Week Three

Day Fifteen (29.9.13)

Katie, Mariel and I decided to spend the day at Dover Castle. After an entertaining train ride followed by a ridiculous trek up numerous hills, we arrived. 

While the castle was beautiful, I was a bit disappointed by its museums and set up. Some of the rooms had children's room style furniture painted in very unlikely colors (for a castle). There were also actors playing as royal figures and it all just seemed a bit hokey. I was hoping to see more original furniture and a more regal castle. I suppose my expectations were set too high.

However, while at Dover, there was also a group of German students visiting. Until then, I hadn't realized how German I look. They looked like my cousins! I'm only around 30% or so German, but I do take after my paternal grandmother, who is full German. So that was an interesting discovery.

When we got back to Canterbury, we went to the Student Union for dinner and enjoyed some burgers after our long day.

**I would later learn that the Americans that went to Dover Castle the day before we did got to see Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, and Chris Pine shooting for Into the Woods. I can't believe I missed that by a day! I was the Baker's Wife in a production of Into the Woods! Come on! And Chris Pine! Man...

I wish I could take credit for this photo... :'(

Day Sixteen (30.9.13)

Today I received my first care package from home!  

My amazing, wonderful mom sent me the best stuff. And Cade contributed his favorite shirt for me to wear to sleep. :)

Day Nineteen (3.10.13)

CCCU along with shops on High St sponsored a student shopping night tonight from 6 pm - 9 pm which was really awesome as there was 20% off on select stores. Also, it was cool to go shopping after 5:30 pm, which is when most shops close on High St (not a fan.) I got some clothes at H&M (shocker) and my first pair of black Converse from Office.

After shopping night, Katie, Mariel, and I went to a student dinner hosted by my host mom, Muriel's church. The students there were really nice and the food was very good – home cooked meals are a bit of a rarity for us. For dessert we had a traditional English dish - Spotted Dick. The name is terrible, but the dish is very good. It's kind of like fruit cake, but actually good. They served it warm with custard. Delicious!

Day Twenty: Field Trip Friday (4.10.13)

This Friday was our first trip to London. From what I've seen of the city, I really like it. I do prefer it to Canterbury, as there is so much more to do there. 

We arrived for our tour of the Houses of Parliament in the morning. Took the mandatory photo of Big Ben...

The Houses of Parliament are fantastic. The architecture and decor were all beautiful. Sadly, we weren't allowed to take any photos. That tends to be a common theme in London buildings... Oh well. I'm glad I got to see it. I've been in the same room as the Queen of England now! ;) (And many other royals and political figures)

After our tour of Parliament, we had a quick lunch break before going to the Royal Courts of Justice for a tour. No pictures, yet again. But it was a neat place to see, in particular because my mom went to Ann Arbor Law School and I've visited there too. There were even barristers walking around wearing the robes and the wigs!

As the majority of the Americans returned to Canterbury, Katie, Mariel, and I decided to head straight to Stansted Airport where our flight to Dublin would be departing at 6 am the next morning. Mind you, we got to the airport at 7 pm...

We were able to make our 11 hours in the airport relatively fun by spending the time on our phones, playing cards, getting tarot readings from Katie, sleeping, and reading in the airport's Costa Cafe. It was still a long wait. Probably won't do that again unless absolutely necessary...

I'm saving the Ireland trip for it's own separate post, so I'm ending this week at Friday the 4th! Thanks for reading!