So, it’s been an incredibly long time since I’ve updated. Almost a month! And wow, what a busy month it has been. I’m at home now – well, not home, I’m in Florida with Nana and Daddy Tom – and after some relaxation, I’m finally ready to update the blog. I’m going to update in installments, one entry per city, since I went to Salzburg, Venice and Brussels and Bruges.

My program in Bath ended December 19, and I headed to London for two days before beginning my European adventure. A friend of mine from Franklin and Marshall lives in Hampstead, and she was nice enough to let me stay with her. Victoria lives in a really nice area of London, right down the street from two of the Spice Girls (Ginger and Baby, if you’re curious). Plus, with the snow, it was extremely beautiful. A Winter Wonderland!

On the 21^st, I caught an early flight to Salzburg, Austria, where I was meeting one of my really good friends from F&M, Sarah. She had been studying Copenhagen, Denmark this semester, where I had visited her over fall break. We decided we wanted to take advantage of our time in Europe and travel before heading home for winter break. There was a lot of snow when I landed in Austria, and Sarah’s flight was delayed for a few hours, but the snow just made the city that much prettier. We were especially excited for The Sound of Music Tour the next day (the only reason we went to Salzburg in the first place), but we had a wonderful time just wandering the city the first day we were there.

Towering mountains surround Salzburg, so the views are just breathtaking. There is also a large river flowing through the center, giving beautiful views of the city.

The Sound of Music Tour was definitely a highlight of my trip. It was a four hour bus tour of Salzburg and the surrounding area. They took us to see many of the sights used in the movie, with lots of fun facts about the film and the city. I highly recommend it if you ever go to Salzburg!

The picture below is the Untersberg, the mountain where Maria sings ‘The Hills are Alive,’ and below that is the lake in which Maria and the children fall out of the boat when they see the Captain and the Baroness. The back of this mansion was used as the back of the Von Trapp Villa.

And here is the famous gazebo! Sarah and I were very excited to see this, and we really wanted to sing ‘Sixteen Going on Seventeen.’

The bus also took us through the Austrian countryside to see the Lakes. Isn’t it picturesque? Also, here is the church where Maria and the Captain got married. So cool!

After the tour was over, Sarah and I decided to frolic in the Mirabell Gardens, where Maria and the Children sang a large part of ‘Do Re Mi’. It was beautiful in the winter, so I can just imagine how pretty it would be in the spring and summer. I definitely want to go back!

The next day, we headed up to see the Hohensalzburg, the Salzburg Fortress, where the Prince Archbishops lived until Salzburg officially became a part of Austria in the mid 19^th century.

It was a beautiful walk up there, and we had fantastic views of the city.

Afterward, we headed down to the Kriskindlemarkt and did some Christmas shopping. It was so much fun seeing all the Austrians out and about Christmas shopping. A really cool experience!

That night we also went to a large beer house in Salzburg. Of course, we had to get the big mugs! To be honest, I didn’t really like the beer, though. It was cool to just go and hang out, as the hall was just a big open room and everyone sitting at big, almost communal tables. A bunch tried talking to us, but my high school German could only get us so far!

Our last day in Salzburg included more wandering (one of our favorite activities). In our wanders, we found a Marionette Museum, which was really cool. Its amazing to think that people can control those dolls as well as sing so well! Salzburg is also the home of Mozart, so we visited his house and birthplace.

Our last full day there was Christmas Eve, so we decided that night to go to Midnight Mass at the main cathedral in Salzburg. It was a really cool experience, and we even got to see a Cardinal! My favorite part of the service was at the end, when they turned out all the lights and sang “Stille Nacht” by candlelight. ‘Silent Night’ was written in Salzburg, and so it was fitting for it to be sung there.

Salzburg ended up being one of my favorite cities in Europe, and I definitely want to go back at some point. Our next stop was Venice. Hopefully I’ll get that update on here soon!

Winter in Bath

Wow, it's hard to believe I only have a week and a half left of the first semester. Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I've been intensely busy with final papers, exams, and last minute trips and Christmas shopping! On Thanksgiving, it was the start of Christmas in Bath and Nicolas Cage came to turn on the city's lights. He owned a house in Bath for over three years, and clearly was excited to be a part of the ceremony, even if he was there for only a few minutes. However, thousands of people showed up to see him.

Afterward, all the ASE students went to Thanksgiving dinner at a local college. It wasn't like it was at home - the stuffing especially, and there was no delicious pumpkin bread - but it was still very good. It was nice to celebrate an American tradition! Of course, with such good, free food around, it was bound to get a bit competetive. My friends Jenna and Ken had an eating contest, and Jenna won. There were also people running for the last piece of pie. As you can see from the pictures, we all enjoyed it and and cleaned off all our plates!

Friday I had my final study trip - a day long Jane Austen excursion! We visited her family home in Chawton first. It was a nice house, which is now a museum, but kind of plain. It certainly wasn't anything special. We then went to Winchester to see her grave. We also saw the house where she died. A bit morbid to think that someone still lives there...

My next big adventure was to see a Bristol City FC match in Bristol, about a 15 minute train ride from Bath. They were playing Ipswich Town, who is managed by Roy Keane, one of Manchester United best players when he was in his prime.

