"Counting down till finals...May - June - July - August..... "
Life is finally back to normal with family gone, Tam gone (friend from Thailand that was visiting me) and the start of the third term. Finals are not in the distant future anymore and it's finally time to start counting down...and the clock starts ticking..now! Wouldn't be freaking out if I was in Bangkok, but over here my courses are really tough in addition to my doing more or less nothing for the past 5-6 months. Soooo much material to cover!
Enough of that....while Tam was here we had a blast visiting all the tourist attractions (turning pro soon, in terms of tour guide, so if any of you are planning on visiting London, juz holler!) - Tower of London (4th time!), Bath, Cotswold, watched Phantom of the Opera, Buckingham Palace (3rd time!), London Eye (2nd time!), Swindon outlet, and took the rest of the London shopping district by storm...heheh...yeah, seemed like my friend had an unlimited budget.  Had hell of a time dragging his two suitcases to Paddington Stations to board the Heathrow Express to the airport...both handles on one suitcase have come off so go figure!
I must say that our best outings were to Swindon where lotsa shopping was done...prices cut down 50% in some cases, Bath and the Cotswold - beautiful scenery, and the Phantom of the Opera musical which was simply fabulous, marvelous, breathtaking, unforgettable...I dunno, it was my first musical and I was sooo impressed! Loved it! Would even watch it again. If you're into musicals or have the opportunity to watch one, I definitely recommend it.
This friend of mine is peculiar in one way; he's rather shy and doesn't like crowds (not the usual, "I don't like crowded places", but really can't bear it, which I'm assuming is due to self-consciousness) - he wont take photos when there are many people around. We had to wait for the crowds to subside a fair bit wherever we went (which, on the upside, often got us nicer pics). As a result, and also due to time constraints and coincidence, we ended up taking lotsa pics of London by night. And yes, there were so few people around that we could go crazy in front of the camera.
   
Here are just a few we took nearby the London Eye.
  
Houses of Parliament Tower Bridge London Eye
We took a day trip to Bath and Cotswold. The city of Bath houses the old Roman baths supossedly nearly 2000 years old. Water in these baths are supplied by a nearby hot spring believed to have the ability to improve health, increase vitality and also cure a variety of ailments. The city itself is charming with a number of beautiful spots to see such as the Circus and the Royal Crescent. As for Cotswold, we only had time to visit a small section of it, a preserved village to be exact. The quaint little village is full of small stone houses. Its atmosphere is so serene being surrounded by trees and hills.
  
Roman Bath Scenery in Bath Cotswold
Below is the Circus. It is simply a circle of private houses built in the style of Palladian palaces. Though they are merely houses which are to this day occupied, the Circus is lovely. It's quite a feeling to be standing in the middle of it which is a large circular patch of grass with old trees in the center and whichever way you turn you see the continuous row of houses. Below are three pics I took and have put together in order to try to give you a feel of the "circular" feeling you get when you're there (just imagine the other half of the circle yourself..heheh). 
  
The Circus
  
Just some random pics...
Arrrrghhh....still got so many pics I'd like to put up but can't....anyway, if anyone's interested in seeing more of these sites or of me and my friend..heheh...then just click:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v665/carolinewong/Easter%20Vacation%20with%20Tam/ (password's caroline)
Hope everyone's been doing well lately, free from illness (esp. colds! lotsa that going round here in London!), and those of you who are going through your exam period - BEST OF LUCK!!! Have a great weekend y'all! 
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