The Past few days...

So far things are going pretty well, and I have been doing so much each day. I feel like all I do is walk and run errands or travel around. This past Sunday, Jenn, Rita and I went back to Alnwick Castle to have the "Magical Tour" of the castle, which takes you and shows you all the places where parts of the Harry Potter movies were filmed. I was really excited for this, and I was so excited to hear all the different points. The most well known part is the flying lesson in the first film, where Neville's broom goes crazy. Other scenes include Oliver Wood teaching Harry the rules of Quidditch, the actual Quidditch Pitch built on the pastures, Hagrid's Hut and part of the forbidden forest, Hagrid dragging Christmas trees, and Hermione, Ron and Harry walking, when Hermione brushes past them crying. After this tour we walked around the Alnwick Food Festival, and went from stand to stand taste testing everything! There were many different foods, and Jenn and I bought a cupcake - which was very tasty.

The rest of the week was freshers week pretty much. We took a trip to the Angel of the North, which is a giant, metal structure in a field basically. You don't understand how huge it actually is until you are standing at the foot of it and the wingspan of the angel doesn't fit in your camera's window unless you are like a hundres of feet away. One day we went to the Metrocentre, which was basically a mall, nothing too special. Of course in the evening there are parties and live music and dancing, things of that sort to do until late. I went a couple nights, and it was pretty fun .

Last night Jenn and I made it to the Grub Crawl, which took you to three different restaurants. One for the appetizer, one for main course and one for dessert. This event was a sign up event and was actually closed, but about an hour before it started Jenn and I decided to go down and see if people didn't show up and then we could get on the waiting list. Well, we got lucky and were able to go! The food was so good, and we met some really nice people so it was a fun night. Exchanged some numbers, met different people and ate some good food. The best part was part of dessert - Sticky Toffee cake. Soo good.

Today, (Wed.), Jenn, Rita, Katie and I took a bus over to the city of Durham. It was about an hour long bus ride. Durham is a nice city with lots of cobblestone paths and hills and narrow pathways. I bought some tea from this shop that was one of the original buildings in Durham, and then we walked to the Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle. The Cathedral was beautiful, and very large. It is run completely on donations and does not get any government funding. There are actual tombs in there, and gorgeous stained glass windows. The architecture was meticulous and there was so much detail. We took the guided tour, which was really long, and at some points boring, but naturally had some interesting information. The courtyard, which was also really nice, was used in the filming of Harry Potter also! So cool. Stopped in the gift shop and then we were off to lunch, and then Durham Castle.

The Castle is still used today as part of Durham University, and students actually live there so we had to take the tour in order to see inside of the castle. It was really nice inside, and the designing was unique. One of the things that stuck out was the staircase we walked up was slanted, and it felt strange like we were going to fall. This was because a longggg time ago the staircase was a "floating" staircase with no support pillars in the center, so the roof collapsed, and then they got the brilliant idea to put support pillars, after the stairs were affected. Harry Potter was actually filmed here a bit also I think...but I couldn't understand the tour guide so I'm not 100% positive.

The rest of the week doesn't look bad...except that I have to figure out my classes still and get my paper signed by one more professor...who is not in on Thursdays so..he better be in on Friday! Then Friday evening we leave for Edinburgh, Scotland! We get back Sunday sometime, and then classes finally start on Monday. I'll probably update after this weekend, maybe beforehand!

xoxo

Alnwick Castle and Gardens

This past saturday we travelled to the town of Alnwick (pronounced Annick). We toured and had tickets to view the grounds of the Castle and Gardens there. The Castle has a 700 year old history of the Percy family, which had a whole lot of Dukes and the like. The castle was very well preserved, and if I remember correctly, was never actually attacked during battle like it was prepared to. The grounds were beautiful. The grass was bright green and they built a restaurant and gift shop there as well. People even have weddings there, which they were preparing for that day. The castle is also the site for the filming of many movies...such as one of my personal favorites - Harry Potter! I didn't get to go on the Magical Tour on Saturday, but two other girls and I went back on Sunday so we could find out information about the filming of the movies. They only filmed some of the scenes from the first and second films there though. The most famous one that everyone asks about is the quidditch flying lesson in the first film. Other scenes include Hagrid's Hut and forbidden forest, flying car scenes, library and hogwarts express scenes, Charms lesson, and the Quidditch pitch. They also filmed other movies like Robin Hood and Elizabeth there, however Harry Potter is the most famous and interesting attraction of the films.

After the tour on Saturday (the historical tour), we went to the Alnwick Gardens, which is right behind the castle a little ways. The gardens were beautiful! There must be so much work and care put into them, because they are so meticulous and well-designed. There were a few differnet sections as well. There was the main gardens behind the water fountain and stream, the Rose Garden, with hundreds of different types of roses, the bamboo maze which is made out of completely bamboo, the poison garden, and an area with metal water structures, and also a Cherry Tree Orchard. They have to have a staff of dozens of gardeners, otherwise they would not be able to sustain these gardens. They were so colorful and nicely designed.

