Parlez-Vous Français?

Well! Yet another exciting weekend has come and passed, and it's looking like next weekend will rival the last as well! Many things to look forward to: visiting Windsor Castle and Diane's rapidly approaching visit being but two! In the next few weeks I'll also be joined by the lovely Lizzy, the noble Nick, and the remarkable Robie! (Alliterative adjectives, what?) Yes - March will certainly fly by as fast as February has, and soon it will be break! Insanity, no?

But for now I will finish my tea (and this post). Be warned - this one is a monster.

Creepy clock bug

On Saturday, ISA took us all to Cambridge. Cambridge is a magnificent town, filled with the Gothic churches and buildings one expects of British architecture. Our tour guide (an adorable old Dutch woman) led us around some of the University (though it's all but impossible to see all of it - for one, there are 31 colleges, and for another, many of them require a fee from those that aren't students). But we saw the Cavendish Laboratory, made famous by Watson and Crick's successful explorations of the structure of DNA, as well as the pub in which they announced their triumph. We then saw the most fascinating clock; featured in the city's center, it is made of three concentric and moving golden rings and topped by a disturbing grasshopper/cockroach sort of thing. It doesn't have any numbers; instead, there are little slit-type things that light up blue for the passing of minutes or hours. The outermost ring represents seconds, and the ring looks like it's being eaten by the bug, which is supposed to mean something about time being destructive and deceptive. We stood and goggled at the clock for a while. It's fascinating to watch - the bug will occasionally blink and move around, and the seconds will often move irregularly (again meant to represent something about the erratic nature of time).

The King's College Chapel from outside

Then we went into King's College, where we were told in no uncertain terms are we allowed to walk on the grass. That is a privilege afforded only to the Master of the college, and the college's Fellows, and to students only during the May Ball festivities, which are pretty much hugely extravagant parties held to celebrate the end of term (in June, funnily enough). We went into the magnificent King's College Chapel, which holds the last example of original medieval stained glass in England - it was spared both during the Civil War (despite being a base for Cromwell's troops, Cromwell - very much against his nature - spared the church any destruction), and World War II (the glass was removed. We also heard a very interesting story about Hitler's fondness for Cambridge, the veracity of which I cannot confirm, but I'll tell you about in a moment!).

Bridge of Sighs

From there our group went to "the Backs" of the River Cam, where we enjoyed a lovely trip down the river on a punting boat. The best way I can describe a punting boat is that it's kind of like a gondola, except squat, very low in the river, and all of the drivers are attractive males. Though that may just be a Cambridge thing. Actually, punting may just be a Cambridge thing. I honestly have no idea.

Either way, we were guided down the river and regaled with many tales about the college. Once again, I wouldn't quote any of these to factually minded friends, as you may be proven embarrassingly wrong. Here are a few:

• After students complained about ducks being able to walk on the grass while they weren't, Cambridge decided to make all of the ducks Fellows.
• Hitler's "favorite" building was in Trinity College, and he planned to make it his headquarters if he ever invaded Britain. As such, he was furious when a bomb was accidentally dropped on Cambridge because it jeopardized his beloved building. He had the pilot executed.
• Students, trying to get back at a professor, managed to float his Mini Cooper downriver and hoist it up to hang underneath the Bridge of Sighs.
• The Bridge of Sighs was named because Queen Victoria likened it to the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, which was named for being crossed by those about to be executed. Today, it is an apt name as students cross it in order to get to exam halls.
• Two of the "new" buildings at King's College (built in the 1960s) are, in fact, the ugliest buildings in the entire world. This has been proven.
• In the traditional King's College dorms, the size of the room given to the students depends on their grade levels. Our guide has an entire floor to himself.

Needless to say that even if the things learned were dubious, an entertaining time was had all around.

Afterwards we were given time to wander, and Kristen, Devyn and I explored some of the other colleges, had some pasties (as tradition for excursion days) and got ourselves some delicious fudge. We then headed back to London!

