Imagine Dragons Concert

I can now say that I have been to three music concerts in my life (not counting those put on my school). The first two were the rapper B.o.B. and the Fray, at my American school. The B.o.B. concert was really not any fun, partially because rap is not my kin of music. We had to wait over an hour and a half before he came on, and then he only sang for about thirty minutes. He did not sound very good, on top of the fact that he was very rude to the crowd.

The Fray was a much better show as they sound great in concert and engaged the audience to clap and sing along. The problem with that concert was the crowd who were shouting at inappropriate times and many of them were drunk.

My third concert was to see Imagine Dragons, an alternative rock band from Utah. It took place at a club called the O2 Academy in Oxford, so I can also say that I have been to a club, though not for the purpose of clubbing. The club was smaller than I expected with black walls, a bar, and a stage. There was even a smoke machine that emitted clouds of white even before the performance started.

As more people piled into the room the air became sweltering. At the beginning the room smelt strangely like sawdust or wood chips but gradually changed to the smell of sweaty people too close together.

The pre-band that performed was called The Escapists. They were more of a typical rock band with a leader singer playing guitar, two more guitarists and a drummer. I thought that the drummer looked a little like Neil Patrick Harris from How I Met Your Mother but with black, thick-framed glasses. 

Most of their songs were a few shouted lyrics followed by long guitar and drum rifts. The little bits of the lyrics that I could understand sounded descent, but their music was just too loud and angry for me. They played for about twenty minutes and all of the songs sounded basically the same with little variety.

When Imagine Dragons came on stage and performed, they were amazing. The lead singer was very into his music, dancing around and gesturing. You could tell he loved what he was doing and was having a great time. He engaged the audience, encouraging us to sing along and clap.

Photo by Libby

The lead singer was adorable (despite the fact that his haircut featured a rat tail). He told us about how they had dreamed about coming to the UK to perform but they feared that they were going to show up to the club and there only be five people there. I think he was tearing up a little as he said that and I am sure all of the girls were thinking, "Awww. How sweet."

I ended up recognizing a number of the songs played just from hearing Amy, Caitlin and Libby listen to them on their computers. Some of them included "Radioactive," "On Top of the World," and "Demons." They were a good mix of tempos and song subjects. Some of the songs even sounded a bit more folky mixed with rock which kept the performance from being boring. It was a lot of fun singing, dancing, and watching the singer bounce around the stage.

There was even an encore that ended with probably thirty seconds of flashing strobe lights. I had to close my eyes, but it did not block the lights at all. I was relieved when they stopped because the flashing combined with the heat was starting to make me feel lightheaded.

We stand for a little while after the performance so Amy and Libby could buy posters. They did manage to get the autograph of one of the guitarists but none of the other members came out to sign things.

Everything seemed very quite when we got outside. I am sure I was talking quite loudly as my hearing gradually adjusted to not being overloaded with a constant flow of loud noise. It was a great night and it taught me that concerts can be of lots fun when the performers and the crowd are respectful of each other and work towards having a good time.

Cadbury World and More Paintings

If you are an American and you hear the phrase, "The World of Chocolate," you probably think of Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. If you are British you probable think, "Cadbury World."

This attraction dedicated to chocolate is located in Bournville, outside of Birmingham. We took the long scenic route from the train station around a large brick building that turned out to be the factory. Despite being a relatively sunny day, there was barely anyone around. On the ten minute walk we probably saw about four people walking and passed a children's football (soccer) game.

I guess most of the people were just already inside the factory, as the lobby was full of families with young children. Some where buying sugary sweets from the gift shop while others waited for their tour time to be called. The lobby was decorated in shades of purple and grey. The employees wore button-down shirts with stripes of violet, lilac, and lavender which I thought looked very nice.

The first part of the tour took us through decorated rooms showing the history of chocolate and the Cadbury family. The first room was decorated like a jungle with trees, rocks, and even a small pool to resemble South America during the arrival of Cortez. Cacao was an important part of Aztec religion and daily life.

