London, Hampstead Heath & St Dunstans

Post-exam adventure: days 5 & 6 (the final chapter)

Like Bath, London is not an unfamiliar town to me. I've lost track of how many times I've ventured here, but there's always something new about the city so it is worth coming back to quite often. For the last couple of days, I've undergone an intense period of solo travelling. It was therefore why I decided to switch it up a bit and visit some friends during my first day in the country's capital.

Hampstead Heath

Delicious cakes from BB Bakery

Frisbee fun

Travelling alone is fun, but it's equally nice to have some company at times (in my opinion anyway).

I don't know if you've paid attention to the UK weather forecast recently but the weather was definitely a bit on and off on Friday. From sun to snow then to rain and back, it honestly felt like we were experiencing all four seasons in one day. Luckily for me, when I did need to head out, the sun was also out. It was therefore why I managed to enjoy a long and peaceful walk with company around the entire Hampstead Heath. I consequently rewarded myself with a filling dinner and a long-awaited chat with a different friend in the evening after all that exercise.

Main motivation behind the park stroll

Dinner with the friend

I forgot to mention that we had some cakes before we headed onto the heath. If you're ever in Covent Garden, you should definitely head to BB Bakery in Chandos place. It serves the most beautiful and scrumptious cakes, biscuits and other desserts I've ever had. I think that they also serve afternoon tea on a special double decker bus and Thames Riverside boat -- totally worth trying out if you're lucky enough to secure a spot!

The view from London Bridge

Pumpkin ravioli at Strada

London Bridge

After being accompanied for the entire day on Friday, Saturday was my day to roam around freely by myself. It began with a long stroll around Monument towards St Dunstans (a very nice little park that is worth a visit if you're ever in need of killing time on a sunny day), which then progressed across London Bridge towards Waterloo for a lovely lunch at Strada. Thereafter it was off to shopping around Kensington before 4pm suddenly crept up and I had to leave. It was back up to my uni accommodation shortly after that.

I've been welcomed 

Going around St Dunstans

Oh boo hoo, this completes the final leg of my grand 6 day getaway.

St Dunstans

Monument

The Shard from St Dunstans

St Dunstans

It's sad when things come to an end but, as the saying goes, with every ending comes a brand new beginning - let the travels for 2016 by The Amateur Anthropologist FINALLY begin.

The floral wheelbarrow

Chester

The unwanted misfortunes of life

I’ll admit that the title for this blog post isn’t particularly positive. It is however a pretty decent reflection of my mood and situation at the moment. Pinpointing down exactly what is causing me such misery would be difficult, mainly because there are so many things. In brief though, it’s not at all pleasant, and as much as I wish I could push it away, the problems are here to stay (until luck comes knocking at my door again).



 

By now you’re probably wondering what my rant has anything to do with my visit to Chester. The link’s indirect, but understandable. Travelling, as you know, is something I use as an instant mood booster. The idea of going somewhere new and fascinating is truly therapeutic to me. But when travelling just isn’t an option (like the current situation), the best thing to do is to simply recount about the adventures that had turned out well from the past.

 

 

So, in order to “turn my frown upside down”, today’s travel tale is about my trip to Chester, which occurred several months ago.



Entering the walled city

Known for its well-preserved medieval covered walkways that date back to the 13^th century, it’s no wonder that an architecture fanatic like myself was more than eager to explore the distinctive two-tiered medieval galleries in Chester’s town centre. Of course, there were other more popular attractions outside of Chester to see; a lot of people recommended that I pay a visit to its zoo but, having studied and lived in Australia for 3 years, I think I can safely say that I’ve seen enough exotic animals to las myself for a while (at least for this trip anyway). It’s no surprise that I ended up spending most of my trip simply photographing every store, window, door and sign I could find.

 



Note to future Chester wanderers, bring a camera (my iPhone was definitely NOT enough)



Chester Rows are filled with amazing shops of all kinds. Whether you want confectionery, clothes, cards or anything else, the items on offer can practically meet anyone’s shopping list. You could literally spend the entire day shopping, or window shopping if you’re on a student budget like I am! Would I be able to pick a favorite shop? Absolutely not with such a huge range available. I couldn’t have been happier just simply walking up and down the streets of Chester (especially since it was super sunny on the day that I went).