After we left the town of Alnwick, we went to the Warkwork Castle, which also owned by the Percy family (same as the Alnwick Castle). That family actually owns (or did) lots of land in the area called Northumbrai, UK. They technically only have to live in each castle for one night a year to still own them, and they actually live there for a few months during the winter season and the spring into summer season they open to the public. The Warkwork Castle was actually used during battle, and looks like ruins. As some people call it, more 'authentic.' It was pretty neat to walk around and see the ruins and all the areas that were used in battles.

We returned to Newcastle early that evening and it was the beginning of Freshers Week, or Welcome week we would call it in the US. We went to the beach themed party in the student union and it was pretty fun, not too bad. Tomorrow is the Angel of the North Trip and the Quayside Trip, and then at night the event called Pandamonium as well has one of my flatmates birthdays. Another busy day, and on top of it, I have to figure out my classes. Well, more later! xoxo

Stratford upon Avon

This past Monday on the way home from London, we stopped in Stratford upon Avon! This is the birthplace of William Shakespeare! We did not have a lot of time to walk around, but we were able to take a tour of his house and grab something for lunch. His house of course was small, and very old, but they preserved it very nicely. They had blueprints and pictures of the house throughout the years and you can see how much it has changed and what it originally looked liked. They also had a guest book, which I and some others, signed. They had and old guest book on display also, and when I say old I mean, the original. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams signed it, and were the first two to have. When you leave William's house, you exit through the back and there is a beautiful garden with many different colorful flowers, and an unusual tree. The tree was tall, with a wide area of leaves that was flat on the top. It protruded to one side also, and was one of the parts of the garden that of course stood out. After you walk through the garden you enter the gift shop...which I bought a few small things.

After we visited William's house, we went to have lunch, and then two other girls and I went to have ice cream. I got vanilla soft serve with a flake, which is chocolate that sticks out the side of the ice cream. Really tasty.

We arrived back in Newcastle early in the evening and I didn't even unpack, I just set up my internet so I could finally get online!

Well, I'm off to Alnwick on Saturday! And then lots of freshers events! xoxo

continued....

Alright, so after shopping, I'm proud to say Kelly and I mastered London. We walked around a (really) small market, and got directions from some locals to the Hard Rock Cafe London, which was about a ten minute walk away. Considering how far we had already walked and that our feet couldn't possible hurt any worse, we headed that way. Along the way we stopped in a really cute (and expensive) chocolate/gift/tea/christmas type store that reminded Kelly of Treasure Island at home. When we finally made it to Hard Rock, we sat at the bar...and after showing our New Jersey licenses shared a drink! So strange that we can show our licenses and have drinks when we're still 20. After resting our feet and having a drink...we became even better masters of London. We conquered the Tube (or the underground). We found the nearest station..and figured out how to take it all the way to the Tower of London, even with switching trains. We were so good at the end of the day traveling by the Tube that we could have given directions out to others.

When we got to the Tower of London...we didn't actually think we were there. It should be called the Castle of London..or something. WHen we got off the tube, the first thing we saw was a really pretty building/castle. We didn't know what it was, so we just started taking pictures of it of course. Then Kelly asked a bus driver where the Tower of London was, and he, (not so happy by the way) pointed it out to us. It happened to be the building we were taking pictures of just a minute beforehand...yeahhh, that's what we get for not having a map, we make ourselves look silly to the locals. Lol. It was really funny, and it definitely didn't look like a tower. While walking towards it we saw the Tower Bridge, and walked about halfway across it. The bridge was so awesome! I always thought bridges were really cool, but this was literally followed after it's name (unlike the Tower of London). It was two towers made of stone, and had a drawbridge, plus pedestrian walkways. It was awesome to walk along it, and even better when we walked down along the river to see it from afar.

After this, we were extremely tired...I'm not sure what we were running on. We found the tube again and rode it all the way back to our hotel area. We ate in a small Italian place and I had pizza, which was much better than Baltimore pizza, but not as good as New Jersey pizza (naturally).

When we got back to the hostel, Kelly and I got ready to go out with some other girls. We ended up at this place called TigerTiger, which was a bar/club. We had a few drinks and tried to walk around, but it was really crowded. It was also expensive...but we were in London so we figured how many times were we going to be able to do that?

The next day (Sunday) was a little chillier than the rest of the weekend, but still nice. We took a day trip to Brighton, which was is a seaside coastal town. We took a tour of King Henry IV's party castle, which was strangely designed. He had it built to look like an Indian palace on the outside (Taj Majal) and Chinese/Oriental designs on the inside. It was also designed to have a lot of illusions in it. Not like tricks and things, but illusions to the type of materials it was made of. For instance, England didn't have access to bamboo in those days, and King Henry IV wanted bamboo in many places to go along with the theme, so he had people carve and design bamboo looking material out of things like metal and such. The tour didn't last too long and then we were able to walk around by ourselves for a while. Kelly and I ate lunch at a cafe and then walked down to the shore. There were shops, and vendors, and a pier with rides and games and food stands and lots and lots of bikers! The beach, if you can call it that, didn't have sand, it had stones/rocks! It reminded me almost exactly of the boardwalk back at home, minus the stones for sand and the hundreds of bikers. I took a few small stones where there should have been sand, as if they were shells from home! I'm pretty sure the water there was the English Channel as well. It was really pretty!