From there we moved throughout the centuries as chocolate was introduced to the Spanish monarchs and eventually became a delicacy of the aristocracy. In the early 1800s, John Cadbury began to sell drinking chocolate along with tea and coffee in his shop in Birmingham, England. His business grew and in 1861 his two sons, Richard and George, decided to establish a factory in a stretch of farmland outside of Birmingham. This land was named Bournville and the Cadbury brothers built a village around the factory to house their employees. There were cottages, bath houses, a church and recreation fields for both men and women.

Next up was a winding path through the actual factory. The factory was not in operation that day which  made looking at all of the equipment a little boring. Though, we did get another candy bar and a small cup of melted chocolate on the walk. The melted chocolate was smooth and very rich. It probably took me ten minutes to finish the little thing, but that is just because I like to savor sweets.

After buying a few treats in the gift shop we headed outside and around the factory building, past a massive playground with swings, twisty slides, and more, to the Essence of Cadbury. A small group crowded into a room and watched a humorous dramatization of how Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate was discovered. It definitely was not historically accurate. The real reason people went to it was to get more melted chocolate afterwards. This time you got about 1/8 of a cup of chocolate and one topping like marshmallows or shortbread crumbles. We sat outside in the sun, but none of us managed to eat that much chocolate even though we wanted to eat it all.

The factory was in a very large building, but it still didn't seem large enough to produce the amount of chocolate I feel like they must have too. I am not positive, but I think the factory in Bournville is the only one to produce Cadbury chocolates for Europe (Hershey's produces Cadbury branded chocolate in the United States).

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At this pointed it was only early afternoon so we took the train back into Birmingham for dinner. Since there was about 45 minutes until closing time, we hurried to the Birmingham Museum since it was not a far walk from the rail station. I knew nothing about what the museum was about. I just wrote down the directions in case we needed something extra to do.

It ended up being a great decision because the new exhibition was titled, "Love and Death: Victorian Paintings from Tate," which turned out to feature mostly Pre-Raphaelite artists. The main attraction was "The Lady of Shalott" by John William Waterhouse. The painting is probably one of England's most famous, and it is by my favorite artist.

"The Lady of Shalott" is a very large painting, five feet tall and six and a half feet wide. I never imagined that it was so large. It is strange to be standing in front of something real after seeing so many picture of it. Seeing famous paintings in person probably would have a greater effect of me than seeing a celebrity in person.

The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse

The gallery also exhibited a John William Waterhouse painting that I had never seen before, titled, "St. Eulalia." It is not one of the paintings that normally come up when you search the internet for Waterhouse's paintings. It is different than most of his other ones in that it depicts a more religious scene as he normally deals with characters from the tales of King Arthurs and Mediterranean mythology.

The painting shows the body Eulalia, a young Christian girl who was tortured and killed by the Roman rulers for her faith. When she died, it is said that a white dove flew from her mouth, often seen as a symbol of her soul, and it began to snow, the whiteness covering her naked body.

St. Eulalia by John William Waterhouse

All of the paintings were beautiful and pleasing to my personal aesthetic. It was really difficult to try to absorb all of the details while still rushing to see everything before the museum closed. It turned out to be a great day full of sunny weather, sweet treats, and beautiful art.

Christmas Markets and a Round Table

Considering the fact that Christmas lights have been up in Oxford since before Halloween, you would think that the holiday season in England would be magical, but so far I have just been a little disappointed and confused.

Friday night was a Christmas parade and festival in Oxford City Centre. We were planning on going to see a male a capella group at 6pm and then watch the parade. With Thanksgiving over, we were all excited to get in the Christmas spirit.

Our bus was supposed to get us into the city centre with just enough time to walk to the stage. Unfortunately, the bus was fifteen minutes late due to traffic and it was nearly 6:30pm by the time we made it even half way down the festival street because of the crowds.

