The first week back was crazy busy as I rushed to start and finish an essay that was due on the first Tuesday back and put the finishing touches on another essay that was due that Thursday. So homework and classes were pretty much my life my first 5 days back in Winchester. It was hard, consuming work, but it felt so good once I actually had the essays completed, turned in, and offically out of my hands. I could now do fun things guilt-free for a few days before having to work on my next round of essays.
The first weekend back (May 2-3), Laura and I explored Winchester and went to St. Katherine's Hill, which we had not done yet... we were probably the only 2 American students who had yet to go there. We also discovered this old road/path thing that ran through some woods overlooking a field and stream. It was really cool. The weather that weekend was perfect for walks, too. The evenings consisted of watching movies (Bridge Jones' Diary!), snacking, and just hanging out.
This past week has not been too terribly exciting. It's wierd being back in classes and knowing that my days of travel are pretty much over for this semester. To console ourselves, Laura and I went shopping in Southampton yesterday, where we visited our favorit store - Primark! It's such an great store, it really is too bad the U.S. doesn't have them. The styles are cute, the prices are unbeatable, and, well, we'll leave the quality out. I found some cute summer clothes, a sweater, a bag, and a few accessories. Primark is fabulous for 1 pound accessories - better than dollar stores!
And now this weekend, I'm working on essays and photos. I can't believe I have exactly three weeks before all of my assessments are due (4 of them, one for each class) and that three days after I turn them in, I will be on my way home. It seems so far away and so close all at the same time! All I can do is see what these next few weeks bring, and make the most of them, because then I'm coming home! Or, in Urkel's words, "I'm coming home! I'm coming home to you, baby!"
Saturday, May 9, 2009
3 Lovely L's... London, Liverpool, Lake District!
Day 24 – Saturday 18 April
We had to leave really early to catch our 7 am flight to London. So at 4 am, we went to get a taxi, but no one was at the office to check us out and call a taxi. So Laura finally found some parking guy to call the night watchman, who called a taxi for us. We got dropped off at the shuttle stop, and then took a shuttle to the airport, and within a few short hours, we were headed back to England. Soon, we were back in London, back “home.” Laura met up with her parents, and Hannah and I were on our own. We spent the afternoon on Oxford St. to do some more souvenir shopping and hanging out at our hostel.
Day 25 Sunday 19 April
Hannah and I wanted to go to Hillsong Church, but then we got lost on the way because we decided to walk there instead of take the tube. By the time we decided to just take the tube, the service had already started and we would have been an hour late, so we decided to just find Abbey Road. We rode the tube for a while, trying to find it, before we gave up and asked a worker how to get there. We then found out that it would be near impossible to get there that day because some of the metro lines weren’t running that day. So Hannah and I never made it there because we had to head back to get our stuff from the hostel in order to catch our coach to Liverpool on time. Then we took a five-hour coach to Liverpool. We got there, found our hostel, settled in, and went out for a drink and food at a local pub. Afterwards, we decided to do a load of laundry. Laundry, that shouldn’t take too long, right? Wrong! It took almost four hours to dry! So we didn’t get to bed until after 2 in the morning. At least it provided me with some time to skype with my sister, which is always nice.
Day 26 Monday 20 April
We did the Liverpool thing – found Penny Lane, went to the Beatles Story museum, wandered around the docks, went to the Cavern (not the original one) and Mathew St. Then we ate Chinese (insert sigh of contentment here) before leaving for our last phase of our holiday-of-a-lifetime. We grabbed our things from the hostel and took the five-hour train to the Windermere… Lake District, here we come!
Due to an hour delay for one of our trains, we didn’t get to Windermere until after 10 pm, and the buses had already stopped running. So Hannah and I ended up taking a rather expensive taxi to our hotel in Grasmere. The drive there was one of the most amazing drives of my life! The road was windy and went through some really quaint little towns and woods and lakes, and the starts were bright against the black night. It was beautiful! After about 20 minutes, Hannah and I let out a gasp because we saw this old, beautiful house all lit up on this hill. That’s when the taxi driver informs us that that house is our hotel. We are overcome with giddiness and the driver asks us if we are satisfied with our choice, and all we can do is nod, our eyes big and the most goony smiles on our faces. We go into the hotel, where the owners, a married couple who waited up for us, checked us in. They were really nice and apparently the man used to be a truck driver, which made the fact that this couple owned the hotel even better. We get to our room, which is really cute, put our stuff down, and go outside to sit under that stars before going back and collapsing in our beds. Not even three hours had passed, and we were already in love with the Lake District!
