Adventures from Across the Pond: First few days in Bath

Hey all,

Since the time change is seriously throwing me for a loop and my busy schedule makes it really hard to get in touch with people, I figured I'd make this blog so you'd know what I was up to even if I can't, as they say, "give you a ring." :)

I got to Bath this past Saturday (June 7) and moved into my house. I'm living in a flat on 31 Prior Park Road in Widcombe, a small village on the south side of Bath, across the River Avon. Supposedly it's in the "less posh" side of town, but it still has a lot of charm. Right around the corner from my house is a pub, convenience store, church, and a few small shops so we don't have to go too far to get what we need. The other houses are scattered throughout the city so it makes for really fun walks when you want to go visit people.

The city is beautiful, everywhere you look is something interesting to see. I took a walk around the block the other day and saw some of the coolest views of the city.

My flat-mates are really cool. My room mate is Monica, from Hampton University (Emily McCarty: No worries, you'll always be my favorite :) ). Across the hall are the boys Nick and Danny, from Skidmore and downstairs are Tori and Michelle, and Erin "the intern." Erin just graduated from Mary Wash this past spring ... she's my favorite in the house.

I guess the Brits have a fetish for strange bathroom arrangements. In our house we have a shower in the middle of a bedroom, and one of the other houses has a bathtub in a bedroom. They definitely do not go for luxury - our shower water comes out of a little hot water box and you never exactly know how hot or cold your shower is going to be.

We started class on Monday and unfortunately so far things have been less than impressive. My Georgian Bath architectural history class only meets for an hour and a half in the mornings and the people in the class are only there because they didn’t want to get stuck reading Jane Austen. We did take a cool walking tour around the Medieval layout of the city - even going behind the Guild Hall to see the original North Entrance to the city. In the afternoon I have my Oscar Wilde Seminar, an overly intense english-lit class made up of entirely Skidmore students and the professor, except for me, the one kid from W&M. They have a tendency to go off on tangents about how awesome Skidmore is, and then start discussing adjectives and obscure writers. I’m a little lost, but hey, I’m not an English major.

But! Aside from class I’m having a pretty decent time so far. The pub scene is fascinating and completely different from American bars. The Brits love to bring their kids with them to the pub and let them run around while they sit drinking pints, watching football, or reading the paper. The pubs open around 11AM and last-call is around 11:30PM-12:00AM. They’re not open late like American bars and their more social and cultural than anything else.

Monday night we had a reception for the students and professors in the Victoria Art Gallery across from the Pulteney Bridge. After all the students and professors had loosened up and gotten to know each other over a few (or in some cases many) glasses of wine, we all headed over to the pub The Pig and Fiddle to hang out more.

Today was our trip to Stonehenge and Glastonbury (Abbey and the Tor). It was SO. COOL. Stonehenge was a bit of a letdown, definitely too much hype and not much to see. But Glastonbury was amazing! I wish we could have spent more time. It’s supposedly the site of King Arthur and Gwenevere (sp?) remains and also the location of the Holy Grail. We also hiked to the top of the Glastonbury Tor (yep! All the way up!) and saw the most amazing views of the area.

This weekend we’re headed to Cornwall. Hopefully it stays sunny.

All right, I suppose that’s it for now. I miss everyone at home. Keep me posted on what you’re up to!

View of 31 Prior Park Road, Bath (my room is that very top window)