Last week I went to a few free museums in York. The National Railway Museum, the Castle Museum and the Yorkshire Museum. They were pretty cool and had a lot of neat things to see. Also, I didnt have to pay for them!

Sunday morning I left for Edinburgh, Scotland to see Stef again. I got into town around noon and around 2 or 3 I went with Stef and her flatmate Fiona to visit their friend who was leaving. We went to a pub called the Craigs for a bit before we headed down to another pub called Dropkick Murphys near the Grassmarket. After an interesting end to our fun in Dropkick Murphys we went into the Grassmarket to another pub before we went back to the flat.

Monday Stef and I wandered around Edinburgh. We went on a trail in the Princess Street gardens that rund near the castle and then we walked down Princess Street and looked in the shops. We ended up walking all the way down Leith Walk to the Ocean Terminal where the Royal Yacht Brittania is docked. We weren't quite planning on walking that far as we were in search of the Royal Bottanical Gardens. After a couple of rides on the city bus we finally made our way to the gardens.

Tuesday Stef and I were planning on taking a trip out to St. Andrews however, after we finally found the correct bus to take we discovered that it was a £10 trip so we decided to stay in Edinburgh. We took a £1 bus ride to Crammond to see if we could get to the island. On our way to the Forth we discovered the ruins of a Roman Fort. After making our way down to the water we found that the tide was out so we were able to walk out to the island. On our way there I got my shoe stuck in some muck. It was quite funny. Once we got to the island we wandered about and took a lot of pictures before the tide started to come in. Since the tide was coming in we had to start walking back to the mainland but not before wandering about on the sandy bit and touching the water. We took the bus back into Edinburgh and then went to a Chinese Buffet for dinner.

Wednesday was my last day in Edinburgh so we just wandered down to Princess Street and looked in some shops. To kill some time before my train we went into the National Gallery of Scotland. I was quite suprised at seeing some of the things in the collection there. It was great. Then I said goodbye to Stef and headed back on the train to York.

Today after getting some things taken care of before leaving it's a Pirates of the Carribbean marathon! Phil, Helen, Serena and I are going to watch the first two movies and get take away for dinner. When Kes gets back from school we're all going down to City Screen to see the new Pirates movie!

So, classes are done. I have a project due Monday and two finals next week then I am done. woo. I'm going to visit Stef in Scotland again on May 20 to the 23 then the summer ball is on the 25th and I am back in the states on the 28th!

I haven't been doing anything of much excitement since getting back from holiday. I did get my hair all chopped off, though. Its quite short now. Also, I've been having lots of barbeques with my friends since being back. We started off with a bbq with Serena's parents and this past weekend we had one on Saturday and one on Sunday as well. It's good fun. The weather has been nice, sunny and warm so everyone has been sitting out in the little quad in front of E and F block.

Classes are done tomorrow. I've got a class this afternoon, a paper due tomorrow and another class tomorrow then I am done. I have two finals which should be quite easy on May 15 and May 18. However, I have a huge portfolio thing due for my design class and I have a meeting for that on the 8th.

Saturday I am going to Alnwick to see the castle that was used as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies! Apparently the Hogwarts Express is supposed to be there as well. I dont know if I will be able to see it though because recently it was vandalized and damages were at a cost of 100 thousand or some crazy amount like that.

I am very excited for the Summer Ball which is on May 25, the day before I leave for Ireland. I bought my dress yesterday! It's very pretty.. and pink.

York is beautiful in the spring! All of the trees are blooming and when the sun is out it is quite warm. I'm glad to be back with my friends here. On Sunday evening we went out for fish & chips and we wandered around the Minster, St. Mary's Abbey and the River. Monday I just kind of hung out and didnt do much of anything aside from getting some things I needed in town and unpacking. Serena's parents came to visit so we all met them on Monday night and we took them to the union for £ a pint night.

Yesterday was so much fun. We went to the museum gardens with Serena's parents for a barbecue. We bought steak, sausages, chicken and burgers which chef Kes cooked for us. While we were hanging out and eating the first bit of yummy food the security guard came by and told us to leave so we picked up the disposable grills and transported ourselves to the riverside. It was nice. We just hung out and ate lots of food. After dinner we took Serena's parents out again. We went to the Maltings, Judges Lodgings and to Lendal Cellars. It was a fun night and it was nice to have some American parents about.

