Taking A (Trip to) Bath

This week we started classes, of which I'm taking two courses: the Political Economy of Britain since 1945 and International Economy and Business. Since we're condensing both of these full courses into one month, our class schedule is very full, frequently meeting for the same class multiple times a day. The professors are both pretty interesting, even if the content isn't always super captivating - one professor frequently gets sidetracked on very bizarre anecdotes... Between that and random office visits to companies (this week we went to Google and EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction & Development) we unfortunately lost basically all daylight hours to go sight-seeing this week.

Monday for the first day was the only day we finished before 6, so Dylan and I took advantage of that opportunity to go to the Natural History Museum. We ended up seeing very little of the museum itself as we got distracted in this temporary exhibit they had called "Wildlife Photographer of the Year" for hours. Totally doesn't sound 100% up my alley, right?

Outside the Natural History Museum with an ad for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit - quite a likeness between us, right?

Similarly, Nim found a new best friend at the gift shop for the exhibit

That night the program took us all out to dinner, and then afterwards, to the theatre! We saw Billy Elliot, the dancing in which was pretty good. I'm really hoping to see more shows while I'm here, that may end up being something I splurge on one night.

Outside the theatre before the show

On Wednesday between class and an office visit a group of us briefly went to check out St. Paul's Cathedral, but due to a hefty entrance fee, we admired it from the outside. Afterwards, Arushi, Dylan, and I went to grab lunch at this delicious falafel place in the financial district. I have never seen so many well-dressed people in my life as were walking about the streets there. And for those of you who are well-acquainted with my bizarre obsession with goats, you can imagine my delighted surprise upon stumbling across a wonderful goat statue. Needless to say, it was a good day.

Elise, me, and Arushi at St. Paul's Cathedral

Overwhelmed with happiness at the goat statue - I would find this

After a long week of classes, on Friday we were delighted to finally have a day off. While literally everyone else in the program took the first weekend to travel abroad, Arushi, Dylan, and I decided to stay in country. Instead, we chose to do a fantastic day-trip to Bath. So we took a train an hour or two through the English countryside (beautiful) and arrived in the stunning city of Bath.

On the train to Bath, prior to playing naive that we were sitting first class and having to move... worth a shot...

The countryside from the train - I delighted in reading some Pride and Prejudice during the ride

From the minute we stepped off the train, each thing we saw was beautiful. The streets of stone and the ornate architecture spread to even the most simple streets in the city. Shortly after arriving we had to grab food as we were starving, where we proceeded to have the most delicious lunch at Sally Lunn's, which is in the oldest house in Bath. With happy bellies, we wandered over to see the Circus and the Crescent, which were stunning. Continuing to explore, we wandered through a park, admiring all its loveliness.

St. John's church

In St. John's church

Arushi and I outside Sally Lunn's, with very, very happy bellies

The culprit of my happy belly - Brie and cranberry on their world-famous buns

The Circus - it makes a full circle

Arushi and I in front of the Crescent

This park was gorgeous - imagine living here and this being your daily walk

Yeah, this is kinda pretty

Group picture success!

Bath's most famous landmarks are Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths, which we proceeded to explore. Bath Abbey was absolutely gorgeous, both from the outside and on the inside. Inside I got caught up in looking at the two great windows - the one on the East End featuring 56 scenes in the life of Jesus, and the one on the West End depicting scenes from the Old Testament. The Roman Baths were very interesting and there was a lot more to it than I went in expecting.

Bath Abbey - stunning

Bath Abbey from behind

The East End window of Bath Abbey (note the 7 columns and 4 rows - the rows were split top and bottom, thus the 56 scenes depicting the life of Jesus. Words cannot describe)

The Roman Baths

Dylan looking pensive at the Roman Baths

 The private bath

After a long day of exploring, we decided to treat ourselves at the lovely Thermae Bath Spa, which was so wonderfully relaxing. My favorite was the rooftop pool, which had incredible views over the city. For obvious reasons I didn't take any pictures, but due to this modern marvel called the internet, you can still get an idea of how spoiled I was. After, the day finished up swell with some dinner at a Nepalese place called "Yak Yeti Yak" and a couple hours at a pub before catching our train home.

Arushi and I preparing for wonderful relaxation

A picture found via the internet of the rooftop bath overlooking Bath Abbey

Phew sorry that was a lot all in one post, I'll try to be better about splitting things up in the future! I hope everyone is doing well, and remember to e-mail me or whatnot how you're doing as well - I love hearing from you guys!