Post Jam

Josh:  I am at a Pret a Manger.  It is a cafe.  Picture it this way, if Starbucks and Panera Bread got put in a blender on high, and the liquify setting was pushed, out would pour Pret a Manger.  Danny and I are now in Oxford.  Yes, it is the Oxford where the college is at.  Its a cool place with a river walk, a castle, old buildings, and of course a university.  There are many people our age, which I am all for.  We stayed at a campground last night.  We slept next to a bunch of RVs and Caravans.  Apparently, Caravans over here have pop up roofs.  The pop-up part they use to sleep in.  Very cool indeed.  It also carries a sink, stove, and maybe a television (in mine it would).  I must say Caravans in the U.S. are behind the curve.  I think we need to jump aboard on this cool phenomena of pop-up roof caravans.  Before Oxford, we stopped in a city called Bristol.  This place was amazing.  Not the city, but the hostel.  We jammed out with a bunch of Europeans: Simone, Richard, and two guys I don't know.  I played percussion on a guitar (we weren't properly equipped with a drum set).  It was an amazing time.  Songs we played were: 'the basket song', and of course 'Ode to Bristol'.  During this time, we managed to get our laundry done by a laundry machine.  So, for at least a few days you don't have to worry about our appearance (I just need to shave).  The weather has been sunny and hot every day we've been here (Except for Stonehenge:).  Britains are starting believe we may have control over the weather or something.  Hey what they don't know won't hurt 'em.  Good times here.  Cambridge is the next stop!  Cheers mates!!!!!!!! (pics are from our visit to Stonehenge)

DAN:  What a good time we've had in the great places of Bristol and Oxford thus far!  I suppose I shall speak for a short bit of Bristol as well, because it really was quite the neat hostel location as Josh put it.  I would like to comment 

on one trend we've seen since we've been here that we hadn't known before, and that is that good, social hostels seem to turn into long-term living accommodations for residents.  The chaps we had the good fortune to jam with were actually there for a reunion of members who had all stayed there for a two-month period and who had become great friends.  Not sure if we'll do the same on our journey, but we certainly had a

good time getting to know them too.  Oxford has been quite the interesting place as well, and today we had the first official dessert of the entire trip at a chinese buffet because we didn't have breakfast and ate quite late, so we went all out and had a good meal.  The campground, I must agree with my buddy booner, was very nice as well, but wasn't like camping in Maine.  It felt more like camping in the backyard than in the woods.  No campfire, no smores, no guitar, no genuine camping.  They actually stuck us in the RV section opposite all the other tents.  Rather humorous, actually.  So Cambridge ought to be fun as well, and then off to Harwich to take a ferry to Amsterdam!  (a couple of pics from Bristol and Oxford to right)

Having a blast in Bath

Hello again! Here we are in the lovely area of Bath in England, staying at the St. Christopher's inn hostel.  When we first arrived, the weather was nice, the people were fun, and the food was good!  I would highly recommend anyone traveling through the UK to give bath a try, because there are many local sights to see and the town is beautiful.  The second day here we actually managed to make it out to Stonehenge, and although to some it's just a pile of rocks, there is so much history with it that one would be proper crazy not to check it out.  It was, however, a bit chillier out there on the hill and wet, so a rain jacket would be a good idea.  An umbrella might work, but if you encounter the sort of wind that we did, it probably won't make it to the end of the tour.  As we left the trashcan was full of broken umbrellas.  To get to stonehenge is about an hour's bus ride from here, but the hostel offered a great deal of two night's stay and a tour for about 26 pound, which was quite worth it.  There's also a huge abby that is the focal point of town and worth a look, and the roman baths are just plain cool in their own right.  The only down part of the city would be that, according to folks we've spoken with, the third most expensive city in the UK.  So I would a recommend a short stay and then hopping on North to somewhere like Edinburgh or East like us.  Until next time, have jolly day!  Cheers!

Hey, Josh is here.  I'm typing in a booth at St. Christopher's inn, which happens to be in Bath, England.  If you like old-school where old buildings are preserved from the 17th and 18th centuries, you'll like it here.

  Also, if you like places that do not change, 

the city's building restrictions make it almost impossible for new buildings to be built. The the Roman baths are here from the ancient time the Romans occupied the UK.  Like Dan said, it is an expensive city to live in.  However, if your a tourist looking around, living at hostels, you can find some inexpensive food and activities.  Stonehenge was great and surreal.  An interesting fact is: there were two other stonehenges' built before the Stonehenge that stands today!  So you can get an idea of how long these native people lived on the land.  We've been chilling with Australians, New Zealanders, and South Africans.  Pretty much all of the old English colonies are getting back together and having a reunion in their 'mother' country.  While hanging out with these chaps, we are starting to change our accents.  Because of this, we couldn't recognize one of our own Americans.  Last night we watched football (soccer) on the tele at the inn.  It was intense.  The underdog Barcelona crushed Manchester United, 2-0.  Such an amazing game.  Surprisingly, most of the people in the bar wanted Barcelona to win.  They didn't root for the English team.  I thought that was rather interesting.  The music right now is jammin.  I love it.  It's all American music, so sometimes I feel like I'm in the U.S.  Then I wake up from my daze and realize, no, I'm in the UK!  The inn is great.  However, there not the most organized.  They first put us in a room where there 14 people and only 12 beds.  Since there were mostly girls my age, I was willing to share. Danny concurs with my notion.  Fate, however, wasn't on our side as they moved us to a room full of old blokes.  Anyways good times are here and more to come.  Cheers.  Cherio.  Have a good morning, America, I'm now going to some Roman baths!