Today we wandered into town and did a little shopping. I bought a nice shirt for only £3 at New Look and that was about it. We have been looking for dresses to wear to the summer ball at the end of May. Tomorrow Serena and I are going to get our hair cut. I am quite excited for that.

(Pictures are up on flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/kaitlinmarie) from Barcelona and Nice&Monaco - they are in the respective albums.)

Backpacking Europe 31 March to 22 April 2007

31 March to 4 April: Barcelona, Spain
4 April to 7 April: Nice, France - day trip to Monaco
7 April to 13 April: Rome, Italy - day trip to Pompeii/Herculaneum
13 April to 16 April: Interlaken, Switzerland - day trip up Jungfrau
16 April to 19 April: Berlin, Germany
19 April to 22 April: London, England - day trip to Stonehenge

I'll try to update while I am gone if I get a chance to go to an internet cafe.

Not too much has been going on lately. I have a feeling that things are going to be a little slow until break starts. (MARCH 31!!) I got my eurail pass in the mail today. That was very exciting. It comes with an awesome map and a timetable booklet.

Tuesday was a fun day. After lunch I went into town with Phil, Martin, Kes, Serena and Helen to buy water guns. Instead of just testing them out when we got back we ended up having a full blown water fight that started in E Block and ended up outside. It was hardcore.. we were running around everywhere and attempting sneak attacks. After dinner and a slightly depressing movie we ended up playing manhunt around campus for about 2 hours. That was fun as well. We discovered a new area of campus hidden out behind the union and spent a good hour looking for Martin who was hidden deep inside a bush. It was a good day.

Yesterday was Jay and Paul's birthday. Their theme was made up superheroes. I was "Big Apple" and my cape had an awesome pipe cleaner apple on it. It is always fun walking down the street in fancy dress because of all the reactions that people give us. The capes made it quite awesome though.

celebrations

The past few days have been quite interesting to say the least.

Friday was Red Nose Day - a British thing to raise money for charity.

St. Patty's Day was so much fun! I walked into town with Phil and Martin and we wandered the campus of an old college where there was music playing and a craft fair. We found a pub that was serving Irish stew so we went in and had a pint of Guinness (my first one) and some Irish stew for only £3. The stew was delicious and I could do without the Guinness. Kes joined us at the pub too and between the 4 of us we had enough Guinness (4 pints) to get a free Guinness shirt which Kes stole. The barmaid came up and gave me one of the Guinness hats that looks like a pint. It's well good. So I got to wear an awesome Guinness hat all day. We went to the student union pub to watch the 6 Nations Rugby matches and ended up staying in there all night long.

On Sunday Kes, Phil and I walked the city walls so I have now successfuly walked all 2 miles of the Medieval walls! I was in tourist mode and took lots of pictures and read all of the info/historical stuff. It was nice until the freak hail storm we got caught in. Since we were freezing by the time we made it back into the city centre we stopped in HaHa! Cafe for some hot chocolate. Then we walked back to campus and just hung out for the night because it was too cold to do anything but watch a movie.

I woke up quite early Monday morning to go into town and buy my white shirt for the nights festivities and took a little walk around. Martin's friend from Kendal, Mason, who I met last weekend, came to York for the day. Martin, Mason, Scary Tom, Kes and I walked into town and over to Clifford's Tower. I went up the tower with Martin and Mason. When we were about half way up the spiral staircase it was crazy snowing again and very windy. Martin decided that it would be in his best interest not to spare his life on the tower so he went down the stairs and I braved the freezing cold and snowyness with Mason and then we ran like heck for the stairs to get down. Our little tourist excursion ended up being very comical. After dinner Kes and Phil brought me a cake and people sang to me. Then everyone got dressed up in their white t-shirts to go out for my birthday. My birthday theme was grafitti, so everyone wore white and had markers to write messages on everyones shirt. Lucy, Nick and Jess gave me a crown that twinkled and played happy birthday! After going to the student union pub everyone went to Nexus to dance. It was lots of fun. The dj gave me a bottle of champagne for my birthday and the girls found a badge that said happy 30th birthday that I had to wear with my 21st birthday badge from Kes. It was quite a late night as I didnt get back into my room until 3:30 am but it was definately an American 21st in England. :)

12 days until European Adventure time!!

