Hoping to Relax...

Just letting you all know that tomorrow right after we get done with OP, we will be heading to London and eventually to Barcelona. We aren't heading to Spain until Sunday evening but we going to be meeting up with the Africa mission trip people from Central that are going through London. They have an 8 hour layover so we will be going to connect up with them and hear all their plans for the next 10 days or so. We are pretty excited to see our Central friends!!! Then we are hoping to have a couple of days just relaxing in Barcelona by laying around and enjoying some sun. But don't worry, we do have the sun screen packed this time! We will be back in Bangor next Wednesday evening.
Tomorrow is our last day for outdoor pursuits though. Both of our groups are having a fun day in which we choose what we would be doing. Derek's group is doing some sea kayaking and climbing. My group will be going to the beach and surfing but also taking some kayaks if people want to do that instead. Both of our groups have gotten makings for a BBQ/picnic lunches. So we will be grilling out for lunch on the shores of the Menai Strait and on the beach. I think most people are pretty sad about not having OP anymore because we are all having such a great time. But we have had one person already head home for her graduation and people are slowly starting to leave as it gets closer to the end of the semester. So things are wrapping up.
I had my first final on Monday and let me tell ya, the UK testing system is intense! Tests are in the biggest lecture halls with like 6 or 7 other classes and you have admission forms and people standing around you watching the huge clock in the front of the room. Then you can't leave in the first 30 minutes or the last 15 minutes of the test to keep from distracting people. If you feel sick, they have a special little room you go to. All in all, the tests are the same but how you take them is just pretty serious. Other than my other test on the 30th, I just have 3 papers and some journals to do in the mean time. Derek has a test on the 28th and 2 papers as well. So we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Breathe....

Well we have made it back to Bangor for a few short days. After all of our recent travels and experiences we have a little time in order to catch up on things and catch our breath before we head back out for a couple more trips. Exams start today. Anna has one this afternoon at 2 and one on the 30th of May. I have mine on the 23rd and the 28th of May. We have our last outdoor pursuits this week as well. After not having a computer in our rooms we are finally getting caught up on Blogs and pictures so there a quite a few new picture albums up. My mom brought us over a another laptop that will get us through the semester so we are able to stay in touch with people and also do our studies. We have been blessed with amazing weather the past few weeks and it looks like it should continue for awhile as well. Enjoy all the new pictures and blogs.

Cardiff

This past weekend we were in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It was the first time we have been to south Wales. It is a beautiful down here. On the way down we stopped at several places including Hereford and Tintern. Bulmer's cider is brewed in Hereford and there is an old Abbey in Tintern. Saturday morning we had a tour of Cardiff Castle and then a tour of the Millenium Stadium. The Cardiff Castle was pretty impressive because it was fully furnished victorian style mansion and had themes from many places from across the world. The Millenium Stadium was cool. It it the largest stadium in the UK and holds most of their important events. The FA Cup, and Rugby games. They also hold huge concerts, sporting events and conferences there. They don't quite stand up to stadiums in the US but it was cool to just go there anyway. We ate lunch down in Cardiff bay where I managed to complete the Harry Ramsden's Challenging fish and chips. That afternoon we visited the Welsh National history Museum. I would compare it to living history farms in Iowa. They have villages and buildings going back through history explaining and showing how life was lived. They have a working farm, bakery, and grinding mill. There is also an area with gardens and a large mansion. Tecwyn lived and worked here for about 16 years. Last night we spend the night out with everyone hanging out and having a good time before we had to leave today. Several people are leaving early and so this is their last weekend. Today we are just going to a museum for about and hour and then going back to Bangor. We really hate to see the weekend end because it was a last big group event and we have a good time together. On the way home we stopped at Hay-on-Wye (Hay on Why) home to one of the largest collection of second hand books in the world. The have over thirty shops full of books. The town is also known for its self proclaimed king, Richard Booth and one of the largest festivals in the UK, Hay Festival of Literature and Arts. We had a good long afternoon here because after lunch we returned to the bus and it wouldn't start. We had to wait around for about 2 and half hours until they were finally able to get it started. So we made it home at about 8.30 Sunday night several hours later than anticipated.

Bath Spa

I am going to back track a little because I just got around to putting up some pictures from my mothers trip over here. She was here two weeks ago. The first day we went to Caenarfon Castle and then headed to London for several days. While in London we met up with Anna's roommate from the fall and she took us to a lot of places. We visited Westminster, Big Ben and the Parliment building. We then went on up to trefalger square and leisaster square. We saw some of the major cinemas where they have film premieres in London. We also saw the Globe and the original sight of the Globe Theatre. We walked across the Millenium Bridge as well. That night we went to the musical Wicked. It was a really good performance. It was quite a different atmosphere than in America but it was really good show. That Sunday morning we attended a service in the Westminster Abbey and that afternoon we just relaxed. Sunday evening my mom and I left for Bath. We had a good time there. We were there for two days. The first day the weather was really good. Monday morning we took a canal tour after checking out some gardens and the Royal Crescent. We toured the Roman Baths and we tasted the water from the spring. That night we ate at a local pub. One thing we had to do before we left was go and experience the real spa. On Tuesday we spent two hours in the morning enjoying the natrually warm and mineral filled waters of the spring in the Thermea Spa. We got to sit in a roof top pool overlooking Bath and there was also a ground floor pool as well. The thing that was probably the most different was a room with four large scented steam chambers; lavander, frankincense, and two other scents that I can't remember. I wasn't the only guy in there either. There were quite a few of them other being more willingly then some it seemed. It was quite relaxing and we didn't want to do much after that but we went to several museums anyway. We visited Sally Lunns, the fashion museum and also a museum on the history of Bath itself. We stayed in a really nice B&B and had a full english breakfast both days. The beds were really nice and I'm definitely not used to be staying in places that nice. We spent Wednesday in Liverpool with Anna. We stayed in a really nice old hotel in Liverpool as well and it wasn't expensive at all. We basically just took the Magical Mystery Tour of the Beatles and visited all the places that were significant to them throughout their lives. Thursday morning my mom flew home and Anna and I had outdoor pursuits.

