A night at Bristol Zoo

Last night my work held an outing at the Bristol zoo. Which they rented for the night after it was closed to the public. We only had about 30min to walk around the zoo at night before they closed that section off to us but we did see the lions (sleeping), a few monkeys, hippo, penguins, giant tortoise, and a few birds. It was nice to walk around at night drinking a beer and having the place to ourselves. I must admit though it was not worth the £10 they charge the public to get into. We got back a little later than we were supposed to for the meal and ended up being locked inside the zoo area. The gates to the reception area where all locked so we had to jump the fence or climb around a small break in the fence to get to the food as the guard was too lazy to go and get the key. It was quite a sight as it was a formal dress code and some of the girls where in ball dresses hoping over the fence. The meal was decent and the band was quite entertaining. There were Scottish and they were fully dressed in the kilt and tartan colours. We left around 11:30 as it was coming to and end and we did not win a Wallace and Gromit door prize. Too bad as well I could have got some good money for that on ebay.

A walk to Wales

Since our flat is right on the water with a view of the Severn bridges we decided that it would be a waste not to walk to Wales at least once. We walked across the old Severn bridge and it was only about 45min to cross but that was because of our constant stops to throw rocks into the water and take a few pictures.


It would have been nice to walk all the way into Chepstow but we had parked the car at the service station near the old bridge and it was only 2 hours free parking and then it was £8 for anything over that. Perhaps we will try and walk across the new Severn Bridge in the next few weeks. The new bridge is closer to our flat (5min walk to get under it but there is no direct path to get onto it). and is quite a bit longer than the old bridge.

A planned trip to Windsor this time

So I know that I have not being very good lately with keeping this blog up to date so I will try and make a better effort to write at least once a week here. Two weekends ago we went down to Windsor again to meet up with my cousin Chris and his girlfriend Jackie for lunch. It was about time we met up with them as it was the first time I saw them since coming to England a year ago. It was just bad luck in timing that we didn't meet up earlier.

We didn't go inside the castle this time but we had a nice lunch outside in the town and followed it up with a river cruise on the Thames just outside London. The boat went away from London and around the biggest bend on the Thames and also passed under a bridge designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It was a relaxing trip and on the way back it gives a excellent view of Windsor Castle. Next time we are down there we are going to go inside. It will happen eventually!!!

Oxford

Well since we have already been to Cambridge it seemed like a good idea to also go and check out Oxford. We went yesterday with some friends Brad and Nada for the day. We got into the city center around noon and grabbed a Cornish pasty for lunch. We made our way down to Christ College (the main college in Oxford) but the main hall was closed until 2 so we decided to go and look around at a few other sites before going in. We checked out Oxford Castle, the modern art gallery (awful), and a few churches before heading back to Christ College. We got in for only £3.70 each as it was a discount since the hall was closed but it was open by the time we got there. Worked out quite well for us as the hall was one of the first stops. It is really incredible inside. It is the main dining area for the college. But it is also quite well known as the filming location of the Great Hall in the Harry Potter movies. Pictures below.



After this we walked around the campus through the Quad, Christ Church, Picture Gallery, and Tom Tower. Tom Tower was designed by Sir Christopher Wren who is one of my favorite Architects and was a student at Christ College. He also designed St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and the monument for the great fire of London. A few other famous people studied here including Albert Einstein, John Locke, and 13 British Prime Ministers. After the college we spent more time walking around the city seeing sites like the old city wall, Bridge of Sighs, Bodleian Library, and Radcliffe Camera which is one of the cities most photographed buildings. It is a library housing science books that was built in 1748 but is closed to the public. Of course no trip anywhere in England would be complete without a pint in a pub so we rested our feet while drinking a pint of bitter before making our way back to the car. There are a lot of smaller churches and sites in Oxford but those I won't mention all of them as the blog will get way to long. Guess you will just have to come and see it for yourself. Cheers.

South Gate Entrance (visitors entrance)

Main Gate (Tom Tower)

Stainned Glass inside Christ Church

Brad, Nada, and me outside Oxford Castle

The Quad at Christ College

Fountain in the Quad of Christ College

Bridge of Sighs

Church of St. Mary the Virgin

Radcliffe Camera
Courtyard near the Bridge of Sighs

Christ Church Memorial Gardens

Of course we had to do at least one jumping shot