I'm in Geneva, Switzerland (actually just across the border in France) and loving it! No pictures for now because my friend's laptop is having fits. I'm right next to a grand mountain and have a beautiful overlook on Geneva.

Rome was pretty nice - saw most of the big stuff, but it's much dirtier than most places I've been in recently. Good food, good people, and good experiences all over.

Will write more soon!

Leaving Oxford today (all too soon), but it's been fun! I'll have to put up new pictures soon, but in the meantime, here are some older ones.
A beautiful Lotus Elise - just one of the many exotic and beautiful cars I've seen here in England. I saw an Audi R8 and even a Mclaren at Stonehenge.

One of the most photographed and painted views in England, seen from the Bishops Garden in Wells (near Bath). Really lovely place!

Wells cathedral, I believe, with an amazing pipe organ.

Me, Mike, Yong (he's really not drunk), and David up on the Tor overlooking Glastonbury. T'was such a good hike with good friends.

Oxford's History of Natural Science museum. This particular piece from the enlightenment period reminds me of the complex astronomical machinery in movies. I would love to have one of these in my room...

Time to get back to studying and reading! Ttfn.

Huzzah, picture time!! Send requests :)

Here is Bath Abbey lit up at night (our first night in Bath). Several friends at Glastonbury Tor - a beautiful tower on a massive hill that overlooks the town. Highly recommended although the hike is a little intense.

Here is one of the creepy sculptures I found in a cathedral. It still weirds me out. Especially the eyes.

Here's me at Prior Gardens near Bath. It's a lovely landscape originally owned by a rich gentleman in Bath who bought out the stone mining industry around Bath and also revolutionized England's postal system.

Oxford is pretty great - took a tour of Duke Humphry's library (part of the Bodleian Library with about 7.5 million books and 20 miles of shelving) and the Ashmolean museum. Ashmole (a lawyer) tricked his friend into giving away a large collection of 'things' upon his death. After his friend died, the widow took possession and she "accidentally drowned" in her backyard in a puddle - after years of legal nastiness with Ashmole. Pretty clear what actually happened eh?

Anyway it's only appropriate since the Ashmole is mostly filled with plundered goods from the British Empire's expansion. Lots of great sculptures, paintings, treasures, and all that jazz.

I'm living at Queen's College (one of the 41 colleges in Oxford) and enjoying it thouroughly! More news soon...

I have deeply saddening news. We are leaving Bath tomorrow morning. I really love this city (even with it's ungraceful nightlife) and I'm looking foward to visiting again...

Winchester was amazing - we packed so much in that I'll have to share later. I went on the Dole for an afternoon (only my Aussie friends will pick up on that I suspect).

I'll be in Oxford tomorrow - hopefully the internet will be better and I can actually put some pictures up! Take care and make sure to send recommendations my way ;)

Many good things are still happening in England! Stonehenge (not that big of deal, surprisingly), cathedrals (amazing - very big deal), and other odds and ends around Bath and nearby areas. Tomorrow is Winchester and Southhampton. We are on our own to explore, so we'll see what happens.

I've been running around bath every morning at 6:30 and it's been quite pleasant. The nightlife is really busy - too bad I'm not a big clubber :P

No pictures for a few more days at least - the firewall here is apparently a bit too strict. Lo siento.

Lots of interesting stuff going on but no time to write about it all. Until then, here's a picture! Edit: no luck uploading - slow connection. Will upload when I can! Currently in Bath and heading to Oxford beginning of the month.

Hey everybody, I'm at Brighton beach in England! I made is safely and met up with 2 college friends. VERY tired but hopoing to stay up late enough that jet lag won't mess up my life for the next few days.

It's really good to eat fish 'n chips again! Everything is expensive, it seems, but that's only because the exchange rate is so bad right now. Oh well. I'll try to post pictures when I get the opportunity.

Here is my itinerary for those interested:

UK08 - ENGLISH/HISTORY TOUR
June 24 – July 15, 2008

Tue. 24 Fly from U.S. to Heathrow/Gatwick
Wed. 25 Arrive in London, Meet Group at Paddington Station, Travel to Bath
Thur. 26 Bath—explore Bath, baths, pump room, Cathedral.
Fri. 27 Salisbury – Stonehenge
Sat. 28 Gloucester Cathedral and Monastery. Gloucester Folk Museum
Sun. 29 Open Day – Optional trip to Exeter and Morebath
Mon. 30 Wells Cathedral. Glastonbury Abbey.

