A liquid adventure in Bath

It has been a long time coming, so our apologies in the delay in getting this out but projects were due and we were busy writing those 12,000-15,000 word final projects.

While Jean and Jeff Stover were over we took a day trip to Bath, here's what we saw.

Our first stop was the gift shop outside the Bath Abbey to get free Wifi, a geocache, and a map to figure out what we would do for the day.  Our second stop of the day was literally just around the corner.

Bath, as you may not have know, does have a large bath in the middle of town.  It is the only area with hot springs in the UK.  There are a few other geothermal springs, but the water comes out warm, not hot like at Bath.  The Romans decided to build a large Bath and temple at the site and thus the town gained importance.  The bath house and temple were buried under layers of silt and other buildings.  The temple was re-discovered around 200 years ago and the complex now sees over 1 million visitors a year.  The water is not safe to swim in or drink and is green because of algae that grows because the bath is open to the air.

They have, however, drilled new holes into the spring that allow for safe water to rise up and they offer it to drink for visitors.  The mineral content of the water is around 3,000 ppm (average bottled water has between 300 and 500ppm). 

For lunch we stopped at The Circus restaurant, ranked #4 in the UK list of 20 Secret Restaurants Foodies Love. 

The royal crescent was an architectural wonder when it was built over 300 years ago.  You may not be able to see it, but the building stretches on and on, forming an arc equivalent to a half a circle.

Before dinner we decided to walk to the river and see what there was to see.  This bridge was interesting because there are small little shops along it that people sell their goods.  One store was a coin store selling lots of old Roman coins.

The falls are interesting as they have obviously been man made.  We enjoyed watching the birds slip off and fly back to their spot.  We also saw they gave boat tours but no time for that, we had a hill to hike!

Some silly Stover had it in her mind that we should go visit another restaurant just outside of Bath and when we asked directions, we were informed it would be about a 10 minute walk from where we were.  We decided to check out the city center some more before heading up the hill.  Turns out the hill was quite large and we were too late to take a bus.  We ended up walking about 45 minutes, getting lost, and backtracking before finally arriving at the Hare and Hounds (see below).  Their boast was the view (see above). The food was nice as well and we were just ready to relax after an exhilarating hike. 

After dinner we took a taxi back to the train station, boarded our train, and head back to London.

Our next few blog posts will include updates on school, hikes and day outings in London, and our upcoming trip to the Thirsty Meeple, a board game pub in Oxford.

Enjoy your summer and come back soon!
Brandon (& Emily)

Man Bieau P'tit Jèrri

Jersey is a channel island near France that has a unique political identity.  It is a crown dependency (protected by the United Kingdom) but has the power of self-determination.  It has a population of about 90,000 and is about 9 long and 5 miles wide.  It is about 14 miles from France so on a clear day you can see the coast of France and a lot of their architecture is french. 

Emily and I visited Jersey recently to visit a friend (Kit) who is a local musician and is working to help save the native language, Jèrriais.  

After arrival we went with Kit to The Crab Shack and got fresh seafood. 

 

The meal was lots of work, but when on an island, you have to get fresh seafood.

 After a relaxing night we went out on our own to Mont Orgueil Castle.  It was built over 600 years ago and has defended Jersey from the French ever since. It has lots of nice history, and everywhere you turned there was another passage way with something new to explore.  We also really liked how they integrated art into the castle from local artists in order to help you better interact and learn on your visit (see the knight for example).

The castle and the beach

Inside the lower ward

 

Some art in the castle

A little dress up for us older kids

After the castle we walked along the coast to get a geocache and then Kit took us on a driving tour to various historical sites in search of dolmen, neolithic grave sites. We spent most of the afternoon outside in the sun and searched (sometimes in vain) for these sites labeled on our map.  This wondering around the island, however, showed us sights many people don't get to see.  We walked along the north east coast and saw the dramatic cliffs and ancient battlements.  

 The Dolmen, with some semi-modern changes to how it sat for hundreds of years

Our second day we were off to the north west of the island to explore the beaches, bunkers, and ruins.  The Nazis controlled Jersey from 1940-1945 and Hitler was very proud that he controlled part of the UK.  So much so that he was not ready to give it up without a fight.  He set out to make the island a fortress.  Over 40 Nazi bunkers and fortifications still exist on the island, with miles of tunnel and other ruined battlements.  The most impressive is near an ancient castle and the spot of our hike.  We set of on a quest to find a geocache that ended up taking us 2 hours to find and in the end, the gps was out of batteries but we managed to make the final find and sign the log.  (See pictures below)

 

Our adventure began with an impromptu tour via construction workers

 

The castle ruins

 

The Nazi ruins, such an impressive bunker.  It has 5 floors.

