Wales, Day 2

So, the next morning we woke up and got some free breakfast. By breakfast I mean toast and croissants and tea and jam. It was good though. Then we got on the bus and drove for a bit to Big Pitt Mining museum. Big Pitt is an active coal mine in South Wales, but it is also a museum. The tour guides are all miners who have worked in the mine and know the history of it. We all got hard hats with lights and belts with heavy battery packs and oxygen thingers.

So we go down 300 ft into the ground in a rattling elevator in the dark. Brittany and I were reminded of the scene from October Sky, except that we couldn't look up at the stars cuz the elevator was inside...and it was day light. Anyway, the tour was interesting and I think I learned a bit more than the last time I was in a mine. The worst problem was that all of the ceilings throughout the mine were about 4.5 ft high. So any time we were walking places we would have to be ducking and it got a bit uncomfortable. But we saw the stables underground and learned about ventilation systems and other things. It was pretty cool.

I was never so happy to come back up to the ground. The mine was cool, but it was also dark, damp, and difficult to walk through. I do sympathize with the miners who worked there for their whole lives. But after we got out we went to the gift shop and bought some post cards and I got a mug and I got Alan some recipe thingers. I had a good time and my mug is awesome because it has the Welsh flag on it and their flag is an awesome dragon thing.

So after that, we got back on the bus to drive to this adorable little town where we got lunch. We didn't have much time to walk around and explore, but we did get to see a 13th century bridge and eat some delicious Sunday roast. It was kind of buffet style which was interesting because I haven't seen anything like it here yet, but the food was good and we really enjoyed ourselves.

After lunch we speed walked ourselves back to the bus and then realized it wasn't necessary because we had to wait forever for these 3 girls who were getting icecream. When we finally got moving we were off on the last leg of our journey. Following the path of the Wye River we made our way through some beautiful landscapes. Our destination was the beautiful Tintern Abbey.

Tintern Abbey is a ruin that stands in the middle of a small town. When it was built, however, it was entirely secluded from any civilization. The monks wanted their solitude and built their abbey in the beautiful landscape. It was really cool to see what was remaining of the abbey and what had been lost forever. The scene was really impressive, as the monks would have built nearly everything by hand (as much as possible of course) and I just didn't expect it to be so large. To have seen it in its entirety would have been magnificent. It was really a beautiful place.

So from there we journeyed home. It was a several hour bus ride and we were all a little tired. The best part of the ride home was undoubtedly the Badgers for 2 Miles sign...its whole purpose to warn people of the badgers that could make their way on to the road. It was glorious. :-)

But we finally got home and it was nice to be back. Alan and I, being stuffed from our amazing lunch still weren't hungry enough for dinner, but eventually went and bought some frozen food from the 24 hour store below our apartment. It wasn't great but it got us by.

Right now, I am supposed to be researching Paul Nash, a British war time and surrealist artist. I have a paper due about him on Tuesday which involves me critiquing 3 pieces of his artwork that I see in person in a museum here in London. I mentioned it was due Tuesday, right, because tomorrow at 7:15 in the morning I'm getting on a train and heading to Scotland where I will see Edinburgh, Inverness, Loch Ness, and the Highlands. It promises to be a beautiful trip with impressive landscapes. Unfortunately, it also means I won't be getting back until late Sunday night, leaving me Monday to write my 6 page paper...including seeing and critiquing the art...did I mention I have class on Monday. Its right in the middle of the day too, from 1:30-4:30 and all of the museums are a good half hour or more away from school. I'm pretty much screwed. But rest assured. I will succeed. It will be finished by 10:30 am Tuesday morning if it kills me. It's all good. No worries.

Anyway, I still have yet to pack for tomorrow morning and it is almost 9:00 pm here. I'm actually really tired of packing. I want to go on this trip. I'm really excited. But part of me just wants to keep my clothes on their hangers and out of a bag, to sleep in my own bed, to not have to wake up super duper unreasonably early, and to just stay put. Its awful to say, but I'm really tired of traveling. But don't get me wrong. I want to see Scotland. Just have to take the good with the bad, ya know. I can't have everything.

On that note, goodnight.