The following morning saw me up depressingly early to catch the Eurostar to Paris. After a few mishaps (including but not limited to: Emily almost forgetting her camera, me not charging my phone, and Kristen oversleeping and almost missing the train entirely) we were on our way! Luckily the rest of the trip went smoothly. Some facts about Paris you may not have known (as I didn't until I was there):

• They drive on our side of the road,
• Many Parisians speak English, which is extremely impressive to me, and
• Paris is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, putting me six hours ahead of Eastern Standard.

Upon arrival in Paris and a quick trip from the Gare du Nord to our pretty nice hostel, we boarded a tour bus and headed out to a full day! We decided that instead of spending money on tours and tickets to the metro/taxis/etc, we would instead use L'Open Tour bus service to get around, and I still can't decide whether or not this was a good decision. I think that if we had been there at peak season, when the buses ran every 10-15 minutes rather than every half hour, it would have been. But, as it were, we enjoyed being able to see much more of Paris (and we probably learned a lot more, as well) than had we taken the metro every time we wanted to get anywhere.

On the first day, we started our trip at the Louvre and a visit with the unfailingly beautiful Mona Lisa. Fantastic! After a little more exploration, we left the Louvre and walked along the Seine, and enjoyed lunch on the steps of the Musée d'Orsay. Unfortunately, the looong lines at the Musée prevented us from going in, but that was alright. We then took the bus down the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triumphe, and walked from there to the Eiffel Tower. We then waited in line for what seemed like forever watching a little boy taunt two little girls and basically climb all over everything (including the gentleman in front of him), which was adorable. Then we took a packed elevator to the second floor (a name that is incredibly deceiving, as we were way up there), and saw the sun finally peek through the clouds and set over Paris!

By the time we emerged, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated, and while it was certainly beautiful, it still didn't hold a candle to my London skyline. Yes, I've been here less than two months and I've claimed the skyline as my own - oh well.

We then wandered around in the hopes of finding a grocery store, which we finally did (things in Paris shut down on Sundays - reminded me a bit of the south, to be honest). We purchased ourselves some bread, cheese, wine and chocolate, and sat on a bench in the park besides the Eiffel Tower to enjoy our meal. It was marvelous. After this, we made our way back to the hostel (on foot - who's stupid idea was that? Oh, right...) and collapsed for the night.

Happiness is a warm crêpe

The next morning we were once again up bright and early, and we enjoyed a delicious continental breakfast at the hostel. We walked to Montmartre and were unfortunately accosted by some very pushy men trying to sell - string, or something? Well they were clearly pickpockets, and not very pleasant people. We pushed our way past them and ascended the steps to the top of the Basilique du Sacré Cœur, where we looked down on more magnificent views. We then headed to find the Moulin Rouge (deceptively enough there is a windmill quite near the theater itself in the opposite direction but on the same road - silly Paris making things difficult for us tourists to stand outside a building and gush about Ewan McGregor). On our way a man saw us with a map and approached us, speaking in rapid French and gesturing around us. It went on for a long while, and he gave us no chance to cut in and tell him we didn't understand a word he was saying, so we just sort of stood there and smiled and nodded. Finally he gave us a look and said, slightly exasperatedly, "Parlez-vous français?" The answer, of course, was no, but - undeterred - he gave us his whole speech again, this time in English. I didn't catch all of it but he said something about being the last true poet in France, told us some places we should go, and that the store next to us would try to sell us the jacket he was wearing (that he had acquired for €10) for €400. After a lot more smiling and nodding he left, bidding us luck.

Picture shamelessly stolen from Emily

We found the Moulin Rouge, and hopped on the bus to meet Emily's splendid friend (who is studying in Paris) for lunch. It took us quite a bit longer to get there than it should've, and this is where the whole ride the tour bus plan fell apart - we had to wait quite a while for a bus that wound up just sitting around at some stops for half an hour at a time. Oh well. It all worked out, right? We enjoyed some sandwiches at an adorable and delicious little place, and sat outside in the gorgeous sunlight to do so! Then I finally got my crêpe (banana and Nutella, of course!) and we sort of headed in a direction we thought might be right to get somewhere that we decided not to go to anyway. Luckily our aimless wanderings brought us to a L'Open Tour bus stop, where we saw a DeLorean (the door opened up and everything! And it was decorated just like the time machine!) We then had to wait (again) for the bus, and we saw a good amount of the Latin Quarter before getting of at Notre Dame, which was absolutely gorgeous. Free admission and no flash photography brought me a plethora of blurry photographs that don't do the church justice. Simply amazing.

