Fall Break (Part I) - England

I noticed that it's been almost two months since I updated my blog, which has shamed me into FINALLY writing about my fall break.

For the first five days of break--from October 24 through the 28--I visited Beth in Leeds, where she is studying for the year at the University. This was especially nice since I didn't have to pay for a hotel or a lot of my food. (Thanks, Beth!) Plus, it was great to get to spend time with someone from home.

England is also much more familiar than Italy, for some reason. There are trees, for one thing. The houses are all brick and look like our houses. AND everyone speaks English! I didn't realize how big of a deal this would be until I was surrounded by people speaking a language I understood! All of it was very soothing to my homesick soul.

Of course, the biggest downside was the weather. It was freezing, especially compared to Florence, where we were still wearing T-shirts. I don't know how British girls can go out in miniskirts when it's literally freezing outside. Sigh.

Once I was settled, Beth took me on a tour of the town. The downtown is very pretty, with lots of stores and shopping. We even went into the legendary Primark--cheap clothing haven for all frugal shoppers. It was packed. I bought a pair of knit gloves for 2 pounds so that my hands wouldn't freeze. We met up with her friends for lunch and I had fish and chips! I have learned that the key to fish and chips is the sauce. Vinegar, Ketchup, Mayonnaise, or Horseradish--or any combination thereof. Delicious!

Beth also took me to the National Armories, which were totally cool and (thankfully) free! They had a traveling exhibit of weapons and armor from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was really neat being able to see all of the armor from the movie up close. They even had two sizes for the hobbits--one for the actors and one for the midget body doubles! It was all really detailed, which is something you miss on film. There was also armor from the Chronicles of Narnia on display. The highlight of the museum was probably Henry VIII's armor, which the museum attendant emphatically informed us was made for him "before he got fat." (This was complete with an arm gesture.)

On the weekend, Beth and I traveled by train to Haworth, home of the Bronte sisters. It is the cutest little town (though very hilly) and we wandered around for a bit before settling into a pub for Sunday roast. The Sunday roast was amazing, complete with potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. Delicious! I like pubs. From there we ventured forth in the rain to the Bronte house, which is now a museum. It is, as I like to say, a very old-school museum. Each of the rooms is set up like it was in the Bronte's day, either with originals or reproductions. There are a lot of artifacts from the sisters themselves. I was surprised to learn that they all died quite young. None of them made it out of their forties. Charlotte was the most normal of the three. Emily was an eccentric recluse, and Anne was very singular as well.

In the bookshop I found a copy of Anne's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall,which I bought to read on the train home. Then Beth and I headed back to the station, stopping for cocoa and a pastry on the way.

The rest of our time was spent hanging out with Beth's Uni friends or doing other typical Leeds activities. I had a really great time, and it all went by too fast. Before I knew it, I was back on the plane bound for Italy, though I WAS looking forward to the warm weather and my own bed!