainsborough, Clive of India, and David Livingstone lived. It was a really beautiful area, and my friends and I spent a couple of hours just running around and playing in the parks.
We also saw the Jane Austen Centre, which made up for not seeing the exhibit during my trip to Brighton. I've noticed that city centers in every English city have basically the same sort of layout: part is dedicated to vintage stores, olden-time fudge/candy shops, and pubs, and the other part consists of more modern shopping and fancier dining. What made Bath stand out for me so
Bath! we made it!
view of the rolling hills and river far, though, out of other English cities I've seen, is its terrific landscape. Walking around Bath was an aerobic workout because of all the hills, but it was fun to see houses and cathedrals and monuments in the distance, built into those hills. Everything about Bath looks like an idyllic, fairy-tale English town, and the cool, crisp autumn weather was perfect for hours of walking up and down the hilly landscape.
Jo and I made it back to UEA to be met by a huge rainstorm, which wasn't great fun, but at least we made it back without any more travel mix-ups. It should be an easy week for me; I just handed in two big projects today, so I'm feeling really good. On Wednesday, I am meeting up with Jillian (again!) in Cambridge for a day trip, and then I'm off to Edinburgh, Scotland with the International Students Society this weekend. Great excitement! You will definitely hear from me again soon.
Double cheers!
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anonymous
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I dig the pics
Huong I have to say you took some very comical photos while you where in the bath. I was thinking you would have sung "Total Eclipse of My Heart" though but I guess it was for the best that you didnt. Anyway I have to go read your other blog now so goodnight.