five days up north.

i had been looking forward to the north trip all semester. it was viewed as one of our big trips as a whole group, and was also the longest one. i didn't really know exactly where we would be going, what we would see or what we would do, but i was still very enthusiastic about it. however, on sunday when i was faced with packing for our five day long coach trip with weather forecasts of winter weather all of my excitement was gone. i hate the cold, i hate the coach and i hate how i still have not finished any of my major school assignments. but, the trip turned out to be a great success and i loved everything that we saw. here is a really pathetically short summary trying to encompass all of the things that we did.

monday:

chatsworth house: a huge, eighteenth century estate house that is commonly known as 'pemberley' in the newest pride and prejudice movie. i LOVED this. not only because of my recent obsession with all things jane austen, but also because every single thing about it was incredible. the walls, the ceilings, the carpet, the guidebook. i loved everything. the only things that i didn't love were that we didn't have a whole week to spend there, and that it was raining and i didn't enjoy the gardens as much as i wanted to.

bronte parsonage: wuthering heights is a favorite book of mine. some people find this weird because it is a sort of dark, gloomy and depressing book, but i seriously love it. the story of heathcliff and catherine is so intense and emily bronte is a great author. going to her family parsonage was especially cool because it was exactly how i pictured it would be. it is located immediately next to this creepy graveyard and the moors, and it was a cloudy, foggy, gloomy and freezing day. just how i have always pictured the setting of wuthering heights to be.

tuesday:

york: this is such a great town. i especially loved walking around the complete and fully functioning roman wall that exists there to surround the city and looking around york minster.

fountains abbey: beautiful, old, enchanting.

durham castle: we stayed in the hotel this night. seriously. it was creepy and the cathedral bells woke me up promptly every hour throughout the night. i also am convinced that the castle is haunted. i think i have proof.

evensong: we went to evensong at durham cathedral and it was beautiful. the combination of the amazing voices with the magnificence of the church was a wonderful experience.

wednesday:

hadrian's wall/housested's roman fort: it was snowing, no joke. but this was one of the highlights of the week. standing on the wall, almost being blown off by the wind and screaming was so much fun.

dove cottage and rydal mount: the houses of the poet william wordsworth. so cute, such a perfect location, really explained why he wrote about the things he did regarding nature. i definitely enjoy his poetry a lot more now.

the lake district: i am convinced that this is the most beautiful part of england.

thursday:

hilltop farm: the home of beatrix potter. the cutest place ever. i forgot home much i loved the tales of peter rabbit and jemima puddle duck and friends. those were some of my absolutely favorite stories from my childhood. the walk to the farm was so nice and i loved walking around the lake and up the hill.

church history in preston and the preston temple.

friday:

liverpool

maritime museum and the international slave trade museum: both amazing museums.

beatles experience: i love the beatles, their music is great. seeing the music solely devoted to the beatles and their lives was one of the coolest things that i have done in a long time. i loved the feeling of having all of their songs blasting while i walked through the realistic rooms and buildings from their career. i loved every single thing about it and have been listening to their songs all day long.

quick summary of the trip: 24 hours on the coach. 4 authors homes. 2 hotels. 1 castle. 1 hostel. 4 churches. 4 great movies. hundreds of pictures. thousands of great memories. success.

i am happy to be back in london, it feels like home. finals are rapidly approaching and my time is getting shorter and shorter, which is really depressing. but, i am looking for the visit from jess in june! officially she is coming to visit me in london on the tenth of june, and i am insanely excited. we have a long list of things we have to do in the few days that she is here. i can't wait.