oxford.

I really wanted to see Alice the most on my time in Europe, especially in England, since she was living and working there. I also wanted to go to Oxford. So, thankfully, I was able to kill two birds with one stone, and see Alice in Oxford. I took the train, and met Alice at the station, and we made it just in time to do a free walking tour (we love free). The tour took us around the colleges, showed us places where Harry Potter was filmed (we love Harry Potter) and gave us a chance to catch up while seeing a place we both hadn't been. We loved our tour guide, he was a total babe, had a sense of humour, and played guitar. 

Between the white and red building is a secret passage to a pub. We ate lunch there and drank Pimms.

The colleges are really beautiful, but some more beautiful than others, but the guide did not take us through the gates (not free). Though we still were able to learn about the culture of Oxford college life, including drinking, feuding, drinking, exams, admission, drinking... 

Harry Potter was filmed in here

Really old facade 

This is where I'd study

A circular bibliotheca (that's 'library' for you ignorant folk)

The exam hall...

Beautiful Christ Church College

After so much walking, Alice and I were ravenous. So we ventured back to the 'Turf Tavern' to have a bit to lunch. It was good food, over Pimms, with great company and conversation.There were so many stories to tell and catch up on. 

Where we had lunch

Famous people who have also dined at the 'Turf tavern'

After sitting, eating and chatting, we were off to browse the shops and do some shopping. Due to having spent about £300 the day before, I was very limiting on my spending. Regardless though, the company was worth much more!

After a day together, we did have to part, so we walked back to the train station, and said 'goodbye' where we said 'hello'. Then I was on my train back home.

xx

New Forrest

I really wanted to go horse riding somewhere, so James organised with some friends to take me out into New Forrest for a ride. My pony was fat and slow, and stubborn, but was super cute anyway. It was beautiful riding around the forrest at dusk, and though I did get separated from Laura, I trusted that Breeze would get me back to his paddock safely. Laura did say that Breeze knows his way home!

The next day I went to the New Forrest Show. I got up early, and went with James to the fire station in Lyndhurst, where my ride to the show was a fire truck. The show was full of floral displays and vegetables, farm machinery, stalls of delicious looking homemade goodies, and a menagerie of animals. I spent the day there, watching the pony judging shows, looking at stalls, and enjoying the country fair. That afternoon, after the show, I did a last minute shop in Southampton, to ensure that my back pack was filled to the brim with new, cool, European branded clothing!

My ride

Winning celery!

New Forrest cider

pony judging

 XX

A city inside walls

I had a long train ride to York, the day after arriving back into Edinburgh. My train wasn’t until midday, so that morning I went to the real ‘Mary King’s Close’ to see underground Edinburgh. It was pretty cool down there! Our guide was from the middle ages, and lucky for him, escaped the plague to tell us all about the town. The streets were narrow, the houses were like sky scrapers, and the ground was littered with shit, piss, rats, and dead bodies, delicious. This was probably my favourite part of being in Edinburgh. I found the history of Edinburgh very different to all the other cities, as a lot of its history is filled in the stories you hear about it. And, unlike the history of Italia, which I know more about, you can’t just go to Edinburgh and look at things. It’s when you go underneath the city, and hear the ghost stories, and tales full of plague and death, that the history came alive. It meant that I had to actually concentrate on the stories, but I did really like it in Edinburgh.

Then I had the lengthy train ride, of which I mostly slept. A weekend in the highlands and then the after party at Biddy Mulligan’s wore me out. I got to York, and found my hostel easily enough. It was pretty awesome, too. It was in an old manor house, with a huge staircase and a chandelier! I dropped all my stuff there and went straight out to see the city that was recommended to me by so many. Victoria was lovely enough to write me a list of things to do. Though I only had one day, I tried to do as much as possible.

My first stop was to find Betty’s, which is a food place, which was ‘non-negotiable’ on Victoria’s list. Once I found it, I was impressed. there was a really long line though, and I was starving. So I decided that I would go the next day for lunch, when I wasn't about to pass out from hunger, and have time to enjoy it.  So I continues to browse the city, and then went on a walking tour. It was annoying that it was so late, and that I was still exhausted, and it was starting to get cold. The tour was not much walking, and a lot of talking, and tired and cold don't really fit in there. I would have appreciated York a lot more if I didn't feel so awful, but I still loved the history that the city was filled with. After the tour, which focused on the walls of the city, from times of Roman rule, the York Minister, a huge church (which had also caught on fire a few times), and the Shambles, a mis-matched and crooked street, I went home, and slept very well. 

Betty's

Facade of the York Minister

Portion of the city wall (outside)

Portion of the city wall (inside)

The crazy, evil, squirrel!

The next morning I struggle to get up. The only thing that roused me out of bed was that I had 30minutes until breakfast ended. After breakfast I went and did a little shopping, and walked around a bit more, as well as going up to Clifford's Tower. It is part of a castle (the tower) that was left over from battles and fights within the city. From the top of the tower, there is a nice view over the city and the neighbouring towns. York is quite small, so it wasn't hard to see everything in a short time. I also managed to navigate the city without a map! I went to Betty's, as promised to Victoria, and enjoyed a fresh orange juice and vegetable pancakes. The food was quite delicious! After lunch, I still had lots of time before my train back home to Totton, so I coughed up the pounds to go in and admired the York Minister from inside. It was a very beautiful church, but after seeing so many, the similarities started to come out. There was also an exhibition underneath the church floor, which showed the history of the church from the time of its first foundations, until now. Excavations did demonstrate that the Roman's had some form of building on the same site many years ago. After the Minister, I walked around the city wall until I got back to the spot of my hostel. The walk was nice, with a great view, but the path was very small, clearly not built for tour group path hogs. I walked it back around to where my hostel was, so that I could pick up my bags and catch the train home. 

Clifford's Tower

Inside Clifford's Tower

Stairs up onto the city wall

On the city wall

View of the York Minister

View from the wall over York

York Minster

Inside the York Minister

Window inside the Minister

In the Minister

I had forgotten to check the time of my train back, so I was a little stressed about missing it. But I didn't miss it, and I got the station with plenty of time to spare. So I used that time to have a chai latte, and a relax. It was also the time I used to arrange with Alice a time to finally catch up! We decided on Oxford, and hopefully at the end of the week. The train was a relaxing journey to London, then I had to navigate my way from King's Cross Station to Waterloo without my little London pocket map, so that I could connect to my last train for the night, and finally get into my own bed!