I officially feel like a student now. I've successfully completed and handed in two of the four essays I have to do for this entire semester. The papers were way too easy. 2000 words on how the Roman Empire was successful (ie. the army) and then 2000 words on the New Left and the counter culture in the 1960s. It was a task handing them in though. You cant turn them into the tutors, they go to the Faculty of Arts and a coversheet/form has to be filled out and then you get a reciept saying you handed it in. Its kind of strange.

I had a visitor yesterday!! Kara, a friend from Potsdam/Wegmans, came to York! She was in the UK visiting some other people and came to York to see me too! It was fun. I didn't get to hang out with her a lot as I had class yesterday and I was a little busy today. We went out to the Evil Eye last night though to celebrate my birthday a little and because it was Kara's favorite pub in York. She bought me an amazing drink called Heaven which was basically like a mudslide. Also, I discovered that there is a cider called Katy - which is basically named after me!! So we just hung out at Evil Eye with Martin, Phil, Helen, Serena and Kes for a while. On the way home, after yummy paninis, we kind of ding-dong ditched the Minster. It was funny.

Tomorrow is the best holiday ever!! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Lake District

This weekend my friend Martin took Jay, Shep and I to his house in Kendal. It was a great weekend.

To begin, we missed our train. When we finally got on the next train it was basically a tin can on wheels.. or as Martin liked to refer to it "a rickshaw." It was a 2 1/2 hour train ride and since there had been a train accident a few weeks before the line was shut down in Lancaster so we had to take a 45 minute bus ride into Oxenholme. After dinner we went into Kendal and met up with Martin's brother and his friend Mason at a pub/club called Sphere and then went to Dickie Doodles. It was fun hanging out and on the way home we stopped at the park.

On Saturday Martin's dad took us on a car tour of the Lake District. We went to Windermere and walked around while being attacked by rather large swans. It was a nice day but it was very overcast and foggy so we didn't get the best views. However, the swans and mock swan attacks made up for it. Next we went to Grasmere where we walked along the river and then walked around William Wordsworth's daffodil garden. We also got some of the famous (and delicious) Grasmere gingerbread. We drove around more and came to another lake and walked along a trail there. The sun finally started to come out as we were driving past hundreds of sheep on our way to a bridge. Apparently the bridge we went to is the most photographed bridge in the Lake District. It was beautiful. After taking a few pictures and admiring the view we drove up to the highest pub in the Lake District. It was very windy and cold up there and it was so foggy that we couldn't see a thing. Needless to say we got hot chocolate instead of a pint. The pub concluded our little car tour of the Lakes and we headed home and hung out and watched tv while Liam, Martin's brother made us dinner. Mason and Sophie, friends of Martin and Liam joined us for dinner. It was very good. Liam made us Lasagna. After dinner we all got changed and ready for a night out in Kendal.

Saturday night the seven of us went out to Bar 99, Spoons, Sphere and Passions Night club. It was so much fun. We played "gentlemen's rules" and danced to cheesy music all night. On the way home we went to the park again and we all went for a go on the zipline. Everyone but Shep fell off. We also went on the swings, slide and the roundabout before we left. Our walk home, including the time in the park took about two hours because Martin lives outside the town center of Kendal. The walk was a lot of fun though. We talked about a lot of things and talked in different accents the whole time. We finally got in and to sleep around 4am. Everyone was too tired to do much of anything on Sunday. Liam made us some random things for lunch and then they taught me how to play cricket. I stink at it, but apparently I was ok at bowling. We played tag on the way home and watched some rugby before it was time to leave. We were exhausted on the journey back and were near lifeless when we finally got into York around 8/8:30pm. We stopped for some take away and dragged ourselves back to campus.

I cant wait to go back to the Lake District.. hopefully sometime soon!

Scotland!

After the awesome hike up the Crags (the cliffs) and Arthur's Seat, Stef and I kind of just hung out in her flat until later in the evening when we were invited to her friend's flat for a crepe party. The crepes were so yummy and very authentic because Stef's friends that were making the crepes were French. So we hung out there with a bunch of other people eating crepes, drinking wine, telling stories, and singing songs until we were all exhausted.

