I Wanna Touch Stonehenge (& Adventures in Bath)

Today we set off bright and early for a trip sponsored by the university to Bath and Stonehenge. Our normal duo became a trio, as Stefanie's flatmate Abby was also on the trip. 

After the three hour bus ride to Bath, we went on a walking tour of the city with our awkward tour guide. While it was great because we got to see a lot of the city, his commentary was not always wanted, or even all that accurate (Nicole even corrected him once. Oops.) 

Bath Abbey

It was really interesting to see how the backs of the
beautiful and uniform houses are a bit of a mess.

The Royal Crescent

Apparently, Nicholas Cage used to live in this house.

Our tour guide asked if there were any tree huggers.
Stefanie stepped up to the challenge. 

The Trio + Charlie

Once the tour ended, we had a few hours of free time in the city. Along with Abby and two of the student guides from the university (Charlie and Andreas), we went to a pub called the Crystal Palace to grab some food. After a delicious lunch, we walked up to the Jane Austen Centre to buy some presents. 

Nicole finally got some fish & chips!

We loved all the cute blue doors.

As we only had an hour to tour the Roman Baths, we had to speed through it a little but we got plenty of pictures. 

Stefanie with the Roman version (Minerva) of her
godly parent, Athena. #camphalfblood

Nicole's favorite part was seeing how the building
is built around the natural springs 

Not sure we'd want to get in that water.... 

The spring water didn't taste good...at all.

It was back to the buses for our journey out to Stonehenge. We were all a little surprised by it, I think (Nicole and Abby found it smaller than they'd expected, while Stefanie and Charlie thought it was larger). It was cool to see such an old and mysterious structure, but paled in comparison to Bath. Mostly we were amused by Charlie's desire to touch the stones. (Granted, there were very few security guards so it seemed plausible). 

The wind was making taking photos a bit difficult.

You could see Stonehenge in Stef's glasses!

We were pretty amused by this giant sheep in the gift shop.

On another note, we're completely convinced that Stonehenge was the site of pagan sacrifices. Maybe we've just watched too much Reign. 

The Royal Pavilion: Pleasure Palace

Today we decided to visit Brighton's most photographed and probably most well known landmark. While we were happy to get a local resident discount on our tickets, we were disappointed that we were not allowed to take photos inside because everything was gorgeous.

The Palace, as it stands now, was built for George IV, to be his escape from royal life and his father whom he hated. It's a magnificently ostentatious building, full of architectural illusions and opulent Chinese-inspired decor. While everything inside adheres to the Chinese theme, the outside of the building is actually roughly in the Mughal Indian style. George built the palace to host lavish parties and entertain his string of friends and mistresses.

One thing that the two of us found particularly funny was that George IV had to move from his upstairs bedrooms into a new suite downstairs because he was too overweight to walk up the stairs. He also bought a bed that could be moved up and down for ease of access. In addition, he built a tunnel to his stables so he wouldn't have to walk outside as he was embarrassed of his weight and unpopular with his subjects.

Several other royals took up residence in the Pavilion until Queen Victoria sold it to the city (she disliked Brighton because it was crowded and unsophisticated at the time and the palace was clearly not built for a family to live in). Even now, many of the objects that were originally in the Pavilion are at Buckingham Palace.

As the centennial of the beginning of World War I is coming up in August, the Pavilion has an exhibit commemorating its use during the war as a hospital for Indian soldiers. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that they carefully made arrangements for the different religions and social customs of the men who were housed there.

Nicole became Lucius Malfoy.

About halfway through the tour, there is a cute tea room with an outside terrace where we took a break and had some yummies.

Nicole had Cream Tea!

Stefanie had a roasted veggie and goat cheese sandwich!

There was a wedding going on at the Royal Pavilion
and this was their adorable post-wedding car!

After leaving the Royal Pavilion, we went and walked around Churchill Square, our favorite place in Brighton. While we went in several shops, we restrained ourselves and only purchased groceries and the book Nicole needed for her upcoming presentation. We came back to campus for an early night because we have to be up early tomorrow for our trip to Bath and Stonehenge.

Watch Out for the Cliff: South Downs Hike!

Yesterday, Nicole and I split up as I traveled East along the southern coast of England to the beautiful South Downs. This was one of the excursions sponsored by the International Summer School so I went with a group of 30 other students, a couple Sussex student staff, and a SO Sussex outdoors guide. We hopped on a chartered bus for the 45 minute bus ride to the trailhead. The bus ride was actually really nice as I was on the top level of the double-decker and got to watch the rolling hills of the countryside go by as well as cute little neighborhoods. 

When we arrived at the trailhead, we were faced with a daunting ascent up this hill.
It may not look that bad, but it was exhausting and the first of many neverending climbs.

