On the 25th, I wrote that the class was off to Lacock. I skipped a page in my diary and didn't notice I left this entry out...so here it is. My bad...
We actually visited three places today: Stonehenge, Avebury, and Lacock Abby. We went to Stonehenge first; it's out in the middle of nowhere just off the motorway. Everything is all flat and green, so my eye was easily caught by the structure. Bob (our coach driver for the whole trip) let us off in the parking lot and Dennis took us over to the ticket counter. He had bought a tour group package on behalf of our class and presented it to the ticket seller. Unfortunately, Stonehenge didn't honor the package he bought. Dennis told us that if any of us wanted to see Stonehenge, he'd pay for our admission (the assumption is that he'd get reimbursed by SJSU). All of wanted to see the structure up close, so Dennis paid for everyone except himself, Jill, and Karla (they've seen it before). There is now a path that visitors follow around the rocks; visitors are no longer allowed to move among the structure itself. We spent 30 minutes following the path and listening to the audio tour and learning about the history. As soon as we returned our radios and got on the coach we were on our way to Amesbury.
Amesbury is similar to Stonehenge because there is a stone structure in the shape of a circle surrounding a small village. The stones are smaller than the famous Stonehenge, and are arraigned in a circle around the village. The legend is that this circle structure will help the aliens to know where to land their spaceships (in the fields surrounding this area were several crop circles-alien related?) We stopped in Amesbury for 2 hours to have lunch, look at the stone structure, and to look around the village. Then we were on our way to Lacock.
Lacock is known for its Abbey because scenes for Harry Potter were filmed there (although I'm sure in England, Lacock Abby has a different meaning for its citizens). I toured the house first out of respect; the house belongs to one of the first photographers in England and his family. Then I entered the Abbey and poked around for a while. Onward I went moving to the Cloisters; I was outside looking through a doorway and into a courtyard. From where I was, I could instantly tell this was the courtyard for the HP movies. Awesome!!! I walked through the door and hallway, and I was able to see the whole courtyard. OMG-this is Hogwarts' courtyard!!! I've finally made it to Hogwarts!!! The Curator showed me where one of the HP classrooms was. I stepped inside and although I recognized from the movies, it took me a few minutes to realize which classroom. After walking around it for a couple of minutes, I realized which one it was...Snape's dungeon (oops-I mean Professor Snape's dungeon) from HP 1. I've actually been in an "HP classroom...This is sacred and hallowed ground!!! This was a religious experience. All Potter freaks need to see these "sets". The actors were actually here filming the movies-Dan, Rupert, Emma, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith...all of them. Alas, I saw no witches, warlocks, or wands-what a bummer!
After we left the Abbey, the others toured the small village that was next to the grounds. I sat down for a while because (if you remember) my knee was aching. I wrote up my contract for the paper I decided (finally) to write so I wouldn't get just a C in the class. Dennis approved my contract after I added a few other things to the contract. I'm going to compare/contrast a reputable and tabloid newspaper form the US and UK to determine which country's papers is more formal.
A really strong storm blew in tonight. I sat on my bed looking out the window, and for an hour I just listened and watched it. My window was open so the storm sounded stronger than it would have if my window had been closed. The wind, the rain, the thunder and lightening; it was very peaceful and relaxing to just listen and watch nature; a great end to a great day!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
7/7/08 Monday
Again, I didn't do too much today...that's the beauty of being on summer vacation.
I bought a ticket for another day trip to Limmerick and Galway. I was really torn apart about which trip to choose: the Galway trip or the Waterford. But I finally reasoned that while I could tell Mom all about Waterford and get video of the area and perhaps buy a little souvenir, taking the tour would just be for her and not for me. I heard her in my head telling me that I should take the trip that interests me; it is after all my vacation and I should do what I want to. So I bought my ticket for tomorrow's tour and I'm off. Yeech-another 7 am departure time...
I watched a DVD by Stephen and Sean Walsh (both Irish) to help me write a paper for a SJSU class in fall 07. Ever since I watched that DVD, I wanted to see the rugged west coast of Ireland. The picturesque scenes on the DVD were so peaceful...I could picture myself on one of the cliffs with a blanket spread out on the ground, a picnic basket, a picnic umbrella, a book, and a kite and spend the afternoon there. It was such a clear, sunny, blue, windy, and peaceful place...and now I have the opportunity to see it in person! But that will be tomorrow...
I explored the northern part of Dublin by foot. It was a 2-hour walk, at leisure’s pace, looking around the buildings in awe. On the map, it looks like I walked pretty far-maybe 2 miles. And this was in the drizzly, rainy, windy, and gray weather. In the afternoon, I went to the larger theater I found the day before to see Gone Baby Gone. This was a good movie with a lot of plot twists that kept me engaged throughout. It was less bloody than Wanted, but I could've done with less profanity but I suppose the profanity helped to establish the living conditions of the neighborhoods. Gone Baby Gone was much better than Wanted.
I'm turning in early tonight...I have to be up at 5 am for my adventure tomorrow!
