I tramp a perpetual journey: England in the Spring

Hello friends and family. I apologize for the delay. I have been without internet for my first two weeks in Tübingen. While I'm in Germany I hope to do at least one blog posting a week. I'll start by catching you up on what I've been doing the past few weeks. I was lucky enough to spend my spring break in England before coming to Germany. I had a glorious time there and it was a fantastic way to spend the weeks leading up to this program. Spring arrived in England shortly before I did and it was a beautiful sight with sunshine and flowers and green grass. I was fortunate enough to have various distant relatives put me up for a few nights in various locations throughout the country.

Thelma and I in Green Park

I started off by staying with Thelma in London. I had a marvelous time with her touring the city on rented bicycles and having curry on Brick Lane. We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum and had a tea in their fancy cafe.

Cambridge

That weekend I set off the Cambridge to visit Neil. I spend a significant amount of time daydreaming about attending a university like Cambridge and seeing the actual town was wonderful. There happened to be some graduations going on that weekend so I was able to see some the scholars up close. That afternoon we watched a soccer match in a pub. While I'm not a big sports fan I did find watching everyone in the pub get all riled up about the game highly entertaining. After the soccer match, we had these incredibly rich desserts that kept us full well into the next day.

On Sunday Neil and I travelled to the little city of Ely to visit the Cathedral. I also experienced my first Sunday Roast in Ely which is a delicious meal of roast beef and vegetables smothered in gravy. While wandering around Ely we happened upon a bookstore that was absolutely perfect. It was everything a bookstore should be with creaky floorboards, three stories and floor to ceiling bookshelves that were full to capacity. I could easily spend days on end there and be a very happy nerd.
Following my weekend in Cambridge I returned to London for a two days before setting off for Gloucester. During that time I was taken on a motorbike ride through London thanks to Thelma's fiance Pete. Now, that motorbike ride is the most thrilling thing I have ever experienced. I get all giddy just thinking about it. One day I will have a motorbike of my own and it will be glorious.

View from tower at Warwick Castle

I spent several days in Gloucester with David, Claire, and Emily. It was lovely to be back on Odessa Farm in the springtime with all the lambs and calves running about. David took me to Warwick Castle which was very cool. My favorite parts were walking along the ramparts and the amazing birds of prey show we saw.

Cider bottle collection

Claire treated me to a tour of a local cider company which was very fun and we got to sample all of the different ciders they make after the tour finished.
Another highlight was the rugby match that Emily, David and I attended on Saturday. As I've mentioned before I am not a big sports fan but I could learn to love rugby. It"s fantastically violent and highly entertaining.

This trip to England has motivated to me to seriously consider spending a significant about of time in the UK. I've started researching Masters programs and plan on applying to several of them. It would require less time and money than a masters program in the US and I would get to spend at least a year in the UK. I like this idea.
I want to close by saying how thankful I am to the Goddard family members who showed me such kindness and hospitality during my stay. I enjoyed the time we spent together and I look forward to seeing more of you all in the future. If any of you are interested in visiting me while I'm in Tübingen you are welcome anytime.

Below are a few additional photos for your viewing pleasure.