Playin' Catchup!

Sorry for the wait everyone! School is definitely in full swing and that means a lot of time devoted to the work.

I think I left off in London? Yeah!

Cool, well, the next weekend Michelle, who goes to Eau Claire, and her roommate Melissa and I

hopped a couple of trains to Nottingham!! We got sack luches and headed out early in the morning. We rode the Robin Hood Line from Grantham to Nottingham, and caught another train North to a place called Kirkby in Ashfield. Here, we had a cab wating for us to take us into the small villiage of Blidworth. Here, we found St. Mary's Cathedral and, tucked into the woods behind the church, the cemetary and gravestone of Will Scarlet!! It's so old that the wasn't any name or anything on it, but they say that it's supposed to be his final resting place! I was extatic! The cemetary itself was

beautiful and I took a lot of photos.

That didn't take too long, so we ended up walking into town and looking at some of the shops and stopping to eat lunch outside a pub. It was rainy so we ducked into a tent that kept us nice and dry until our cab showed up to bring us back to the train.



Outside Nottingham Castle!!



Where Edward II was
dragged after the
deed.



There, we ho

pped onto the train and went back to Nottingham to see the castle!! The original castle actually burnt down, so what is standing is an 18th century palace of sorts to Edward II. Even that doesn't really look like what it's supposed to because IT was ransacked by rioters and was torched. :( So, the building holds a art gallery, museum, and cafe. However, the tour wasn't a complete disaster becasue we opted to go on the tour of the caves that are within the cliff that the castle rests on. These caves were AWESOME! They were used by the servants of the castle, as well as many other poor peo ple as homes, and by the royalty as Dungeons and places to bring your King after he got a red hot poker up his butt. Yeah....poor Eddy II. He wasn't very loved by his peers. Anyways! They were the highlight of the trip for all of us!!

And so ends last weekend!



Then, on Wednesday of this week, the 15th, we had a field trip to Lincoln! That was REALLY fun! It was crazy windy and a bit cold, but definitely worth it! There we got to see the castle, which holds a prison(which holds one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta!) and the courthouse(which is still used today for trials. There was one going on while we were on our tour.) and Lucy's keep.



Lucy's Tower



Tree in cemetary of
Lucy's Tower



Lucy's keep was my favorite part of the tour because it's just

the ruins of what is left. It's a hallowed out skeleton of the two story circular building, in which the floor is a cemetary whith a giant tree growing in the middle. The second stroy isn't there anymore. 



We also got to go up to Cobb's Tower, which was tower in the corner of the wall surrounding the keep, where all the public hangings used to take place. Creepy! :) We also got to walk on top of the walls for a bit, which was an awesome view point to look over the city.

We then had the chance to go into the Cathedral, which is only about two hundred feet away from the castle. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!  Words can't describe it.



Lincoln Cathedral



Oh! we also got to see the only remaining Roman archway that is still in use today! Pretty awesome!!

Lincoln had some great tea places, and shopping so I hope to get back there soon to do some of it!! It's a wonderful place!

That's right!

So, there ya go! That is the update! I'm doing well, studying a lot  and making friends, stuff like that. I did wake up with a sore throat today...and I just sneezed a couple of times a few minutes ago, so I really hope I'm not getting sick!! :( That would suck!!

Anyways, my journey to Ireland is in a couple of weeks, so I'm excited for that and I will definitely update you all on that! I hope this finds you safe, happy, and warm!!



Cheers!

There's No Place Like London!

Is it weird for me to say that I may want to live here some day?

I have totally fallen in love with this city! It's hustle and bustle, the buildings, oh the buildings!, the history, the whole feeling of being in that place was exciting and wonderful! I will tell the tale of my first adventure to London.

So, we headed out of Grantham around six Thursday night. We took up three coaches (buses) and had a wonderful three hour trip. I sat next to Lauren, and we talked about theater (shes' a theater ed. major) food, our families....the entire trip! Oh! We also talked about our past vehicles we've had. Random? Yes. But a lot of fun!!

On the coach to London!!