I bought a ticket for another day trip to Limmerick and Galway. I was really torn apart about which trip to choose: the Galway trip or the Waterford. But I finally reasoned that while I could tell Mom all about Waterford and get video of the area and perhaps buy a little souvenir, taking the tour would just be for her and not for me. I heard her in my head telling me that I should take the trip that interests me; it is after all my vacation and I should do what I want to. So I bought my ticket for tomorrow's tour and I'm off. Yeech-another 7 am departure time...
I watched a DVD by Stephen and Sean Walsh (both Irish) to help me write a paper for a SJSU class in fall 07. Ever since I watched that DVD, I wanted to see the rugged west coast of Ireland. The picturesque scenes on the DVD were so peaceful...I could picture myself on one of the cliffs with a blanket spread out on the ground, a picnic basket, a picnic umbrella, a book, and a kite and spend the afternoon there. It was such a clear, sunny, blue, windy, and peaceful place...and now I have the opportunity to see it in person! But that will be tomorrow...
I explored the northern part of Dublin by foot. It was a 2-hour walk, at leisure’s pace, looking around the buildings in awe. On the map, it looks like I walked pretty far-maybe 2 miles. And this was in the drizzly, rainy, windy, and gray weather. In the afternoon, I went to the larger theater I found the day before to see Gone Baby Gone. This was a good movie with a lot of plot twists that kept me engaged throughout. It was less bloody than Wanted, but I could've done with less profanity but I suppose the profanity helped to establish the living conditions of the neighborhoods. Gone Baby Gone was much better than Wanted.
I'm turning in early tonight...I have to be up at 5 am for my adventure tomorrow!
7/6/08 Sunday
"Happy f***in' birthday Bush; thank God it's your last one in office!" This was my first thought when I woke up at 11 am. Really, I got up at 8:30 am, but after I used the bathroom and turned on CNN, I fell back asleep until 11 am. I was up yesterday for 18 hours straight. I needed to recover. I didn't do much today, and it sure felt good!
I checked my email; Robbie was the only one who sent me birthday greetings. What's up with that?! I expected him to forget or be too busy to remember. But Mom, how could you forget? Maybe she's got something planned for when I get back...we'll see...
I went to Marks & Spencer (retail, clothing, and food) to buy some fruits and vegetables. I'm tired of the minimal salads, fries, and chips that I find here. I found some real pre-cut pineapple, cherries, melon cup (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon), and lettuce. I just finished the pineapple and half of the lettuce. I'm going to save the rest for dinner--yum--fresh produce for dinner!
I went to the Savoy again to watch Wanted. Apparently, the movie had gone 10 minutes before I realized that it had actually started. At first, I thought a movie preview was being shown starring James McAvoy, but it was really Wanted itself. They didn't show any previews at all! The movie was ok-it had a lot of bloody scenes and a lot of twists to it. It kind of confused me at the end. Mom would have liked it-she's not as grossed out as I am by blood.
I took another walk around the area. I made it to the Jervis area (a section of the city). There, I found a much bigger cinema with movies I've seen or that I haven't heard of or don't care about. There was also a bookstore next door. I spent about an hour there looking around; most of the time was spent to reading a children's pop up book about the Titanic. It was written in the format of a 12-year-old male passenger's journal-very interesting. I bought a new book, All the President's Men. I needed something different to read-I can read HP6 only so many times!
Now, I'm back in my room, eating my fruit and veggie dinner, writing this journal, and watching A League of Their Own (probably my favorite baseball movie). I'm really enjoying my time in Ireland.
I checked my email; Robbie was the only one who sent me birthday greetings. What's up with that?! I expected him to forget or be too busy to remember. But Mom, how could you forget? Maybe she's got something planned for when I get back...we'll see...
I went to Marks & Spencer (retail, clothing, and food) to buy some fruits and vegetables. I'm tired of the minimal salads, fries, and chips that I find here. I found some real pre-cut pineapple, cherries, melon cup (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon), and lettuce. I just finished the pineapple and half of the lettuce. I'm going to save the rest for dinner--yum--fresh produce for dinner!
I went to the Savoy again to watch Wanted. Apparently, the movie had gone 10 minutes before I realized that it had actually started. At first, I thought a movie preview was being shown starring James McAvoy, but it was really Wanted itself. They didn't show any previews at all! The movie was ok-it had a lot of bloody scenes and a lot of twists to it. It kind of confused me at the end. Mom would have liked it-she's not as grossed out as I am by blood.
I took another walk around the area. I made it to the Jervis area (a section of the city). There, I found a much bigger cinema with movies I've seen or that I haven't heard of or don't care about. There was also a bookstore next door. I spent about an hour there looking around; most of the time was spent to reading a children's pop up book about the Titanic. It was written in the format of a 12-year-old male passenger's journal-very interesting. I bought a new book, All the President's Men. I needed something different to read-I can read HP6 only so many times!
Now, I'm back in my room, eating my fruit and veggie dinner, writing this journal, and watching A League of Their Own (probably my favorite baseball movie). I'm really enjoying my time in Ireland.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