Day 27 Tuesday 21 April
We woke up at 8:45 only because breakfast was only served from 8:30 to 9:30. With difficulty, we forced ourselves to get up and dressed and go downstairs for breakfast. Our grumpiness over getting up so early did not last long as we took in the heavenly sight that was the dining room. The couple greeted us, asked us if we wanted tea or coffee, and showed us where our table was. It was so cute, this tiny little table set for two underneath this window with a gorgeous view of woods, gardens, and animals. The breakfast included tea, coffee, juice, toast, sausage and beans, English bacon, eggs, hash browns, fried mushrooms, and an assortment of fruit, yogurts, and cereals… a real full English breakfast! It was scrumpdilyicious and completely worth waking up early for!
After eating, we spent a little time in the parlour, working on some online stuff. Then we went out and explored Grasmere, which is a really quaint town where Wordsmith is from. We saw the tulip garden and his grave before we found a lake to hike around. The lake, surrounded by mountains and sheep, was simply gorgeous! That walk took us several hours, and by the time we walked around the lake, it was dinner time. We went to this little café and then went back to our hotel. We spent the rest of the evening in the parlour working on our computers. The owners liked to tease us about that.
Day 28 Wednesday 22 April
Woke up for our delicious breakfast, and then spent the day working on essays in the parlour. In the afternoon, I took a two hour break and went on a walk before going back to work on my essays. I spent the evening curled up by the fire in the main parlour and a cup of tea in my hands. Oh, did I forget to mention that I am now a fan of tea?
Day 29 Thursday 23 April
Thursday was a repeat of Wednesday. It rained, though, so I was not so depressed that I had to sit inside and work on essays. This was the perfect day to sit by the fire.
Day 30 Friday 24 April.
Again, Friday was a repeat of Wednesday and Thursday. I finished my essay and started another one. Hannah and I became really depressed that our time at the Lake District was almost over, and we attempted to think of ways to prolong our trip back to Winch and reality.
Day 31 Saturday 25 April
We had our last breakfast there – it was bittersweet. Then we packed our things, took a bus to the Windermere train station, and headed back to Winch. On the train, I had some good personal reflection and devo time. We got back into Winch at about 4 pm, and it felt so good to step onto familiar grounds. It is so good to be back in Winchester, I get this feeling of “home” whenever I come back to Winch after being gone. The walk back to Uni, despite being tired and sore from our rucksacks, was wonderfully splendid. Everything is in full bloom now, and Hannah and I were super psyched to be back, even though it meant no more Lake District! We “broke into” our dorm rooms since we technically weren’t supposed to be back until Sunday at 4. Then Hannah and I went to Sainsbury’s and on a walk before settling into our respective rooms. The rest of the day was low-key – I pretty much unpacked and watched a movie before going to bed.
Day 32 - Sunday 26 April
I woke up at around 6 am because I was freezing sine I didn’t have any of bedding stuff. So I got up and worked on some essay stuff before going on a walk. Then I worked on some essay stuff again. That evening, Hannah and I went to Charlotte’s house to pick up our luggage that Charlotte so kindly stored for us over break (we had to completely move out of our rooms for break) and went back to Alwyn Hall. Then I unpacked and talked to some people on skype. I was “officially” back in Winchester! Happy day!
We had to leave really early to catch our 7 am flight to London. So at 4 am, we went to get a taxi, but no one was at the office to check us out and call a taxi. So Laura finally found some parking guy to call the night watchman, who called a taxi for us. We got dropped off at the shuttle stop, and then took a shuttle to the airport, and within a few short hours, we were headed back to England. Soon, we were back in London, back “home.” Laura met up with her parents, and Hannah and I were on our own. We spent the afternoon on Oxford St. to do some more souvenir shopping and hanging out at our hostel.
Day 25 Sunday 19 April
Hannah and I wanted to go to Hillsong Church, but then we got lost on the way because we decided to walk there instead of take the tube. By the time we decided to just take the tube, the service had already started and we would have been an hour late, so we decided to just find Abbey Road. We rode the tube for a while, trying to find it, before we gave up and asked a worker how to get there. We then found out that it would be near impossible to get there that day because some of the metro lines weren’t running that day. So Hannah and I never made it there because we had to head back to get our stuff from the hostel in order to catch our coach to Liverpool on time. Then we took a five-hour coach to Liverpool. We got there, found our hostel, settled in, and went out for a drink and food at a local pub. Afterwards, we decided to do a load of laundry. Laundry, that shouldn’t take too long, right? Wrong! It took almost four hours to dry! So we didn’t get to bed until after 2 in the morning. At least it provided me with some time to skype with my sister, which is always nice.
