A scrumptious full English breakfast was waiting for each of us the next morning. Toasts, ham, sausage, baked beans, black pudding, tomatoes, pouched egg, mushroom. Then there was milk, orange juice, cereals, all kinds of jam, even a big jar of nutella. Couldn't be more happy :D i know catered halls peeps are sick of this kinda breakfast.
Pretty pot of flowers, Mummy will love it :) And I think her affection for flowers is getting on to me.
In front of Lancaster Castle, where we went on a tour, learning about some interesting bits of history in the county. Part of the castle is still being used as the prison, up till now. Thus, tools for torturing prisoners and criminals were exhibited, i.e. the Scolds Bridle, the Lunatic Chair etc. Scary stuff, eww.
Then there were the cells for locking up prisoners awaiting trials since judges travel to the town only twice a year. Imagine being closed in a totally dark room for months, all excretion process done in a 6m square cell shared among up to about 5 people. Intrigued, I grabbed the chance to experience the absolute darkness for a short time, and got scolded by my mum for that cause many people died of diseases in there.
moral : try not to get into prison :D
Just next to the castle brimming with endless tales of the past, sits the ancient St. Mary's Priory Church, which is an Anglican church. The architecture and structures of the church date back up to over 900 years, the least, 200 years.
Every slab of stone you step on is engraved with the name of a deceased. Yes, underneath the stone lays the body of that very person so basically the entire place was literally a cemetery.
The Holy Water well.
Quite fascinating how there are different carvings under each of the chairs. These are believed to be the work of the Benedictine monks who had to stand for long hours during daily services back then. The miniature seat there allow them to lean on it and thus, relieve soreness of their legs.
Product of stained glass and sunlight.
The two budaks who were tired from walking and decided to retrace their childhood, lols.
The Lancaster Canal.
Subway for dinner on the cold night.
Night time scenery viewing became photo taking session using Lionel's amazing camera.
***
The last day came soon enough, after a tiresome night of watching a tornado movie and "The Interpreter" till past midnight. Somehow I managed to get up at 5 something in the morning and took a shower without the heater on initially. I get amazed by myself occasionally XD. Anyway, at 6.30a.m, Lionel and I set off to catch the sunrise.
The plan was to just watch it from this place - Millenium Bridge but disappointing enough, the view from there was plain boring. So in the end, we just walked and walked with the aid of an out of date map :S
The Ashton Memorial silhoutte at dawn.
Another DSLR piece of work.
This is mine!! Hahah, not bad right :P Mind you, my fingers were aching like mad from exposure to the cold when I took photos. It was just awfully coold early in the morning, and there was not a single shop or place for us to slip into for temporary warmth cause shops here normally don't open before 10 on a Sunday morning :( Almost turned into ice blocks after freezing outside for 2 hours. How I loved the bed and blanket after that.
Later, I attended Sunday mass at St Peter's Cathedral with Lionel, again, since the other two preferred to stay warm in bed. Thank God the church was sufficiently warm, at least in the beginning it was.
The procession of the mass was rather similar to that of my church back at home, compared to most other churches I had been to in UK.
A replica of St Peter's statue in St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
In the afternoon, it was time to bid Lancaster goodbye. A captivating little town with unspoken beauty, I would say. Maybe one day I'll find an opportunity to pay it a short visit again! :) If so, I'll get you the purple ball, sis! hahah.
Labels: travels, winter