From there we headed back to the hostel to pick up our luggage and were off to the Gare du Nord and pulled into London at about 18:45! All in all, an extremely successful three day weekend - now it's back to reality for me as I try to write a paper on Shakespeare before Di gets here. Hopefully I will be successful - I am determined to have to do as little schoolwork as possible when entertaining my various and sundry guests in the upcoming weeks, which will mean a lot of work for me in the next few days. Worth it, though! I can't wait to show people around London - it's going to be brilliant!

 Until next time. :) Cheers! xo

(P.S. - As always, more pictures can be found for those interested on my Facebook!)

Dublin!

First, an apology: sorry for the delay of this post! My fault entirely. But, finally, here it is!

Dublin

Let's see...where to begin? This past weekend, I travelled outside of England for the first time while over here! I went to Dublin with Emily, Kristen, and Devyn, and we met up with Devyn's friend Courtney. And, for the most part, things went surprisingly smoothly! We were all a little impressed with our ability to organise our own trips and have them actually work out! Emily and I flew out of Heathrow and got into Dublin on Friday night, where we checked into the lovely Ardmore Hotel, which I would highly recommend to anyone thinking of going to Dublin. It was inexpensive, but also really very nice. It was actually located in Northern Dublin, but with a bus stop right across the road, it was only a fifteen minute bus ride to the City Center. Of course, the public transport in Dublin has nothing on London. Buses run every twenty minutes or so, and (as the desk receptionist put it) they kind of run on their own schedule. Nothing like my beloved tube, where there's a train coming in every three minutes or less!

Christ Church Cathedral

But despite a lot of waiting for the bus, everything was relatively easy to navigate! We started Saturday with a historical walking tour of the city. It wound up being less of a walking tour and more of a standing tour - the guide was extremely knowledgeable (he was a postgraduate history student at the esteemed Trinity College), and we learned a lot, but the tour took three hours and we spent a lot of time standing around as he gave us long-winded expositions of Dublin's history in the sleet. I think our feet almost froze off. But we definitely saw a good bit of Dublin! Dublin has a very different feel than London does - it's a little more run-down (despite being one of the most important cities in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, it experienced a long-term period of decline in the 1800s, and events in the 1900s destroyed a lot of their historic buildings), and much less metropolitan. It seems to be a much more open city - fewer skyscrapers, wider roads, and so on. I must say, after just two days away, I missed London terribly.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Of course, despite Dublin's troubled past, that doesn't make it any less beautiful in many areas! Like London, it is situated on a river, and areas like Temple Bar and O'Connell Street in the City Center are most definitely charming and unique. I wish I had time to go into the countryside of Ireland more, of course, because I've heard plenty about the beauty to be found out there, as well.

The Temple Bar area

After our walking tour (which took us until 2) we ate lunch at a nearby pub. I enjoyed a beef and Guinness pie (because nothing in Ireland is complete without Guinness), and then we wandered the City Center for a bit, seeing St. Patrick's Cathedral and St. Audeon's Gate. Unfortunately, both St. Patrick's and Christ Church Cathedral were not open to the public when we went, which was too bad, but the outsides were definitely still worth seeing!

Then we went back to the hotel for a bit and rested for our pub crawl adventure that night! And what an adventure it was - we went to four different pubs and a club with a bunch of free or discounted drinks, all for €10! On our tour were what our guide called "the Unusuals" - two very flamboyant transvestites who were a bucket of laughs. Definitely a fascinating experience.

Giant chair!

Then on Sunday we were up and headed to the National Leprechaun Museum! Recommended to me by the fantastic Amanda, I am definitely glad I pressured everyone into going! It was much more of an "experience" than anything. We were first ushered into a room with a bunch of leprechaun memorabilia all over (including the first ever written documentation of leprechauns who - fun fact - were actually not known to wear green, but instead, red! Green was only associated with them much later on by pop culture). We then walked through a tunnel that made us look really big, and into a room with giant chairs. Upon entering the room, the entire group (consisting of middle aged men and women and us) proceeded to take running jumps onto all the chairs, belly flopping all over the place. I guess nothing brings out the inner child like over-sized furniture...