We ended up pausing on a sidewalk to watch the parade. The parade was not very exciting, just grade school children holding paper mache lanterns following a small band that was playing carols. Some of the paper mache creatures were cool including a large polar bear, emperor penguins, and two birds that were rigged up to flap their wings when the person carrying it pulled on a string.

I understand that there were no floats since the streets are so narrow, but no one was even dressed up in silly things like reindeer antlers. There was also a disappointing lack of carol singing. I am wondering if that is they only Christmas parade they have or if there is a bigger one closer to Christmas.

Once the little parade of children passed us we followed behind them looking for the stage, even though the a capella group would have finished a while earlier. We had to avoid a carousel and a ferris wheel that rotated way to fast in my opinion, all while pushing through the tons of people squeezed together between two rows of tents. Some tents sold food like Spanish paella, roasted meat, brautwursts, and olives in bulk. There were also craft booths with jewelry, ornaments, and scarves.

I really dislike large crowds because I feel like I can't move freely. The fact that it was dark outside made it even more difficult to maneuver, forcing Caitlin, Amy and I to hold hands to avoid losing each other. By the time we forced our way to the stage we were ready to go home, but then a rock version of "What a Wonderful World" started playing as a giant paper mache sun attached to window cleaner machine rose up into the air. When the song was finished, flashing sparks shot out from behind the sun, illuminating much of the street.

This made no sense to any of us. Wasn't this supposed to be a Christmas festival? What does rock music and a giant sun have to do with a winter holiday? It was just really strange all around.

I don't feel like this festival and parade could be classified as Christmas themed, maybe just winter themed. Perhaps it is because people are not as religious here, plus there are many more people of different religions here who probably do not celebrate the Christian holiday. The only really exciting part about the night was seeing the lights strung up over the streets finally turned on. Some of them have been hanging up since before Halloween. I like the ones shaped like chandeliers best, but the one in the shape of a tandem bicycle is also pretty cute.

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Then on Saturday we went to the Winchester Christmas Market. Winchester is known as the "Christmas Capital of England," so we had pretty high expectations of it being a Christmas wonderland decked out in lights and garland.

The weather was absolutely miserable. It had been raining almost constantly for several days with flooding causing delays for the transportation systems. This wasn't just a sprinkling like usual. It was a steady rain that would get you soaked without an umbrella or rain jacket.

On our way from the rail station to the Christmas Market we stopped at the Great Hall of Winchester Castle to see King Arthur's Round table. I was surprised to find that the table was mounted on a wall. The 18 foot in diameter, 2,645 pound circle of oak has actually been hanging from the wall for at least 400 years. Around its outer edge are the names of Arthur's twenty-four knights.

I loved the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table as a child. Though there is of course a lot of debate on whether or not he actually existed, to see what could have been the actual Round Table was amazing. Seeing places and things from stories makes them seem so much more real and vivid.      

Next we made our way through the rain to Winchester Cathedral where the booths for the Christmas Market were set up. Since the market lasts for over a month, the booths are not in tents, but instead in small wooden buildings about the size of a storage shed. They were decorated in green garland and lights. One stand near the entrance sold garlands made from dried citrus fruit and cinnamon sticks. It smelled delicious, like cookies and other goodies. There were candles, soaps, ornaments, clothing, and other items being sold. One section featured just food stalls selling hot chocolate, roasted peanuts and chestnuts, meat sandwiches and bratwurst.

The market was smaller than we were anticipating with only about thirty little booths arranged in a circle around the small ice skating rink. It was difficult to even see the items for sale because of the need to avoid hitting other people or their umbrellas with our own umbrellas. Our look around yielded nothing tempting enough to buy so we decided to wander down the main road until we found the River Itchen which was rushing swiftly, swollen with rainwater until it almost reached the path.

