York, England!

     So this past weekend was definitely my favorite part of this trip so far.  Eleven of us met to York for two nights (although we met with another person from the trip and her friend on Sunday).  So bright and early Saturday morning we got up and trekked down to the Ormskirk Train Station.  We caught the 8:06a train to Preston where we were supposed to switch to a train that would take us directly to York.  Unfortunately that train was cancelled and we wound up having to take a train to Manchester Piccadilly and then switch there to York.  We arrived in York around 11:20a which wasn't bad, and while changing trains a couple times was a pain it took about the same amount of time as it should have with the direct shot.  As soon as we arrived we headed to our various hotels to check in and drop off our luggage.  I stayed in the Warrens and I shared a room with Susan.  Kaitlin, Kelsey, and Emily were next door and two of the professors who came with us downstairs.  After getting settled in to the absolutely charming hotel we headed out to meet up with the others at York Minster.

     York Minster is the largest Cathedral in England and it really was impressive.  It was about a fifteen minute walk from our hotel but it was definitely worth it.  As soon as we got to the cathedral we realized how hungry we were so first we decided to grab a bite to eat at a pub.  After a decent meal we went into York Minster and looked around for a while.  It was very beautiful inside, but unfortunately many of my pictures did not come out well because of the lighting.  Anyways, after exploring the cathedral we went down into the crypt where we could see how it had changed over time.  Originally there was  a wooden church where York Minster now stands, but that burned down in the 700s.  The cathedral what we explored was erected sometime before 1000AD and underwent several changes.  It is a Gothic cathedral as evident just by glancing at the outside.  After going to York Minster we headed back to the hotel, but on the way we decided to stop at Betty's Tea Room.  It was delicious!  I had a cup of their house blend and a fruit tart with raspberry sauce and organic vanilla ice cream.  It was one of the most delicious desserts I have ever eaten.  After that we went back to the hotel where I spent the evening hanging out with the girls and professors in my hotel.  We watched Leap Year and just had girl talk.  It was great!

     On Sunday we got up around 9 (how nice it was to sleep in a bit) and went downstairs for the breakfast.  It was unlike any continental breakfast I had ever eaten!  They served a full traditional English breakfast and it was amazing.  I am not typically a breakfast person but I was craving it that day.  After breakfast we set out for Castle Howard, which is actually a really large mansion.  It was designed for Charles Howard the 3rd Earl of Carlisle.  It is still home to the Howard family and I am totally jealous!  I asked if they had a son and apparently they do... but he is 7 years old.  That seems a tad too young.  Anyways, when we got there we explored the house and it was very beautiful.  Although I'm not going to lie, having visited Versailles, Castle Howard really paled in comparison.  It was still a lot of fun to see though and a movie that I have yet to see, Brideshead Revisited, was filmed there which was kind of cool.  I'll have to see the movie now.  I have heard it wasn't that great, but Emma Thompson is in it so it can't be terrible!
     After looking around the house for a while we set out to explore the grounds.  We took our picture next to the large fountain behind the house and then wandered past the pond and through the woods.  We walked around the Temple of Four Winds which was a cute little stone building with a gorgeous view.  We then walked around the woods some more, and although the forecast had predicted rain it was a relatively nice day.  It occasionally sprinkled and it could have been a bit warmer but overall it was lovely.  The best part of the day however was when we went to Adventure Playground!  Yes, it is exactly as it sounds.  Earlier I had read about it on the pamphlet and had mentioned it to one of my professors, Carolina, who is definitely a kid a heart!  She readily agreed that we must go check it out and I must say it really exceeded all of our expectations.  We spent over an our sliding down slides, playing on teeter totters, and spinning around on some disk-thingy.  It was fantastic!  I have not laughed so hard in such a long time.  
     When we finally left the playground we were exhausted so we decided to head back to York and grab some dinner.  We ate a pub where I had steak and ale pie which was delicious!  I also tried a Stella which is a type of beer, but it was really bitter and actually quite disgusting.  After the pub some people went on a ghost hunt but I don't really believe in ghosts/care about that stuff so I went back with a few and took a nice hot shower and just relaxed.  I went to bed pretty early because we had to get up fairly early to head to Durham.