Then we went into a room with an illuminated map of Ireland, where we learned about some of the links that the legends have to real places around Ireland. Another fun fact - leprechauns were actually not a dominant part of the Irish mythology until they were put into pop culture by Walt Disney. Their stories are eclipsed by the stories of fairies (and fairy trees and hills and so on), who dominated the story-telling genre. We then went into a room where our guide told us more about fairies, and were led down a confusing pathway into a room plated with bronze (like the inside of a fairy hill!). Then we read a leprechaun story and entered the last room, where we heard a creepy story about a woman who killed herself and turned into a fish. It sounds better with an Irish accent, I promise. And then we colored some pictures!

My perfect pint!

After that, we trooped over to the Guinness Storehouse, where we learned all about the process of brewing Guinness. It reminded me of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, to be honest, but it was definitely very interesting. We also got to pour our own "perfect pint" of Guinness! (Though I have to say I'm not really at all a fan of beer - but it was an experience to be had nonetheless! And the Brewery was still fascinating in spite of that.) If nothing else, one of the best parts of the Storehouse was the seventh floor Gravity Bar, that featured 360º views of Dublin. Beautiful!

Then we walked (and walked, and walked) over to the Kilmainham Gaol, which was supposed to be really cool, but unfortunately all the tours were sold out and you couldn't go in without a tour. Disappointing. But we wandered around the museum (they let us in for free) and headed back to the hotel, where Emily and I gathered are belongings and departed to London! We landed in Gatwick rather than Heathrow, but were given free tickets from two very upstanding gentleman who said they didn't need theirs anymore, so that was nice! We arrived in London too late to catch the tube, but that was alright, since we were able to get on some buses home without difficulty, and one of the buses went through everything great about London (past Big Ben, Parliament, down Whitehall, through Trafalgar Square and the West End...excellent).

Then it was Monday, and I got my first grade back (a 75 - which, here, is an A - wahoo!). I just put that in there to make sure you all know that yes, I actually am doing schoolwork while I'm here, as much as it may seem like that isn't the case. Then on Tuesday it was Pancake Day (or Shrove Tuesday) and Devyn and I went to see a Pancake Race which was a little disappointing (as it was advertised as being "costumed" but all the costumes were pretty lack-luster). Apparently there's a race between the MPs and Lords vs. the members of the press, which would've been interesting if I knew any of the MPs...but can you imagine members of Congress racing down a street and flipping pancakes? I feel like that could get very intense, very quickly.

Pancake races are the best kind

Then we enjoyed pancakes for dinner and watched the Brits, where Adele was everything fantastic when she sang and then her acceptance was cut off very early by the announcer and she promptly flipped everyone the bird. She's my hero. (Also, for everyone at home, pancakes here aren't like the thick ones we have at home - think crepes, since that's pretty much what they are. And crepes are my favorite food in the world. So Pancake Day is pretty much the best day of the year...every Fat Tuesday will be Pancake Day for me from here on out.)

And now it's today, and I've just finished all my homework and am now probably going to make dinner! On an exciting note, looking into the future, Doug, Mom, and Dad have all booked their tickets, and our trips for April are really becoming reality! I absolutely can't wait - only a little more than a month left, and it's going to be a busy month indeed! And if anyone else feels the need to follow their (and Lizzy's and Robie's) lead and visit, please do! :)

Cheers!

Celebrity Week (Oh and Some History, Too)

Well! Once again, an eventful week has passed me by with alarming velocity! Hard to believe we're already almost halfway through February - and so much to look forward to! Trips to Dublin and Paris are very fast approaching!

But before we get there, we must address these past few days. Monday and Tuesday were relatively uneventful (save for another trip to Aladin's on Brick Lane on Tuesday). Then was Wednesday - when Emily and I decided to follow the news trail and find Kate Middleton at the National Portrait Gallery! We wound up getting there at about 3:30, wandering around for about an hour or so, and then deciding to give up. Just as we did so, we walked out into a hoard of paparazzi and figured we'd stay a while. Well, a good two hours later in the freezing cold, the Duchess of Cambridge finally appeared! She was, of course, as gorgeous and refined as everyone makes her out to be. And Emily and I got interviewed by a fashion magazine - we'll have to see if we made it into the article! Very exciting. Except it took about half an hour for me to regain feeling in my feet...

