Enough math though, I am (once again) long overdue on an update. Last time I talked to you folks I was...just getting back from the Califone show? Damn, seems like ages. Lots to talk about, not the least of which being what it's like to celebrate Thanksgiving in a foreign land.
The answer is extremely awesome, especially when the food is all homemade, the wine is ample and the company is very fun. Somehow, I had the fortune of being at class all day while poor MC and a couple of others slaved away all day in the kitchen, but I came home in time to help stir the mashed potatoes and eat/drink my fill. Food was delicious, the turkey didn't make anyone sick and we all felt a little more American than we had on 11/21. Not too bad for my first Thanksgiving away from home.Not too long after this picture I was cruising along the M4 (or A2 or I90 or some British highway) on my way for a weekend of hiking in Wales. North Wales, to be exact, about 9 hours to the extreme Northwest of Canterbury, a scant 30 miles or so from the coast. I went with the same Mountaineering Club that brought me on their trip to the Peak District back in October - a trip I didn't think could be trumped. I was happily incorrect.
Not the world's most spectacular picture, but it illustrates fairly well the conditions during Saturday's hike. Not just raining at 9:30am, but pouring. A hearty five of us out of a group of 19 decided to brave the conditions, allowing for a more strenuous hike than would be normally undertaken. After, I was told it was an "8.5 out of 10" by one fellow hiker who has tackled the Alps, Patagonia and other exotic and intense locales.
Sustained 40mph winds with gusts of 60 at 3,000 feet over unsteady rocks was an adventure, let me tell you. The sheep were pissed at us, nature was apparently pissed at us and that made for easily the most difficult hiking of my life. In the best way possible mind you; I was with an experienced bunch and in no way felt in danger, but the scrambling over rocks and battling the wind and rain was tough work and I loved it. Can't wait to get back to VT and tackle some of the more difficult hikes there. Anyway, after a few worrisome moments of being lost without a trail to follow (!) we emerged to this:
As usual, the reward was mighty and this is only half the picture - somewhere down in that valley is the world's most satisfying pub, waiting for us with a roaring fire and pints galore. Too perfect, the British have perfected the act of drinking. It's hard not to rave about it without sounding too much like a stereotypical college kid, but there really is nothing like a beer after an 8 mile, death defying hike like that. Just fantastic.Next day we decided on something a little lighter - 6 miles over a gently sloping hill, then across a ridge and back down again. Still, it was gorgeous and made me love Wales all the more.
That's me at the top.So all in all, an excellent weekend in Wales. After that was a little downtime in terms of traveling, then last weekend I went back up to London to visit my old buddy from my Penfield High School Football days, Shawn "Sully" Sullivan. He's been studying outside Dublin all semester and I had plans to go meet him, but, well, living in England is pricey and I just couldn't afford it. Luckily he came to me for the weekend so I met up and spent the day with him last Sunday.
That's Sully in front of 10 Downing Street. He's a great dude and we had a fine time checking out pubs and museums - highly recommended if you're ever in town, the Churchill Museum and his preserved WWII underground cabinets. It's a little pricey (especially compared to the free British Museum, National Gallery, etc.). It was great to be able to wander around museums with a fellow history major for once. He had a plane to catch the next morning so I spent Monday wandering around alone which was fine by me. I went on a an early morning walk along the Thames and stopped by the Tate Modern art gallery for a little while.
That's the London skyline outside the Tate and, as it's slowly becoming my favorite city in the world, I figured it'd be a fitting way to wrap up my entry. After the art gallery I headed over to the Imperial War museum, found The Crown - a pub Sandy and I discovered on our last visit together that has a whole slew of Samuel Smith beers on tap (an amazing English brewery) and that I thought I'd never see again - and a great little bookshop before coming home. Another fantastic visit to a fantastic city. Did I mention I'm going back for a day trip tomorrow? Because I am and couldn't be happier about it.This is MC's last week in the country, she being the only one in our flat to be staying a single semester, so we're heading back up to London to ice skate at the Somerset house, then going to the Shepherd Neame Brewery (the UK's oldest!) for a tour on Saturday and have a ton of activities planned the next seven days. After that, as it's the end of the semester, I have a month off and have a hitchhiking trip planned across Scotland, Christmas in London and New Year's in Amsterdam with my parents and Braelyn coming to visit all to look forward to, so it should be a great 30 days. I don't know when I'll get a chance to post again, but if I come back alive from Scotland on the 20th I'll try and update then.
Until then, keep reading.