The hike took about five hours and was said to be 17km (10.5 miles) but with constant, steep ups and downs. It was a gorgeous day too and perfect for hiking!

The hike began on the south-western edge of Eastbourne, just a short distance away from Beachy Head. Beachy Head is home to the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain (536 feet) and has also played many roles in wars throughout the years. There was the Second Battle of Beachy Head during WWI and during WWII, a radio communication station were set in the area.

It also served as a station for the air force and there was a plaque
that said how this was the last part of the UK that many soldiers saw.

At Beachy Head there is a cute little lighthouse way down below.

You can see our starting point of Eastbourne in the distance!

These lovely signs were everywhere to tell us that there were cliffs.
Our guide told us not to get too close to the edge because they are constantly crumbling.

Lighthouse Selfie
(it was so windy I eventually had to take my Rays hat off)

Belle Tout lighthouse (built in 1831) which is now a private residence
and has been moved slightly inland because the cliffs keep crumbling.

For lunch we stopped at Birling Gap which had a staircase down to the pebbly beach below. I had packed a lunch so I picniced on the rocks and even decided to dip my feet in the freezing cold water with some of my hiking buddies. The water was somewhat bearable but the rocks were so painful on our feet that it was rather difficult to walk. The beach also provided us with a perfect view of the Seven Sisters cliffs which was our next challenge.

You can see the Seven Sisters in the distance!

I guess I did go to the beach on the 4th of July!

We hiked across the top of the famous Seven Sisters cliffs which were exhausting but really impressive and provided us with beautiful views!

There was no distinct trail to hike along
(except the less grassy areas where most people tended to walk)
so we all just wandered along the edge of the cliffs.

Seven Sisters (and some birds)

After hiking up and down all of the Seven Sisters cliffs (and actually there is a new one being formed so sort of eight sisters or maybe 7 and 3/4 sisters), we headed inland along the Cuckmere river to a pub where we waited for our bus to take us back to campus.

You can see the river we followed in the distance.

There were lots of sheep!
We also constantly had to walk through special gates when hiking
which prevented the animals from traveling too far.

We arrived back at campus around 7pm after an exhausting day.
Still, it was the Fourth of July so Nicole and I headed to the pub (which was having a mini American event) and watched the Brazil vs. Colombia World Cup Match!

A Day in the Life of Nicole at Sussex

You had Stef's "A Day in the Life" vlog on Tuesday and today it was my turn! It was a pretty normal day of class and hanging out, but I hope you enjoy getting a little insight into what life is like over here at the University of Sussex. Enjoy! 

World Cup!

It has been the coolest experience getting to watch the World Cup games in East Slope Pub which is on the University of Sussex campus. As many of you know, the US team was eliminated last night (sad face) but it was such an exciting game! I have gone to watch every time the US team has played (and a couple other games) and the pub is consistently packed. There aren't enough seats and I end up standing there for two hours watching but it is worth it.

There are so many students here from the US which makes it that much better (and makes it somewhat acceptable for me to wear my US Soccer shirt). It was so exciting to have everyone start screaming and chanting "USA" whenever a goal was scored or collectively gasp at a close play.

They have a huge screen with the game projected on it!

Basically, I am so glad I am here during the World Cup and I cannot wait for the rest of the games. I may have to find somewhere else to watch the final game though because I doubt there will even be any room to stand in the pub...

It's Nando's Time!

You know how everyone in the US is obsessed with Chipotle? Well, the British are equally as obsessed with a chicken restaurant called Nando's. Since there's one in Brighton, we decided that we had to try it out.

After my class ended this afternoon, Stefanie and I caught the bus into Brighton (which we're both still absolutely in love with). After exploring The Lanes, a cute area of Brighton filled with eclectic shops and winding alleys, we headed to dinner. The food was absolutely delicious and, for a chicken restaurant, there were actually a surprising number of vegetarian options for Stefanie.

My chicken wings, spicy rice, and sweet potato mash

Stef's "beanie burger" and salad

I went to the bathroom and found the type of hand dryer that I'm
obsessed with (because it actually works!) so I was super happy.

After getting back to school, we got to Skype with Lauren, which made us all happy (even if we were interrupted by a fire alarm). I'm looking forward to a less stressful day tomorrow now that my essay is turned in. Tomorrow, I'll be doing a "Day in the Life" vlog like Stefanie did yesterday, so I'll see you then!

A Day in the Life of Stefanie at Sussex

Hi everyone! Nicole and I decided to each do a "day in the life of" blog post this week complete with vlogs and pictures of some of our daily activities.
Today was a fairly normal day for both of us, each complete with three hour classes. My class is in the morning, Nicole's is in the afternoon.

Nicole is busy writing her essay (which is due tomorrow) this evening while I will be heading to the pub to watch the USMNT take on Belgium in the World Cup!