The Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal are mine to see on clear days
You thought that I would need a crystal ball to see right through the haze
...
I can see for miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and milesand miles and miles and miles and miles
I can see for miles and milesI can see for miles and milesI can see for miles and milesI can see for miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles
-The Who (Song and Lyrics here)
Hey all, sorry for not posting over the last six days. Been pretty hectic! Let's get back to it, though!
You thought that I would need a crystal ball to see right through the haze
...
I can see for miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and milesand miles and miles and miles and miles
I can see for miles and milesI can see for miles and milesI can see for miles and milesI can see for miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles
-The Who (Song and Lyrics here)
Hey all, sorry for not posting over the last six days. Been pretty hectic! Let's get back to it, though!
For the last couple of years, I have been enthralled by the worlds set out in fantasy literature and television. Specifically, I have fallen in love with the scenery, weapons, and overall aesthetic of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth and George R.R. Martin’s Westeros. It has been a dream of mine to gaze upon the sprawling green fields of the Hobbit's Shire, and walk the ramparts of the fortress at Helm's Deep or Winterfell with a sword at my side. Nerdy, I'll admit; but a dream nevertheless
So, our excursion to Warwick Castle was a "dream come true", for a lack of a better expression. At first glance, I couldn’t believe what I was looking at; the castle was immense! I had never seen towers that tall, or ramparts that long.
Our initial view of the Castle
The interior was equally as stunning: the collection of arms, while not as vast as the Tower of London’s, was far more like those I was used to seeing: longswords, shortswords, maces, spears, and halberds, to name a few.
The first room of the castle we entered. With the right men, one could fend off an army!
Supper's Ready!
Henry the Eighth I Am, I Am (Song and lyrics here)
Upon exiting the castle interior, I was had the desire to climb the castle as high as I could, and get the best view possible. I set my sights on Guy’s Tower, a 39 meter tall tower built in the 14 century, and began my ascent.
Climbing the ramparts
Getting closer...
Almost there...
I was soon followed by Christian, Emily, Brittany, and Laura. The higher we climbed, the more excited we got. Upon traversing the absurdly narrow spiral staircases, we reached the top. What a view! It took as much breath from my lungs as it did memory on my phone! Green as far as the eye could see in one direction, and a gorgeous cathedral surrounded by an old town in the other. Not even the best Peter Jackson wide-angle could match what I was looking at. Being caught up in the moment, I forgot the obligatory group shot. So... sorry!
The rest of our group, as seen from the top of Guy's Tower. They didn't hear me calling out to them...
Upon descending Guy's tower the class took a trip to the Castle Dungeon and torture chambers. It was stylized as a haunted-house-like attraction during the bubonic plauge. Personally, I love these types of attractions; I get a big kick out of haunted houses. The other members of the group...not so much!
Gianna, myself, and Ling preparing to face the executioners: Kehana and Christian (shout out to decapi-fan Genesis cheering them on in the background).
While everyone else was screaming, I was laughing and smiling. Needless to say, with that kind of disposition plastered on my face, the Dungeon Torturer had a field day with me, to my full support and encouragement. What that entrails, I'll leave you to imagine.
After our little foray into the world of pain and torture, it was lunchtime! Hopping back on the bus, we then set out for Stratford-on-Avon, the hometown of William Shakespeare. We were to eat at a historic pub in the center of town, and view Shakespeare's birth home.
The quaint, quiet town of Stratford-on-Avon
Shakespeare's birth home, a unique home/museum hybrid contains, on display, a pristine copy of the First Folio: a collection of the complete works of William Shakespeare. With only a few hundred in existence, these Folios can fetch a huge sum at an auction: the last one I could find was appraised at around 3 million pounds, which is about $4,000,000.
The Folio
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
The exterior of the Shakespeare's Birth home
By the time we had finished our tour through the house and museum, it was time to head back to Kensington (we had awoke that morning just shy of 7:00 AM, so to say we were tired was an understatement!). We needed to rest up for the next excursion, which was to give us full Shakespeare experience: a tour of his Globe Theatre. I sign off with the lamentations of a young university student, who is infamous for his "antic disposition".
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