On Saturday Stef took me on a tour of Edinburgh. We walked around part of the University of Edinburgh, went to Cowgate, George IV Bridge, a statue of Greyfriars Bobby, and the cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. We walked down and around the Royal Mile and down to the Grassmarket where people used to be hanged, then, for TT, we sat on a bench along a wall that looked up to Edinburgh Castle which was sitting on top of the rocky hill. Then we went down to Princess Street and the Princess Street Gardens. It was very cold and it started to rain as we walked up Colton Hill so we hurried along and walked over to the Elephant House, where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter and had coffee. It is no wonder she was inspired to write in that cafe with its amazing view of Edinburgh Castle and its location on George IV Bridge, one of the most haunted places in Edinburgh. There is also a view of the cemetery where Greyfriars Bobby and his owner are buried. After the busy day we wandered back to the flat and had lunch around 4pm so we never left for dinner until around 9pm. We found a great Mexican restaurant off of the Royal Mile and had delicious food and sangrias. We left the restaurant around 11pm and decided that it was about time to head to bed.. after the 30 minute walk back to the flat.

Today while Stef was at class I wandered over to the Royal Mile and walked all the way to the top where the entrance of Edinburgh Castle is. I went into the castle and walked around all of the museums and exhibitions in there. I saw the crown jewels of Scotland and the 1pm firing of the gun that happens everyday since a long time ago. (I don't remember when) There was a lot of cool information about the Scottish Royal Army and war stuff and all the Scottish war paraphernalia. I spent a good while wandering around and then went on my way down the Royal Mile again. While I was walking down the hill I heard a REAL Scottish Bagpiper! It was pretty cool. I stayed and listened to a couple songs then went on my way back to the flat. My train left at 6pm from Edinburgh, so I had a couple of hours to hang out with Stef and then I left for York. I got in here around 8:45pm. It was definately an awesome weekend and I would love to go back to Edinburgh again!

(Due to the broken camera misfortune I'm not sure how any of the digital pictures I took will turn out. If they are any good I will post them on flickr. I also borrowed a friend's 35mm camera so once I get the prints and possibly photo cd's I will try to get them posted to flickr as well.)

The Flying Scottsman

I'm in Edinburgh, Scotland! Today is such a beautiful day. The ride up was very nice and the view of the coast was great. Stef picked me up from the train station at 10:30ish and we walked across the city to her flat. We ventured over to Holyrood Park which is part of the Queen's gardens, hiked up Arthur's Seat, a volcanic mountain, and some other cliffis (I forgot the name). It was amazing. At the top of Arthur's Seat it was so windy I nearly got blown off. Also, from the top, there was a great view of the marina and a rainbow that had appeared after the sprinkling of rain.

I'm off now to enjoy Edinburgh. I'll be here until Monday. Tomorrow we may venture out to Glasgow which is apparently only a 30 minute bus ride away.

"I just hiked up a volcanic mountain and saw a rainbow.. in Scotland!"

Nothing too exciting has happened lately.

The Viking Festival last week was awesome. There were Vikings walking all around town so I got to meet some and take pictures with them. I visited Jorvik Viking Centre and saw some of the artifacts that were discovered from an archaeological excavation that took place here, in York. There was a Viking Comedy Walk that I went on with some friends and we laughed so hard that some of us literally fell to the groud. Saturday there was a Viking battle near Clifford's Tower re-creating the battle of Eric Bloodaxe, Vking King of York and the Saxons. It was fun to watch the Vikings growling and hitting eachother and then finally pretending to die. At the end of the battle they pretended to attack the audience and I was nearly speared by an angry Viking. The rest of the week was filled with classes and hanging out with British friends. Sadly, my camera broke on me and I had to get a new one. Rather, my parents got me a new one and it is currently on it's way to England.

After the fun of the Festival this past week has been rather slow. I'm really enjoying my art class as I have learned many screen printing techniques. I have successfully made 3 color screen prints, discharge screen prints and devoure screen prints. I need to go into the studio next week and make more of each kind so I have a nice stack to hand in. My other classes are interesting too but not as fun as I dont get to play with dyes and bleaches all day. I didnt go out at all last week as I was feeling a little ill so instead every night turned into a movie night. Friday I did go out with a bunch of friends to celebrate someone's birthday. Other than that the past week has been very low key.

