So this post, and possibly the next one, will focus on the southwest of England (specifically the county of Wiltshire). With the exception of one decent-sized town, Swindon, this is an area of "villages", a term I was sure hadn't been used anywhere since the 1600s. In fact, Tiz and her family live in a village of about 1,500 people, Wanborough. The highlights of the place are the village shop, run by a Bangladeshi man named Mr. Naseem, and also the SIX PUBS. Indeed, that works out to roughly 250 townspeople per drinking establishment, and later tonight I'll be having a few pints in one of them.
But now for a recap of the last 2 days. Yesterday saw a visit to Avebury, the site of a stone circle that is much less famous (at least in America) than Stonehenge, but no less fascinating. Later we had afternoon tea at a "tea room" in Marlborough, a wealthy town which has one of the country's most prestigious (and stuck-up) colleges. Today we drove about 45 minutes (a very long drive by English standards) to Burford, a village in the very prosperous Cotswolds area. We went to a pub for lunch and I had a chicken and mushroom savory pie, and a pint of cider (which in these parts is ALWAYS alcoholic). Headed downstairs to watch Liverpool v. Newcastle now; as before, comments and questions are welcome!

                                         Myself, Tiz and her father in front of a stone at Avebury

                                                    Zillions of cakes at the Polly Tea Rooms

                                                                     A pie and a pint

P.S. Any Americans wanting some elaboration on the British education system or the British diet (both based on my brief experiences in this country as well as dating a Brit for 15 months), post a comment and I'll reply back.

27 December 2011

Greetings from Interstate 40! For those of you not familiar, I-40 is a ~2,300 mile long road that begins in my hometown, Wilmington, NC, and traverses basically the entire US before terminating in Barstow, CA. Fortunately, I am only driving about 135 miles of it today, in order to catch a 6:05 nonstop from RDU to Heathrow. My older brother James does a lot of business and personal travel with American Airlines and was able to get me a BUSINESS CLASS ticket using frequent flier miles, so I’m living a pretty good life for the next several hours. Anyway, here’s some general information about my trip and myself:

1.      I am 19 years old, a student at UNC-Chapel Hill. I have been to the United Kingdom (read: London and Edinburgh) once, 18 months ago. I am studying at the University of Edinburgh from January to May.

2.      I am doing a bit of travelling outside of Edinburgh, starting with the next few weeks. My girlfriend Tiz is English and her parents have graciously offered me a place to stay at their home in Wiltshire for a while. Tiz and I are also spending time with her extended family in Yorkshire and at her university in Brighton before I head up to Edinburgh on 13 January.

3.      I have several trips outside of Britain planned (one already booked); more details on these as they approach.

4.      My itinerary for the near future is as follows:

28 December- arrive at Heathrow, hopefully after some amount of sleep on the flight

28 December-2 January: staying in Wiltshire with Tiz and her parents, having a second Christmas and watching footie!

2 January-4 January: London

4 January-7 January: Yorkshire (on Megabus!)

7-8 January: London, this time to meet up with Walker Bristol!

8-13 January: Brighton

13 January: arrive in Edinburgh

Questions or comments are always welcome!