Then, on Thursday, we heard that Daniel Radcliffe would be at the Apple Store at Oxford Circus to discuss his new movie, The Woman in Black, and figured hey, we might as well go to that too! We wound up sitting about ten feet away from him, the movie's director, and screenwriter, and listening to them talk about the process of making a horror film for about an hour. It was endlessly fascinating. We got a little sneak preview, too! Daniel said he liked to pick out the "frailest member of the crowd" to watch their reaction - I'm pretty sure it might have been me. I jumped about a mile. What else is new? This event was recorded and will be released as a podcast next week - which you should probably all download so you can watch the back of my head freak out.

Then, on Friday, Emma Watson was doing a Q&A about her new beauty line with Lancome in Selfridges, so we trooped over there to hang around for a few hours and wait for her to arrive. She was stunning, as beautiful as you would imagine, and very well-spoken. She was only there for about fifteen minutes, but it was worth it, I think! Then we went out to dinner compliments of Kristen's very kind (and very tall father) at Pizza Express, which was actually phenomenal. So very good. I'm still salivating!

Then Saturday we were up bright and early to head off to Stonehenge and Bath. We got off to a bit of a late start, and were further delayed by the bus breaking down about halfway there. So, schedule completely thrown off, we were a bit rushed throughout the rest of the day. We had about a forty five minute tour of Stonehenge (complete with audio guide - which was, as expected, basically a guy telling us that they were big stones, and we don't know how they got there). Then we piled back on the bus to Bath, got a super-quick (and very unsatisfying) twenty minute walking tour of the city. Luckily, we got to spend as much time in the Roman Baths as we wanted, and got about an hour and a half to explore the city. It's absolutely adorable - everything you'd want out of a stereotypical "English" setting. The buildings were all beautiful, reminiscent of the 18th century style most of them were built in, and the city was built on a hill, with these great building climbing higher and higher. So great. I will definitely be going back - and who knows, maybe taking a dip in one of the spas? ;)

Anyway, this post is relatively short for the activities of the day, as there have been some interesting events happening at home that need attending. But next weekend we're of to Dublin, so more updates will be coming in about a week's time. Cheers! :)

Let it Snow!

Hello again! Hope you've all been well. :) You'll have to forgive me for this entry - it contains a lot more factual information and history than the last, so if that doesn't interest you, you may want to skip it. Otherwise, read on!

This past Saturday ISA took us on a tour of Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. Both tours were extremely interesting, and incredibly powerful in different ways. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside either of the buildings (both for obvious reasons, I think!) so whoever comes to visit me will just have to experience them first-hand.

Westminster Abbey was, as expected, beautiful. It was not, however, laid out as expected. I thought we would enter into one massive hall and that would be it. Instead, it consisted of a few very large areas connected by smaller areas and chapels. The official name of the Abbey is the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster. Construction on the Abbey began in the 1040s, when King Edward built a monastery on the site. In the middle of the 13th century construction began to transform it into the iconic Gothic structure that it is today. The intricacy and stately elegance of the outside is reflected in all parts of the Abbey; there's even a room with a mirror in the middle so that visitors can better see the ceiling!

Architecture aside (though it is hard to so easily cast aside the spires and the windows and the arches) there is a staggering amount of history contained and commemorated in the building. From the moment you walk through the first entryway of the western doors, you are presented with completely unique aspects of British history. To the right is King Edward's chair behind some glass (if you've seen The King's Speech, you know which chair I'm talking about), and in front of you is the only grave that no one may step on - the grave of the Unknown Warrior. The body was taken from a battlefield in France, and is marked by a large slab of black Belgian marble, buried in English wood, to commemorate all the countries involved in that theatre of battle during World War I. The black marble is surrounded by fake but brilliantly red poppies. It's quite a sight to see.

