One More Week.

One week from today, I will be on a plane heading back to good old Kansas, where the sunsets will be mesmerizing and the weather will be warm. I'm excited for that.

However, I'm also sad to be leaving glorious England, with all it's lovely people with brilliant accents and ancient cities.


It's a bittersweet feeling. I hope this last week will be a fun one, last week certainly was after I finally finished my papers. We went out to Chili White Thursday night, and having gone to bed at sunrise I woke up at 7:30am and boarded a plane to Dublin for a weekend trip with some girlfriends.

We had a lot of fun in the Jameson Distillery, the Guinness Factory, and several museums. Friday night we saw the Temple Bar district, which reminded me a lot of the bars back in Lawrence. There was music but the atmosphere was relaxed...

Today I'm going to get some laundry done and maybe go on a walk to city centre. I need to sort everything out and decide what goes home and what stays here. Tonight I'm going to go to Liquid...one. last. time.

Done.

Last night we went to Liquid...there was a "Baywatch" party. Didn't see any swimsuits though. Leicester is a little too cold for that. We stayed out till about 3:30am, and when I got back I figured I might as well do some editing...who needs sleep anyways?

I loved the sound of the heavy thud as 32 pages of hard work dropped into the submission box at 10am this morning. I'm officially finished with spring term at the University of Leicester.

Wow that deadline got here fast.

845 words...a little over a 1000 left to go. And another 700 for my next paper... 45 hours till my deadline. I didn't sleep past 3am last night.

I'm afraid I've put my grumpy pants on today.

Can't believe I'm back in Kansas in 16 days.

Back in Leicester

My trip from Bakewell to Leicester was pretty smooth. No real problems to speak of...except as I approached Leicester I began to feel incredibly exhausted. I think all this traveling has worn me down...and made me homesick. I found myself thinking about the lake I always sit by near my parents house, and our family sitting down to dinner, and seeing all my old friends again. I looked down at my overwhelming suitcase full of stuff and wished I could unpack it for good this time.

When I got to Leicester, I took a cab to my hotel. Glenfield Lodge...I chose it because it was 'close' to city centre, but to my dismay, it was in a pretty unfamiliar part of town, and walking to campus proved to be a confusing 3 mile hike through the city.

The man that opened the door was a little abrupt, and wanted to know why I hadn't called 30 minutes ahead of time. I told him I had tried (twice) but the phone just kept on ringing, and that I had sent him an email with my arrival time a few weeks ago. He said "well that's okay I have a room for you anyways"...then he led me through some dark hallways, and up the staircase to a room that could have originally been a closet, and asked me to pay in advance. It was only £20 for one night, so I can't be legitimately disgrunted about this, but it isn't like the nice bed and breakfast places I've stayed in so far. There is no homey feeling to the dark peeling wallpaper or dank smell.


It's only one night though. Tomorrow I can go back to Digby, and it'll be nice to see everyone again. Today I am at the library determined to finish my papers...though I might be here till late in the evening.

It's Raining...Day 4

Last day here, and it's a wet one. Not much to do except work on this paper. I wish I had use of the internet on my computer. Using the library one is a pain. I have 1 hour at a time, which I usually spend hurridly replying to emails and messages before doing 40 minutes of sloppy research. I'm using my last five minutes this morning to update my blog. Which, I don't think hardly anyone reads anyway.

Bakewell, Day 3

I went to see Chatsworth House yesterday afternoon. It was a really pleasent walk, and the house and gardens definitely live up to their reputation as being both grand and beautiful. I'm afraid I may have had a little bit of an idealized expectation however. I've only seen the estate in 19th century period films...so to see it with roads, cars, tourists, and scaffolding was a little odd. It was also filled with modern sculpture pieces, which seems a little out of place.

The gardens were some of the best I've seen so far in England. They are massive, just like at Hampton Court, with large fountains and a maze. The inside rooms are similar to the ones I saw at the Villa D'Este in Italy, with huge murals painted on the ceilings and walls.

I love the small town feeling of Bakewell. People are more than polite, they are friendly in a way that puts the midwest to shame. Everyone says "Hello and Good Afternoon" when you walk past, and some even stop to ask you how you are doing. The guy that sells me my diet coke in the corner store wants to know my name so he can greet me properly when I walk in the store. A kid that rides his bike at sunset when I take my walks befriended me the instant we crossed paths.

It's really charming and wonderful. I would not mind to live in a place like this when I get old. Judging from the average age of people in this town, I'm not the only person who has had that thought.

Bakewell: Day 2

Yesterday I did some work in the library during the morning, and left at noon for a three mile walk to Haddon Hall, where they filmed Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. After a long walk, I found out that the house and gardens were actually closed. However, the gift store was still open (of course), so I went in to inquire as to why the opening times on the website and brochure didn't match the actual opening times.

Apparently, they are filming Jane Eyre (again)....so it will only be open on weekends for several months. Needless to say, it was quite a let down.

The walk back wasn't as bad. I read basicaly the whole way, enjoying the weather, but not the cars that sped by.

I've gotten a lot of reading done, and made good progress on my papers that are due in (gasp!) six days.

Today I will try to get more work done, and visit Chatsworth if the rain stays away.