Bristol, Bath and Everything in Between

I miss Aussie Beer.

Yeah, typical of me to start an email with a reference to alcohol. But the local beer here is just not right. It's warm and it's flat. But then, as we were taught on the Contiki tour when coming across things like this, "It's not wrong, it's just different!"

Then again, there's no escaping it. Warm Flat Beer is WRONG!

Anyway, let me tell you about Bristol/Bath.

Bristol is a nice city, though there wasn't really too much to see. I saw the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge, not sure why it's famous, so if anyone knows then fill me in. Something about being the oldest suspension bridge in Britain I think....There is also the SS Great Britain, which is the first Ocean Liner ever built, and the Industrial Museum, which showed old printing presses and aircraft engines, including the Concorde as it was built there apparently...Bristol was known for building airplanes of all sorts, which is better than being known as a port of slave trade in the 18th century I suppose. There are some beautiful churches, namely St Mary Redcliffe’s, which was nearly blown up during WW2 (many buildings were destroyed in the war which is a shame).

As for the famed Bristol nightlife, well I didn't really experience it. Bristol is not particularly safe at night if you're by yourself, especially during the Rugby Cup season. Lot of drunken youths out on the streets because of it. Instead I sat in front of the telly with a group of other people in the youth hostel. It's interesting that some people have been in the hostel for months. It's not a bad hostel, people are friendly, the conditions are clean, and free unlimited tea and coffee and a big TV, no wonder people are still there.

Anyway, enough about Bristol, I left the hostel after that weekend to go rent out a room with a supply teacher (substitute teacher) called John Barnett. He's a 52 year old who gave up full time teaching because he felt
that supply teaching gets him enough money to live happily on, and more (cause teachers get paid well up here). He's been all over the world, speaks multiple languages, and has a zest for life. It's a bonus living with him because he knows where to go around UK/Europe and how to do it cheaply. And I could probably learn how to speak different languages from him that I could use on my trip (eg Spanish, which he teaches at home tutoring at the moment).

Not sure how long I’ll be there though depending on work etc. I'm being kept quite busy at work though at the moment. At the moment I’m setting up a teaching model using the Extranet system Etechgroup built, that the teachers will be using to deliver their lessons and tasks through. Also I’m creating lessons and material for a pilot group testing this model, the first of many pilots across several schools. So the school may keep me on after my four-week contract is up, I guess we'll know by then..

One thing though, it's great being here. The countryside is beautiful, (I’m located between Bristol and Bath) both towns are easily accessed through the local bus, the trip itself taking you through narrow roads and magnificent
countryside dotted with old houses...ah the serenity!

Anyway, I went to Bath on the weekend, which has beautiful architecture. Went to the famed Roman Baths, and had a taste of the hot spa water, which wasn't very tasty (43 minerals in it apparently, so it tasted quite metallic. Better than some English beers I guess Nah just kidding!) Also saw the Royal Crescent, the Circus (not the one with clowns), and took a photo of the house Jane Austen lived when she was a child at 4 Sydney Place.
Though someone else is living there now, so I felt weird taking a photo of someone else’s house. Oh well.

Anyway I get a week off next week due to school holidays, so I might spend that time travelling or taking it easy. I'm planning on visiting Stonehenge, Avebury, and all those places in the Somerset plain, or I may go towards
Cornwall... not quite sure yet, really depends if I need to go the Gloucestershire to run some training sessions for a reseller (AT Computers) of the Extranet.