University continues to be relatively slow on the coursework, so I had another week with plenty of time to play tourist.

On Thursday I visited the famous Georgian townhouse No 1 Royal Crescent.  It was occupied for  20 years in the late 1700s by Henry Sandford, and has been restored to how they think it looked when he lived there.  The house was a good journey through the upstairs and downstairs life of a wealthy gentleman and his staff, I'd say Mr. Sandford was fairly comfortable there.  No photos allowed inside sorry, but here is the front of the house

and of course the Royal Crescent itself (people still live there!)

I also found the third (and as far as I am aware, last) obelisk in Bath

This is for Queen Victoria.  I now know that the other two (for Frederick Prince of Wales and the Prince of Orange) were erected by Beau Nash, Master of Ceremonies (ie. Master of Fun), at his own expense.  I think he did it to make friends.

On Saturday I headed to Wells, smallest city in England.  It may be small but it has an absolutely spectacular cathedral.  Wells is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells.  The cathedral was started in the 12th Century to replace a Roman church. Again no photos inside which is a real pity because it is truly breathtaking. This website gives a pretty good idea http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/wells-cathedral/photos

Wells Cathedral is most well-know for the scissor arches, they look new but were actually installed 1338-1348 to combat the subsidence of the tower after the tower was built up (always got to go higher).  The cathedral is mostly the same golden-white hue of the stone, but back in its day, the cathedral was painted in vibrant colours - it would have been quite the image!

This is the West Front, also very well-known.  At the top is Jesus, below him his 12 disciples, then the nine order of angles followed by many statues of bishops, kings and queens.

And the cathedral cat, Louis, a delightful sight wandering the cloisters :)

Of course, being the seat of the bishop there is also a Bishop's Palace.  The bishop still lives there today, although I think there is current discussion about moving him elsewhere - poor man, I wouldn't want to leave.

Incredibly the palace used to be larger, but in the 19th Century the bishop knocked down one of the wings so that he could have a beautiful ruin in his garden.  It worked, very pretty, but conservation!! (To be fair the modern British view on conservation didn't emerge until the 1970s).

Oh what pretty ruins.

Supposedly the swans that live on the moat around the Bishop's Palace have been trained to ring a bell for their supper.  I didn't see this, but how very civilised.

Finally, here is a picture of one of the wells for which the city got its name. That's the cathedral in the background.

On Saturday I spent the day in Cardiff, capital city of Wales since 1955, in the company of six lovely fellow exchange students.

The day didn't start off so promising, our train was cancelled, however we were able to catch another only 30 min later (a minor disturbance in light of what some people are suffering because of this weather).  When we arrived, four of us chose to do a walking tour of Cardiff - a great idea until we discovered that these don't run in the winter.  Nevertheless, we embarked on a self guided tour, a wonderful way to get a feel for the city.

There are a total of six arcades in Cardiff (for anyone who doesn't know, like me, an arcade is a covered shopping alley).  We also encountered the renowned Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Market (I understand that the fishmonger was one of the original traders in 1891, but the smell!), St John's Church, City Hall, David Lloyd George and John Batchelor (introduced drainage and sewerage in 1853 - good man).  An onset of rain had us taking shelter in the National Museum, and we spent some time looking at numerous fossils and taking the journey from Big Bang to present day.  I had my first proper English lunch at Pettigrew's Tea House (Ploughmans and tea) before setting out again to explore Cardiff Castle.

The Castle was the definite highlight.  The keep dates back to the Romans, and in some areas you can still see the stones from the original Roman walls.  The Castle has had many alterations over the years, which has resulted in a unique building done in a range of different architectural styles. The last major works were done in the 19th Century by William Burges under the direction of the 3rd Marquess of Bute (the Butes became unreasonably wealthly on the coal trade).  Burges made the interiors ridiculously elaborate, it was a real surprise when I stepped into the first room - I've never seen anything like it.

We finished the day with a delicious but stonkering meal at Giovannis (because when in Wales ... eat Italian), and our train home was there on time.  All in all a day well spent, when can I go back?

The streets of Cardiff.

When you cross the border everything is in both Welsh and English.

Cardiff Market, since 1891.

St John's Church

TEA!  It was very delightful.

The keep.

And they had the NZ flag (I think they had every flag, but still).

The Castle walls were used as bunkers during WWII.