I am hoping this week goes by fast and that my camera arrives by Friday as I am going to visit a friend in Scotland Saturday through Monday. I am very excited to be going!

Viking Festival this week in York! I love Vikings.

English Mud

Friday night was a blast. It was 70s night and everyone dressed up and we went out to a cheesy 70s-ish dance club called Flares. We looked absolutely crazy and had so much fun. After the dancing fun we all watched Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Saturday wasn't anything very exciting. I just hung out and watched some rugby in the Union and went grocery shopping. Later at night everyone went to the Union and hung out at the pub.

I went on a day trip on Sunday to Helmsley Castle and Riveaulx Abbey. The coach took us to the Abbey first. We had about 2 hours to explore the grounds so I took full advantage and went everywhere I could. It was fun walking around the ruins and finding random passages or staircases to take. After taking lots of pictures and climbing all over the ruins of the Abbey we went into a little cafe and had lunch. The group was given the option of taking the coach to Helmsley or hiking up the ridge and through some of the countryside to Helmsley. I chose the hike. It was beautiful out but very muddy. Needless to say I fell in the mud while attempting to take a picture of the gorgeus view after we reached the top of the hill we had just hiked up. I was very embarassed but by the end of the hike I thought it was funny. We walked along the ridge, came to a path near a field and walked along that, passed through some gates and went down a large, rocky staircase, then up another. After that we came to another field and walked along that and we could see Helmsley over a pasture with horses in it. I stopped on the way to pet the horses then continued along down the path to a parking lot where the coach was. Helmsley Castle was fun to explore as well. There were again many staircases and passages to take and I wandered around the grounds for an hour or so before heading into the town of Helmsley with Helen and Serena. It was a very long but fun day.

When we got back to York around 4:30 Helen and I went into town to get dinner. We had Italian at a little restaurant on Monkgate. A group of us hung out and played ImagineIff while some others went out to the pubs. When everyone came back we played Twister.

It was a fun weekend but I am exhausted. I slept in today and I feel like taking a nap. This week is going to be busy with classes and it's the York Viking Festival so I plan on taking full advantage of the events at the festival.

Not too much has been happening lately. I've been doing the whole class thing. My art class is going to be awesome. I've already made a template for my silkscreen and this coming Tuesday we will be starting screenprinting with the silkscreens we've made. We're making 3 color screen prints so I made 3 acetate templates that, when they are properly aligned, make one design. The design will be printed onto fabric so if I get to keep the silkscreen when we're done I can make shirts and other things like that! My American History class finall met today. I love it! It's Politics, Protest, and War in 1960s America. I think the British view of the 60s in America is quite funny. One of the students referred to Reagan as a "dodgy bastard," and everyone immediately thought of Hippies and the Cold War/Vietnam though with different opinions than Americans would have. It is fun though because I already know about everything we're talking about so I dont think the class will be that difficult.

Other than classes I've just been hanging out with a bunch of people and doing noting in particular. We venture into town, sit and talk, watch movies or go to pubs. Its fun to just wander around York at night from pub to pub. I dont really drink anything, I just go to hang out and talk with everyone.

Sunday I'm going on another day trip. The International Society has sponsored a trip to Helmsley Castle and Riveaux Abbey. There is an hour hike between the two sites and we're going to have a sort of picnic lunch. I've been told that Helmsley is nothing special but Riveaux Abbey was one of the more beautiful/interesting abbeys to visit. I'm just excited to have the opportunity to travel around the Yorkshire area.

It snowed a little today! It hasn't been very cold here with the exception of walking home at midnight 1am when it's freezing out. During the days though it has been very mild and often there is no reason to wear a heavy jacket. I'm kind of excited for the snow, if it would accumulate more.

Back to school now..

