Did that really just happen?

My room suddenly seems really empty.

Sigh. Mom, my roomie, just left (bearing two suitcases full of my books-- Mom, I love you) but she, Rosemary, Grandma and I had a fantastic time the last four days as we travelled around Leeds, London, the West Yorkshire countryside, and York. The three worldly ladies left this morning from Manchester, back to the cold, cold avalanche of snow that has apparently fallen on southern Ontario… I bet now the torrential downpour that greeted us on Saturday night here doesn’t seem so bad now! :)

After recovering a bit from jetlag, Sunday afternoon we toured around Leeds; we saw the campus, the city centre, and ventured a bit further to see Kirkstall Abbey (below), the ruins of a 14th century monastery next to the river Aire. We also stumbled upon a St. Patrick’s Day parade and fair (just a week early) and saw some great Irish dancing. The city square was packed with local Irish patriots drinking Guinness and eating kiwi, of all things. After walking through the crowds, we met up with Matt and Erin and had lunch, which was lovely too.


The next day we tackled London, leaving really early and arriving around 10:30. True to British tradition, it poured, and we spent the day taking advantage of the brief patches of sunlight that came around every so often. Happily, we had decided to do a bus tour, so we had shelter for most of the day! We managed to see the highlights, especially around the Thames, and Rosemary and I went into the Tower of London to explore and catch a glimpse of the crown jewels. I love to see piles of diamonds just lying around…although Rosemary and I decided that none of the diamond jewellery in the shop interested us, really ;).

So after a whirlwind day in London, we decided to take it easy the next day and took a short train ride out to Harrogate, just west of Leeds. Harrogate’s a quaint town in the middle of gorgeous countryside, and is quite close to the hamlet of Ripley, home of the famous Ripley Castle. We spent the day there, and what a beautiful day it was:


The Ingilby family has lived in the castle for 700 years, and still live there today. The family lives on the top floor, although the entire house does get used. The grounds are also open to the public, and you can get right up close to their deer as you walk around their lake. They also have an immaculate English garden…I felt like we had walked into a Jane Austen novel. The history there is amazing: James I stayed there once, as well as Oliver Cromwell and countless famous members of the nobility throughout the centuries. A well-known story is about Lady Jane Ingilby, who held Cromwell at double gunpoint while he slept in the library: she said that if Cromwell’s men found her brother in hiding, she might miss with the first shot, but not the second ;).

Tuesday we used our saved-up energy from the day before to visit York in the morning. It was nice to take a tour of Yorkminster Cathedral and then wander the shops and the Shambles before taking a break in a pub. Our time was short though, as Mom, Rosemary and Grandma had to get back to Leeds to take a train to Manchester, where they stayed the night before their really early flight the next morning!


It was a crazy, full four days, but also incredibly fun … I never thought I’d be able to say I’d gone to a pub with my mum, either, but it happened! Woodie’s Alehouse: a real, live, local pub filled with shouting football fans… and Rosemary, Mom and I. Loved it.

So, thank you so much for coming over and visiting me! I can’t tell you how great it was to see you all and be able to show you, up close, my life over here. And I swear, again-- I do actually go to school! ;)

xx

Tick, tock, tick tock...

The countdown to Mom, Grandma, and Rosemary continues!

Dad and I have been talking all morning while trying to track down these three as they cross the Atlantic. We've just seen that their flight landed in Amsterdam, but because of the massive snowstorm I'm told has happened/is imminent, they're 3 hours late. Well, I guess if you're detained, Amsterdam is the place to be-- even if it's only the airport. It could be worse... you could be stuck at Heathrow. In comparison, Schiphol Airport sells cheese and fake tulips-- much more exciting than boring old London.

I was really happy to hand in my last essay of the mid-semester on Thursday. It was odd, because immediately after, my zeal for watching the entire series of House online lessened substantially. I still love it, but find that my mid-essay habit of three episodes a day has diminished to about 1. And my YouTube intake is a bit less, too... hm...interesting...

Thursday night Johanna, Jean and I went to see Dance Show, a recital for all the dance societies to show what they've learned all this year. It was a good time. You could see the absolute glee on the dancers' faces while they perform :).

Last night I met up with Tasha, newly arrived this semester from Australia, and Jenna, newly arrived from Penn State, to see the Musical Theatre Society's production of Fame. I'm not helping out with this one so it was nice to see it from an audience member's perspective. Again, MT did themselves justice... what a fantastic production. Crystal and our friend PK from Backstage were working it so we met up with them after the show to hear all about the exclusive backstage goings-on ;).


