The rain falls musically against cobblestone, historic buildings with intricate details loom over the sides of the street, and there are delightful accents all around... You can find this in England. I had the opportunity to visit my favorite place last year, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I was able to visit several cities in England, including Oxford, Bath, and London.
Oxford is a beautiful city with a rich academic history. While the University of Oxford is considered as one of the oldest universities, I found the blend of the ancient and the modern to be fascinating. Tourists roamed the different colleges and churches, shopping districts were backed up against historic buildings, and the new contrasted the old. Although modernization could be considered to be damaging to the integrity of such a historic town, I found that the contrast made me appreciate the older buildings even more. There was a sense of peace and longevity beyond what the latest fashion trend or shopping spree can provide. One photograph I took from the top of a church in Oxford shows this contrast between the power lines and old building (which I think is a church).
 |
(Image Information: personal photo taken from the top of St. Mary's Church in Oxford;
photo from July 2013.) | | |
Visiting Bath was another incredible experience. Bath is famous for the Roman Baths that were built and used there from natural springs. The Baths was a place for bathing (surprising, right?), and there were several baths with different temperatures as designed by the Romans. The ingenuity of ancient people in using the water and engineering it to their purposes was fascinating, and it was truly a beautiful place.
 |
(Image Information: personal photo of myself in front of The Great Bath;
photo from July 2013.) |
London was such an adventure! The whole city buzzed with life, and I enjoyed being able to visit historic sites such as the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, British Museum, Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, and so much more. I was especially fascinated by the Elizabeth Tower of the Houses of Parliament, which houses the bell known as Big Ben. I loved sitting on the lawn in front of Westminster Abbey and listening to the bells ring.
 |
| (Image Information: personal photo of the Houses of Parliament; photo from July 2013.) |
I enjoyed experiencing the rich history of England and the overall polite and gracious manner of the people. The culture is so unique and beautiful. I hope to visit again someday.
Oh my gosh, Abigail, what a beautiful post... I actually lived in Oxford for two years, and it was a great time in my life. It feels nice to know that this is a place you and I have in common. I would walk in to school every morning, amazed by the cityscape around me. I really like the way your photo suggests the parallel of the old tower and the new "tower of power" (electricity). And THANK YOU for your email about the assignment instructions; I edited that to make it more clear now (I hope) that using personal photos is just great for this assignment. Now I'm thinking I need to write up a tech tip so that those of you with really nice photos that you took might consider uploading them to Wikimedia Commons to share with the world. I am scrambling for time this week, but hopefully I can write that up. People are sharing such great pix for this assignment! Anyway, thanks for your note; with these new assignments, the instructions always need lots of tweaking! :-)
ReplyDeleteI really like your writing style! I like how you started off with a description of imagery. I personally love to write and appreciated that. Also, London is amazing! I visited years ago and have been dying to go back since. Was there a reason you went? Or just for vacation? For instance, did you work there or maybe study there? Your pictures are beautiful too. Do you like photography? Because I think you would enjoy it as a hobby.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to England, but have always wanted to go. Your description of these wonderful places makes me want to go even more! I love the way you describe the contrast between the new and the old. I too think this is beautiful. The origin of Bath is so self-explanatory it is humorous, and I liked that you included that detail.
ReplyDelete