Let's see... after the weekend of Cambridge, Bath, and Stonehenge, we had a busy week. Aunt Carol and Uncle David were here, and it was really nice to share some meals with them, and see an African version of Mozart's The Magic Flute. That week we also went to the ballet, as well as the opera where we saw Salome. We've seen a show literally every night for the past couple of weeks but Mondays (because of bell ringing), Tuesdays (because of a class) and Sundays (because we've been traveling). That's a lot of shows! They've all been amazing, too. There was only one that I thought was pretty typical and boring, but the set was so incredible that it made up for it.

We went for a weekend to St Ives, which is in Cornwall in the Southwest tip of England. It was an adorable seaside town full of cute shops, beautiful artwork, and friendly dogs playing in the water. I stupidly left my purse on the train, so we had to go to Penzance to retrieve it, and it was an equally cute seaside town (and I got my purse back just fine). Tom and I walked along the beach in the morning and found an adorable cafe for breakfast overlooking the bay. We went to the Tate art museum there, which was minuscule compared to the Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, but nice all the same. It featured mostly local artists. We took the train back to London, getting a head start on homework on the way.

I spent the next week doing homework. We had lots of free time at the beginning of our trip without any homework, and we're certainly making up for it now with all the work we have to do.

Spring break is here! We were incredibly lucky and were able to stay with a friend from bell ringing in his cottage in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was wonderful. Rolling green hills, stone walls, a beautiful cathedral from the 13th century, a windy (windy is such an understatement- the wind never stopped blowing) but sunny beach, umpteen delicious cups of tea, a happy dog named Paddy- it was everything we needed on a break from London. Our host, Michael, drove us everywhere, and showed us various castles (Norman castles are all over Pembrokeshire) and made us dinner. There is no way to thank him!

We took the ferry over to Ireland, and took the bus to Cork, which was a nice town. We went to Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone, so I hope I'm more eloquent- I should be! It was such a funny experience. We stood in a long cue of tourists, and when it's your turn, you sit down and lean way over backwards to reach it! It was wet- how gross is that. But hey, Discovery Channel listed it as one of the top 99 things to do in a lifetime, so we had to do it. There were really pretty gardens/forest around the castle, so we wandered around there for a while. That night back in Cork, we found a pub with a guitarist/folk singer playing and sat and listened for a while. He was very good and the atmosphere of the pub was fun. It felt very traditional. Tom's been trying the local brews- Beamish, Murphys, and Guiness- and I had a Bailey's and I think it tastes better in Ireland.

Today we made it to Killarney, a cute town on the edge of Killarney National Park. It rained most of the day, but we managed to make it a little ways into the park before the sun went away. The park is so big it's hard to get much of anywhere on foot, so I think we're going to rent bikes tomorrow morning and bike out to a castle and the lake. Tonight we're going to a pub across the street that also has live music. It's my goal to spend each night here in a pub listening to Irish music- and I don't think it'll be hard to do!

After biking we're headed to Galway tomorrow, then on to Dublin, then back to London. We only have two more weeks once we get back, then Tom and I are going to Barcelona with his parents, then on to the rest of Europe (itinerary to be determined). I'll be home in a blink of an eye!

Cheers!