 

In the middle left of the shot you can see another bunker, they were everywhere!

 Signing the log of the Geocache

We spent our evening eating fish and chips in "town" (what the locals call St. Helier) and took the bus home as Kit was going to a political rally.  Once again, taking public transport outside of London makes you appreciate how frequent and convenient public transportation is in London (as we waited 40 minutes for the next bus going our direction!) 

Our final full day in Jersey found us in the Jersey War Tunnels (built by the Nazis to hold ammunition and later turned into a war hospital).  It was a great vision into the past, a look at occupied Jersey.  Kit talked about how his father and other locals were around for the occupation.  It was some of the only British soil taken over by the Nazis.

The rain was coming down for our final day so we drove around the island in search of things to do inside.  The afternoon found a bit of sun so we decided to search for more historic sites.  We found a nice old Dolmen that was unlike any other on the island.  However, on our trip back to the car, the wind and rain picked up and we got hit by mother nature.  

 

This was said to be 6,000 years old!

We spend our final evening downtown listening to the band Kit is in, Badlabeques.  They are a band of local musicians that sings in the local language of Jerriais.  Kit is doing a similar masters degree as me (MA in Ethnomusicology), he is trying to revitalize the language in Jersey using music and Ethnomusicology.  You can check out their music at www.badlabeques.net (you can download their Christmas album for free).  

 

The Band (Kit in the middle playing Guitar).  

The accordion player in the left of the screen is actually a local politician who gave us a little history on the politics of the island.

Stay tuned for the next installment, the visit of the Stover Sr. family.

Brandon

Pirates, Dinosaurs, and Internships...Oh My!

Pirates
Last week Brandon and I saw Pirates of the Caribbean Live, at the Royal Albert Hall (he found half-off tickets thanks to Groupon!). This is where the movie is played on a large screen while a live orchestra performs the background music.  It was a very cool experience, totally different than a regular orchestra concert.

The Stovers at Royal Albert Hall

Pirates and the Orchestra

Dinosaurs
Earlier this week Paige, a friend of mine from college, visited London with one of her friends, so I got to spend a day with them at the Natural History Museum.  While Brandon and I have been to this museum before, we totally missed out on the best part - the Dinosaurs! 

Rawr!

Paige and I

Interships 
Last Friday was my final internship day.  For the past three months I have been working three days a week for the Communications/Marketing Team at the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE).  This has been a great internship for me to gain hands-on experience working in an arts administration position.  Throughout my time I have:  written and sent-out press releases, promoted OAE concerts and events, contributed to OAE's social media and blog, and other various administrative tasks.  To see some of my blog posts for the OAE click here.

But what I've enjoyed most (and will miss the most) are the people who worked in the office with me!  They have been so helpful and friendly and wonderful.  For my last day they brought me lovely flowers, champagne, and a precious silver necklace.  Overall it has been a great experience and I will miss everyone dearly!

Me with the some of the office staff

Carrot Cake Cupcakes that Brandon and I made to bring on my last day

My final day presents, flowers, champagne and a necklace

Close-up of the necklace

Oh My!
Although I am sad to be ending my internship with the OAE, I am looking forward to having a bit of free time again. While I plan on spending most of it writing and researching for my final dissertation, I am also looking forward to more London explorations, now that the weather is brightening up!  London in the spring is so lovely and I plan on enjoying it as much as I can before leaving in August.

Much Love,
Emily

A Beautiful Weekend

At Holland Park

The weather this weekend in London was absolutely lovely!  With bright sunny skies and a high of 68F (20C), it was a great weekend to be outside.  And that's just what Brandon and I did.  We ventured out to the west side of London to the Notting Hill area. We explored the charming Holland Park, which has a giant chess board, Japanese garden and Ice Cream shoppe.  We even packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed lunch on a park bench.

Waterfall in the Japanese Garden

Japanese Garden

Cherry Blossoms in Bloom

Giant Chess

Rose Garden

Following our jaunt through the park we stumbled across an American Food Store.  They had all the items we've been craving this whole year, that you cannot find in the UK.  Items such as: Chex Mix, Velveeta cheese, Kraft mac and cheese, and Ranch dressing.  So we walked out with a nice variety of food to remind us of home!

We also had a special surprise earlier this week.  My friend, Megan, whom I know from college, and her husband Chad visited London this week and we got to have dinner with them one night, before they headed off to Paris!  As you can see, it was quite a bit cooler that evening (my hair being crazy in the wind), but here are Megan and I in Trafalgar Square.  I hope they had a great trip and it was so lovely to see them.

Friends reunited in Trafalgar Square!

Boy, I sure wish more friends would come visit us!  We are great tour guides!!!

Wishing you all a lovely spring!