Yesterday (Friday) we had our first field trip of the program. St. Albans was about a hour and a half away by bus, so we saw a lot of green (and sheep) on the way there. St. Albans claim to fame was that England's first matyr was killed there, named...are you ready for this?....Alban. The legend goes that when he was beheaded, the eyes of his beheader popped out. The Cathedral gift shop seems to be profiting well off this story. They were selling chocolate eyeballs, bouncing eyeballs, and even eyeballs that lit up.

Our first stop was the Verulamium Museum which displayed the evidence of Roman life in the area. The highlights included beautiful mosiacs that used to be the floors of Roman houses (check out the pictures!). An average floor mosaic could take about six months for an artisan to make. I know I don't have that kind of patience. The preserved skeltons which they had discovered also were an interesting part. We girls were also much relieved, for one of the guys declared that if we had lived back with the Romans he would have hunted for us. Never a dull moment!

We also visited the Cathedral which is made up of both Norman and Gothic styles. I was surprised when we were actually allowed to take pictures inside, so I think I got a little carried away with my camera. Of course, we had to see the shrine to the great St. Alban. Later in the day we also went to see the remains of a Roman open air theatre.

It was the most beautiful days of the trip so far. It was quite warm, actually a little humid, which is unusual. However, we did have a little rain as we walked to the bus to come back to Oxford.

Feel free to update me on how things are going for you guys or if you have any questions. Send me an e-mail or leave me a message on the message board section of this site and I'll get back to you.