So I know it's been forever since I last posted. I'm sorry, but I really have been extemely busy, but mostly in a good way. Here's a little something to keep you going until I can finish the epic spring break post!
I have been so busy and done so much since the last time I wrote. To give a brief overview for those who don't have the time to read this monster, I went to Winchester on a day trip, a retreat to Walsingham, Spring break trip to Pisa, Rome, Garmisch, Munich and Prague, and all kinds of little stuff sprinkled in between. So buckle up, get your cup of coffee and prepare for grand tales of epic proportions!
Part One : Winchester
Ok so this picture is just of London, but it was such a beautiful day that I had to snap a quick picture as we crossed the Thames on the way to Waterloo Station (which gave me a flashback to the Bourne Ultimatum - very cool). So we - Dan, Pat, Will and I - hopped on the train to Winchester for a Saturday trip. We arrived and were pleasantly surprised by the town. It was the weekend when all the schools were on break so we expected little kids running around everywhere (like in London at the time) but were pleased to find it uncrowded and relaxing. First we found what we came here for - the great hall of King Arthur! There was a museum with a history of the city of Winchester which at one point was where the Royal family lived. There was a huge castle here - so big and so well built that parts of it were impossible to destroy. However, that jerk Olliver Cromwell did his best and there's hardly anything left of what was told to be one of the most impressive fortresses ever built. But anyway, at the end of the museum you walk through the Great Hall, complete with King Arthur's round table! It's actually the thing hanging on the wall in the picture below. They thought the table to be so impressive that it should be hung on the wall so that the painting on it could be seen easily. They've done studies on it and the painting has never been altered, only restored from time to time, so it looks the same as it would have to the knights of the round table! I found that to be pretty cool. It's also kind of hard to tell from this distance, but it is actually pretty big too.
So after that we walked down into the town center and went through another museum, and grabbed some lunch. It was such a nice day that we ate on the lawn of the Cathedral and just enjoyed the sunshine. Winchester Cathedral was so cool. It was huge (at least I thought so until I got to Rome) and very cool to see. We checked it out for two to two and a half hours, just admiring the architecture and presence it had. It was originally built in the Roman style with large round arches and all, with a wooden roof. In one of the most spectacular architectural feats of its time, the nave was rebulit in the gothic style. Sometime in the 14th century, the arches were completely reformed while silmultaneously replacing the wooden roof with stone. It has to be seen to be fully appreciated, as I don't really have a great understanding or appreciation for architecture and I was baffled by how they did it. Anyway, we were extremely lucky in that we just happened to be there during one of the two 2-hour showings of the Winchester Bible that occur per week. The Winchester Bible was made in the 12th Century (sounds right, I don't really remember) but it was the most ornate and greatest work of its time period. It is in three huge volumes full of gold leaf, some blue coloring from the middle east that is even more valuable than gold and beautiful penmanship and drawings. There was a historian there to tell you all about it and answer questions - very cool. Sorry no pictures of it though, they weren't allowed.
From there we walked back through the town and stopped at what could possibly be the greatest thing of all time - a shop that makes milkshakes... in 150 different flavors! It's called shakeaway and they have every possible flavor you could imagine, and then some you wouldn't. I was a little wary of the cucumber flavored one. Anyway they just have containers lining the walls full of every kind of candy, cookie, brownie, flavoring sauce, etc. I got a hobb nobbs milkshake - which are cookies very similar to digestives (very popular over here) just a little sweeter. It's just a lightly sweetened cookie biscuit with the bottom dipped in chocolate. It was so good - one of the best milkshakes I've ever had if not the best. But Dan got a very special Milkshake named George. The George was so full of chocolate and peanut butter that it was nearly intoxicating just to smell. I had a small taste it about knocked me out... imagine eating about a jar of peanut butter and about 4 chocolate bars in the form of a milkshake and you get the idea. Dan got a large. Here's a visual of the place.