The four of us going on the Whirlwind European Trip Part II: Eastern Boogaloo during the Easter holidays have been furiously planning and booking various things so we can jet off March 17th worry-free. This one is slightly more ambitious; we're planning to hit 8 countries in a little over two weeks. Here's the low-down:

Budapest
Vienna
Bern/Interlaken
Prague
Krakow
Berlin
Copenhagen
Stockholm

We use the term 'Eastern' loosely in this context, as Germany and Sweden don't necessarily identify themselves with Hungary, for instance. Francesca and Johanna are actually skipping Switzerland and going straight to Munich for three days, so I'm meeting Jean in Zurich as she comes in from Italy. I'm also quite excited to go back to Berlin again. I absoutely loved it the first time. It's all coming up so fast, I can't believe it.


(A picture Johanna took on the beach at Zandvoort aan Zee. Love it.)

So, I'm spending my afternoon researching for my Gazette travel article and doing laundry while waiting for Mom to call. We were planning on doing London, York, and Scarborough this week, but perhaps we'll crowbar Canterbury and Dover in, too. The south of England is supposed to be just as lovely as the North... can't wait :).

I'll post again when the ladies arrive with an update on their journey so far! Talk to you all soon!

P.S. Here's my final (snif) Gazette music article of '07-08. THANK YOU to the Gazette A&E staff for being so enthusiastic and accommodating this year, especially despite the long distance. It's been a really cool experience!

"...amid the hills/A small and silent dell!"

The Lake District is the symbol of the idealized British pastoral life that we read about in classic novels. If you’ve ever seen a BBC period drama, you probably know the scene: idyllic green fields dotted with sheep, dignified manor houses enfolded by trees, gravel walks lined with rustic fences. Our trip on Saturday to Windermere and Ambleside certainly fit this description, but it’s maybe not all I’d ever imagined the Lake District to be.


Maybe it’s because I’m taking Romantic Lit at the moment, but I was expecting Wordsworth and Coleridge’s land of the sublime-- there are mountains looming over Lake Windermere, definitely, but they were sunny and seemed far away. The B&B-saturated towns, meanwhile, are full of tourist-pleasing sights and products, most notably everything Beatrix Potter. Even Paddington Bear and Rupert Bear get into the mix.



Having said that, the area is quite beautiful. The drive from Leeds is gorgeous; the highway runs through the Yorkshire Dales, a stunning, wide-open area of rolling hills and farmland. Once you get to the Lake District, the road becomes winding again and you descend into little forests and further, little lakes.

After we arrived and had tea with scones and cream, we took a boat tour around Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake. Its largest island is also privately owned, surprisingly; there were a few houses here and there along its shore. Although it was cold and rainy, we stayed on top of the ship to take in the pretty view.

Later on, we wandered through Windermere and its immediate, sheep-populated surroundings and visited a couple of cafes, sweet shops, and gift shops until we boarded the bus again to drive to Ambleside, about 20 minutes away.

Ambleside’s biggest attraction is its Stock Ghyll Force, a rockin’ name for a 70 foot waterfall just outside of town. We managed to find the route to it and picked our way up the slope for about five minutes to get a better view. It’s a lovely, quiet little place. We then stopped in a café cutely called The Apple Pie for a quick roll before heading back to the bus and the three hour ride home.


It struck me when we were there that in first year at UWO I had lived on Windermere Road, which, after crossing the Thames, connects to Ambleside Drive. I guess I unknowingly lived in a mini-Lake District. All we were missing was the black-cloaked, furiously ranting figure of Coleridge wandering o’er the Saugeen moors, composing poetic masterpieces and drinking a bit too heavily. Although, maybe some tipsy first-year Philosophy students filled that void, come to think of it…



I think that when I remember visiting the district I’m not going to remember the rain and the shops, but rather the feeling of seeing the landscape that inspired Potter to create her books-- imagining Peter Rabbit’s garden and Jemima Puddle-duck’s pond is easy when you see the source. And everyone who read her books as a child like we did (I can picture Pete’s little, well-worn Peter Rabbit stuffed animal as I write this) and who saw Rupert cartoons and loved Paddington Bear will always carry that vision of these characters with them.

P.S. Thank you, Virginia, for your lovely comments! I appreciate it so much that you read my blog! I'm hoping to one day become as well-travelled as you are :).