Week Two

Day Eight (22.9.13)

The best part of the day? Watching the series four premier of Downton Abbey with my host mom, Muriel. 

Day Nine (23.9.13)

Mondays are my favorite day of the week. The stress of finding something to do over the weekend or spend money traveling is gone. Also, I get to Skype my boyfriend :) And this Monday night, Kat spent the night. We watched movies and shows on Netflix and played some Nancy Drew. Great night.

Day Ten (24.9.13)

Today, we got the wonderful experience of touring the impressive, awe-inspiring, center of the city: the Canterbury Cathedral.

It is truly amazing to me to be in a town with such a heritage site. The cathedral is over 1500 years old and it still stands strong and imposing. Walking on the grounds, it's incredible to think that for more than a thousand years, people from all over have made religious pilgrimages to this site. It was this cathedral that the ragtag group of pilgrims in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" were traveling to. 

First book we read in British Literature, naturally.

Inside the Cathedral, the atmosphere creates a feeling of great faith and holiness. The architecture is remarkable. I feel as though photos could never truly capture the beauty and grandeur of this world heritage site. I will definitely go back to take more pictures, though.

I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to visit such a historical and magnificent place.

Day Eleven (25.9.13)

Today was the day of the Freshers Fair, a day when all of the sports, art, music, drama, social (and more) societies attempt to recruit as many Freshers (First Years) as they can. The Student Union and Augustine House were both packed full of students. I made sure to sign up for Drama, as I've missed having the opportunity (really, the time) to be involved in theatre. 

Day Twelve (26.9.13)

Mariel, Kat, and I decided to spend the day shopping on High St. We got some cute clothes from the fantastic H&M. 

Afterwards, we went to the Odeon cinema in town to see About Time! Richard Curtis (who wrote Love Actually, Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, the screenplay for Bridget Jones's Diary, and much more) is one of my absolute favorite screenwriters! As mentioned in a previous post, Love Actually is my favorite movie, and About Time was fantastic. Definitely a new favorite of mine!

And Domhnall Gleeson is a cutie. ;)

Day Thirteen: Rochester Castle & Fort Amherst (27.9.13)

Field Trip Friday. 

Inside Rochester Castle

View of Rochester Cathedral from inside Rochester Castle

After touring the castle, we had free time to explore Rochester High St. and get lunch. The three of us (Mariel, Kat, and I) went to a pub and ordered a massive combo platter. The food was really good, but the pub was kind of shady. Needless to say we didn't spend too much time there.

After lunch, we went to Baggins Bookstore, which happens to be the largest used bookstore in England. The shelves went on and on, and it had multiple floors!

When we got home, Kat and Mariel came over to my home stay, where we made dinner together and waited to watch the final episode of The IT Crowd! Kat and I are huge fans of the show, so we were so stoked to see it. We had Mariel watch some of our favorite episodes before the show so she'd have a little background info. If you have Netflix and haven't seen it, watch it. Seriously. You will not be sorry.

Day Fourteen: (28.9.13)

The three of us spent our Saturday hanging out at the Student Union, talking, sipping on some milkshakes. At night we went to Augustine House and booked tickets and a hostel in Ireland for the next weekend! And we goofed around, laughing at YouTube videos and such.

This week wasn't as eventful as the last, which was a welcome change. Thanks for reading!