A floorplan of the Abbey to give perspective

Of course there are other graves to see as well - we then headed to see where Sir. Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin are buried, then over to some of the kings and queens. We saw where Queens Elizabeth and (Bloody) Mary are buried. We went through a few other chapels, etc, but what was most impressive to me was Poet's Corner. It's where basically all of the distinguished English literary minds are either buried or commemorated, and it's pretty much an English major's dream. Plaques and statues for Shakespeare, Austen, all of the Brontes, Wordsworth, Carroll, and so on, were next to the graves of Chaucer, Lord Byron, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Charles Dickens! (Speaking of Mr. Dickens - tomorrow is his 200th birthday. Woohoo!) I made sure to step on all of them, and give a good hearty stomp on Thomas Hardy's grave to reprimand him for writing The Mayor of Casterbridge. He deserved it.

We then wandered around as the Abbey prepared for the Evensong, a beautiful midafternoon service of hymns. Then, after some lunch, we met up again with Tom (who always seems a bit frazzled - I kind of imagine him like a awkwardly gangly sheepdog trying to herd around a bunch of ADD sheep) who took us over to the Houses of Parliament! We went through some strict security (think the airport without having to take off our shoes) and were issued visitor's passes, complete with our faces on them!

We walked through a courtyard into Westminster Hall, the only remaining area of the original structure built in the middle ages. Back in the day it served as a palace (and it still is officially titled the Palace of Westminster), before much of it burned down in the 1500s, and was instead converted house Parliament. Then more of it burned down in the 1800s, and was rebuilt, which brings us to the building we see today. At least, for the House of Lords. But I'll get into that in a moment.

The tour began with a list of rules - you may not take pictures, you may not eat or drink, and (most baffling) you may only sit in the areas pointed out to you. The idea behind this is that visitors are neither Lords nor elected officials, and may therefore not sit in the places designated for them. This made sense to me while we were in the official House of Lords or House of Commons rooms, but it applied to much of the rest of the building as well.

The Clock Tower

We were taken all the way to the other side of the Palace to begin the tour - to the Sovereign's Entrance at  Victoria Tower, where the Queen enters to perform her main function as a integral piece of the government: open the Houses of Parliament. Each May, the Queen comes in, puts the crown on her head, and enters the House of Lords. There, a secret signal is given to the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, who goes to fetch the House of Commons. When he reaches their door, it is slammed in his face to signify that the House of Commons is an elected body and does not, therefore, have to come running when summoned. The Gentleman Usher bangs on the door three times (there's a gouged out area of the door where the Usher always hits) and they open the door and come with him to squeeze as many of them as possible into the entryway of the House of Lords. Endlessly fascinating!

The route the Queen takes is through the Sovereign's Entrance, into the Robing Room (where she puts on the crown), through Royal Gallery (which features two hugely elaborate paintings of battle scenes and statues and paintings of kings and queens past), then through the Prince's Chamber (walking right up to a rather imposing statue of Queen Victoria herself) and into the Chamber of the House of Lords.

The area of the House of Lords is decorated in a very medieval style, very lavish, with tons of gold gilt. The Chamber area has a gigantic and incredibly sparkly throne in it (for the Queen, when she's there) and two areas of rows of benches (with red cushions) for the various members to sit and face each other. We were, of course, not allowed to sit, and our guide was not allowed to address us from the floor (again, the same idea - only those who are elected/are lords may speak from the floor).

We then moved through some lobbies (where we learned that the term "to lobby" had its origins in that if people had a grievance or concern they would wait in the lobby to try to speak to a Lord as he entered or left the Chamber. Maybe people knew this, but I did not) and into the are of the House of Commons. This area has been built much more recently - in the 1950s, after much of it was destroyed during the London Blitz. It is far less ornate, and (in my opinion) far more stately. One of the columns, though, was built from the rubble of the old building in commemoration. Around the Members' Lobby (the area outside the Commons Chamber) are various statues of old Prime Ministers. Most prominently are the four bronze ones: Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George, Clement Attlee, and the Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher.

