As many of you may know, I didn't make it home for Christmas this year. Instead, I took advantage of living and London and went to Rome and Dublin before going back to London for Christmas. Before I left for Rome, my friend Sami (who'd been studying in Norwich) came out to London to meet me and we went to Hampton Court Palace. Here, then, are pictures and some stories from the last few weeks!

The main entrance to Hampton Court Palace, as seen from Base Court

A corner of Base Court... I kind of like it all blown outBut I also took a good picture of it

I didn't really get the pictures I wanted, but the light on this staircase was really gorgeous. There was a lamp hanging from the banister and it was casting beautiful shadows on the walkway.

You can see the shadows clearly here.

Decoration on the ceiling in the main entrance.

I hate tourist-y pictures, but, since Sami took it and I have it, I might as well put it up.

After spending a couple of days in London with Sami I flew to Rome to meet another friend of mine, Jessica. Jessica had been studying in Jordan for the semester and was meeting her family in Rome for a few days, so I tagged along. We really just spent a few days walking around the city, and I got to play tour guide, which was fun. Rome was really the indulgent part of our trip as we stayed with Jessica's family in a gorgeous hotel about a half-mile away from Circus Maximus.

Me and Jessica in front of the Colosseum on our first night.

The forum from above Circus Maximus.

La Boca de la Verita - I didn't put my hand in, but Jessica did, in fact, I stole this picture from her - my antipathy for tourist pictures strikes again.

The Colosseum - it was closed by the time we made it over there after having walked around the city, so Jessica never made it inside. We did take some pictures in front of it, though, and stayed to witness the antics of hordes of birds and some Asian tourists who were as amusing if nor more so than the flocks of birds...

The Christmas tree in front of the Vatican. There was a guy from Vatican Radio interviewing people, and he asked me and Jessica and the rest of her family what the tree made us think about. I said that it reminded me of the fact that I have a fake tree at home, so I may have been on Vatican Radio talking about how I told my Mom that the year she bought a fake tree was the year I wouldn't be home for Christmas... hmm...

The view from our hotel room... I took it at night with a long exposure, which is why it looks a bit odd.

After Rome, Jessica and I went to Dublin for a quick overnight. I forgot my camera so I didn't take any pictures, and Jess didn't take many either. About all we did was walk around Temple Bar (the night district in Dublin, several blocks of Fleet Street with tons of pubs) trying to see if we could run into some friends of ours who were supposed to be in Dublin at the same time. We didn't have any luck, but we did manage to find a pub called Doyle's (which is Jessica's ancestral Irish surname) where we got our requisite Guinness and Jameson... and, yes, for the record, I did drink both a half-pint of Guinness (which was hard enough, so don't give me grief for not ordering a full pint!) and a shot of Jameson.

After our quick night in Dublin we went back to London. Again, about all we did, for the most part, was to walk around the city. We flew in on the 23rd, which was the only day of the several we were there that anything was open, so we managed to go into Westminster Abbey (where photography is not allowed, so I don't have anything for you) and then we did one of the open-top bus tours, which was informative and interesting if really cold in December!

Me looking out over the Thames above Parliament...
Jessica and me in front of Big Ben... again, my derision of tourist pictures is slightly decreased when other people insist upon taking them.

We spent Christmas at the International Students House in London, which was also where we were staying while we were there. The hostel put together a full-day event, starting with drinks (Champagne and orange juice, not necessarily mixed) at noon, then a "traditional Christmas lunch" (turkey, Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes and the like), watching the Queen's Speech, a walk through Regent's Park, and then tea and movies into the wee hours of the night. We had a good time and met some interesting people - all in all it was less disappointing than I'd feared, although it didn't really feel like Christmas.

Me and Jessica at the Christmas lunch.

Me and Jess and all the people we met on Christmas... I'd name them all but that would require that I remember them all, which, I'm sad to say, I don't... sorry. I do know that the two girls on the right are Chinese interns who are in London on internships they got through my school, so it was nice to meet them.

Unfortunately for us, London pretty much shuts down for the holidays, so very little was open when we were there. We were able to discover, however, a tour group that was operating both on Christmas and Boxing Day, so on the 26th we took a coach tour of Windsor (which wasn't open), Stonehenge (which was) and Bath (which wasn't open either). As Windsor and the Roman Baths were closed, all we did was walk around, so I didn't really take any pictures. I did take plenty of pictures at Stonehenge, though.

A self-portrait of me and Jessica at Stonehenge before someone took pity on us and took one for us, which is next.

Me and Jessica at Stonehenge.

Me at Stonehenge... I was actually really glad Jessica was interested. I'd tried to get some of my friends at school to make a day trip of it earlier, but the general consensus among them was, "I heard Stonehenge was boring." Well, honestly, yeah, Stonehenge is just a bunch of rocks - it's not supposed to be some hugely entertaining event! So, when Jess and I went, I was determined for Stonehenge to be interesting, which it is - really, it's fascinating, they still don't know who exactly built it or how they did it. The point in going to Stonehenge is more to be able to say you've been and you've seen it, which I have, so I'm happy!

Last picture, Stonehenge again.

After the tour was over, the coach dropped us off at a tube stop in Kensington (close to where I'll be living next semester, actually) but our exit was closed all day, so we had to get off a stop early and walk. An older couple was staying at a hotel across the square from our hostel, so the tour guide, noticing, I guess, that I was familiar with the city, asked us to show them back to their hotel. This was a couple with whom we'd had lunch earlier in the day, as Jessica overheard the man (Stan) talking about having slept in a burial tomb in Egypt. As we walked them back to their hotel, we started talking, and they invited us to dinner. We accepted and had quite a lovely evening with Stan and Phyllis during which we discussed all the supposedly taboo topics - religion, politics, abortion, gay marriage, and the like. At the end of the evening, we parted ways with out exchanging information, but they did tell us that they were glad to have met two such intelligent young women and that they were glad to see that there are people our age who are able to speak so clearly - basically that they'd be happy to have the future in our hands. When we got back to the hostel Jess was only to quick to say that she'd been correct in saying that we'd manage to get a good story and a free meal around Christmas!

All in all, the trip was a good time, but I'm happy to be home, if only for a few weeks. It's nice to be able to sit on my own bed, still in my pajamas, typing this up. Just because I'm home, however, does not make me any less busy! I'm actually just waiting for my friend Steven (also from Redlands) to drive up here and meet me so we can go up to San Francisco for a couple of days - not as exotic as the rest, but there should be pictures of that as well!

I hope everyone is doing well and that you all had a wonderful holiday season!

Happy New Year,

Dominica