We took a stroll along the river looking for Wolvesey Castle which is really ruins. The walk was nice and we pause often to take pictures. When we found the entrance to the castle grounds the gate was closed, probably due to the rain. We settled for reading the sign outside the entrance telling use a bit about the castle's history. There is a house on the grounds where someone still lives.

We eat lunch at a small cafe, taking the time for our clothes and umbrellas to dry while sitting on a cozy couch which served as the chairs for a small table. Some more wandering yielded nothing more of interested so we headed to the rail station at about 4pm.

We were all ready to make our way back to Oxford and our warm flat but the train we were planning on taking was canceled due to "a shortage of train crew." We asked the man at the ticket window how we could get back to Oxford, the next train we had written down to take would not come for another hour, and we told use quickly to "take the 4:16pm, get off at Basingstoke and Reading."

Now, this was confusing to us so Amy asked him if he could repeat himself, and when he did, Amy repeated it back to him for clarification. He just said rudely, "That's what I just said," but the way he gave the directions was confusing. We just hoped we were correct in think that he meant take the 4:16 train to Basingstoke, get off and board another train to Reading, and then in Reading switch to a train headed for Oxford.

Our journey which would have been simple and straight to Oxford became one with three trains and two changes. Each of the legs of the trip were just long enough for you to finally relax when you would have to get off again. We ended up having to literally run to catch the train from Basingstoke to Reading and then wait half an hour for the train to Oxford to arrive. Then, of course, because this always seems to happen, the bus that would take to our flat arrived at the same time our train did. That was 30 more minutes of waiting in the Oxford train station for us.

I guess it was bound to happen some time since we have been so lucky with our transportation so far on our trips. The annoyance of it was just magnified by the fact that Winchester was a bit of a disappointment in the Christmas department and the three of use were a bit irritable from being wet and cold.        

Turkey, Gravy, Pumpkin Pie

When we went to our four hour long study abroad orientation meeting way back in April, we were warned that about three weeks in the novelty would wear off and we would begin to feel homesick. Well, that never really happened to me. Some of the sights of Oxford lose a bit of their astonishment factor after you see them every day, but I haven't had any problems with homesickness, at least until today.

As you probably already know, at least if you are an American, today is Thanksgiving, a day dedicated to food and family. At this very moment, if I was in the United States I would be having an untraditional Thanksgiving dinner of fried fish at our neighbors house at the beach. I would be surrounded by my parents, two younger sisters, and an assortment of friends (though they are almost all my parents' age) I made over the summer. It would be sunny outside instead of dark, rainy, and super windy. I admit that I am feeling a little left out, but studying abroad does require some sacrifices.

It wasn't until today that I actually felt homesick. It is definitely hard being half a world away from your family on a day dedicated to being together. Then, to make matters worse, Thursdays are my really long class days where I have to be on a bus at 8am and I don't get back until 4:45pm. On a side note, it was night-time dark by 3:45pm today. There is just not enough hours of sunlight here.

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We did get to have Thanksgiving dinner with all of the 24 people from my American university along with a few of their parents. It was very delicious, in my opinion. There was turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, vegetables (brussels sprouts, green beans and broccoli), cranberry sauce, stuffing, and gravy. The sweet potatoes were really good, especially when mixed with a bit of the cranberry sauce. I was also really fancy and drank apple juice out of a wine glass. Everything just seems to taste better out of a nice cup.

I was surprised when I had to explain to two people at my table what a brussels sprout is. We eat so many different fruits and vegetables in my family that I forget that what is common knowledge to me is completely foreign to others.

We had a really good time just eating a bunch, hanging out and talking. Our group of 24 were hardly separated the first few weeks we arrived in the UK, but now we rarely see each other. A lot of catching up was done about classes and trips everyone has taken recently.

