Wednesday, February 25, 2015

What's Sleep?

This past week was alright.  Just kidding!  It was wonderful!  I visited my friend, Mollie, in Sheffield as well as my other friend, Kenzie, in Scarborough.  I felt like I lived on buses and trains, but it was well worth it.  I got to travel to places I didn't think I would want to go to, I got to breathe the fresh and crisp air in the Peak District, and I got to climb very steep hills in Scarborough.  That being said, I'm VERY happy I am back "home" to my lumpy, not so comfortable, but oh so comfortable bed in London.  Anyone who really knows me knows that I can't take naps.  I know it's crazy because I'm a college student, and isn't that what college kids do?  Ya, I missed that memo.  This week though I'm pretty sure I napped on every bus and train ride!  I'm still in shock.  Here is a glimpse of what I did this past week!

On Tuesday I woke up early and caught a train to Sheffield to visit my friend Mollie!  I met Mollie when she was actually studying abroad in Wisconsin last year.  My friend Britni (who I went to highschool with) actually introduced us, and the rest is history!  I've been in communication with Mollie the past couple of months planning a trip to Sheffield, and it finally happened.

I was picked up at the train station in the morning, and Mollie took me right to the Peak District.  Beautiful just beautiful.  I was in awe as we were driving through it.  We climbed a big rock, but it was like a really really big rock.  More like a bunch of big rocks all together, and I got to see an incredible view.  After that, Mollie took me to little villages within the Peak District.  As we were waiting for our food at a little restaurant in a village, this old man came up to the window we were sitting by.  He tapped on the window and held up a live squirrel.  Weirdest thing I have ever seen.  I just felt so awkward, but it was hilarious.  Mollie also took me to the Chatsworth house that's in Pride and Prejudice!  It was okay I guess.  (That was for you Mollie.  Ha!)  Honestly, the house was gorgeous and even the stables were beautiful.  Since I happened to visit on Pancake day, Mollie insisted on going out for pancakes.  Pancake day is a national holiday in the UK where you get to enjoy pancakes literally wherever you go.  I went out with Mollie and some of her friends for pancakes that night, and I was not disappointed.  I ordered the red velvet pancakes with berries, and they were delicious!  All in all, Tuesday was a fantastic day.







On Wednesday, I headed to Manchester!  I was all over the place this past week.  We had an early morning with a fire alarm going off in Mollie's flat, but then I proceeded to sleep for another two hours after it.  When we got to Manchester, I met more of Mollie's friends at a restaurant!  I had breakfast for lunch, but it was so so good.  Eggs benedict anyone?  The rest of the day was spent walking around the city and getting a tour from Mollie.  Manchester was a lot different than I imagined, but it was really cool.  The city is a mix of old and new architecture, which gives it a cool vibe.  I thoroughly enjoyed my day in Manchester.










On Thursday, I unfortunately had to say goodbye to Mollie!  I'm so thankful for her hospitality and for showing me hot cross buns, smarties, and British Kit Kats (Yes, they are better than American Kit Kats).  Our farewell breakfast included fruit, coffee, and of course pancakes!  We ate breakfast two-thirds of the time I was there.  Next stop:  Scarborough.  I arrived, and Kenzie showed me around her quaint little town.  It is the stereotypical seaside city complete with fishermen in their yellow coats and take-away fish and chips on every corner.  It was fantastic, and I loved every second of it.






Friday was quite the interesting day.  I've been sick this whole past week, but somehow Kenzie managed to get me up, got me to walk a mile and half to the train station, and get on a bus and train to Leeds.  We spent part of the day in Leeds, but we weren't really finding what we were looking for.  It's known for shopping, but I just wasn't finding anything!  Since we weren't quite satisfied, we decided to take a train to York!  We had to stop there anyways, and we both enjoyed it a lot more.  I got to do more shopping (more like window shopping), and I went to Betty's tea room.  Even though our plans didn't go as we thought, it ended up being quite the lovely day!





Saturday was one of my favorite days of this past week.  Kenzie and I took a spontaneous trip to Whitby and had so much fun!  When we got off the bus, I noticed the whole town smelt like donuts.  It was magical.  After smelling the donuts for a couple of minutes, I needed to find them.  I needed to.    I even went inside the visitor center to ask... Yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds.  After going in a couple of stores, we finally found the donuts!  They were made fresh when we ordered them, and just had to be photographed.  As I was taking a picture of Kenzie with the donut, a seagull almost landed on her head.  It proceeded to chase us until Kenzie finally threw it to the birds.  I'm scarred for life.  Take note:  do not eat donuts by seagulls.  The rest of the day was spent exploring the town, and was spent far far away from any seagull sightings.








Sunday I had to say goodbye to my week of vacation and head back to London.  Bummer right?  Honestly though, it was so nice to spend some time with old and new friends, travel across the country, and just breathe.  I got one nice long walk on Scarborough's shores just before I left, and it was incredible.  The rest of the day was spent traveling back to London and unpacking!  I think I fell asleep around nine that night.  Here's to loads of homework I didn't do and exploring more of London for awhile!

















2 comments :

  1. Sounds like you are having wonderful adventures. I love the donut story; sounds like something your Mom & I might do. The pics are beautiful and you look adorable in all of them. So very proud of you. Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete