Sunday May 13th

I'm posting this blog entry a little bit late because our hotel's internet was down last night. There is nothing more frustrating than when technology doesn't work correctly. On to Sunday's events.

Salisbury Cathedral

As I said in closing on my last entry, last night we went to see The King’s Speech. Prior to the play, the group actually ended up separating and we were left to ourselves to find dinner. A few of us decided to eat at a small restaurant with a dinner special of roasted chicken and a baked potato a couple of Tube stops away from the theatre. While we thought we would have plenty of time to have a decent dinner and a few beers, we ended up nearly missing the beginning of the play. We were almost late because we decided to split the dinner bill individually, an arduous process in Europe. Because splitting the bill added another ten minutes or so that we were not planning on to our dinner, we had to run up the Tube station escalator and to the theatre in order to arrive about thirty seconds before the play started. If we hadn’t just barely made it into the theatre on time, we would have been locked out until the intermission. I’m glad we took the effort to run to the theatre though, because the play was very well-produced and enjoyable.

Salisbury's Sanctuary

We started today bright and early with a coach bus ride to Bath, Salisbury, and Stonehenge. Bath is located about a hundred miles west from London in the picturesque countryside. Bath was originally founded by the Romans and was used as a spa, using the warm water from the hot springs to fill their pools. Our tour of Bath took us to the actual Roman baths, which have been converted to a modern-day museum. Touring the baths, it was amazing to see how such an ancient culture could craft such a spa. We were even able to drink some of the water flowing from the hot springs. While the Romans claimed that this water could cure ailments, I would have to be pretty sick before I resorted to drinking that water again.

After grabbing a quick panini at a local restaurant in Bath, we boarded the bus and drove to Salisbury to visit the Salisbury Cathedral. Completed in 1258, the Salisbury Cathedral holds the record for the largest church spire in the UK. Unlike St. Paul’s Cathedral, the interior of the Salisbury Cathedral is less ornate, but equally impressive. As a student preparing to enter the construction field, it is remarkable to see these massive structures and think about the challenges presented when these structures were built so long ago. 

Stonehenge

After the Cathedral, we again boarded the bus and made the final leg of our tip to Stonehenge. To be completely honest, while the fact that people were able to move these massive stones thousands of years ago is impressive, there’s not too much to see at Stonehenge. While I’m glad I was lucky enough to go and see the structures and learn a bit more about the theories behind their existence, I was ready to board the bus and head back to London after walking around for 20 minutes or so.

We returned to London around 7 p.m. and were dropped off at Hyde Park. Similar to New York City’s Central Park, our group took a quick walk through the park and enjoyed taking in the sites of the intricate flower beds and lush landscape in the urban city. After the brief stroll, we headed back to the hotel and were finished for the day. A few of us were starving for dinner, as it was about 8:30, so we went to an Italian restaurant close to our hotel to finish off the evening. Tomorrow the breakneck pace will slow down a bit as we have a free day to work on our Thesis. I will be meeting with two representatives of a local contractor as well as a lawyer specializing in public-private partnerships.