The House of Commons Chamber is much like the House of Lords except bigger, with an area for press and observers on opposite ends on the floor above, and with green cushions rather than red. The government party (whichever party is in control) sits on one side with the Prime Minister, facing against the opposition party. Very unlike the rounded chambers of our own Congress. However, there are a lot more majority parties in Parliament than in Congress; whereas Congress is dominated almost entirely by Republicans and Democrats, Parliament has (as the government) Conservaties and Liberal Democrats, and (as the official opposition) the Labor party, backed by a smattering of other smaller parties.

I could go more into some of the details that we learned but already this has been long-winded and I'm sure at least some people have lost interest. Nonetheless, if you're still with me, know that I found all of this extremely interesting, and would love to try to learn more about how the British government is run. I'm still a little fuzzy on how the Prime Minister comes to power (he or she isn't actually elected, no? Why did they decide to do it this way?) and how, exactly, the other Parliaments of Scotland and Wales work, as well as further clarification on the specific duties of the House of Lords vs. the House of Commons. So I might spend some time researching that.

Well, anyway. This weekend we're headed to Stonehenge and Bath, so expect a more picture filled and adventurous blog post to come. Cheers! :)

(Also, if you missed it, it snowed here this weekend - something of a rarity, I gather! It wasn't much, maybe two inches, but it was funny to watch people panic over it. A bunch of tube lines shut down! Crazy. But very beautiful. Here's a picture from out of my kitchen window! Maybe next time it snows it'll be on a weekday and class will be cancelled...)

Story Book Adventures

I will first apologize for my lack of post in the last week or so - I have to admit, my life hasn't really been interesting enough to write about. That is, of course, until today. Today, Shelby and I went on an epic adventure of - well, of Robin Hood proportions. Alright, so maybe we didn't go running through the trees with bows or arrows or robbing from the rich and giving to the poor or anything, but it was definitely interesting.

I'm so heroic.

After rolling out of bed and dragging myself to King's Cross at the wee hours of the morning (and fortifying myself with a well-deserved coffee), we hopped on the impressively timely and clean East Midlands Rail to Nottingham! (I continue to be awed by the incredible public transportation system England has to offer.) I did some homework (shocker, right?) and slept, and in two hours we were in Nottingham! Today was fantastically sunny and clear - and also frigidly cold. I'm only now regaining full use of my fingers. But we trekked through the tundra up Maid Marian Way to Nottingham Castle. It was beautiful - and filled with so much history. Apparently, Nottingham was where the Civil War first began, which was not something I knew! And, of course, there was plenty of Robin Hood. We may or may not have partaken in the dress up section. But that's neither here nor there. We then grabbed lunch and headed back to the train station, where our adventure truly began.

Super nerds!

Our original plan was to take a train up to Sherwood Forest, stopping along the way to see Newstead Abbey, which Google said was a five minute walk from the train. For you English nerds out there, Newstead Abbey was one of the ancestral homes of Lord Byron. However, at the stop for Newstead, none of the train doors opened. Curious. This should have been a sign of things to come.

So we got the conductor to sign off on the back of our tickets and got off at the next stop, sprinting across the tracks to get to the train going in the other direction. We got off the train, feeling somewhat triumphant, and tried to decipher the map at the station. We kind of just picked a direction and passed by the Station Hotel, noticing a woman smoking right outside the door. We found out pretty quickly we were going the wrong way and backtracked to the hotel. This time, the woman was joined by two others - an older gentleman and a man in his forties. The younger man asked us if we were lost, to which we answered with a prompt affirmative. He asked where we were trying to get, and we said the Newstead Abbey. With a hint of skepticism in his voice, he said, "You're walking?"

That should have been our second hint.

We nodded, and he shrugged and told the older man to direct us. He did so (walk to the end of the road, take a right, cross over the train tracks, and take the next right. Follow the road). We bid them goodbye, and before we walked off they asked us where we were from.

"The States," we said.

"Where?"

"Connecticut. Near New York."

The older man scoffed and said somewhat indignantly that he knew where it was. We sort of mhm-ed and waved as we walked off.

Fifteen minutes later we came to a gate with a rather ramshackle house and a sign informing us of the ticket prices for Newstead. An older guy greeted us and we asked where to acquire tickets. The Gatehouse, he informed us, and he was heading there now. He apologized that he didn't have room in his car to give us a lift, and we told him it was no problem. Well, it was. We then walked down the road after his car.

