It started on Wednesday afternoon when about 70 students and myself went 30 miles south of us to a little town called Stamford. It was an adorable little town and the professors had convinced the higher ups it would be educational. So we went for free. I was fine with that arrangement, getting to see cities for free is totally fine by me. So we went and started out at this amazing secondhand book store and taxidermy shop. Yeah, I don't really understand that one but it was cool. The store had AMAZING books. Like seriously amazing. There was as close to a first edition of Winnie the Pooh as you could get, they had illustrated copies of Cinderella from the early 20th century, and books that were from the early 1800's. I wanted a book so bad but the one I wanted was 65 pounds. That's over a hundred dollars. I settled on a the Girl Guide Manual from the early 1900's to complement my Girl Scout Manual from the same time period. I was super excited that I found it because it's the Girl Scouts of England and I'm a Girl Scout in England. (Geekish I know but I love it) We went in to a little cafe that was adorable and had a pot of tea after we had been antiquing. After buying the most adorable little Eiffel Tower bottle that I would later break by setting my purse down rapidly, I had 3 cups of tea to warm up. That wasn't even my dose of tea that day. The addiction is becoming severe.
The next day I had an exam which was crazy but I didn't have my afternoon class so I got to go into Grantham. After running a few errands we went and grabbed tea at a coffee shop to warm up and kill time before the shuttle picked us back up. We had to get things sorted out before our field trip the next day, including how to dress for super windy, cold rain. Friday morning came too early when we had to wake up and jet off to Lincoln for British Studies. A lot of people fell in love with England in Lincoln but I don't think many people did. It was cold and windy all day and started to rain and eventually poor on everyone. Luckily by the time it was raining I had had a pot of tea and was warm and only outside for a few minutes to climb up onto the Roman wall of the fortress/castle we were to tour. As we started to climb up people were unsure if we could even get up there. Well I took charge, a shock right, and started just going. I walked up the hill, and started going up the stairs. People freaked and were like 'I don't think we're supposed to do this' or 'What if the stair break?' Admittedly I had thought both of those but I am also operating under the mantra of Why not? You never know if you'll have the chance again. I at one point recall yelling "You either lead or you follow! I choose to lead, you can follow if you want to!" I was going to get up to the wall and see the view. I did and it was cool for like 5 seconds. We could only walk along parts of it because the majority of it was all under construction because everywhere is right now. Next year is the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta so all of the monuments are getting pretty. It's cool to think about all of these places being essential in the signing of it so I don't mind too much. Once I was sopping wet I went to find a warm cafe with tea. I did and luckily they had gluten free brownie - seriously almost every cafe here has something gluten free of there's one next door that does- and it was so nice. I sat there for over an hour getting back to a normal body temperature and had the entire of pot of tea myself. Then back to the manor. Riding by the professors is lots of fun. They tell you a lot even if you just listen to the random things they say.
Saturday was off to York to see a Panto. A Panto is a style of theatre here in England that involves a cross-dresser, contemporary music, contemporary costume, people that break character, and audience involvement. It was weird and yet amazing. I want to see a ton more. Before the Panto I got to explore York by myself and fell in love with the picturesque ruins and grounds of a garden. I loved walking through the Diagon Alley - ish streets of shops called the Shambles and seeing street performers and walking through a street market. I loved the freedom of just roaming and having a picnic lunch. Eventually after I had seen enough and the winds had picked up I found a cafe and settled in with a pot of tea and my iPod touch to check into the world with the free WiFi. That pot lasted me two hours and I managed about 7 cups out of it. I was so happy and warm. Then I watched the panto and fell further into love with England. I don't want to leave ever except to travel but I could live here forever and the rain and wind would never bother me.
Today was quite adventure filled itself. I got to sleep in late for once and enjoyed that. Then I went and shot archery provided by the school and loved having the opportunity. Then an exploration of the grounds a little and eventually I fell into a mud hole. The creek I started to explore is a little deeper than just my boot so I emptied my boots and then came inside to warm up with some tea. Tea solves everything. Even the hurt imagination of trying to come up with a story other than I wanted to use my wellies for some stomping and splashing. I did and ended up needing a shower after the exploration. Now I upload things and catch up and enjoy the afternoon. This week will be busy. I go back to London to see a show and then finally venture to IRELAND!!!!!!! I'm so excited to visit the country of my family! I know I'll love it and I can't wait for the adventure to take on full force!
Off to dinner where we get a roasted meat and potatoes just like every Sunday. They like continuity here and it suits me just fine.
Bise Bise