Alright...I figure I should do these posts in segments since there is an overflow of information. So far since we were back in Newcastle though we have started orientations and class registrations, which is really stressful. The system over here is ridiculous and in my opinion, more complicated than it has to be. Well, once the semester starts things should calm down a bit. It's 11:45pm here, and I'm super tired! Gotta shower and get some sleep, maybe read some of my book beforehand also :) Goodnight! xoxo

Travels

I'm finally back in my dorm in Newcastle after a long few days of traveling! Let me see...I arrived in Newcastle Wed. around 11am/noon-ish, and we had about forty minutes to drop our stuff in the dorm and meet back with the group. From there we walked to downtown Newcastle and eventually made it to dinner after not eating for a long time. We ate at some Sports Bar (on Loyola's dime) and in the evening took a walk down to the riverside. Along the way we saw the Newcastle castle, and then at the river the Newcastle bridge. The bridge was really pretty lit up at night, and it changes color every few minutes.

Thursday we took a trip to Tynemouth, which is a small seaside community. We ate lunch at a fish and chips place...but I did not eat fish...I ate chicken bites and chips instead. I'm sure sometime I will try the fish...but not just yet. We sat along this wall that was just outside the Tynemouth Priory, and faced the small beach and water. Afterwards we were able to go into the Priory...it was so pretty. It was basically a fort for all the many wars, however it was never attacked by land, only by air. The ruins were really great, and as well preserved as can be expected.

Friday began our London trip! I was super excited to go to London, we just had to get through the six hour bus ride there. It wasn't too bad...I slept a lot of the way and Kelly and I watched out the window as we drove by hundreds of sheep, cows, and horses...soo different than highways on the East Coast of the US, and very pretty. Our hotel/hostel in London was tiny, and my room had 8 girls in it. I slept on the top bunk! Not exactly something I would normally do but once I managed to climb up there it was pretty cool. Friday night Kelly and I went out with some others to dinner and then we made it to a bar...which wasn't too bad..except there was hardly anyone in it, so we went back early. The place we ate was a Cuban food place and they had live dancing/dance lessons so it was cool to watch.

Saturday was so great! We had to wake up early and the entire group took the Tube to the House of Parliament for our tour. It was pretty interesting to see...except we were all tired so whenever the tour guide let us sit down we kinda dozed of a bit...whoops! But after the tour, me and a few other girls went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards! It was soo cool...and really crowded. The Palace is huge, and has large gates surrounding it and a beautiful statue in front. Despite being smashed in between a mix of British and other international people, I was able to snap some nice photos. The changing of the guards had a procession of a band, the guards and some kind of military looking guards - not quite sure. Very formal. There were police men on horseback on crowd control also! The palace also has beautiful gardens outside.

After the changing of the guard ceremony, we walked over to Trafalgar Square. It looked like this had a few embassies there, as well as a fountains and statues where people were sitting out enjoying the beautiful weather we had. We grabbed something to eat from a nearby cafe and sat out by one of the fountains also. Then we went into the National Gallery. It was amazing - I was able to see paintings by Money, Da Vinci, and Van Gogh! I got in trouble for trying to take a picture as well....whoops! Hey, we're able to do that in Baltimore museums!

Kelly and I then separated from the four other girls we were with, after visiting the National Gallery gift shop. We set out to find our next destination...Abercrombie and Fitch! It was in an area with lots of shopping and food places. Somehow we managed to walk right past Abercrombie...and somehow some random guy on a cig break was able to tell we were looking for it and told us where it was...lol. I guess we might have stuck out on that side street we thought it was on. Inside we took a picture with the live model! Afterwards we walked through some other shops...saw some extremely expensive clothing inside Ralph Lauren (5,000 GBP for some fur thing...equals almost 8-10 US dollars)...and stopped in an Ice Cream Bar, which was delicious!

ONE DAY.

So, as I begin this post, I am eating kettle corn and watching the US Open. What I should be doing is folding clothes from the laundry, putting the rest of my shoes in the suitcase, and organizing/packing everything that might go under the category of 'toiletries' because I leave tomorrow for ENGLAND. Soo crazy...I'm restless to finally depart, since Loyola has been in session for nearly two weeks now, and I feel like I'm in limbo. It's surreal to think I'll be in a different country come Wed. morning, but really exciting and fresh. When I began college I thought I would never want to study abroad, and I turned away from colleges that pushed it upon you as a student. Well, this is the first time I changed my mind, considering I can hardly ever make decisions easily, and when I do, that they are lasting. Well, now I'm getting nervous/stressed because I'm not completely packed...which means it is time to stop writing. Xoxo