Sightseeing

So I finished work on Monday; it was kinda sad to leave. The first job I had fell apart so quickly that I was just stunned; the second, it kinda fell apart and I resigned, but I really hated leaving. The next one, well, I was really glad to get out of there. This one I didn't hate, and I didn't love; I wouldn't have left, except that I wanted to go home. So I kinda had mixed feelings about leaving (for someone who doesn't like change, and who gets really attached to things and people and places, I really make life difficult for myself!).

I go home next month, and then the whole thing starts again - finding a flat, finding a job (and going through interviews again, aargh!). I want to get a car, and at least I'll have a bike again, yay! Hopefully I'll find a job I like, and make friends, and maybe, hopefully, even meet a guy ;) In the meantime, though, I'm catching up on some sightseeing; yesterday, I went off to Oxford and the Cotwolds.

I went on the London Walks trip, which is reasonable value. We went from Paddington to Oxford station, where there was a bus to take us to the Cotwolds. First stop was Minster Lovell, where we wandered around and saw the ruins of Minster Lovell Hall. Very pretty place, and it was cool to stand in a real ruined building - you see it on TV, but it's different being there in person. And to see the foundations of the outbuildings - it was a bit of a Time Team flashback :-)

At the village church there was a scene that I just had to take a photo of; file it in the dictionary as a definition for 'irony' (hmm, maybe I should have cropped and zoomed a bit; if you can't read it, the sign says 'Welcome'):

And this picture is exactly what I always imagined when I heard the word 'cottage':

We then went off to Burford, for lunch, and then on to Oxford. We did quite an interesting walking tour of Oxford, and even got to go inside New College, and saw the dining room (again, just like I always imagined!) and the chapel. All very cool, and I was really chuffed to be able to buy a real Oxford sweatshirt, from a real Oxford college store :-) I got to see the Ashmolean Museum, although unfortunately there wasn't time to go inside; same with the History of Science Museum, which sounded really cool.

I also particularly liked the gargoyles at New College:

Tomorrow I'm off to Bath; this time, I managed to get really cheap train tickets, so I'm going on my own rather than on a guided tour. I'll do a City Sightseeing bus tour round the city, and go to the Roman Baths and the Pump Room; hopefully it'll be interesting! Monday I'm off to Edinburgh for the day; I know it's insane going all that way for one day, but... well... for some reason I decided to do it, and it's too late to change my mind now :-) I'm really excited about that one; again, it's a bus tour round the city, and entrance into the castle. Woot!