Last evening in London

So, here we are again, still at the good ol' Hootananny.  Today we spent some good time hanging out near the South Bank of London with some friends we met here at the hostel, and we enjoyed some lovely English tea at a fine restaurant.  We also visited the Tate modern museum, where there were some very interesting exhibits.  While it's been quite the fun stay in London, this is probably our last evening here. Next we'll be making our way over to the town of Bath, so we can hopefully use it as sort of a staging ground to check out some old ruins in Avebury.  I hate to talk about weather in a blog, but I just have to mention that the weather over here in London has been absolutely amazing for the duration of our stay thus far.  We saw the first clouds of the trip this morning, but hardly a drop came out and they were gone by afternoon.  Josh has quite the trophy sunburn to show for it too.  If I were to recommend a restaurant near the London sights with really good food, it would probably be The Minoria pub, because the lasagna dish was excellent and the waitresses were very friendly. I'd give the place 4 stars, only because although the service was good, we had to sort of get the attention of the waitresses instead of them checking in on us periodically. 

So to wrap up, London has been a very welcome stay, and I hope the great hospitality continues throughout the UK. 

Day 3 in London (Westminster)

Josh:  Blah, Blah Blah, Blah, Blah.   Translation in English:  I had a great day yesterday.  We walked approximately 12 miles if not more with our packs.  We had a successful rescue mission and got Dan's cell phone from the Best Place in Paddington.  I love this trip so far.  I don't think I'd be here in this location if it hadn't been to my working efforts and Danny's initiative.  Today, we saw Big Ben, with the cathedral of course.  We also saw the Queen's horse guards and later on we're going on the London Eye (ferris wheel) and the National Gallery.  Today, we do not have our packs and it takes a burden off my back and shoulders.  I like the double-decker busses.  There is just something about them that make me smile every time I see one.  Ok, time is running short.  My mind is numb.  And no its not the Foster's.  Instead it is Jet lag, and the fact that no one goes to bed at our new Hostel, the Hootananny.  I just have one more thing to say.  Before you kick the bucket, some how, some way, get yourself to London.  Cheers!

Dan: Ok, so yes, I did forget my phone yesterday, totally left the hostel and did not grab it.  That one was for you  mom and dad - I still haven't changed :).  But, I did manage to remember what I had forgotten.  The hostel we're staying at now - the Hootananny, as they lovingly call it, is probably the social center of Brixton.  No joke.  There is a live band every night, and after about 10 o' clock, everybody starts pouring in, and the beer starts pouring too.  It makes it a little hard to sleep though, because someone (I'd really like to know who) decided to put fluorescent lights shining into our window.  Therefore, the sun basically doesn't set at the Hootananny.  Nor does it ever get quiet with a band that plays well after midnight. But it's a nice hostel. Very friendly roommates and a helpful staff when they don't leave you standing and waiting to check in.  A nice, cold, foster solves that problem though.  A few more things: I highly recommend taking a bus over trying to navigate by foot 5 miles of English roads, but buying a ticket is a little tricky.  The guards were pretty cool, except when they stomp their feet beside you whilst you take a picture with them.  Reminds me of the deer back home when they get threatened.  I"m sure I"ll figure out what that is all about soon.  But for now, we are off to check the really cool and really free National Gallery. Cheerio!

Second Day in London

 Dan - Hello all!  We are loving London, loving the food, loving the people.  To begin we got off to an amazing start, and all that hubub about London being a confusing city and hard to get around... well it's true.  In our quest to find a hostel, we had to turnabout a few times before we finally began to get the lay of the land and found our hostel, the "Bestplace" in paddington.  It's really sort of fun to walk around the streets of London and be welcomed by "Allo!" and "Cheers" along with a chuckle or two when we don't know how to respond.  The atmosphere has been for the most part welcoming, especially when the topic of the conversation turns to either beer or rugby.  And speaking of rugby, it's an interesting sport to try to figure out - as much as I can tell, the ball is kicked, and when someone gets ahold of it, they tackle and wrestle for it until it pops out of the pile and someone runs it down the field to the next pileup.  Looks like fun.  The hostel stay was nice, and the only worry I really had was if the bunk bed was to break - I had the pleasure of being on the bottom of three.  But until next time, I'll have a round for all you great fans! Cheers!

Josh- Hey everyone.  Danny here is sitting with me at this cafe where we have free wifi for an hour.  Which may end quite shortly because we have no way of knowing how long we've been on this thing.  Anyways, great times here in London.  The people are great and helpful, but they are reserved.  I like the food.  I thoroughly enjoyed walking through Hyde Park.  (No its not a baseball park, but a beautiful recreational park that includes Kensington Palace).  Tomorrow we plan to go to see Big Ben, the famous Tower Bridge, and of course Beckingham palace and watch the changing of the guard.  The beer on tap here is stronger and much better than Americas.  Hey I guess we're not great at everything:)  We're staying in London for a few more days and then we will head to Stonehenge.  All is well, and as the British say well, Cheers!