     Durham was so cool!  It is about 45 minutes from York and when I woke up I was a little iffy about going because I didn't see what was so exciting about it, but I soon discovered it was awesome!  The first thing we did when we got there was walk the 15 minutes to Durham Cathedral where we could take pictures in the same location that scenes from Harry Potter were filmed!!  Everyone was so excited because, well, we love Harry Potter!  It was awesome to be walking where they walked and I could even remember some of the scenes.  Here is the link to pictures from the Harry Potter scenes and then you can compare them to the pictures of me in Durham Cathedral: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/about/films/locations/durham.htm.  We took a bunch of pictures in the walk way and even went into the courtyard where we took a few pictures.  Another scene was filmed right in the courtyard and so it was cool to walk on the grass.  As it turns out though we were not supposed to be on the grass so we were asked to get off it pretty quickly.  The guy was really nice though and he told us about a few other scenes that were filmed in the cathedral, and although we couldn't go into the room where the filming took place we could look through a window.  I took a couple pictures but they didn't turn out that well.  He also informed us that when we had been lying in the grass in the courtyard we were actually lying on a graveyard which was a little creepy.
     After leaving Durham Cathedral we bought sandwiches and had a picnic out on the lawn.  It was a gorgeous day and it was nice just to lie back and relax for a little while.  Then we took a tour of Durham Castle which was really cool.  It is now a college and it is apparently pretty difficult to get into.  The tour was interesting and it is always fun to visit castles!  Now I am back in Ormskirk and should be sleeping because I have to get up and go to class in the morning.  We only have a few more days of classes and then head to London on Saturday.  I cannot wait!!  My birthday is one week from today!  
     I love and miss you all!

Conwy, Wales!

    I seriously love this country so much!  We have been here two weeks to the day and it has flown by, but at the same time it has felt like we have been here forever.  These past few days have been relatively chill.  On Tuesday we got out of class early to go see Robin Hood in Liverpool, it was awesome!  I cannot wait for the sequel.  I also love that class involves going to the movies!  It was Kelsey's 21st birthday so we kicked off the celebration by having her chug a beer in the movie bathroom (they sell it at the theatre) while two of the professors cheered her on!  After that we went back to Ormskirk and got all dolled up.  It was a black dress themed dinner and so we went out to this cute little restaurant that was decorated in black and pink.  The dinner was delicious, I had duck spring rolls for an appetizer and salmon for the entrée.  After the dinner, and making sure Kelsey had her fair share of drinks, we went to Liquid Bar where they serve drinks called fishbowls.  They are essentially large bowls of fruity alcohol that are shared among multiple people, we then took her to Styles, another bar.  I left early and went back with a few people because I was tired and did not want to relapse, but I made sure to get a few cute pictures of the birthday girl!

   Wednesday I didn't really do much at all.  I did my laundry which was long over due.  How great it feels to have clean clothes!!  What a process it was, you had to practically duel for a washing machine and then the dryers took forever to work!  After that I had a movie night with a couple of girls from the trip, Diana and Dani.  We watched Dear John.  It was nice just to relax and hang out.

   Today was the best day though!  We got to go to Conwy, Wales.  Although it is pronounced "Conway" it is spelled without the "a".  We left Ormskirk at 8a and prepared for a two hour journey.  I basically slept the whole way there which was nice.  As we pulled into Wales we were immediately greeted by a large castle!  It was amazing, way better then Lancaster Castle.  I am very impressed with our bus driver.  Today he had to fit through an arch way that I'm pretty sure my subaru would barely be able to fit through.  We all cheered as we made it through the narrow walls without an accident.  Having departed from the bus we went to the castle and got to roam around as we pleased!  I spent almost two hours exploring with Dani, Diana, and Julia.  We were allowed to go just about anywhere and could take pictures everywhere so we were in heaven.  The castle seemed to stretch on and on and the view was incredible!  My fear of heights definitely kicked in but I tried to ignore it.  