Tues. 01 Travel to Oxford – Walking tour of Oxford
Wed. 02 Bodleian Library. Oxford Science Museum. Ashmolean Museum
Thur. 03 C.S. Lewis House, Natural History Museum
Fri. 04 Stratford on Avon
Sab. 05 Oxford Parks. Punting. Evensong.
Sun. 06 Open Day – Optional Places: Cotswolds, Warwick Castle, Blenheim


Mon. 07 Travel to London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Museum of London
Tues. 08 Tower of London. Exploring London*
Wed. 09 York
Thur. 10 Exploring London*
7:30pm The Globe: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Fri. 11 Hampton Court
Sat. 12 Canterbury and Dover
Sun. 13 Hastings
Mon. 14 Greenwich
Exploring London*
Tues. 15 Tour is finished



Exploring London* =
Required London Sites: British Library, British Museum, Westminster Abbey, National Gallery.
Optional London Sites: Banquet Hall, Tate Britain Gallery
National Trust Sites: Eastbury Manor House, Fenton House, Ham House, Osterley Park and House, Sutton House
Also choose sites to explore from Amateur Historians Guide book




Leave lots of comments about places I should try to explore!

Quick update: I survived finals.  Barely.  Much closer and more stressful than previous quarters.

However, I'm alive and working crazy hard back in Atlanta.  Probably a lot of 14-16 hour days this week.

On the plus side, I'm going to be in England a week from today!  I haven't even really figured out how I'll get my 600+ pages of reading in before the history tour starts...

I had a birthday.  It would have been crap (studying and working on school projects all day) except for numerous myspace/facebook notes from friends, a lovely little party (with tasty lasagna to boot), and a package from one of the most memorable people I've met: Ben.

I wish I'd taken pictures before I packed up.  One of the presents is an adorable little bear with an All-Blacks jersey!  The other is disturbing enough that I probably won't post a picture... ever... :)  I just shook my head and laughed - so weird and yet not strange coming from Ben.  Thanks, my kiwi friend!

Off to eat, work, and sleep.

Dead(ly) Week is just around the corner and finals loom in the distance. I'm actually more concerned about the projects than finals right now, however.

A few recent events:

Math club hike. I'm not sure where exactly we went, but it made for an enjoyable hike up a steep hill in very hot weather. To finish off the afternoon, we fired a cannon (huzzah for eccentric math professors).

Rock climbing. Mikey and I went out Sunday for a full day of climbing at Spring Mountain. The morning was a little drizzly which meant nobody else was out climbing. On the upside, we had unrestricted access to any climb we wanted. On the downside, the rock was mossy, damp and we had to be extra careful since we were far away from any help. Very scary climbing, but also quite good. I led a couple nice trad routes too :)
School. I found out I should get two big grants next year for school which takes off a bit of financial pressure. Chuck and I got our radio working this week which was a huge relief (the major project for Electronics 2). I'm also all geared up for my UK Tour! All the tickets are bought and we had our last meeting. Next time we are all together will be at Paddington station in 4 weeks!

Other news: I updated my links (removed some old ones and added new ones). Mum started a blog! Check out Musings by Melody under blogs to the right - expect pictures from Costa Rica soon. As long as you are looking over there, take a look at other blogs and sites. For example:
Black Heart Glitter Moments
Couch Surfing
Toothpaste for Dinner

Friends and family, I'm behind on blogging yet again. It seems rather common these days, unfortunately.

Several weeks ago, I had a surprise visit from Renee, Devon, and Shanna! She's an adorable little kid as you might guess from the picture below. Apparently she was rather docile after being awake for an unusually long time (not too unlike fellow classmates I know). Behind us, you can see the aftermath of some Putnam study sessions. Speaking of math, I added a math degree to my education which means I will graduate in December '09 if all goes well.

The BIGGEST news is that Michelle graduated from nursing school!! I was fortunate enough to fly out for the weekend and witness it all in person. We celebrated with family, ate out several times, and helped move her out of the dorm housing. I also got to say hi to some old friends as well as Claudia, Shelley, Jon, Chris, and a few others. I wasn't so keen on flying back to school - especially with a backlog of homework, grading, and projects.
Here is Michelle's awesome family (Jenny, Kris, Michelle, David, Michael) and the prized diploma. I'll get one too eventually, from what I'm told. Jenny is due in a few months which will be pretty exciting. Michelle and I will both have nieces it sounds like.
After the hectic day of ceremonies, family, and moving furniture, Michelle and I had a few hours to escape for a short ice cream date in Lincoln. We explored a nearby train station and got some photos near sunset. The shadows are a bit extreme, but I think the photo turned out well anyway.
We watched a movie and barely had time for a nap before leaving for the airport at 4ish AM. As usual, it was not pleasant saying goodbye but I'm thankful for the time I did get to celebrate a milestone with a great friend. Not just a great friend - an amazing girlfriend that I adore (and miss already)!