Day 26 Monday 20 April
We did the Liverpool thing – found Penny Lane, went to the Beatles Story museum, wandered around the docks, went to the Cavern (not the original one) and Mathew St. Then we ate Chinese (insert sigh of contentment here) before leaving for our last phase of our holiday-of-a-lifetime. We grabbed our things from the hostel and took the five-hour train to the Windermere… Lake District, here we come!
Due to an hour delay for one of our trains, we didn’t get to Windermere until after 10 pm, and the buses had already stopped running. So Hannah and I ended up taking a rather expensive taxi to our hotel in Grasmere. The drive there was one of the most amazing drives of my life! The road was windy and went through some really quaint little towns and woods and lakes, and the starts were bright against the black night. It was beautiful! After about 20 minutes, Hannah and I let out a gasp because we saw this old, beautiful house all lit up on this hill. That’s when the taxi driver informs us that that house is our hotel. We are overcome with giddiness and the driver asks us if we are satisfied with our choice, and all we can do is nod, our eyes big and the most goony smiles on our faces. We go into the hotel, where the owners, a married couple who waited up for us, checked us in. They were really nice and apparently the man used to be a truck driver, which made the fact that this couple owned the hotel even better. We get to our room, which is really cute, put our stuff down, and go outside to sit under that stars before going back and collapsing in our beds. Not even three hours had passed, and we were already in love with the Lake District!
Day 27 Tuesday 21 April
We woke up at 8:45 only because breakfast was only served from 8:30 to 9:30. With difficulty, we forced ourselves to get up and dressed and go downstairs for breakfast. Our grumpiness over getting up so early did not last long as we took in the heavenly sight that was the dining room. The couple greeted us, asked us if we wanted tea or coffee, and showed us where our table was. It was so cute, this tiny little table set for two underneath this window with a gorgeous view of woods, gardens, and animals. The breakfast included tea, coffee, juice, toast, sausage and beans, English bacon, eggs, hash browns, fried mushrooms, and an assortment of fruit, yogurts, and cereals… a real full English breakfast! It was scrumpdilyicious and completely worth waking up early for!
After eating, we spent a little time in the parlour, working on some online stuff. Then we went out and explored Grasmere, which is a really quaint town where Wordsmith is from. We saw the tulip garden and his grave before we found a lake to hike around. The lake, surrounded by mountains and sheep, was simply gorgeous! That walk took us several hours, and by the time we walked around the lake, it was dinner time. We went to this little café and then went back to our hotel. We spent the rest of the evening in the parlour working on our computers. The owners liked to tease us about that.
Day 28 Wednesday 22 April
Woke up for our delicious breakfast, and then spent the day working on essays in the parlour. In the afternoon, I took a two hour break and went on a walk before going back to work on my essays. I spent the evening curled up by the fire in the main parlour and a cup of tea in my hands. Oh, did I forget to mention that I am now a fan of tea?
Day 29 Thursday 23 April
Thursday was a repeat of Wednesday. It rained, though, so I was not so depressed that I had to sit inside and work on essays. This was the perfect day to sit by the fire.
Day 30 Friday 24 April.
Again, Friday was a repeat of Wednesday and Thursday. I finished my essay and started another one. Hannah and I became really depressed that our time at the Lake District was almost over, and we attempted to think of ways to prolong our trip back to Winch and reality.
Day 31 Saturday 25 April
We had our last breakfast there – it was bittersweet. Then we packed our things, took a bus to the Windermere train station, and headed back to Winch. On the train, I had some good personal reflection and devo time. We got back into Winch at about 4 pm, and it felt so good to step onto familiar grounds. It is so good to be back in Winchester, I get this feeling of “home” whenever I come back to Winch after being gone. The walk back to Uni, despite being tired and sore from our rucksacks, was wonderfully splendid. Everything is in full bloom now, and Hannah and I were super psyched to be back, even though it meant no more Lake District! We “broke into” our dorm rooms since we technically weren’t supposed to be back until Sunday at 4. Then Hannah and I went to Sainsbury’s and on a walk before settling into our respective rooms. The rest of the day was low-key – I pretty much unpacked and watched a movie before going to bed.
Day 32 - Sunday 26 April
I woke up at around 6 am because I was freezing sine I didn’t have any of bedding stuff. So I got up and worked on some essay stuff before going on a walk. Then I worked on some essay stuff again. That evening, Hannah and I went to Charlotte’s house to pick up our luggage that Charlotte so kindly stored for us over break (we had to completely move out of our rooms for break) and went back to Alwyn Hall. Then I unpacked and talked to some people on skype. I was “officially” back in Winchester! Happy day!