Finally, around nine thirty we get into London and at our hotel. The Royal National. It's supposed to have the largest amount of rooms in London. I can't remember the exact amount, but there were a lot!! We had a bit of a hiccup at the front desk, becasue the attenants didn't know there was a group of 130 university kids coming and checking in at once. Anyways, we all finally got our keys, and after running up to drop my bag off, I went back down into the lobby to meet Andrea, Kenzie, and Lauren to go out. By going out, all I mean to say is that we met up with Laurens brother, Lee, to go to a pub and relax and hang out. Lindsey, a girl from Eau Claire came with us too! There, Andrea and I (who became halfsie-buddies for the weekend) split a pint of a local beer. I can't remember what the name of it was, but I can hartily say that beer is an accquired taste. At least for she and I. I tried a sip of Lindsey's beer which they said was a bit friuty, thinking it would taste better, but it actually tasted worse than the stuff I had! :( Sorry Dad! The pubs start to shut down at eleven, so we left at close and realized we were STARVING, so wandered back to our hotel, stopped at a quick place across the road from the hotel to grab some food, and went to eat it in the lobby. We ate, said goodnight to Lee, and headed up to our rooms. There, we chatted until about one thirty when we realized that we had to get up at like seven the next morning. So, we went to bed. Haha!

The next day, Kenzie and I went to the Tower of London! We took the tube, which is a LOT of fun! It's a good thing Kenzie has been through the tube experience before, because I'm not sure I would be able to to it alone! The tour of the Tower was good! We got to see the Bloody Tower, the Ravens, and generally walk through the White Tower, which is the actual castle. We had to meet up with Andrea and Lauren, so we couldn't stay for as long as I wanted, but for what we got to see, I loved!! It was really cool! I hope to go back and stay so I could see the crown jewels that are there. Fun fact! The governor, his family, and about a hundred other people still live at the Tower of London!

We met up with Andrea, Lauren, Lee, Alex(his friend) and two other girls at the National Gallery in Trafalger Square, which is BEAUTIFUL! Just sayin'. We spent an hour and a half in the gallery, and we saw VanGoughs, DaVinci, Monet, and a whole lot more!!! I loved it! Only, we only got to see about a quarter of the whole exhibit. Again, I wnat to go back so I can spend more time there!

Yay! High Tea in a Crypt!

After the gallery, we all went to St. Martin's cathedral and had high tea in the Crypt! It was so much fun, and it was great food too! We spent a lot of time there, just hanging out and chatting. I didn't realize that we were actually sitting on the tombs of people until about half way through the meal, after which I felt slightly uncomfortable. When we were getting up to leave, I was trying to read some of the inscriptions on the floor of who I sat by, and one was a little girl who died when she was only five or six months old. I felt really bad.  :(  I would go there again too, just make sure that I wasn't going to sit on anyone!

Katie, Lauren, Lee, Alex, Andrea, and I in The Globe

That night, we're talking about Friday night, we all got a chance to go to Shakespeare's Globe! We had heard from Lee that we could either buy cheap "groundling" tickets (where you stand in front of the stage, I knew about that) or we could wait to see if people didn't show up, so we could take their places. There was a group of eight of us. First, we were waiting in the wrong line and started to get hungry so Lee and Alex went to get us some food. Then, the doors opened, we realized we were in the wrong line, went to the front of the theater and waited and waited for tickets and food. Finally! Lee and Alex came back with sandwhich supplies where, while we waited some more for tickets, we had dinner in line! All of a sudden, Lee walks a way from us, goes up to a guy and brings him over to our place. He had, for five pounds, six standing tickets and two sitting which is EXACTLY what we needed!!! What are the odds!?! So, we got to go and see A Comedy of Errors that night. It was FANTASTIC!! It's about mistaken identity between two sets of twins. It's so funny! At the end, they had life sized photo cutouts of the two characters and were wheeling them all around the stage!!!! SO FUNNY!! It was the highlight of my weekend. We went to a pub after, and Andrea and I split a pear cider. Yummy!!