Next, came dessert with a choice of apple pie or pumpkin pie. Caitlin got apple and I got pumpkin so we could share and have both kinds. I think the pumpkin pie was made with real pumpkin, but it tasted a bit more like pecan pie than pumpkin pie to me, though there was no nuts in it. It might just have had different spices than I am used to. The apple pie was good, with tart apples to balance out the sweetness of the crust. The crust to filling ratio was off, with much more crust than filling, but it was still good. Vanilla ice cream probably would have made it perfect to balance out the dryness of the crust.

Even though the food was traditional for a Thanksgiving meal, it just felt more like a catered dinner with friends than actual Thanksgiving. I guess the only way the holiday can really feel right is to be with your family (who I am hoping will Skype me within the next little bit). 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

Madman in a Box

I am going to preface this post with the warning that you probably need to know at least a little bit about Doctor Who to understand what I am going to be talking about. There is also a chance of spoilers for later seasons of the show, so you have been warned.

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Walking into the Doctor Who Experience, housed in a long grey and blue building resembling a giant tent, we were afraid we would not be allowed on our tour because we were ten minutes late. Our worries were unnecessary as the man scanning our tickets did not even check the assigned time.

I was surprised by the the number of children on the tour. I know that Doctor Who is considered as  family show (that is why it airs at 8pm instead of later), but all of the people I have known to watch it are all at least teenagers. Some of the aliens and situations could also frighten young children (i.e. the creepy Silence creatures and the Weeping Angels).

We queued in the lobby next to the small cafe until we were allowed in to the "adventure" portion of the tour, which would be followed by the exhibition. Our group of about twenty people filed into a dark room with a projection screen. A compilation of scenes from the episodes of the 11th Doctor were shown, ending on a final shot of the crack in the universe first shown at the introduction of Amy Pond, the Doctor's companion.

I thought, "It would be so cool if the crack in the screen opened up for us to move to the next section, sort of like at the Harry Potter Studio when the screen opened to show the doors to the Great Hall." And what do you know, that was exactly what happened. It was a great start to the tour.

The frist room was built to look like we were in the UK starship from the episode, "The Beast Below." The room was dark and lit with red lights. A Frowner, a creepy clown-like doll inside a glass case, was behind me and I kept waiting for it to move.

Inside the TARDIS

The story for the Adventure began here, with the Eleventh Doctor appearing on a screen and telling everyone that he was stuck in the Pandorica (a large stone box  that was thought to be only a fairytale). The Doctor was trying to call his companion Amy to help him but he just got us "shoppers" instead.

Moving to the next room, we were inside the TARDIS (the older version from the 9th and 10th Doctors). Joysticks were arranged around the center console labeled "navigation," "diagnostics," and "mechanical." When told by the Doctor on his screens, the kids in the group messed with the joysticks. Some caused smoke to filter from the console, others made the metal platform under our feet rock slightly.

Alerts began to sound, telling use that the TARDIS was being boarded by unknown creatures. We left the TARDIS console room quickly, and walking down a hallway. We ended up inside of a Dalek ship. Three Daleks moved out of their alcoves accompanied by a lot of smoke while yelling, "EXTERMINATE" in their robotic voices. Their rant about how they are the superior species and how they were going to eliminate the Doctor was cut short when their ship was attacked. The attackers were another group of Daleks who claimed that they were the Supreme Daleks. Of course, the two groups got into a fight about who was better and the ships starting firing their lasers at each other.

We took this opportunity to escape...right into a Weeping Angel graveyard. Now, the thing about Weeping Angels is that they are frozen whenever someone is looking at them. They can only move when they are unobserved, so the only way they can not get you is if you keep you eyes on them. Whatever you do, don't blink.

The graveyard was full of stone angels and the lights flashed off and on, tricking your eyes into thinking that they might have moved. Our group moved through this section quickly, urged forward by the voice of the Doctor telling us to hurry and not to blink.