Pisa to Florence, Florence to Venice
Day 19 - Monday 13 April
Early Monday morning, we left Rome and took a train to Pisa for the day. While there, we saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa and two other really cool buildings that I am sure have some great significance, but as to what that is, I’m not sure. And yes, we gave in to our inner nerdy tourists and took pictures “holding” the tower up… it was a moment – or hour – of weakness for us! After satisfying our inner tourists, we wandered the streets of Pisa for awhile, found some grass to lie on, which gave me a rash similar to Laura’s disease de la franc, and relaxed… it was lovely. From there, we took a train to Florence.
Florence
We got to Florence relatively late Monday night, late enough that the buses had already stopped running, which left us relying on our feet for transportation to our hostel. Thus, we ended up walking through a pretty decent chunk of Florence at 9:30 at night. At first we were a little hesitant, but after a few minutes of walking, we reached some of the Florence squares, where tons of people were out, street musicians were playing amazing music, and lights were twinkling along the river. It was magical… I know that sounds cheesy, but it is true – the entire atmosphere was something out of a movie. Eventually we found our hostel, which seemed kind of sketchy at first because it blended in with other houses and didn’t have a sign outside. But our fears were laid to rest when we finally found the office (on the third floor of the building) and checked in. The staff worker took us to our room that ended up being on the 7th floor – kind of annoying because we had to take the steep stairs up 4 more flights of stairs while carrying our enormous rucksacks. But it turned out to be worth it, since the 7th floor was the top floor, and we had our own little “suite” consisting of a little room, a bathroom, and a balcony with an incredibly amazing view of Italianesque houses. We called it our penthouse suite. Once we settled in a little, we had this insane urge to explore Florence some more, so we ventured out… only by that time, most of the city had settled down for the day, but it was still beautiful out, so we decided to stay out. Laura bought a bottle of wine, Hannah bought potato crisps and Jess and I, well, we decided to just mooch off of them. We ended up eating our treats on this huge concrete slab-hill type thing in front of this huge museum across from our hostel and playing ‘hot seat.’ To top it off, the background noise was none other than drums, because there was this huge group in one corner of the lot sitting around banging drums. I don’t know why. Oh, and the next day, we found out that it is illegal to drink outside, which we were really confused about because a lot of people were walking around with open bottles of alcohol… who knows.
Day 20 - Tuesday 14 April
In the morning, we all took turns showering and going to the grocery store. After we were all done, we just chilled on the balcony for a long while, basking in the Tuscan sun and eating our breakfasts/lunches. Then we went up to this hill that overlooks the whole city… the view was spectacular, the weather was perfect, and I was purely content. We spent a while there, then consulted the map to find out where to go next; according to the map, there was another spot a little further away that provided some more spectacular views, so we decided to go there. The “there” turned out to be this old church and cemetery. It was the most amazing cemetery I had ever been in, so aged and beautiful and serene, and I probably could have spent forever and a day there. I spent a little time by myself there, surrounded by brilliant gardens, old gated tombs, and elegant sculptures. God really met me there, and my alone time wasn’t so lonely. Later we went back to our hostel, did some things we needed to take care of online, then just rested. Then we tried finding a relaxed pub to hang out at, but couldn’t find any casual, appealing ones, so we decided to just get some snacks and go back to our hostel, where we watched a movie and fell asleep.
Day 21 - Wednesday 15 April
Wednesday morning we got up, checked out and then took the train to Venice. We took a bus to our hostel that was actually a campsite outside of Venice. The website had said something about that and trailers, but we didn’t really know what to expect. What we got was a pleasant surprise. It was indeed a campsite –right on the water!- with small but nice trailers as the “hostel” rooms. The campground was similar to ones we would have in the States – complete with a restaurant, bar, and camp shop. We spent the afternoon wandering around and sitting by the water and later, checking our e-mail. And that was our first day in Venice.
Day 22 – Thursday 16 April
We took a bus to Venice for the day. Venice is such an amazingly unique place, with quaint bridges, rivers, and boats everywhere, but there isn’t really much to do there other than shop and wander around. Venice has lots of neat glass stuff available from vendors all over the city, so it’s a great place for buying souvenirs. We left in the late afternoon because Jess had to leave to go back to Malta. We accompanied Jess to the airport shuttle stop, then said goodbye. Hannah, Laura, and I went back to CampingFusina and just hung out the rest of the day.
Day 23 – Friday 17 April
Friday was another day spent in Venice. Mission: Souvenirs. Mission: Accomplished. We stayed there until late afternoon, then went back to our little trailer. Hannah and Laura napped while I watched The Breakfast Club. Then Hannah and Laura went to the bar while I packed and did my devos.