Kilts, Hairy Coo, and Nessy - What do they have in common?

Well if you guess Scotland you would be correct. We were in Scotland this past weekend. We had Monday off because it was the Bank Holiday. It was a really busy weekend. We had great weather and it was in the high 60s. We left Friday morning for Glasgow at 8 and then we when on to Edinburgh and got there around 2:30 or so. That night we just wondered around and sat a small pub and caught up on some email and stuff. On Saturday we went to St. Andrews. It was a very small town but it was cool to make it there. We did visit the golf course and even got to play it. Well sort of, we played the miniputt course, called the Himilayas. It was cool though. We walked on the beach. We also did some geocaching but were really unsuccessful because most of the ones we were close to were multi caches and we didn't have time for them. After lunch we went to a small botantical garden and then came back to Edinburgh. Saturday and Sunday night we stayed with a friend of mine from Pella, Ashley Pavlat. We had a good time hanging out with her. We had a chance to catch up and then share with her what is going on at Central, she graduated from Central as well. Sunday we walked up the Royal Mile, and also around the outside of Edinburgh castle. We had lunch in a nice park just below the castle. On the way back to Ashley's place we ran into her and her roommate who were headed to a movie. So Anna and I tagged along and we ended up seeing Made of Honor, it was good considering, but hey part of it took place in Scotland so how fitting is that. Anna and I were going to leave Sunday night for Glasgow and then go on a tour to the Highlands on Monday but being the Bank Holiday weekend all the hostels were booked full. So we stayed in Edinburgh and we went on a tour from there. The tour lasted from 8:30 in the morning until 8:30 at night. It was a good tour. Most of it was a driving tour however we did make stops for pictures and also for food. We had an hour and half break at Loch Ness. There were some really awesome views and we were pumped full of history as well. It got up above 70 degrees during the middle of the day so that made it a really nice day for us to be out. We got back today a little after noon. Anna had class tonight and she is doing laundry. The rest of the week shouldn't be too bad. The weather is supposed to stay really nice and so we will probably be in t-shirts most of the time. Friday we leave for Cardiff with all the Central people for the weekend.

Can't think of a good title...

The last week or so have been pretty busy catching up on things and then also preparing for others. In outdoor pursuits last Thursday, I went sailing and Derek went surfing. We used smaller sail boats so we each had our own. We didn't have enough for everyone so I was paired up with the other smallest person in our group. Which worked out really well becuase when you were on your own boat it was fun but it was kinda boring cause there wasn't anyone to talk with. We went sailing in the Menai Strait and the morning was pretty easy but when the tide turned after lunch, the water was very choppy. It was enough that John, our leader only had two sail boats in the water at a time. This was fine becuase only a few people actually felt comfotable out there in the rough waters. I did get a bit queasy again due to the constant motion of the water... From the sounds of it, surfing went really well as well. Derek was more tired than he has been any other OP day because they were constantly swimming or trying to surf. He got up on the board pretty early on in the day and some of the others in his group didn't get up much if at all. He did get a good rash/rub on his neck from his wet suit rubbing salt water on it all day. It looked pretty red and then getting some sun on it this past weekend sure didn't help things.
Linda, Derek's mom, made it to Bangor on Thursday as well. We were able to show her around and go to Caenarfon Castle on Friday before heading to London. We staying in Vandon House again with Beth and Zach. We went to all the sites with Beth as our guide. Saturday night, we went to Wicked, which was amazing! If I was studying in London, all my money would be going to tickets for musicals! Sunday morning we went to church at the Westminster Abbey Cathedral which was pretty neat with the all boy/mens choir. Then we rested up Sunday afternoon before Derek and Linda took the train to Bath. They stayed there yesterday and today visiting the Roman Baths. I came back to Bangor Monday morning to go to my classes yesterday and today. Tomorrow I will be joining them again in Liverpool to tour around and go on the Beatles tour. Derek and I will be heading back to Bangor tomorrow night and Linda will be going to Manchester to catch her flight on Thursday.
I think that my OP group will be either surfing or outdoor mountain climbing and Derek's group will be either outdoor mountain climbing or sailing again but with individual boats this coming Thursday. It all depends on the weather! Then this Friday Derek and I are heading to Scotland. We have a long weekend with Monday off due to the "bank holiday" here in the UK and it will be something to take Derek's mind off missing his first Tulip Time in his 21 years of life. We will be visiting Glasgow, Edinburgh, and then hopefully St Andrew golf course and Lochness. Other than that, we are just finishing up with classes and preparing for final tests and papers.

Backpacking

Alright here is a picture for all of you were wondering how we traveled Europe over break. This was taken in Venice as we were waiting for a bus to the airport. It pretty much sums up the way we were feeling at the time. We had been walking for quite awhile. Those bags were not exactly light either but I suppose that is our fault. I'm sure we would all do it again in a heartbeat though.