The final room was decorated a bit like a jungle with a rock face in front of us. A 3D video was projected onto a screen in the rock face showing the swirling time vortex being put to rights, and the Doctor being released from his prison inside the Pandorica. Us "shoppers" had helped save the day.

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Weeping Angel

The exhibition portion of the tour was full of props and costumes from throughout the Doctor Who series. There were all of the different sonic screwdrivers used by the different incarnations, as well as a display showing the main outfits of all eleven doctors.

All of the creatures were represented from the Face of Boe, to Cybermen, the creepy Silence creatures, and Silurians. A very interesting display showed the evolution of the Daleks. They have gradually become larger over time and changed colors. The most recent versions are about five feet tall and are painted in solid colors like red, blue and yellow so as to be able to tell them apart. Older Daleks tended to be more metallic colors.  

Each companion of the Doctor had a poster and one of their main outfits on display. I was disappointed that the plaques only told the basics about each character instead of special, behind-the-sences knowledge. I would assume that most people at the Doctor Who Experience already know the basics behind each of the characters. 

I had a really great time on the tour. It was nice being with friends that you can geek out with and no one will judge you for your strange interests.

Cultural History and Scones

On Friday the 9th, we decided to explore more of the attractions Oxford has to offer. The four of us met Beth and rode into downtown Oxford, walking down Cornmarket Street to the Ashmolean. The Ashmolean is a museum filled with ancient artifacts like pottery, weaponry, and coinage, as well as several art and sculpture galleries.

Most of the rooms focused on either British, Roman or Chinese history. I most enjoyed looking at the currency exhibition and the pieces of jewelry scattered throughout the various rooms. They had bills displayed from all over the world, including money printed by the Confederacy during the American Civil War. There were thousands of coins in a range of sizes marked with the ruler of the time. The biggest ones were about 1 1/2 inches in diameter with the smallest about 1/4 inches in diameter. If coins today were that small I think I would be loosing them all of the time. Historians use coins to determine who were the rulers of Ancient Rome as each emperor had their likeness stamped on coins during their reign.

We moved on to the art galleries which were decorated with jewel toned wallpaper to fit the time periods of the paintings in their gilt frames. I perused most of the paintings quickly, pausing to read the plaques describing the artist and painting when one caught my interest. I can appreciate art and fairly intelligently discuss the symbolism and possible meaning the artist was trying to convey, as well as art techniques used, but I am very picky about what art I really enjoy.

At one point we all got a little separated as the rooms all seem interconnected, creating the feeling of a maze where you don't know where each turn and new doorway will take you. I managed to find Caitlin and we sat on a bench waiting for the others. To pass the time we discussed the painting directly in front of the bench. The focus of the painting was a sitting figure with shoulder-length blond hair, robes of pale pink and cobalt, and a light shining around the head. My guess was that the person might be the Virgin Mary since I believe she is often pictured in pink and blue robes with a halo. Seated around the figure were older men with greying hair and thick beards. To the far right were two more people, a man and a woman, with golden halo hovering over their heads.

The halos suggested a biblical scene but I did not know which one. Caitlin and I tried to make up stories about what was going on, and why all of these men were surrounding this feminine figure. Giving up the guessing, I rose from the comfortably padded bench and read the information plaque. We were pretty far off the mark. The central figure, which we thought was a woman due to the longer hair, fair face, and pink robes, was actually Jesus as a child when he first preached to the learned men of his village.

By this time we had managed to find each other. Only one floor was left for us to see and we moved through even more art galleries fairly quickly. The final room was smaller than the previous ones and decorated with emerald green wallpaper. Looking in the first alcove, I found that all of the paintings were appealing to me, and I spent several minutes reading their information cards. It was only when I was moving to another section to the room that I saw it was dedicated to artists of the Pre-Raphaelite art form which happens to be by favorite style.

The Pre-Raphaelite style is highly detailed with an emphasis on Nature. The paintings often depict characters from literature and myth. Scenes deriving from the Arthurian legends, Greek mythology, and the Shakespearean plays were all popular with the artists of the style.