Our seats were only five rows off the pitch, directly behind the goal, which was really cool. Except we had to pay close attention, or else we ran the risk of getting hit! It was cold, rainy, and people were extremely excited to be there. It was a fantastic atmosphere, with lots of singing and chanting in support of Bristol City. The game ended 0-0, but it was still very exciting and a well played match.

Last Sunday, I was invited to my grandparent's good friends' home, just outside of Taunton, about 45 min south of Bath. The Spekes own Rowlands Estate (fancy, I know), with tons of land and beautiful houses. The main house was built, originally, in the Norman period, but has been rebuilt several times since. Elizabeth I once stayed there, and it was there that the Earl of Essex plotted a rebellion against her. Very cool!! I was shown all around the estate, met some family members, and learned all about the fascinating history of the Speke family. One member even discovered the source of the Nile! It was really nice to spend time with a family again, but it made me miss home a lot!

The past two weeks have been very busy with papers, but now that they are over, it's nice to absolutely relax and just enjoy my last week with my friends here. Thursday night, we had a Write Night, where the students in the creative writing class here read their prose and poetry. Most of them were extremely funny, and it was nice to learn a bit more about my classmates and hear some of their work. It was also one of the last events we are all doing as a group, which was bittersweet.

Tonight, I went with some friends up to the university to play some football. Their turf fields aren't what I'm used to, more like a mini golf course than grass, but whatever. It was fun to get out and play again. It was also nice, because we played with a bunch of Brits, so they knew what they were doing!

It's our last weekend of the semester, and now it is really starting to hit me that I've been here a whole semester! My next blog entry won't be until I'm back in the states. I'm heading to Salzburg, Venice, and Brussels with Sarah Kaleko, my good friend from F&M. It's going to be quite an adventure!

Study Trip: Westminster

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying themselves and getting excited for Thanksgiving! I'm doing very well, except I'm busy writing papers...or procrastinating, but the papers will get done, I promise! There has just been a lot going on this weekend in terms of Christmas markets, trips and get togethers. On Friday, I joined the Modern British Political History class on their trip to the Westminster District of London. I'm not in the class, but the professor is also my tutorial professor, and he invited me along. I'll never turn down a free trip to London!

Our first stop on the mini-tour of Westminster were the Cabinet War Rooms, which were used by Winston Churchill and his cabinet during World War II. It is an underground bunker that they stayed in to remain safe from the bombings happening in the city. When they war was over, everyone was so happy to get out of the bunker, that they dropped everything and left, leaving it almost exactly the way it was to this day. It was really interesting to see the exact rooms where Churchill lived, worked, and planned the British movements in the war from. After the tour of the museum, we had time to go to lunch. We headed toward Trafalger Square and saw some great things along the way:

-Ministry of Defense buildings-

-St. James's Park with Buckingham Palace in the background (the Queen was in residence) -

-10 Downing Street, Home of the Prime Minister-

-Royal Horse Guards Parade-

-World War II Monument-

-Another shot of the Royal Horse Guards Parade-

-Triumph Arch-

-and finally Trafalger Square!-

We headed to lunch then, and what better place to go in London than a Tex-Mex place! It was called The Texas Embassy, and actually was the site of the Texan Embassy when it was it's own country way back when. Delicious food, and a cool atmosphere, it was like a little slice of home. It is incredibly hard to find Mexican food, especially in Bath, so this was a real treat!

After lunch, we headed back down to the Houses of Parliament, passing some Royal Guards outside Whitehall Palace and a memorial to those killed in foreign wars. Every Remembrance Day (November 11), there is a huge parade, culminating in members of the royal family placing flowers at the foot of this monument. Everyone also wears little red poppies on their shirts to remember those who have died in wars. If you look closely at the picture, there is a reef on the left with a white plume. These are actually three white feathers, the insignia of the Prince of Wales. Below it there is a larger reef shaped like a hat. This is the Queen's reef, which is a new design every year.

We got really lucky with the weather, and the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben looked beautiful in the sporadic sunlight. Fun fact: only British citizens are allowed to climb to the top of Big Ben and stand behind the clock face, no one else.
I thought was incredibly interesting that they decided to put a statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the houses of Parliament. Cromwell led the Parliamentarians against King Charles I in the English Civil war, and won. However, Cromwell then became a quasi-dictator, as Lord Protector, and forcefully dismissed Parliament twice with troops. Parliament eventually decided to get rid of the Protectorship and invited back Charles II to take the throne. It seems silly to have Cromwell in a place of honor outside Parliament, but whatever. Also, there was a statue of Richard I, who ruled in the 13th Century, long before parliament was ever even thought of. Interesting...


Here is the main entrance hall into the Houses of Parliament. It was also here that Charles I was tried. William Wallace was also tried here. Both were found guilty of their crimes and executed.
The House of Lords was much more impressive than the House of Commons. It had deep red carpets and chairs, a massive throne for the queen, and beautiful decorations all around. In the one entrance room, all along the wall were life size portraits of all the Tudor and Stuart Monarchs, and lining the many hallways were beautiful paintings of historic scenes. The House of Commons had ugly green seats and was very plain. I would definitely want to be in the Lords if I had the option.

It was really cool to be able to see the seat of government in England, especially since I haven't seen Congress at home. It was a whirlwind tour of Westminster, done in one day, but we had a great time. Papers continue this week, and Thursday we are having a Thanksgiving dinner for the whole program. A nice little piece of home! Then, on Friday, I go to Chawton with my Jane Austen Class. More updates then!