a little update on my weekend

We’re safe and sound!

For some ridiculous reason, I’ve only been able to access internet pretty late at night. You can guess that Friday morning came pretty early here. The train ride went quickly after basic details were covered, platforms found, and connections understood.

Our entire first day in Bath was cold and drenched! We found the hostel (details below), and wasted no time finding lunch. Let the world know that Bath has the BEST bagel shop ever. Not like anyone would see that coming. But you get your choice of bagel with various filling choices, resulting in a happy tummy. I tried the ‘New Yorker’: pastrami, mixed greens, red onion, mustard, maybe some cheese? It was fantastic and I had terrible breath. Sorry, travel buddies!
The basic gist of our trip is: wandering. Explored the entire little town, and managed to see the following over 1.5 days: the Roman Baths, the Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent, the Botanical Gardens, and.. that’s about all there is. My favorite was the Roman Baths. The whole thing cost 10 pounds (WITH the student discount!), but the individual listening tour gadgets were really helpful in navigating the whole ‘museum’ at your own pace. Really neat history, beautiful how so much of this area has stood the test of time. I know, that was eloquent. I’m surprised I ever passed English. Don’t worry, the pictures will make up for my feeble description. They’ll come when I feel like it. The Abbey was equally breathtaking, and so close by! Got the feel of an English pub by popping in and out of a few. Quite charming.

Natalie, Malia, Claire, Ben, and Spencer went to the Thermae Bath Spa to get the real experience on Friday evening. I wasn’t allured to go in the first place, and the 24 pound price tag sealed the deal. Overall, pretty chill night with Cailee and Wyatt, but we had fun making up stories about what ‘happened’.
Guys. This hostel we stayed in was probably the nicest hostel you’ll ever see. It was run by the YMCA, and we were really impressed by how clean and non-shady the place was. Luckily, the room we got was ONLY people from our study abroad program, so no strangers in our sleeping proximity. Free breakfast (if you count toast as breakfast) helped, too. Saturday morning was spent walking around NE Bath, with the Royal Crescent and Botanical Gardens, which we’re told are gorgeous when blooming in the spring, but were lovely regardless. I thought of Mom and Mimi as we walked through the garden, remembering the other Botanical Garden excursions I have (less than willingly) been on during various vacations. Sorry, y’all. :]

Today (Saturday as I write this) I had my first pasty, which is essentially an upscale version of a Hot Pocket. I didn’t say that. But it was pretty good! Inside was some variation of ham and potatoes, with a few green bits that I convinced myself would have to suffice as my vegetable serving for the day. Went back to the train station for a 13:43 train connecting us for a route to Oxford, and we were all SO exhausted from walking nonstop. Oxford is really starting to feel home, and coming back was so nice. Bath was a good little weekend trip for travel experience, but I don’t think we could’ve spent doing much else there.
Tonight was mostly reading ‘Persuasion’ and relaxing, and I did my first P90X workout EVER with Malia. I didn’t feel too graceful jumping around on the squeaky third floor (sorry, Natalie!) but it wasn’t killer. I may eat my words in the morning. Then the best part: a shower. Haven’t had one of those since early Friday morning. I understand if that grosses you out, but I smell good now, so please wipe the scowl off your face and continue.

I think it’s clear that I don’t have time for much else to be going on in my life. My brain might explode if I tried to pack in anything else but homework. For reasons unknown to me, being alone in my room tonight really made the whole ‘living in another country for 4 months’ thing hit me kinda hard. I keep retyping this sentence, trying to best communicate what I’m feeling right now, but the only thing that makes sense is that I’m trying my hardest to adjust to a huge chunk of me that’s missing. There, that’s sufficient.

Love,
Sydney