Around Town

Hello again! In an effort to put off doing my homework, I figured that now would be a good time to update this blog. Since I've arrived, I've explored (read: got lost) in this town quite a few times and I'm consistently amazed by what I find.  Initially I had pegged Exeter as a sleepy village, and while parts of the town are very quiet and quaint, the city center is actually quite busfy. The large sidewalks and many small stores give the place the feel of a less-crowded Philadelphia. As an American it was quite the site to see familiar names like McDonalds and Subway next to new ones like Wilkinson's and Vodafone.
Another cool aspect of the city is the almost seemless way that the modern city encompasses the ancient, historical sites. For example...

The stone building on the right is one of the oldest churches in Britain, built during the era in which the Roman's still ruled the Island. The early Christian leader St. Boniface is rumored to have attended the church in his youth, and the site survived both the Saxon and Norman invasions. Even more astonishing is that is also survived the ravages of both time and commercialism. If you look to the right of the picture, then you'll notice several shops. The shops aren't just across the sidewalk, the church literally sits in the middle of a shopping center, a testament to an earlier time. Today the church is reguarly visited by tourists, pigeons, and seagulls...

Indeed, Exeter as a town has shown a remarkable ability to adapt the old and new. Just the other day, I stumbled across the ruins of the Norman castle (pictures will be posted soon) while searching for the grocery store. The city's unique mix of continuity and change is truly marvelous, and it shows how the past and presents can both thrive (in this I'm reminded of Springfield's Black Horse Inn, and, of course, the meeting of old and new that is the College of William and Mary). On that note, more pictures!

A typical English street...

Near the Center of Exeter...

Well look at that (not sure if this a reference to the Penn family, or simily referring to the Welsh term for Pennsylvania which, roughly translated, means head woodlands).