   From the castle we wandered around town trying to find some breakfast/lunch.  We settled on a little cafe (I forget the name) and we wound up being very disappointed.  It was ok though because we decided since we were in Wales it did not matter that we had an insufficient meal!  After lunch we went off in search of another tourist attraction we had been told we  absolutely must see... the smallest house in Great Britain!  My professor was not lying, it was so tiny.  The last person to live in it was a 6'3'' fisherman and before him an elderly couple lived there.  It hasn't been lived in since the beginning of the 1900s when it was ruled unfit for human habitation.  When we went inside it was crazy.  There was an upstairs and a downstairs, despite the fact that it is 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide.  There was a small fireplace, coal box, and place for water downstairs and upstairs a bed and small dresser!  I cannot imagine ever living there, I was feeling cramped after 5 minutes of just looking around inside, and by looking around I mean standing and turn around in a circle.  

   After we visited the Smallest House in Great Britain we still had about an hour and a half to kill so we just wandered around Conwy.  It is a very small town so it did not take very long.  We discovered three statues and being girls we spend a good amount of time making sure we all got our pictures taken in front of them.  Then we went on to the Knight Shop.  Inside there were swords, armor, and information on your Coat of Arms.  For example: the surname Payne is derived from Norman ancestry (French) and it means a rustic countryman.  The motto for our Coat of Arms is "I would rather die then be disgraced."  Now I'm not going to lie... I think I'd rather be disgraced and live, but that's just me. 

   Anyways, after the Knight Shop we just wandered in and out of a few stores.  Three of us (me, Dani, and Diana) even got friendship bracelets.  They're just a beaded bracelet but cute.   

  Now we're back at school and tomorrow is our last day off classes before Bank Holiday!  I am really excited, I am going to York with a few people.  It is supposed to be a great city and last year it was voted best city in the UK.  We're going to spend two nights there and will be back on Monday.  Then we will have our last few classes before heading to London next Saturday!  While I do love Ormskirk, I am really excited for a city... and my birthday!!  I am 21 in 11 days I can't believe it!!  I am really sad I can't celebrate it with my friends and family back home, but I've made great new friends to celebrate it with.  And the theme I have chosen for my birthday is... jungle themed!  Leopard, zebra, or some other funky print is a must!

   I love and miss everybody back home!   Xoxo

Lancaster, England

Today I have been bedridden all day.  It's awful.  I seem to have come down with a stomach bug or food poisoning and I was not able to go to the Lake District.  I'm devastated because that was the place I was looking forward to going the most while in Northern Britain.  Oh well.

Yesterday a group of us decided to journey to Lancaster so we could tour a real castle!  Lancaster Castle is currently being used as a prison, but apparently they do not house any dangerous criminals.  Our guide told us a story about the last time prisoners decided to escape.  They found a ladder that had been lying around and used it to reach the top of the walls.  From there one fell and broke his leg, ending his adventure.  The second disappeared for three days before showing up and knocking on the door of the prison, asking to be let back in.  He had just wanted to visit his girlfriend!  

Anyways, the castle also has the oldest working Crown Courtroom.  This room is very beautiful and decorated with various shields.  There is another courtroom in the building that is much less beautiful.  This is where they hold most of the cases including murder trials.  In this room they still have the original branding mechanism that they used to punish people who had committed a crime.  They would brand a "M" on the person's left hand and when people were being accused of a crime they had to raise their hand to show whether or not they had committed a crime in the past.  This is where the phrase "our hands our clean" comes from.  Also, we had the opportunity to be locked in the dungeon!  It was pitch black with no windows and due to overpopulation they would crowd 8-10 people in a room that is 1/3 the size of my bedroom!  I was only locked in for 30 seconds, I can't imagine what it would be like to be in there for 6-8 months waiting for trial.  After trial if you were found guilty it was a possibility to be executed, and if not there was a time when England would merely ship their convicted felons to America!  Unfortunately we are not allowed to take pictures anywhere in the castle, but we got some great pictures on the outside!