After the play

The next day, we all went to Portobello Market in Notting Hill, where I got a scarf and a gift or two. Then Andrea, Kenzie and I headed out to Westminster Abby, which Andrea went inside while Kenzie and I gazed at Big Ben!! Yeah! Big Ben!! He's big. We also had some ice cream. The three of us then went to Buckingham Palace which we toured. It made Harlaxton look cheap! It was beautiful! I can't believe that we actually went into the house that the Queen of England lives in!!

We almost had tea at Buckingham Palace!!

So cool! That night, Kenzie and I went to see Les Miserables on stage. I was blown away. It's a beautiful story that is executed wonderfully!! I cried.

Whew. We are now onto Sunday, I'll wrap this up quick.

We left London in the morning, and headed out to see Hampton Court, which is where Henry VIII lived!!THAT place made Buckingham Palace look tiny! It's actually two palaces that are put together. First for Henry VIII then for William II and his wife. We had four hours from when we got there to when our busses left, I partook in the optional free audio tour guide, finished the whole thing, and still never made it out to the gardens that are on the property!!! It was AWESOME!

We then all piled onto the bus, and went home, and here ends my story of my first trip to London. My camera unfortunately died after four pictures....so, I don't have a lot to show you. The pictures here are basically all that I have. But, the girls were nice and said that I could take some of their photos...so yeah!! Sorry to all of you who probably found this extremely mundane, but I wanted to get all the details out before I forgot them.

Anyways, I need to go back to reading Robinson Crusoe for my Literature class, so I'll leave you all be.

Cheers!

It's Slowly Sinking In...

Heya!

The more I walk around Grantham...the more I believe I'm actually here!

So...update!!

My birthday was amazing!!! I loved it, but I still don't quite feel like I'm twenty. Wow! So, classes started on that day, and yeah...I used the whole, "Its my birthday!" thing as a sort of ice breaker....but hey, people knew my name once the day was done! :P So, Andrea, Lauren, Kensie, and myself met with my host sister here, Steph, and her boyfriend Dave, at a local pub in Grantham (about four miles away) to meet. We were initially going to grab some food, but it was getting late, and we didn't know if food was still going to be served, so we ate before going. Anywho...we all met and Steph gave me a gift from my host family that turned out to be a wonderful box of chocolates! It was a beautiful gift, and yummy too! Then, don-don-don-donnnnnnn we ordered drinks! Yeah, I know, it's kinda lame, but hey! It was my first legit drink! Andrea, Lauren, and I decided to split a small pitcher of what is called a "Woo Woo". Yeah, dumb name. But, it was a good drink! It had cranberry and peach that masked most of the schnapps and smirnoff. After the glass, we left the pub and headed home. That entailed a funny little bit where I didn't know the number of the taxi company, so Andrea and Lauren graciously asked the bartender for it while Kensie and I stood outside. Then our driver didn't see us waiting for him, and drove around the block a couple of times....it was all a good laugh!

So. Classes! I'm taking a manditory British Studies class that entails an hour long lecture every Monday and Wednesday morning with the whole shcool, which is followed by a 50 minute seminar where we break into smaller classes and talk about the lecture and are given assignments. Dr. Green, my seminar leader, is an absolute hoot to listen to and learn from! Typical sense of humor and beautiful accent.

I'm also taking a Biology class to fulfill a GE. It's my least favorite of my classes so far, because it meets for an hour and a half Monday, Wednesday, AND Thursday. But, on a positive note, it's for non-bio majors so the stuff we're learning is pretty rudimentary....we just learned what the scientific method was today....Thank you Mrs. Teal for making that part of class interesting in 8th grade when I last learned about the stuff, but remembered it!! :)

My last class, yeah...I only have three...is MY FAVORITE! It's a literature course dealing with British Novels. I've got a healthy stack of books to read, like Pride and Predjudice, Robinson Crusoe, Silas Marner, Dubliners, The Heart of Darkness, Wuthering Hieghts, A Christmas Carol, Tess of the D' Urbevilles, Joseph Andrews and Shemela. Whew!!  I'm reading Robinson Crusoe now, and I can see where it's my dad's favorite!

