Stonehenge/Salisbury/Ashton Gate

  

Well, classes have officially started and its starting to become real that I actually have to do work over here not just explore the whole time. I've enjoyed the few classes so far though, and look forward to learning more and more about the place I'm calling home for the next few months. We went to Stonehenge yesterday along with Salisbury. Stonehenge was a surreal experience. Was it a little overrated? Maybe. But I honestly think it's all about ones prospective and mindset.  I enjoyed it and enjoyed hearing what our tour guide was telling us about the countless theories about the original purpose of the stone structure.  We then made our way to a small town called Salisbury where we visited a huge cathedral.  The two things unique about this cathedral is one, it has the tallest spike in the UK with the height of 404 feet. Secondly, one of the four original copies left in the world of the Magna Carta is housed there, which I thought was  interesting considering the influence that document had on our very own Declaration of Independence. It was beautiful inside and outside of the cathedral, and I enjoyed the tour more than I thought I originally would. Last night, I took a quick fifteen minute train ride to Bristol from Bath when we got back because the night before I decided to buy match tickets to Bristol City vs. Bristol Rovers for fifteen pounds. This match was an unique match because first off it was the Bristol Derby (derby is their word they use for rivalry) and it was the first one in seven years due to them being in different leagues. I was excited all day thinking about heading to my first ever genuine English football match, even though it wasn't the team I like. It was an electric atmosphere and an eye opening experience ending with a late Bristol City winning goal which was then followed by the fans storming the pitch.  I somehow fell more in love with soccer last night after that experience, and I'm very excited to continue to go to more and more matches (and yes I know I have a serious addiction or obsession.) Overall, yesterday was a great day and I got a wide variety of the English culture (From Stonehenge to football.) Hope all is well back home.

Cheers. 

Bath

Hello everyone.  I have been in Bath a few days now and I'm finally start to settle in to my new home.  I'm still up in the air on whether or not I would rather be in London or not, but only time will tell. However, over the last few days me and my friends have had some adventures which I know I couldn't have in London due to the beauty of Bath's countryside.  On Friday, we toured the famous Roman baths. It was interesting hearing the long elaborate method of how they used to go through the bathing process as well as seeing the old structure with our own eyes. Also on Friday, we met a local named Andrew who owned a boat shop. He could obviously tell we were American but he was extra kind to us and took us on a ride for free to get to a better picture spot on the river (I asked him if he liked football and who, he said United so I immediately discredited him being a fan in my mind).  Saturday, me and Andrew looked up to the top of the hill and saw a castle looking structure, and we made it our goal for the day to get to the top of that hill to find the castle. After about two hours of walking straight up hill we ran into a nice golf course, a hiking trail, Bath university, but no castle.  We were about to give up and walk back down hill when suddenly we literally look up and we see it within a hundred feet.  I guess you could say we were lucky, but I just think it was a reward for us dragging around eight people all day trying to find this mythical castle.  It ended up being a wall that looked like a castle, oh well. We got some cool pictures which I'll post below and made some memories (big andy getting stuck for a bit in the window when we were climbing the wall). I was supposed to go play football with some locals Sunday but it fell through because we couldn't find the field we were supposed to meet at but we did find a field so I got to kick a bit which was nice. Other than that Bath has been a relaxing place with a slower pace which is nice most of the time.  I'm in the process of planning my first weekend trip which is exciting, but at times stressful trying to line up all the travel arrangements. My next post should be later in the week after we go to Stonehenge on Wednesday. Love everyone who is reading this and miss you all.

Until next time, God Bless.

London Part 2

I'm currently sitting in my new apartment in Bath, and no words can express how good it feels to be in a place I can call home now. But now onto the rest of my experiences in London. I would bore you all to death if I just gave you a list of things I have been up too, so I'm just going to give you the high's and low's of the last few days.  I'll start with the highs. Some of us went to the Tower of London today and honestly it now ranks as my favorite thing to do in London historically speaking. Imagining the scenes from the executions and the kings walking the exact same ground as me was an unique experience just because it isn't comparable to anything I have been able to experience in America. Seeing the crown jewels was spectatcular as well even though I had more fun on the tour than looking at the jewels. (I'm a nerd.) Also, on Tuesday, me and my friends went exploring southwest London looking for some football stadiums as well as wanting to see Wimbledon. We found two football stadiums (Chelsea's and Fulham's for those of you who know/care) and we also found Wimbledon.  Wimbledon probably ranks second as my favorite thing to visit while in London just because of the area it's in and the classy atmosphere that goes along with it.  I'm not a big tennis player but I do enjoy watching Wimbledon every year so I had to buy something from the store. I ended up getting a pair of socks and a patch.  We also went to the London eye at night which was interesting just because of the bird's eye view of London we got that not many people get. (even though it was twenty pounds, which is a bit high in my opinion.) The main low from these last few days has been figuring out what time the tube closes the hard way when we got locked out around 12:30, so we had to walk around a hour or two back to the dorms in our khakis and ties that we wore earlier in the night for Phantom of the Opera. Overall, I enjoyed my experiences in London and I can't wait to go back here in a few weeks for a Tottenham match with my friends.  We have just arrived in Bath today and it already feels like a polar opposite lifestyle than that of London. (However, Bath does have two H&M's for those of you who care or know what it is, so me and Alex are excited.) I will post again soon after I discover more and more in Bath and get a better opinion on it. Enjoy the pictures.

London Part 1

We landed yesterday eight o'clock London time, and from there we hit the ground running. (and let me just say the first Football jersey I saw here in London was a Tottenham jersey) We then went to the college we are staying at for a few days called Regent's College which is located in the heart of London.  Then we went straight to the tube where we met a tour guide to do a walking tour.  We saw everything from Harry Potter scenes to a courtyard where Charles Dickens wrote some of his most famous books, and here I am running off of two hours of sleep but it is all so new and surreal that I don't even think about being tired. Today, we went on a five hour bike tour.  Five hours seems like it would be miserable, but we saw almost all of the stereotypical images of London (pictures below) and I couldn't of had more fun.  Also, we learned a lot about their government system, history, and future plans, so don't worry parents your money is going to more than my obsession with soccer. But just one comment on the soccer aspect and that is it is everything I could dream of and I haven't even been to a match/even seen a stadium and I will leave it at that. It still doesn't seem real to me that I will be here until December, but I am sure it will sink in after the first few weeks. Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!

 Until next time, God Bless.

Welcome

Hello everyone.
For those of you who truly know me, you know I have dreamed about coming to England for years now.  For those of you who might not know me as well, you at least know that I am obsessed with soccer (I guess football now) and have been for basically my whole life. Which in the end my obsession with football and England correlate into me wanting to come study here in England.  Over the next few months I will try to post updates on this blog and try to share my experiences the best I can with the people I care about and I know care about me back home. If I start to slack on my blogs don't hesitate to email me at (bjdavidson@mail.lipscomb.edu) and tell me to pick it up.  I hope y'all enjoy this, and I am excited to start off on this adventure and see what God has planned for me over these next three-four months. And for picture sake, here is the sole reason I am obsessed with England. I watch every game (at times seven in the morning due to the time difference). The team below is Tottenham Hotspur, based in North London, and I plan to go to a few matches and enjoy the soccer first atmosphere for a few months while I can.

-Braden Davidson