And walked.

And walked.

And walked.

Victory!

We passed horses, and trees, and a lot of fields. But - turn after turn, hill after hill - there was no abbey in sight. No people, either. Miles from London or any sort of transport, we wandered aimlessly down a small road in the English countryside. Let me tell you, if you want to pull a fast one on somebody, just tell them how to get to Newstead Abbey.

Finally, about an hour later we finally rounded the corner to the glorious sight of two impressive looking buildings. We were freezing cold and more than a little bemused at the way things had gone. It was more funny than anything, to be honest - we thought back to the people at the Hotel, probably chuckling at our American naivete. Well, what can you do? Google lied! (To be fair, it was probably a three minute walk to the start of the abbey property. It was just then the rest of the way that was the doozy...)

Victory x2!

We then spent another hour wandering around these gorgeous grounds and gardens. No, we didn't go into the Abbey or the home - it would have been an extra £7 to do so, and we didn't have the time. Kind of unfortunate considering all the effort it took to get there, but I think it was worth it just for the gardens. Well, maybe. Instead we got some chocolate and chatted with the man at the shop, before reluctantly turning back to the road ahead of us. No way were we making it to Sherwood Forest.

Then, miracle of miracles, the man at the shop got one of his friends who was heading home to give us a lift! The kindly old man made room for us in his car, apologizing profusely for his mess (there wasn't one), pushing a few stray items into the bright pink child's carseat in the back. I could imagine him being a good grandfather.

The Abbey from behind

The road went a lot quicker behind the wheel of a car. We made some small talk - he told us how the land around the Abbey used to be mines, and remarked on the mild weather we'd been having until today, saying we were lucky we weren't here last winter when it snowed an uncharacteristic amount. He dropped us off at the station and wished us luck, and we pretty much fell over ourselves with gratitude.

Lucky for us, the next train came by in fifteen minutes - if we hadn't gotten that lift we would've missed it and had to wait another hour and a half. So we parked ourselves at the station and dreamed of warm meals in pubs and no wind chill.

Soon enough the train pulled up and we headed back to Nottingham. It was too late to try to get to Sherwood - by the time we got there the sun would have gone down and the park would have closed. We'll have to make another day trip out of it. Once we were back in Nottingham we wandered around a bit, checking out some of the town. We found this really cool vintage and antique shop that sold just about everything - from fine china to a knight's helmet (complete with chain mail) to boxes of old keys, pieces of watches, and vintage photographs, which I spent some time rummaging through. We got these thin brown envelopes marked "FOR YOU" and sealed shut with a security seal, billed as "free." Inside, I found a hand written letter from some guy, telling me about the only two interesting things that had happened to him in the past ten years - a guitar master class with Michael Angelo Batio and the L.A. Guns, Quiet Riot, Warrant Metal Health/Sex Action tour of 2011. Fascinating.

Then we headed to the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, the oldest pub and inn in England. King Richard himself ate there! That sort of history is incredible. It was established in 1189 - insanity.

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem!

In there we enjoyed the most delicious beef lasagna and some cider - so satisfying after such a long day. We hung around there until about 6:30, when we left (the two men sitting next to us laughing that they had scared us back to America and asking us the question that is apparently indiscriminate of nationality - "are you girls sisters?"). We grabbed some cupcakes at Tesco to eat on the train and were disappointed to find that there was no warm place to sit at the platform to wait for our 8:00 train. So we sat in the cold for an hour. If someone finds a nose on the Nottingham train platform, it's mine, it froze and fell off and I haven't felt it since. Alright that's a slight exaggeration, but it was seriously freezing. Finally the train arrived and we jumped onboard, scarfed the cupcakes, and passed out for the two hour ride back.

All in all, I would say that today - while not exactly what was expected - was definitely a successful one. I may be exhausted come tomorrow, but it was most definitely worth it. Clearly Shelby and I are going to have to come up with something even better than the Doctor Who exhibit and an adventure around the English countryside for our next journey - or maybe we'll do something calm and relaxing. I doubt it, knowing us! This weekend we have a tour of Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, so I'm sure I'll be updating sooner than this last stretch. Miss you all! Cheers! <3