So, I've started classes. Monday I didnt have any class. We went out to Keystones and then dancing at Nexus. Tuesday is going to be fairly easy, 9-12, and I get to learn screenprinting. I'm very excited to see what else we'll be doing. Apparently I have to create a "surface" from which I create a "form" and I have to make a prototype of this form. It sounds rather confusing and vague but I think I understand what we will be doing. That night we went out dancing at the Gallery Nightclub and it was so much fun. I danced my butt off until 3am when the club closed! No class on Wednesday. My class on Thursday, the one I was most excited for, Politics, Protest, and War in the 1960's America was cancelled. Friday morning my friend Steph came to visit! She is studying in Edinburgh, Scotland, but goes to Potsdam with me. So I walked down to the train station with Helen to pick up Steph around noon. I had a class at 3, Empires, it seems interesting. We're looking at the Roman Empire and the British Empire and comparing and contrasting the two.

This weekend, after classes were done, was insanity. I am so glad that Steph was able to come to York! Friday we just hung out and went to the SU pub. It was a themed night, Cowboys and Cowgirls. The British really have no idea how to pull off a western theme, it's really quite funny. The Americans did the Cotton Eye Joe dance! The song came on and I immediately ran to the dance floor and started the dance and the other Americans followed. Everyone else there (the British) was lauging, taking pictures, and watching in amazement. Apparently they dont know the Cotton Eye Joe dance; we tought some of the girls. Saturday we went to the York art Museum. It was ok, nothing special. After lunch we went to the Minster. This time we climbed the 275ish spiral stairs to the top of the tower. The view of York was breathtaking. We wandered around the tower, made our way back down and wandered around the Minster. Later we went into the city center and visited the Roman Bath Museum. The remains of the Roman military bath houses were found under the streets of York and the portion that was uncovered was turned into a museum. It was interesting to see and very cool! After fun educational things we went shopping. I bought boots. Around half 8 the usual group plus Steph went to the SU for pound a pint and hung out there until midnight when it closed. Steph and I walked into town to pay a visit to Constantine and took pictures with him. I think that was one of the craziest/funniest things Steph and I have ever done. We went back to campus and hung out with everyone for a while then passed out. Today was just hanging out and Steph took the 2:00 train back to Edinburgh.

I'm going to visit Steph the first weekend of March. We're going to have a crazy birthday celebration since we're both March babies. It will be grand. Now I am just hanging out more and probably getting to bed early since I feel a bit sleep deprived.

Are You Going to Scarborough Fair?

Well, insetad of a low key night on Friday, Helen, Serena and I went to some pubs with the guys. It was fun.

Saturday we went for a walk along the Medieval city walls from Bootham Bar to Monk Bar. It was beautiful outside. In Monk Bar there was a Richard III Museum in the top floors. We walked around that, saw some prison cells and the execution chamber. After the museum we walked back to Bootham Bar then went to see the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey. We were back to campus for lunch and then went to see a football game with some of the guys. The York City football stadium isn't too far from campus and admission wasn't too pricy. It was cool to see a real "football game." Though, some guy got kicked in the back of the head and was taken off the field in a stretcher. When the game was done the guys took us to Sainsbury's, a supermarket, so we could get food for the weekend as there are no eateries open on campus on the weekend. After dinner we ended up going to the Student Union Pub with the guys and I met a lot more people who had just arrived on campus. It was lots of fun.

Yesterday was a day trip to the coast. We boarded a bus at 9:3oam and it took us to Whitby where we were until 2:30pm and then we went to Scarborough for an hour and were back to campus by 6. Whitby was absolutely beautiful. The ruins of an abbey are on the top of a hill that overlooks the North Sea. After walking around the abbey grounds we walked down 199 stairs into the town of Whitby which is a harbour town on the seaside. There was a beach as well. We walked around town and stopped at a little restaurant for fish and chips. It was delisious. After roaming the town a little while longer we made our way down to the beach and then out on a pier where the sea was crashing against the rocky coast. On our way back up the hill we stopped at the smokehouse where they were smoking ham and kipper. There was a half hour bus ride to Scarborough. We drove around the fair and were dropped off near the beach. We walked down the boardwalk area to an ice cream stand, which, according to everyone in York, has the best ice cream in the world. That was about it for Scarborough. We want to take another trip out there though to see the castle and the aquarium and to sit on the beach, when it gets warmer outside.