The town of Lancaster is also very nice.  Once again there were a lot of stone buildings and cobblestone streets.  We wandered around for a while, looked in some shops, and ate some ice cream.  We also had lunch at the Sun Hotel and Bar, I honestly had one of the best sandwiches I've ever tasted.  I really hope that isn't what made me sick!  After we toured the castle and wandered around the town a little bit more we headed back to Ormskirk were we had dinner at O'este.  This is where I really began to feel sick and so I left quickly.  Since then I have been lying in bed feeling terrible.  I'm really hoping I'm feeling better, but it's been 24 hours and I only feel a little better.  

I miss everybody back home but I am loving England!!

My first week

I have been in Ormskirk, England now for 8 days and I have loved every moment! When I arrived last Thursday I was absolutely exhausted and spend the first couple of days in a haze, but as I caught up on my sleep and recovered from jet lag I really began to love this country. The first weekend they took us on a couple of excursions, first to Liverpool and then to Chester. Both places were great although very different from one another. Liverpool is an industrial city, but still a great place to just walk around and shop. I went there again today and bought a sundress! Last Saturday I also went to the Beatles Museum and went on the large Ferris wheel that gave me a great view of the city. It feels very safe and not remotely scary. In my Urban Government class last semester we discussed how in Europe the cities are very different from cities in the United States because the more affluent people tend to live in the cities. In Europe the slums are the suburbs. Although we haven't spent anytime in the suburbs you can definitely tell that the cities are well off.

When we went to Chester I could not get over how charming it was. Although there was a downtown with shops, the streets were narrow and very cute. We went to Chester Cathedral which was absolutely gorgeous. I love old architecture and I wish we had it in the US. In Chester I also invested in some herbal sleeping pills which have worked wonders at night. It can get very loud in the dorms and thanks to a pill a night (don't worry I won't get addicted!) my sleep has become quite regulated. I also am feeling completely better after having bronchitis last week and I haven't been coughing at all!

Monday-Wednesday I had class in the morning from 9-12. I'm taking British Cultural Identities and a British Literature course. We have to read The Nine Tailors, either Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, Kidnapped, and Ivanhoe. The classes have been fairly interesting and we've had some really great discussions. However, the most fruitful education we are getting is from the excursions we're taking. After class on Monday I walked into Ormskirk, the little market village the Edge Hill University is located on the outskirts. It's about a 10 minute walk and it's a really nice. The weather has been fantastic, getting up into the 70s! I did the same on Tuesday but on Wednesday I wound up sleeping for a good portion of the afternoon.

Thursday was an amazing day. We got up early and drove 2 hours to Haworth, home of the Brontë sisters. The town was beautiful, with cobblestone streets and old stone houses. The moor was beautiful too, and I had never seen so many sheep! The lambs were so cute and there was one horse, who I named George, who was very friendly and came right up to you. The home of the sisters was quite tiny despite the fact that there were 5 siblings and it was hard to believe they all lived their together. We had a tour of their home that has been turned into a museum, and then went on a brief walking tour. Despite the tiny graveyard we learned that around 42,000 people were buried there, one on top of another. Gross!

I love all the various places we have been fortunate enough to visit. Tomorrow I'm going with a few people to take a tour of Lancaster Castle, we even get locked in a dungeon!   I bought a student rail pass yesterday for 26 pounds and it gives us on all our fares.  The train is so easy around here that it takes no time at all to get places!  On Sunday all of us are going to the Lake District, home of Wordsworth's Dove Cottage. I have googled the location and it looks beautiful!