In further news, we're traveling to London tomorrow night! I'm SO excited!! We've got our weekend kinda mapped out...but we're going to kinda take it one day at a time. (We are there till Sunday.) There are some things that we HAVE to go to, like the tour of the Tower of London, but that's really something that I'm not going to complain about!! I've been obsessed with that place for how long??? Haha, and now I get to go!! Our mantra for this weekend is, "We're only an hours train ride away..." meaning, that we aren't going to try and cram everything we want to do there into one weekend. I think it's a good thing to go by.

A couple other girls and I have started looking into our trip to Nottingham next weekend. We are thinking of hitting up the castle there and the Theives Forest, where Robin Hood is suspected to have met Friar Tuck and Little John. Also near by to there is where Will Scarlett is buried...so, if we have time, we'll go there too! OH! And yes Dad, Sherwood Forest does exsist! I was actually kind of dissapointed when I was looking into Nottingham and the forest, because there's only bit's and peices of the forest left. Where we're going is in Nottingham, which makes sense, but there are parts of it in Manchester and even farther north of that! I just figured it was all going to be left untouched...but there is my nievity. Also, we heard from Steph and Dave that Nottingham is related in a lot of gang activity, which made us double think staying a night there. But we are. However, we're making sure we get a hotel and not a hostel...for a bit of added peice of mind.

I will give you an update of my shenannigans(?) when I return from London!!

Hope this finds you all safe and happy!

I Can't Believe It's Only Been Two Days!!

So, while I'm here in England, I've vowed to myself that I'm not going to take anything for granted. ANYTHING! I'm going to count every single one of my lucky stars for the people I meet, the places I go, and the things I learn. Hopefully those people become confidants, the places will turn into adventures, and I will find lessons of life in the things I learn. To tell you the truth, I think I'm on a good path to getting exactly there. :) My roomate is from Illinois, and she and I have a lot in common. Thanks to last night's walking adventure that she (Andrea) Lauren, Kensy, and I took, I've found that out! All three go to the University of Evansville in Indiana and all three are great people and friends.

Last night we had a formal dinner, all the students and staff. The students got all gussied up,walked to the Long Gallery, were served a great meal which included a chocolate chip cheesecake for dessert, and mingled and had fun. After, Andrea and I walked back to our room and decided to go for a walk. At this time, it was about 9-ish? So we changed and met up with Kensy and Lauren. We walked ALL over! We walked the entire driveway(about a mile long) and up behind the house, where we jumped the stone fence and sat for almost two hours in the backyard, looking at the house that was all lit up and beautiful. We all had a chance to shard about where we're from and what our families are like. We also shared views on religion, boys, and music! I almost thought we were going to get caught in the backyard, because we were laughing so hard!! It got cold, so we headed down into the Manor to see if we could get some tea or something, but couldn't. But, we did keep talking about our crazy lives and families!

Finally, we ended up in Lauren's room, which is right next to Andrea and my's room! We got to see her awesome wand that a friend of hers made for her, just for this trip, and talked even more until about one in the morning when we retired to our respective rooms. An hour later, when Andrea FINALLY stopped swapping stories and such about losing a parent, we actually got in bed, and went to sleep.

Good day? Very much so, yes.

Lucky stars? So far, I've found three.

I've Found Where My Soul Lives!

I am finally here!!!!!

After what one of the girls I travelled with says, is a hurry and wait sort of day, I'm finally nestled into my room in the Carriage House of Harlaxton College in Grantham, England!! (My room is the window farthest to the right on the top floor)

The Carriage House

The day started at 8 am in Kenosha, WI, paused at 3 pm in Chicago at O'Hare airport where I flew through baggage and security with a breeze only to wait until my flight left at 6 pm. Here, I flew on a Virgin Atlantic Flight for about seven and a half hours. I was next to two great girls on my left, one from Indiana and the other from Kansas. (Both studying here) and a girl named Lindsey from UWEC to my right! During the flight they fed us a hot dinner and a breakfast, entertained us with movies that were set into the back of the headrest of the seat in front me. ( I watched The Bounty Hunter and part of How To Tame Your Dragon) On the same screen, you could also play games, watch TV shows, and even see where the plane was going to get to London! We got pretty close to Iceland, Dad!

