Liverpool, shipping, and the Beatles

On October 11, I headed to Liverpool with a university organized trip. On a visit to Liverpool, you walk through a couple museums, check out the docks, catch up on some Beatles trivia, and maybe walk out to a cathedral. One day is perfect to see all the sites!
The docks were beautiful, but not a whole lot going on these days.

The little touristy district of Liverpool is situated around this docking area. There were several museums, many little shops, and a few cafes. We visited the Liverpool Tate gallery just after the Docks. It's too bad you can't take pictures inside, because there were a couple fantastic installations.
Sanyukta, Savi, Holly, me, Diksha in the back, and Carla, Amrita, and Kim in the front.

The Beatles Museum, about "the greatest band in the entire world, ever," was fantastic. Amrita and I were the only ones who toured it, but we had a great time. Something you have to do if you're going to visit Liverpool.
This is a remake of the Cavern, the night club the Beatles played in most throughout their career- just a little place, small local gigs, but they became famous here.
The Liverpool Cathedral is beautiful. Less than a hundred years old, it has the highest Gothic arches ever built, the tallest, heaviest bells in existence (tour book says 31 tons), and the world's (or perhaps the UK's?) second largest pipe organ. Whatever the statistics, it was definitely impressive.

We were rushing on our way back to the bus- they don't wait for you. But it didn't slip past me how wonderfully English-looking this little cobblestone sidewalk was on our foggy day!

As October rolled in, I started getting more accustomed to life in Leeds.I found this scarf in a charity shop in Headingley- a suburb of Leeds a 25 minute walk from my flat. The English love their scarves. Also, my hair has grown quite a bit since this photo.
They turn off the washing machines at 8:25 PM. I wasn't aware of this, so I had to wring out all my clothes by hand and hang them about my room for the evening.
...but at least I wasn't the only one. This was our hallway a couple of days later.
This was when we still had leaves on the trees! We get pretty, sunny days like this sometimes. :-)
This is another view of my favorite courtyard on campus. The sun is setting. It's probably about 4 o'clock in the afternoon a couple of weeks ago.

York

The following weekend, September 27, we headed to York for a visit. To provide some context, the engineering college takes every freshmen class to York to take in the wonderful architecture and many bridges. We were blessed with a second, perfect weekend.
On the ride, I spotted this little gate. The countryside looks very English. There are, in fact, rolling green hills with rock walls and hedges separating sheep pastures.
Most street signs in England are nearly invisible. They place them high up on the sides of buildings, made out of the same block the buildings are constructed from, with slightly raised or sunken letters. Generally, this means getting lost often. In York, they're prepared for tourists, providing signs not for streets, but for the things people might want.
The York Minster is the largest Gothic cathedral this side of Italy, according to my tour book.
We used it as a photo op- Carla, me, Savi, Amrita, and Kim.
Perhaps my favorite part of English towns are the little cobblestone side streets. Brenda, Savi, Carla and Kim.
This may or may not be the Great East Window of the York Minster. If it is, it is the largest medieval stained glass window in the world.
Clifford's tower was the sight of one of England's worst anti-Jewish violent outbreaks in 1190. It's one of the last bits left of the York Castle.
We climbed up it to see the view.
It did have one of the nicest views of York. Most buildings could be spotted with the help of a little cartoon skyline posted at the top of the tower.
These ruins of St. Mary's Abbey provided the backdrop of gardens surrounding a few museums. It reminded me of Narnia, when the children return to discover their old home. There was at least one middle school on a field trip here, and kids and teens of all ages ran and played on the pretty green lawns.
Then we crashed a wedding. What a nice day and picturesque place for a wedding!
Again, with England's side streets. This one took us to the art museum, our last stop before we headed home.
This was our last beautiful view of York. If I ever return, a ferry ride up the river would be my first activity.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

The first weekend I spent in England, I headed to Scarborough with my newly made friends. It was only a couple hour bus ride from Leeds, and a university organized coach left right from campus. There are four things to do in Scarborough- tour the castle, visit a famous grave, take a splash in the ocean, and visit one of the many fairs.
Savi, Sanyukta, Sun and I just after we climbed the hill up to the castle.
The view over the ocean was the stuff of dreams. None of us wanted to leave this wonderful place in the castle grounds. Kim is wishing pictures could recreate an experience like this.
Me, Sun, Kris, Holly, Kim, Sanyukta, Amrita, and Panna. We all still look back at this day as the most relaxed, beautiful afternoon. It was absolutely perfect.
This is the view away from town from atop the castle wall.
Amrita and I enjoyed the view.
On the walk back down from the castle, we stopped at Anne Bontë's grave. Anne may have been the youngest, least known sister, but she is still appreciated in Scarborough.
It was a sunny day of mid-sixties for our trip, perfect for sticking our toes in the cold ocean. Other students on our trip and plenty of British children were far braver, showing up in swimming "costumes" and playing for hours in the little waves.
I bet this message was left by international students from Leeds!
I don't have any good pictures of any of the fairs in Scarborough- they had many arcades and even an outdoor carnival, complete with rides, games, carnies, greasy food, and a Ferris wheel- but I did manage to capture the donkey rides!
Once we had done all there is to do in Scarborough, we lounged in this garden for an hour or so, soaking in the sun and waiting for the bus.

Arrival in Leeds

I have been in Leeds for two months, and I finally have a computer and a little time to start a blog! I am going to start at the beginning, as best I can remember. Also, hang in there with me as I learn the formatting for this blogging site!

The trip over was 15 hours, two layovers, and three flights. Even without sleep, I managed to enjoy the sunrise.

I made two friends on my final flight to the Leeds Bradford Airport, both international students at my new university and holding the handbook I recognized. We were all met by the Leeds University International Student Welcome Team and delivered to our accommodations.

My flat was empty and very lonely (and had a very pretty view- below), but I stayed only long enough to dump off my luggage and head to the International Student office for a debriefing. It wasn't long before I'd made a few friends and took a tour of campus to get fully situated.



































The Leeds University campus is set up unlike anything American- there are no straight lines, short cuts, or easy ways to get between large and important buildings. There are two squares on the entire campus. One is an old cemetery called St. George's Square, and the second is this paved courtyard surrounded by steps (above).

This is my favorite courtyard on campus (below). I pass through here on my walk to and from certain areas of campus, and never fail to notice new details. Cute archways, nice little gardens, a perfectly situated bench...




















































This garden is between several connected buildings including the main lecture theaters, science library, and the chemistry and biology buildings (sixth picture). The enclosed, connecting bridges are very nice on cold, windy, or rainy days, but make navigating this area of campus particularly difficult. The buildings have limited entrances, and from outside, you have to enter and leave the area through two main walkways that take you far out of the way.

This is called "The Library" (seventh pic). It even looks somewhat like a library. It is actually a pub, though. This is how British students study. I can see this pub from my bedroom window and monitor its activity- always greatest on Mondays for £1 night!