Last night we just hung out in Helen's room and talked. It was an exhausting first week here in York. I haven't done much today besides walk out to Sainsbury's to pick up more water and granola bars. My first class is tomorrow!!

Ello Govnah!

Yesterday was a long but fun day. In the morning there was a historical tour of York. We walked around the city for about an hour and learned about some of the stories and history of the area. It was very interesting. However, it was freezing outside so the group ended up at HaHa's Pub/Cafe for some hot cocoa and coffee. That was so much fun. We sat there and talked with the other exchange students from Norway, Malta, Germany and the US. Our tour guides joined us, they were from the UK. We heard more stories about York and the area and talked about school and things back home. After that we decided we were hungry and that we should head out to lunch for some fish and chips. We went to a restaurant near campus, Whackers, for that. I got chicken and chips because I am not a fan of fish, but I tried Helen's and it was so good. Next time, I will get the traditional fish and chips. After lunch, Helen, Sarina, Laura and I went back into town to find some things we needed and did more of the tourist thing. Later in the evening the four of us went on a Ghost Walk. We started at the Minster and walked around that area, Berden, and ended up in the Shambles. It was cool to hear all of the ghost stories about the areas we were in. My favorite story involves the Minster Treasury House and some Roman soldiers. The Ghost Walk, however, was not the end of the night. After we returned to campus, we met up with some people from E and F block that Sarina lives with. The group of us went to 3 pubs, including the awesome Roman Bath, and ended up going to Toff's dance club. It was fun we just hung out and talked at the pubs and listened to the semi-crappy band at the Roman Bath. Toff's was so much fun though. Helen and I danced our butts off on the dance floor. The music was "crappy Biritsh music" but next Thursday is a rap and hip-hop night so the dancing will be better. On the walk home we were discussing Brisish versus American accents and phrases with 2 of the guys.

I was able to sleep in for the first time today. It was amazing as I have been so tired the past week. After lunch, Helen, Sarina, Laura and I went to the Minster. It's free for YSJ students to go into the Minster and walk around. It was beautiful inside. We payed 3 pounds to go into the Undercroft, Treasury and Crypt. The Undercroft was probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen. We were standing right next to the origional Roman foundations of the fortress that was butild at York way back in 71AD. So cool! Right next to the Roman foundation was one from Norman times and we were standing beneath the Medieval structure that is the Minster today. It was insane. Then we did more wandering and headed back to campus.

I think tonight is going to be low key as we are all still tired.

Ya'll er British, eh?

Today was a long day! There was a library information meeting this morning and a tour of the Fountains Learning Center. After that Helen and I wandered into town and discovered a lot of fun places, some new shops and new routes to take around the town. We walked back to campus and got lunch with Sarina and Laura. After that the four of us ventured back into the town of York in search of a hairdryer. There was much success! We also wandered everywhere, being tourists. After a whicle we ended up near Clifford's Tower which is on the opposite end of the city from the University! It was a nice walk, aside from the occasional rain shower.

I cant get over all of the history that is in this city. Everywhere you turn there is something new to learn. It is amazing. There are so many beautiful old churches and there are many museums to visit. I love walking around the town and taking everything in.

Check out my flickr page, I posted a few pictures today.

Love&Miss

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Well, I'm in York!!

The plane ride here was long and exhausting. After that journey, Helen and I had to navigate our way through Manchester airport to get to the train station. I thought the train ride was great, we got to see the English countryside and all of the snow covered hills. When we arrived in York we took a cab ride into the University and we got situated in our rooms. Afterwards, we met some other exchange students from the US and talked with them and we also met some stufents who just arrived from their exchanges in the US one of the guys actually stidied in Potsdam. It was a funny coincidence so we talked about Potsdam at dinner. After dinner there was an international student mixer. It was kind of boring. I ended up going out to some pubs with Helen, our new friends from the states and their floormates that are from the area. It was a long, long day.

This morning there was a campus tour and then we filled out information and picked our modules (classes) again. After that fun, some of us ventured into the city of York to buy some things we left at home and found some great shops. I love walking through the town, there is so much history here. Everywhere you turn there is something to see. There is a medieval wall that surrounds the town center and York Minster is right down the road!

This coming saturday I am going to Whitby and Scarborough by the seaside!