Capital to Capital and Everywhere in Between

Pnawn da - good afternoon! Sorry I have not posted in awhile, I have been very busy. A couple weekends ago a large group of us took a train and went to visit our friends who are studying abroad in London. We arrived on Friday night and got to see downtown London all lit up, it was beautiful. While in London we spent a lot of time hanging out with our friends, and did some sight seeing. I got to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, the London Aquarium, Prince Charles home, some places where the 2012 olympics will be played, Platform 9 3/4 off of Harry Potter, the National Gallery, and more. We got to meet and hang out with some of the guys that actually guard the Queen! I had a lot of fun hanging out with my friends, but I am excited to take my parents back and do more sight seeing in a couple weeks. While in London we got really good at riding the tube (the underground), this is a great way of transportaion!
The last couple of weeks of Outdoor Pursuits have been a lot of fun. A couple Tuesdays ago it was raining really hard, what's new, so our instructor Laura took us indoor rock climbing. This was a lot of fun, she taught us to tie into the rope properly and how to belay one another correctly. We then got to do a variety of climbing walls with partners. We also learned how to boulder which is a variation of rock climbing closer to the ground without being tied in. I also got to do a lead where I was just tied into my partner on the ground and had to clip the rope to the wall as I was climbing up. The next week was our first OP class without rain! Laura took us outdoor rock climbing! This was a lot of fun especially since we had just practiced all the techniques the week before. It was also a lot more challenging as we had to set up our routes, and it was cold and windy. I can't wait to find out what we are doing next!
We just got back from a weekend fieldtrip with our entire group to Cardiff, which is the capital of Wales. Cardiff is a beautiful city and I had a lot of fun on this fieldtrip. On the way to Cardiff we stopped and toured Tintern Abbey, this is the magnificent ruins of a medieval monastery. This place was huge and beautiful and I was surprised how nice it was for starting in 1269! In Cardiff we got a tour of the Millennium Stadium, this was the biggest stadium in the UK until 2005. It is used for many different events, but it is home to the Welsh National Rugby Team. I was very excited to see this stadim because a large group of us are returning to Cardiff in couple weeks to watch a rugby game in this stadium. We then toured the Cardiff Castle, which was rebuilt in the 19th century. We then went to the National Museum and Gallery of Wales. The next day we went to St. Fagans: National History Museum, this is similar to the Living History Farms, but bigger, cooler and Welsh! I had so much fun at this place. We then went down to the Cardiff Bay this is a beautiful place, and here we got to go into the National Assembly for Wales! We also had a lot of free time in Cardiff just to explore the city and shop, we also went to a movie in the cinema here. I am very excited to return to Cardiff for the rugby game!
I have spent my last free weekend in Wales, crazy to think how fast this semester is going! During that weekend I did a lot of homework and trip planning! I leave on Thursday to go to Paris for the weekend, and then I'm anxiously waiting my parents arrival and we are headed to London! I also have a few games and other trips planned for the remaining of the semester. My classes are going well, it is still an adjustment from classes in America. I have quite a bit of homework to do during the weeks now that I have all of my weekends full. It is getting colder, and still rains nearly everyday! Talk to you soon. Cheers!

To check out more pictures just click on this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30488030@N04/sets/72157608419235493/detail/