Bath, Inception, Sunday Dinner

The days are escaping me, and I don't know how to stop them! I've been much more consistent about my journaling, but now my blogging has suffered. One of my professors said aspiring writers (and really all writers) have to write everyday. Some days it comes so naturally. I have so much to say. And other days, I have to make myself put my thoughts to paper.

I've been talking about the excursions I've been taking, and really they have been quite enjoyable. They are with a company called London Walks, and I recommend them if you are ever in the London area on holiday. I don't recommend the walks within the city as much as the excursions. My favorite guide so far is Richard because he has great customer service skills and a great posh accent. :) Oh and he saved me from an unpleasant man who was crowding me on the train during one excursion. Of the excursions I've been on, I would rate them from best to worst as follows:

1) Bath
2) Stonehenge
3) Cambridge
4) The Cotswolds
5) Oxford
6) Bleinhem Palace
7) Winchester
8) Salisbury
9) St. Albans and the Verulamium

I went to Bath last week (the pics have been up on my Facebook page for a long time now :/ ) and the reason I enjoyed it the most was because it was absolutely beautiful to see. I didn't take any notes (I've learned taking notes during the tours helps to blog about it later… I'm such a nerd :p) and so I can't remember all the details of how the city was established and such.

Basically the Romans discovered the hot springs and built the baths. The Saxons, who didn't like to bathe, built over them. Eventually, the baths were rediscovered, and Bath became a holiday spot for the English.

Also, Jane Austen lived in Bath for a while and the city is featured in her books "Persuasion" and "Northanger Abbey". Everywhere we walked was beautiful. My favorite houses were built in a circle, but I forget what it was called -- boooo-- (and the guide said the dimension of the circle was the same as Stonehenge-- and we've come full circle :p.)

If you'll notice in my Bath album on Facebook, there are several pictures of lion sculptures. Apparently, for the past few years, artists make sculptures of animals (a different animal each year) and auction them for charity. I took pictures of the ones I saw on our walk.

All of this history is starting to snap together for me. Although I had read about all this history in school, I never really understood it until now that I'm seeing all the different cities and structures where the history took place.

Last Friday, I went to see the movie "Inception." It was brilliant. :) I really enjoy thinking about how I think, and I definitely enjoy dreaming. I usually remember my dreams, and I have had some random dreams come true. These dreams were of the predicting-the-future sort, and I think there was no possible way I could have known something was going to happen. I'm not sure if my subconscious picks up on things and my brain puts two and two together, but it has been freaky to be able to know something was going to happen because I dreamt it. It wasn't the plot of "Inception" that I was thrilled about, but rather the idea of it (how appropriate.) I loved the different levels of dreaming, and shared dreaming… and I liked the kicks that woke you up… and the visual beauty of the movie. Oh, and I loved the fight seen in Level two of the dreams that takes place in the hotel hallway with the kid from Third Rock as they're simultaneously tumbling inside a van in Level one of the dream. Anyway, great movie.

On Sunday, I had dinner (only it was at lunchtime-- they call it dinner here) with Ian's family. It was his father's 72nd birthday, and I had a lovely meal in the company of a lovely family.