day 3: warwick


up at 8am, sing praises to all things breakfast. while waiting for bus to warwick, climb hugest-trunked tree of life to avoid freezing. hugest. branches were like 3-4 feet in diameter. arrive in warwick and aim for castle. end up at an antique store oggling a phrenology-mapped skull. check ground for spare £38 lying around; sadly, find nothing.


warwick castle!




medieval awesomeness headquarters. it looks just like the castles do in pictures little kids draw, complete with turrets and a big open courtyard in the middle. sun comes out and photofest ensues. explore dungeon, a small room lit by only one small window and drained by a single gutter running across the middle. there are markings on the wall where prisoners inscribed their last words many centuries ago. peer into oubliettes - windowless stone holes where the most despised prisoners were dumped and oublie, forgotten.




check out the mill house, where a water wheel is still in operation, the state rooms, 'preparing for battle' exhibit, and the armor and weaponry display in the great hall. climb up to turrets and eat lunch (bread, nutella & hobnobs) while the sun is out. look in gift shop for a crossbow for gabby, unsuccessfully, and by self a present instead (another map to add to my collection). explore gardens; find boathouse with thatched roof and roughly 25 peacocks.




freeze and run out of colour film. wander over to lord leycester hospital, still a home for aged vetrans, then to st. mary's church, and stop in a few shops. wander some more and get very lost. do the only thing one can do under such circumstances: sit in a park and eat hobnobs until frozen. eventually regain bearings and park self in a bookstore till it closes. then trek it back to st. mary's church to attend a sung service. yes, a sung church service. if our church in buffalo had that much stained glass, I'd totally be there every week. sprint in and grab closest seat to heater. listen to perdy music and attract strange looks due to not knowing when to sit or stand and not knowing the apostle's creed by heart, which, apparently, everyone else does.


take bus back to hostel, drain building of hot water yet again, make a cup of tea because it's that cold, score spot on the floor beside the heater and read about theory of mind until about 10:30; crash.




day 3: complete.