I tried to sleep a little bit, but economy class isn't suitible for comfortable sleeping unless you're a child, and you can curl up in the chair, or you have something/one to lean against. Seeing as I had neither....I didn't sleep much. Then, when I landed, I started an entire day over again; it was about 8 in the morning in London. Again, went through baggage and customs with ease. Then was the antangonizing three hour bus ride to the manor. Yeah. I slept then. I was awoken by the driver saying, "Alright ladies and gents, to the left is your first sighting of Harlaxton Manor....and some cows...and some sheep." as we saw off in the distance, my home for the next four months, with a lovely sheep and diary farm passing us. It was a great thing to wake up to!

Tower that holds spiral stairs

The right side of the manor. Taken from the vast grounds around the place.(where there are white windows, is a massive indoor garden, with coy fish pond and glass roof!)

This post is getting long, so I'll some up the rest of the day by saying that I got settled in, explored ( I found a secrest door that led to a spiral stair case that goes to every floor of the manor,) ate, took about 100 pictures, and am now at my desk. I wish all of you could be here to see this! I seriously feel like I should be in floor length, empire waisted, gowns and riding a horse everywhere!! Yeah, it's that real!

Alright, I'm off to the WC(water closet aka the loo aka the bathroom) to shower and get ready for bed. Breakfast is at 8:30 tomorrow. 2:30 am your time!

Sleep well and I'll post more pics soon!

p.s. the exterior of the manor as well as a few rooms were used in the film, The Haunting(1999)

Harlaxton Manor

Last Night in the US

Hello everyone!

So, it's the night before I hop the pond to England! I just booked two trips through the school; one for an elite tour of the Tower of London, and the other to Ireland. There, we're going to be in the Dublin area for four nights! It'll be nice to have that extra night in an amazing looking country! I'm here at a Holiday Express in Kenosha, after spending a really fun night hanging with my mom, dad, and my aunt and uncle. We went to Chili's to have dinner when my aunt got a call from her daughter, my cousin, saying that she is basically going to be going into labor soon! So, that was really exciting/nerve-raking!!

I've had a lot of well wishes sent my way, and for them all, I want to say thank you! I really love them all and hope I really do have an absolute blast!!

Have a great night!!

A New Chapter Begins

Hello Everyone!


I'm sitting here, in my living room in beautiful Brule, Wisconsin with my dad watching TV. Today is my last full day at home, seeing as I'm leaving tomorrow morning around eight to head down to Chicago to catch my flight. Yes, tomorrow Mom, Dad, and I will head down and spend the night in the Kenosha area. The next day, we'll drive into Chi-town and they will drop me off.

I'm excited about leaving, but I know that my parents(love you guys) worry a lot and are gonna be sad to see me off. I'll miss you guys too! Last night actually, I set them up with a Skype account, and we tested it out with them up on the home computer and me downstairs, on my laptop! It was funny! But, I'm glad they they are all up to date with the technology. I just hope they remember how to use it..... :P

I'm all packed up, just witing for tomorrow to come so I can get all my make-up and computer paked so I can weigh my suitcase a final time. It's surprising how much clothes can weigh, even though there really isn't much of them! My big luggage already weighs almost fifty pounds!!! Uff-da! :P But I do get to use a carry on and a purse (as long as it can fit underneath the seat in front of me.)

Lots of people have been asking me if I'm nervous or anything. And yeah, I'm a bit nervous, but I think it's more pent up energy than anything. I just want all the travel to be over with, and to FINALLY be in England! I've been waiting for this moment since I've been nine, so these last few days are killing me! But, I am not going to take anything for granted. I know that I am blessed to have this chance, and have all of these people around me that have sent me off with love and good wishes. I'm going to miss all of you!

So, here I am, about to head off into one of the most exciting chapters of my life. I hope that I can grow a lot, learn even more, and come back to you all with wonderful stories. And gifts! (if you would like something specific, jsut let me know ;p ) I'll update you in a few days, once I get settled in!

I leave my luggage un-attended for just a moment....and this is what happens.

Love you all!