William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Rossetti are often considered the founders of the art movement, though I am most familiar with the works of John William Waterhouse.

The gallery featured several paintings by William Holman Hunt which I found breathtaking with their emphasis on detail and the use of vibrant colors. I particularly liked The Afterglow in Egypt. According to the information plaque, Hunt had a very hard time getting the Egyptian girl in the painting to stand still long enough to sketch her properly.

Afterglow in Egypt
by William Holman Hunt

In the opposite alcove, there was a Waterhouse painting, and I had a bit of an "Oh my goodness, this is an actual painting by John William Waterhouse" moment. The Internet is so useful to learn about art, but it can not compare to actually standing before a famous painting in real life.

Ariadne by John William Waterhouse

The Waterhouse painting in the Ashmolean was Ariadne. It depicts Ariadne, the princess who gave a ball of string to Theseus to guide hime in the Minator's labyrinth. The two fell in love and eloped together but the goddess Athena demanded that Theseus leave Ariadne on a beach. The painting depicts the young woman, two leopards at her feet, reclining as Theseus' ship sails away.

We left the museum after I finished looking at the Pre-Raphaelite room and made our way down High Street to the Vaults and Garden Cafe for afternoon tea. The Vaults and Garden is in a beautiful rectangular room with vaulted ceilings that is attached to the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. The rustic tables and chairs were made from dark wood, and the dim lighting gave the cafe a very cozy feel.

I ordered English Breakfast tea and a scone. The tea came in a small green teapot to keep it warm. There were steel creamers, only two inches high, for holding the milk and sugar cubes. The large, golden brown, freshly made scone was served with clotted cream and raspberry jam. The scone was crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. I cut small pieces from the bread, spreading it with clotted cream then jam. I ate very slowly to appreciate how delicious all of the food tasted. I absolutely love the idea of having tea and a small snack in the afternoon to hold you over until dinner.

Caves and Italian Food

This past weekend was full of activities with a trip to Cardiff on Friday, Bonfire Night on Saturday, and  then a trip to Chislehurst Caves and London on Sunday.

Amy, Caitlin and I have several days left on our BritRail pass so we looked for day trips that take less than two hours to get to by train. Caitlin suggested Chislehurst Caves, a place she had visited on a previous trip to England. Caves are cool, and a nice change from museums so we agreed. Libby was sick from Bonfire Night so she stayed at the flat to rest.

Chislehurst is a suburb south-east of London. The little bit of the town we saw on the walk to the caves seemed quite and traditional with its brick houses and corner pub. We worried that the caves would be difficult to fin but we had no problems at all. You just walk down the road from the train station, turn right past the pub and then there are giant brown signs pointing the way. It was probably only a seven minute walk from the rail station to the caves.

The tours started on the hour so we had about fifteen minutes to wait around in the lobby which was a combination of wooden pew-like benches and a separate room with a small cafe.

At noon, our tour group, made up of about six parents, six children, and us three, ventured down to the caves entrance which was under the building we were in. Old fashioned oil lanterns were distributed among the adults to light the way. Only a few parts of the caves were fitted with electricity and lights from flashlights, cameras, and other technology would not be good for our eyes inside the caves (therefore I have not photographs from inside the caverns).

The Chislehurst Caves were formed completely by hand as the Druids, Saxons, and Romans mined for chalk. The maze of caverns would measure 22 miles if it could be stretched into a straight line. Over the centuries it has played host to sacrificial ceremonies of the Druids, music concerts, and murders hiding bodies.

During WWII, when London was being bombed by the Germans, 15,000 people used the caves as a bomb shelter. Families would pay a weekly fee and be assigned an "address" which would be painted on the cave wall. There were showers, a hospital and a chapel. People slept on narrow bunk beds, at least three beds high. Every night at 10:30 pm, all lights had to be extinguished because they could be seen through cracks in the ground by the German planes flying above. This would leave thousands of people in absolute darkness until morning. I have no idea what you would do if you needed the toilet in the middle of the night, but the rules worked. Not a single person died from bombings while sheltered inside the caves.

