L' Weekend

This was probably the most low-key weekend I've spent here. On Saturday, I decided to go see the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum. I'd heard a lot about it and finally decided to go visit. It is a very good museum, taking a surprisingly balanced look at British imperialism. That said, a few exhibits were a bit eyebrow-raising (especially the remarkably brief display on the American Revolution, which seemed to imply that the colonists were being ungrateful and that their complaints about taxation - representation was not touched upon - were unreasonable). Still, it was worth the visit, all in all. In the evening, I was introduced to the British Christmas tradition of mulled wine and mince pies at Neil's house. Mulled wine is basically just wine that is heated up and has spices added to it. I had thought that mince pies would be filled with ground beef (which is called mince here), but in fact they're filled with fruit. Both were very delicious.
Today I went to the zoo again. Sadly, the giant stick insect exhibit was closed for renovations, so I still have yet to see it. I did get to see a sloth closer-up than I ever have before, so that was at least some consolation. I guess. Afterwards, I walked through a part of Clifton that I'd never seen before that was even swankier than the rest of the neighborhood. Of course, I felt compelled to take a picture, which is posted above. I wound up by the suspension bridge and was thrilled to find that the Giant's Cavern, which I've been meaning to see since I got here, was open. It's not so much a cavern as a (very) narrow cave that leads from the bluffs atop the Avon Gorge to an observation point halfway down the cliff, meaning that it's a nightmare for claustrophobes and acrophobes alike. I, of course, loved it.