The Castle

More of the Castle - that is the clock tower to the left.

See I wasn't exaggerating when I said elaborate.

 The 3rd Marquess liked his books so much that he had the names of his favourite authors written on the walls.

The view from the top of the keep.

Imagine our surprise when on entering the ladies we found these fellows, we decided the toilet could wait.

What can I say?

Today, for the first time, I ventured outside of Bath.  The mission: bridge scouting.  The destination: Bristol.

For my Bridge Engineering course we have to chose a bridge to analyse.  We decided Bristol, with its two rivers and numerous bridges, would be a good place to start.

Coming from Bath, Bristol seemed very large (my poor feet agreed) and a lot less polished.  The central city is an interesting mix of old and new, which makes for a diverse landscape and also has me wishing I had longer to roam the streets.  I have determined to return, in the near future, and do the proper touristy thing.  For now, here are a few bridges for any interested parties.

The Banana Bridge - no further explanation needed.

A small swing bridge, an exciting discovery.

Pedestrian suspension bridge.

Pero's Bridge, named after an African slave who moved to Bristol in 1784.  The middle section lifts up to allow boats to pass, the 'horns' act as counterweights.

 Millennium Square - not sure what the ball is for, but its pretty cool.

Clifton Suspension Bridge, the definite highlight.

The view from the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

It would appear drinking is a universal pursuit.  There was an 'organised' function for the exchange students last night.  This involved beer pong, a pub and a nightclub (with some strangely old school music).  Not too different from home, except for the multi-national nature of it.

Today I visited Prior Park Garden which is (unsurprisingly) stunning.  Its not a garden in the sense that we know at home, it is more winding forest tracks and beautiful views.  The Gardens belonged to Ralph Allen who made his fortune, first in the postal system, then secondly in the Combe Down quarry.  He was a very shrewd businessman.  He employed John Wood to design this stunning house

as a showhome.  Bath society loved it, and today many of the buildings in Bath are made from the distinctive 'Bath Stone'.

Walking up the hill to the gardens tested my fitness, and as can probably be predicted I was rained on (the cup of tea warmed me up nicely), but it was absolutely worth it.  This is a beautiful bit of English country, and walking the same steps as the 'cream' of 18th Century society was quite a novelty.

This is Sham Bridge on the Serpentine Lake.

Beautiful views down to Bath.

The Palladian Bridge.  One of only a four in the world!

The graffiti on the bridge supposedly dates back to 1799. This is only 1839, but I also saw one dated 2012 - I guess people haven't changed all that much after all.

Today I had no classes, mid-week what a novelty!  So I played tourist again, visiting the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey.

The city's namesake was very impressive.  People went there to socialise, do business, worship... and I mustn't forget, clean themselves.  The Romans built the complex to worship the goddess Sulis Minerva, and this included a temple.  It appeared to be a real hub of activity in its day.  One thing people did was inscribe curses on bits of pewter for goods stolen (such as gloves), and throw them in the waters in the hope that Sulis Minerva would take righteous revenge.  Numerous other objects, such as coins and bowls, were given as gifts to the goddess.  It was simply mind boggling to think I walked the same paths that people almost 2000 years ago walked.

Bath Abbey, although younger, was no less impressive.  It has been a work over centuries and tells the stories of many lives.  All the lower walls and some of the floor, are covered in dedications to people to are buried beneath the church floors.  Once again, it is amazing to glimpse parts of the lives of people who lived so long ago.  I also find what was achieved hundreds of years ago incredible - the Abbey is a real feat of architecture and engineering.  I can't help feeling that the skyscrapers of today have little on the beauty of the churches and cathedrals built hundreds of years ago to glorify God.

The Great Bath, where all the real business took place.

These fellows kept a wary eye.

This was how they created 'hot rooms' (that is hotter rooms).  The floor rested on the stacks and a furnace heated the floor.  The floor got so hot that you had to wear shoes.

I took some of the Bath waters.  It wasn't the five litres that the doctors of the 19th Century would prescribe, but it was plenty for my taste buds!  (and no this was not from the green murk shown above)

The view from the top of Bath Abbey was breathtaking.

Of course, so was the vaulted ceiling.

This is the East window, it depicts 56 scenes from the life of Jesus.

I also found the first coffee shop to sell long blacks.  Not quite like home, but its the closest I've had.