More exciting than a real bath

I'm a huge fan of showers, especially when they last for over an hour, but sometimes there's something soothing about a nice bath. Of course, if you're looking for something cool, I'd skip the bath and just head to Bath. Over the past three days, I've seen some pretty spectacular things:

The Saturday markets, complete with plenty of cheese...

The Jane Austen Center, along with several smoldering pictures of the lovely Alan Rickman and a pair of amazing new buttons...

The Royal Crescent, where people just casually live like it's no big deal (it's actually a big deal)...

A secret little Georgian Garden that we literally happened to just stumble upon while wandering around...

The happiest cookies I've ever seen...

Stonehenge...

Salisbury Cathedral...

Lacock Abbey, where some scenes from Harry Potter were filmed...

And many, many cute dogs.

Namárië,

Ally

A home away from home - literally.

Bath has Starbucks! Actually, they have two. I haven't been in one yet because there are plenty of other cafes and local coffee shops that I want to try first, but it's nice to know that if I need a familiar sight, I can always go find a barista in a green apron.

I did get to visit a cute little coffee shop called Cake Cafe - I didn't get any cake but I did get a vanilla latte, and I think I prefer the second option anyway.

I know the Brits love their tea, but I don't think they'll be able to completely convert me over to a tea-drinker...I love my coffee too much.

Namárië,

Ally

It's Pimms O' Clock!

The grocery stores here have individual cans of Pimms...I'm in heaven.

Namárië,

Ally

Welcome to Bath - Nunes House

So by combining my exceptional sense of direction and ability to stay calm, and Kelly's actual knowledge of which trains to catch and what schedule we needed to be on, the two of us finally made it to Bath yesterday afternoon! We were tired, jetlagged, and in desperate need of a shower, but we were also in England so that made it all ok. We moved our stuff in Nunes House, which is a building with four flats located across from the rugby field and right above a Greek restaurant that thinks it's a nightclub. I'm in flat 4, which is incidentally on the third floor.

My room is pretty huge...

...and the view's not too shabby, either.

Namárië,

Ally

Lunch in Bath!

Chicken with lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and mayo on brown bread! Also, an oddly pretty can of diet Coke.

(From Gourmet Scoff's.)

Namárië,

Ally

So much to pack, so very little suitcase space

I'm what most people would consider a pack rat. I also like to put off packing until the very last moment. The combination of the two means that my packing usually consists of dumping arm-fulls of clothing into suitcases, crossing my fingers that my luggage is under the weight limit, and only actually using about a third of what I pack.

Hey. I'm Ally. And I hope I just gave you a great first impression of myself. Here, have another.

That's me, just casually eating our traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the Gettysburg College dining center, after getting back from my appointment at the health center where I was prescribed antibiotics for strep even though it turned out that I actually had a virus. If there are any strep throat super-bugs running around in a few months, my bad. You can't really tell from this picture (or maybe you can, who knows), but with my incredibly inflamed throat, this was definitely the most painful Thanksgiving meal I've ever had.

In two days, I'll be in England. That fact has nothing to do how germ-y I was during Thanksgiving, but it does have to do with packing. Packing for a few weeks is hard enough - packing for a few months has been almost impossible. Plus, knowing me, I'll land at Heathrow Airport and realize that I forgot something crucial, like socks.

(Nope, I just checked and I already packed my socks.)

At least I got to stop packing for a little while and have a cake break.

My 21st birthday is in a week and a half, thus the candles. And my name may be misspelled, but it tasted delicious, and when it comes to cake that's all I care about.

Now that we're talking about cake, I think it's time for one last American midnight snack...

Namárië,

Ally