for your own safety please do not climb these structures.

for Thanksgiving weekend I went to Pembrokeshire (west Wales). I kept it really low-key, because I had a lot of work to do (it didn't really get done, but I had fun). I arrived on Wednesday and stayed in a hostel in Tenby, which is a really cute town in the southern part of Pembrokeshire. Wednesday I just hung out in Tenby and wandered around the town.

the whole town has multicolored houses. it's awesome.

St Catherine's Island at low tide

Tenby beach

Thursday I went to St David's, which is famous for 1. being tiny and 2. having a very large and popular cathedral (St David's Cathedral). it's popular because David is the patron saint of Wales.

St David's Cathedral

stream

Friday I went to Pembroke, which has a pretty awesome castle, and wandered around for a bit.

Swans

Pembroke Castle

Saturday I took a bus up to Narberth, which is a small town in between Tenby and Herefordwest (which is sort of the center of Pembrokeshire) and wandered around there. there are Castle ruins, some churches, and a lot of cute shops.

Narberth Castle

Church and Graveyard

this week I've been reading and studying a lot. I had a few written tests in Welsh on Tuesday and an oral one on Friday, which I think went pretty well. we're just discussing books in my Picaresque class, because the second essay isn't due until the middle of January. I have one essay due for my Genocide class on Monday, and a second one due in January. right now I'm taking the weekend and working on that essay. when that's turned in I'll focus on the parents coming out on the 10th to visit. we've got an awesome plan of attack: Swansea and Cardiff for a day, then to Paris for a couple, over to Bonn to see Grandad's cousin Heide for a couple days, then off to Berlin for three. we'll pass through Prague for a day on our way to Munich for a castle tour, and then over to Switzerland to explore. the day after Christmas we fly to London to hang out for a couple days before mom and dad go back, and I still haven't decided what to do for New Years. I may stay in London for a couple more days because my friend will be there, but I'd like to spend New Years somewhere more low-key. we'll see what happens.
I'll try to update soon after that, but I make no guarantees.