Okay so, I didn’t even have 5 minutes yesterday to update! Which means things are going well but I can’t keep up with my day-to-day entry style like I want. But I have access now so I’ll try to keep it short and sweet (unlikely).
England
Conisbrough & Wath
EnglandToday, Dad got really really sick so Mother and I took a trip to Wath to see the family history. Went to Conisbrough Castle, which was just a defense fortress, really. But I always love castles and their ancient-ness. They make me feel very young.
Doncaster & York
England
Tate Britain
England
London Day Trip: Cambridge
EnglandCambridge was absolutely wonderful! So many colleges, so many old buildings. And the WEATHER just keeps holding out for us. Not one rainy sightseeing day thus far. Incredible.
Camden
EnglandCamden Market was FANTASTIC today. Rachel, Melissa, and I were drawn to pretty much everything. Some of it was really touristy, but other stuff was chic, hip, vintage, grungy, and really cool!
And you KNEW it was cool, because they sold (replicas of) Banksy.
A pretty scene where, along the edge, they sold lots of ethnic food.
They had the coolest bench seats overlooking the river.
Above ground market.
Getting deeper.
And underground. The ceiling for a music section.
The WEIRDEST store of my life. Words cannot describe what’s inside. I’m going back, obviously, to buy something just to prove that stuff it holds really exists for sale. You have no idea.
I can imagine most, if not all, of my shopping sprees happening in Camden. I need to say that it is a MIRACLE that I managed to not buy a single thing… except when we went back to Covent Garden and I had to buy paella.. AND cookies from Ben’s Cookies to keep my tummy happy.
All in all, a day well spent. Tonight will involve more hanging out with the girls over a pint at Imperial. Tomorrow: Cambridge and Punting!
Study Abroad: Trafalgar Square
England
Stonehenge & Winchester
EnglandThis blog is seriously the best thing to procrastinate with since the discovery of Facebook. Today: Stonehenge and Winchester. And guess what? Yup, no rain. Beautiful pictures. Happy Lindsey. The long bus ride through the countryside was enjoyable, and I was actually awake this time. Took some out-of-the-window photos, which didn’t make the cut here but I still saved them. Stonehenge was really cool but very quick. Walked around once and got back on the bus. But still managed to get pictures!
I give the sun credit for how this one came out.
Then we rode another 45 minutes to Winchester, home of the Winchester Cathedral!
(I figured you could find outside photos online, so only inside ones here)
Which holds the grave of the brilliant Jane Austen. This is her memorial, which stands right beside it. We also saw the home where she spent her final days. It was very yellow.
This is the Bishop of Winchester’s official residence, also: Wolvesey Castle.
And up Winchester High Street, we entered the Great Hall to find King Arthur’s Round Table! 13th Century and oldddddd.
In back, a beautiful little garden.
The girls, minus Andrew, who sadly had to take the picture.
Hurray!
ETA: Pictures have FINALLY been uploaded to my entries at Buckingham Palace and St. Paul’s/Covent Garden/Tower of London. Have a look!
King’s Cross & Fabric
EnglandOh no! I didn’t get to write an entry for yesterday. Which was mad busy, by the way. Yesterday, I slept until 11–the longest I’ve slept in while being here. Then I went for a run in Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park, which was absolutely beautiful. I think I might study or read there soon before the weather gets too cold. After returning, showering, and snacking, Melissa Antoine and I took a little trip to King’s Cross to find Platform 9 3/4!
We are SUCH geeks, but it was so worth it!
So after that, Antoine went off my himself because us girls were going to go shoppingggg. And I got a cute little dress from H&M which I wore that night at Fabric. We walked around the Harrods area for a little bit, explored a bead and jewelry store called Wave, and tasted free samples of tea down the street–the tastes of which we fell in love with right away and decided to buy tins full of it 🙂
Then we took the Tube from South Kensington to Gloucester Road (the perks of using a monthly Oyster card: going one stop doesn’t mean a thing!) to get some alcohol for the night. Guess what they hadddd!!!
And rushed back to cook pasta and drink up. At 10pm our big group embarked on the journey to Fabric, this really famous (and now infamous) nightclub at Farringdon. SO not worth the time, and it took us about 2 hours to find our way back home, which ended up being around 4am. For Saturday: homework time.
London Day Trip: Hampton Court Palace
England9am-5pm class today with no lunch = EXHAUSTING. But we got to take an adventure to Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace in Surrey (HP lived in Surrey! ahem), which had the loveliest gardens. And some kingly architecture.
The front of the palace.
The great hall, I think.
Some staircase. Some really pretty staircase. Some good painting.
One of the courtyards.
And the backyard gardens. Some in French style.
And some in English style, which is always the prettiest.
Outside we caught a sighting of King Henry VIII himself!
Before we left, we walked through the Palace Maze!
After I came home, I really did nothing more than buy groceries and sit around the room eating what I bought. Digestives: 1, Lindsey: 0. ALSO, today I got my Student Oyster Card. FINALLY. So after paying the £205, I will now be able to travel as many times on the Tube as I want in Zones 1&2. Which meansssss….. a trip to King’s Cross VERY SOON. To see Platform 9 3/4. Which will begin my long and arduous journey into touring as many as-made-famous-by-Harry-Potter locations as possible. AM TRULY PSYCHED.
Lindsey Olander 