Not for the Faint of Heart

This whole trip has skewed my sense of time. I never know what day it is or what time it is. I only know  when I want to eat. Which is all the time, so that's really helpful...

WEDNESDAY
 We started off going to Haworth (aka The Bronte Parsonage). We chilled in Charlotte, Emily, and Anne's house, and hiked around the moors. Their padre was the parson of the church that was below them, and there was the most crowded graveyard I have ever seen in my life.

I feel justified in posing like this because the Brontes dried their clothes on the gravestones. 

Then it was off to the Lake District, or the place where I wish we spent three days, so I could actually use the swimsuit I brought. We went to Dove Cottage. It was lovely. And I found out that I am the same height as Samuel Coleridge... so you know... sucks for him. The hostel was charming and we had a view of the lake right from our window. 

Real Windermere. So classy. 

Wordsworth's Cottage: honeymoon destination?

 

What do you know... a graveyard in Ambleside. 

Dinner that night is a tale in itself. I decided that I wanted a glass of milk with my dinner. We had to order our drinks at the bar. So I go up there and ask if I can have one, or if that's even possible. The girl says "Sure!" and looks slightly amused. She pours me a tall glass like she would a beer, tilted and oh so carefully. Then she turns to her coworker and says "How much do I charge her?" I then ate the most interesting vegetarian lasagna in my life. It was served in a bowl, like soup. There was no red sauce, but rather a congealed substance that tasted similar to the filling in chicken pot pie. I was starving though, so it wasn't all that bad, and I ate all of it. 

THURSDAY... SOME MIGHT CALL IT YESTERDAY

We headed down the road to Beatrix Potter's house. We took a ferry across the lake, and went on a little hike. I swear this study abroad is just Girls' Camp with token boys. And we all know what happens on Girls' Camp hikes... You get lost and end up hiking more than you were supposed to. Luckily, it was really pretty where we got lost, and going back was downhill. 

 

The house was just the cutest, and yes I hiked in flats. 

Dr. Macfarlane said that we might have time for a special treat later in the day on our way to Liverpool. It turned out to be a quick trip to the Preston Temple grounds. We were all so excited. 

 When we got to Liverpool, most everyone went to the Beatles museum, but because I'm taking a Beatles class in the fall, I thought that the Picasso exhibit would be a better way to spend my money.

It was. I had sort of lukewarm feelings about him. There were some pieces that I really liked, but I wouldn't have called myself a Picasso fan. 

This exhibit changed everything. So good.

I guess it was the largest collection of his work that had been put together.

After dinner, Carly, Alyssa, and I decided that there was nothing to do, but be super touristy...The following pictures are the result.

 

Liverpool happens to have the oldest Chinese community in Europe.  They also have the smallest Chinatown I have ever been to in my whole life. 

 

Half block, no joke.

When we were done we went to our hotel for the night and I took the best shower of the whole trip. 

TODAY 

I heard Diane Sawyer's voice on the telly today. It was glorious, and felt like a normal morning. Until we drove to Wales and I could no longer read some of the signs. We visited two castles, Beaumaris and Caernarfon. Beaumaris was definitely my favorite. There was no one there except us, and we just got to run around and have sword fights with the Cooper kids.

After the castle business, we stopped in Coventry for a wee bit and I picked up a pint of milk. I'm on a kick okay?

For dinner, I went to Koya, this Japanese udon place that I have been dying to try. So good. We sat in the kitchen and it was way fun watching them prepare all the food.