 

 

 



With an hour and a bit left before my train was due, I decided to pop in to Chester Cathedral for a quick peek. Being a bit of a history geek, I was sure that the Grade 1 listed building would definitely fit my criteria. I didn’t get time to take the Tower Tour (and for those that do have time, I strongly recommend that you do go; you get discover 900 years of history in just 30 minutes or 1 hour depending on which tour you book!), but I did have an enjoyable time simply wandering through each part of the cathedral. There was also an interesting Alice in Wonderland display on, which was rather cute in my opinion.

 

Inside Chester Cathedral

 

There were a couple of other things I didn’t have time to visit, like Chester Castle and the Grosvenor Musuem. And unfortunately, the famed Eastgate Clock was under renovation when I arrived, so I wasn’t able to take a photo of it. All this means that I’ll have to go back to Chester again sometime in the future (for sure)!



Feeling revitalized and ready for action  

Obviously the above wasn’t exactly how I felt after my trip to Chester had ended (I made sure I had a good night’s sleep to make up for all that walking!). However, the title does appropriate reflect my current mood. In just 600+ words, I have gone back to being my cheery old self, and am more than prepared to take on whatever life has install for me, be it good or bad.

 

The little things that blogging can do to one’s life à positivity regained through pursuing one’s passion.

A beautiful day out



Durham Cathedral

A breathtaking first sight

What makes a building iconic? The first things that come to the mind of many when looking at Durham Cathedral are a long history, religion, and its association with a globally renowned film (i.e. Harry Potter). It ticks all three of these boxes neatly, so it’s no wonder that thousands come each year to visit this architectural spectacle. But behind all of these traits, there lies yet another reason, a more personal one to me, which reinforces its true glory.

Heading towards the cathedral

Our arrival

Durham Cathedral (Hogwarts) cloisters

That, my dear readers, is university.

If you ever come across a Durham student, I am sure that they will have no trouble in talking about our black Hogwarts styled gowns.  You’ll see these worn mainly during formal dining events. The magic in them fades away after a while (at least it did for me anyway). But there’s one moment in time that still shines brightly within my memory. Like most universities, us first years were officially welcomed by our institution’s chancellor (or principal) before we embarked on our higher education journey. However, I daresay that not many of you ever got attend such a ceremony dressed almost like the classmates of Harry Potter. It was difficult to contain my excitement whilst waiting in the cloisters of Durham Cathedral, especially after I realized they were the ones used in first film.

Hogwarts moment before matriculation in year 1

The gangling freshman

Exiting the ceremony

And with the sounds of applause signaling the end of the ceremony, my three-year adventure into academia officially began.

A photo from year 2

As a student of anthropology, the study of rites of passages was an inevitable topic (one of which I enjoyed immensely). We were taught that these could be separated into three phases. The first and third stages are both distinct, for they mark the entry into the ritual and exit out of rituals respectively. No doubt that the two are equally important. However, I would argue that the middle step, where one engages in a series of activities that eventually leads to a transformed self, is perhaps the most significant. My university journey echoed this strongly. Although I knew I was changing for the better, there were times when I wanted to step back and seek comfort from a nearby shelter (i.e. Durham Cathedral).

Durham Cathedral - graduation day

It’s undeniable that every story must come to an end. Even if we try to savor the last few pages of pleasure through delayed reading, we’ll eventually have to reach the finishing sentence. It’s a difficult moment, one of which was definitely applicable to my very last time at Durham Cathedral. Not only did it mark my last visit, it also signaled the end to my university journey. As I was called up on stage to officially confirm my graduation, I felt a mixture of happiness at my academic success (especially since my friends and family were there to celebrate it with me) and sadness at departing. It was truly a bittersweet sensation.

A different view of the cathedral (year 3)

The important white marquee (for grad merch + photos + food)

Letting go is never easy, but at times it’s for the better. Although my future lies unknown, I walk forward with confidence, determination, and excitement.

Thank you Durham for making me stronger and wiser. It’s been an absolute pleasure. 

Pathway into the unknown but bright