One child was born in the caves in the hospital. The baby girl was christened in the cave's chapel and named Cavena, though she preferred to go by Rose.

In the mid-20th century, musicians discovered the pleasing affects of the cave's echoes and began to hold concerts down in the caverns. David Bowie, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix all played there at one time or another.

Our group looked at the chapel before moving farther into the dark reaches of the cave with only out lanterns as light. We stopped at the alter of the Druids where women and children were sacrificed to the gods. Our group was told by the tour guide to gather in an alcove next to the alter and he would leave us in the dark for several seconds to experience the all consuming blackness. Caitlin was kind enough to hold my hand for this part. I was not frightened, but it is nice to know that you are not alone when you can not see anything.

The guide walked some ways away and began to bang on a metal drummer to show us how well sounds travel in the confined space. The drumming stopped and we waited for him to come back when, "Bang!," he hit the drum one more time incredibly hard. We all startled and jerked then began some nervous chuckles to ease the tension. I was trying to listen for the tour guide's footsteps coming towards us. Everyone screamed as his flashlight came on right before us. I guess he had used the time we were recovering from the loud bang to make his way back to us unheard for the express purpose of scaring us.

Next we moved on to the area that was considered most haunted. Before walking down the narrow corridor to this area, the tour guide said, "Now, before people report seeing a white mist, they usually feel a chill and sometimes the echoes in the cave are dampened. It is impossible to feel a chill because the caves are always at a constant temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit not matter the weather outside."

Right when he said that I felt a chill move down the back of my body until a tingle set up residence in the backs of my calves. Then when we walked through the tunnel to the cavern beyond I thought that the echoes were less pronounced. The tour guide remarked on that too. I decided to focus on looking straight at the tour guide instead of looking around for fear of actually seeing something possibly supernatural in origin.

He told us that the ghost is believed to be that of an 18 year-old woman who was murdered by her husband, a miner in the caves, in the late 1800s. He weighed down her body and dumped it into the pool in the cavern where we stood. Her skeletal remains were not discovered until the 1930s when workers were preparing the pool to be used for irrigation to grow mushrooms in the caves.

The tour ended soon after and we caught the train back into London. We walked around Covent Gardens and admired the Christmas decorations that were already put on. Suspended from the roof over the market were giant red ornaments and shiny disco balls. The varied slightly in size but most had to have been at least six feet in diameter.

We spent a long time wandering around looking for a candy shop that Caitlin had visited on her last trip to England. We were about to give up the search when we found the little shop with its red awning. Amy bought toffee bits to try to replicate the toffee and whipped cream combination we had on our Starbucks samples in Cardiff. Caitlin bought some pear drops and cherry bakewells.

Pear drops look just like gumdrops, but hard. Amy found out that out the hard way when she tried to bite into one. I really did not like those because they tasted too artificial. The cherry bakewells on the other hand were delicious. The hard candies are based on an English tart of the same name made from cream and cherries. They were amazing because they did not have the fake cherry flavoring. The candies tasted just like black cherry ice cream to me. If we ever find ourselves in that part of London again I will be buying some to take home with me.

Our lunch was eaten at Bella Italia, an Italian restaurant where Amy ate with her parents when they were visiting. I had Cannelloni Ricotta which was a rectangular noodle spread with ricotta cheese and spinach and rolled up. The tomato sauce was creamy, orange was delicious. It actually tasted quite similar to the tomato soup served in one of the eating places at my American university.

Before dark we walked down to Piccadilly Circus, just to say we have been there. Some post cards were bought and we popped into the M&M store to look around. As the sun went down we headed back to Oxford, not wanting to be wandering around London in the dark.