Early Monday morning, we left Rome and took a train to Pisa for the day. While there, we saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa and two other really cool buildings that I am sure have some great significance, but as to what that is, I’m not sure. And yes, we gave in to our inner nerdy tourists and took pictures “holding” the tower up… it was a moment – or hour – of weakness for us! After satisfying our inner tourists, we wandered the streets of Pisa for awhile, found some grass to lie on, which gave me a rash similar to Laura’s disease de la franc, and relaxed… it was lovely. From there, we took a train to Florence.
Florence
We got to Florence relatively late Monday night, late enough that the buses had already stopped running, which left us relying on our feet for transportation to our hostel. Thus, we ended up walking through a pretty decent chunk of Florence at 9:30 at night. At first we were a little hesitant, but after a few minutes of walking, we reached some of the Florence squares, where tons of people were out, street musicians were playing amazing music, and lights were twinkling along the river. It was magical… I know that sounds cheesy, but it is true – the entire atmosphere was something out of a movie. Eventually we found our hostel, which seemed kind of sketchy at first because it blended in with other houses and didn’t have a sign outside. But our fears were laid to rest when we finally found the office (on the third floor of the building) and checked in. The staff worker took us to our room that ended up being on the 7th floor – kind of annoying because we had to take the steep stairs up 4 more flights of stairs while carrying our enormous rucksacks. But it turned out to be worth it, since the 7th floor was the top floor, and we had our own little “suite” consisting of a little room, a bathroom, and a balcony with an incredibly amazing view of Italianesque houses. We called it our penthouse suite. Once we settled in a little, we had this insane urge to explore Florence some more, so we ventured out… only by that time, most of the city had settled down for the day, but it was still beautiful out, so we decided to stay out. Laura bought a bottle of wine, Hannah bought potato crisps and Jess and I, well, we decided to just mooch off of them. We ended up eating our treats on this huge concrete slab-hill type thing in front of this huge museum across from our hostel and playing ‘hot seat.’ To top it off, the background noise was none other than drums, because there was this huge group in one corner of the lot sitting around banging drums. I don’t know why. Oh, and the next day, we found out that it is illegal to drink outside, which we were really confused about because a lot of people were walking around with open bottles of alcohol… who knows.
Day 20 - Tuesday 14 April
In the morning, we all took turns showering and going to the grocery store. After we were all done, we just chilled on the balcony for a long while, basking in the Tuscan sun and eating our breakfasts/lunches. Then we went up to this hill that overlooks the whole city… the view was spectacular, the weather was perfect, and I was purely content. We spent a while there, then consulted the map to find out where to go next; according to the map, there was another spot a little further away that provided some more spectacular views, so we decided to go there. The “there” turned out to be this old church and cemetery. It was the most amazing cemetery I had ever been in, so aged and beautiful and serene, and I probably could have spent forever and a day there. I spent a little time by myself there, surrounded by brilliant gardens, old gated tombs, and elegant sculptures. God really met me there, and my alone time wasn’t so lonely. Later we went back to our hostel, did some things we needed to take care of online, then just rested. Then we tried finding a relaxed pub to hang out at, but couldn’t find any casual, appealing ones, so we decided to just get some snacks and go back to our hostel, where we watched a movie and fell asleep.
Day 21 - Wednesday 15 April
Wednesday morning we got up, checked out and then took the train to Venice. We took a bus to our hostel that was actually a campsite outside of Venice. The website had said something about that and trailers, but we didn’t really know what to expect. What we got was a pleasant surprise. It was indeed a campsite –right on the water!- with small but nice trailers as the “hostel” rooms. The campground was similar to ones we would have in the States – complete with a restaurant, bar, and camp shop. We spent the afternoon wandering around and sitting by the water and later, checking our e-mail. And that was our first day in Venice.
Day 22 – Thursday 16 April
We took a bus to Venice for the day. Venice is such an amazingly unique place, with quaint bridges, rivers, and boats everywhere, but there isn’t really much to do there other than shop and wander around. Venice has lots of neat glass stuff available from vendors all over the city, so it’s a great place for buying souvenirs. We left in the late afternoon because Jess had to leave to go back to Malta. We accompanied Jess to the airport shuttle stop, then said goodbye. Hannah, Laura, and I went back to CampingFusina and just hung out the rest of the day.
Day 23 – Friday 17 April
Friday was another day spent in Venice. Mission: Souvenirs. Mission: Accomplished. We stayed there until late afternoon, then went back to our little trailer. Hannah and Laura napped while I watched The Breakfast Club. Then Hannah and Laura went to the bar while I packed and did my devos.
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