So after that, very wisely, we decide to climb the big hill to get a view of the town. By the time we get to the top we are all holding our stomachs and feeling queezy. Massive amounts of diary, sugar and climbing up a steep incline do not mix well. We did, however, get some nice views of the city. The big thing in the middle is the Cathedral.
After this we walk back down the hill and all the way across town to the train station to make our way back to London. It was a great time and the perfect day trip.
Part Two: Walsingham
So the next weekend I went on a retreat to the tiny little town of Walsingham on the east coast of England. It is home to both a Catholic and Anglican shrine which was the destination of many pilgrims dating back to Medieval times. It is known as "England's Nazareth". Evidently, a nun experienced a vision from Mary and was told to build a house in the form of the home of Mary. So she built a house and according to historians is likely very similar to the actual thing. Anyway, the orginal building from 1200 or something no longer survives, but a replica (of the replica house) was built and then surrounded by an Anglican Cathedral. The town itself is tiny, absolutely miniscule. Seriously, there's like three streets in the town, it can be walked in 5 minues. It was so nice to be in a quiet area and be able to relax and reflect on what I've done the past two months and how blessed I am while also looking ahead to how I can improve myself and my relationships with others, especially God. This is hard to do in London, where there is a constant stream of noise and distraction. Even in the middle of the night the sounds of cars, motorcycles, sirens etc goes through our thin windows. It was an extremely worthwhile retreat and I got to know some people very well and made some good friends. But let's start from the beginning.
There was only a small group of people going as most people in the program didn't want to give up a weekend of travel to go on a retreat to some tiny little town in the middle of nowhere. But actually, this meant that the people that we did have on the retreat were great and really wanted to be there. There were only 8 students along with Fr. John (our Scottish Chaplain), Vito (Fr. John's Italian friend who is studying in London), and the guy from ND campus ministry who ran the retreat. All 8 of us knew eachother which made the retreat a lot of fun. So we met on friday at King's Cross station, and I have a picture for the Harry Potter fans out there. King's Cross is where all the little wizards hop on the Hogwarts Express at platform 9 and 3/4. So they put up a little plaque between platforms 9 and 10 with a trolly halfway through the wall (the wizards have to walk through the wall to get to the platform).
So we hop on the train which was about 2 hours. We then had to wait for a bus to take us the rest of the way so a couple of us walked to a department store nearby where I was very excited to find some slippers for 3 pounds! I had been wishing I had some slippers but didn't want to spend a lot of money to get some. So as soon as I got out of London I saw some cheap slippers and snatched them up. In hindsight I can confirm that it was definitely a good purchase. So our bus finally arrives, its a mini bus so we cram all 11 of us into this van thingy for an hour long ride through the country side. Here's a nice countryside visual for you.
In Walsingham we stayed at a little guesthouse run by the shrine people. It was nice and perfect for the retreat - it was so quiet, there's no way anyone else was staying there at the time. So we did a lot of talking and reflection - you know, retreat stuff - and got to see the town a little bit (it didn't take long). It was on this retreat where I was introduced to the game Mafia - if you don't know it, ask me and I will teach you, it is a lot of fun to play with a group of people. On saturday we checked out the Anglican Shrine and then walked out to the Catholic Shrine and the outskirts of town. Traditionally, pilgrims would go to the Catholic Shrine first, then walk the last mile to the Anglican Shrine barefoot. So we kind of did it in reverse, but most of us did the walk barefoot, which got you into the right frame of mind, I think - especially during Lent. We had mass at the shrine and then we all piled back into the mini bus to go out to the beach nearby for a little fun. Oh... My... Goodness... I have never seen a beach so big! The pictures I have don't even capture the vastness of it. We really enjoyed ourselves though - we found a little ball to throw around and it was a nice day to run around a bit. Here are a few shots - if you can believe it, the sea is out there in the distance in those pictures, they were all shot facing the sea except for the one with the trees in it.
After that we went to the train station and back to London. And don't worry mom - I've gotten my hair cut since then.
