I Don't Think I Packed Enough...

I am leaving in under two hours to go to the airport.  To get on a plane to Málaga.  I won't be back in Leeds (or back to my computer...) until late April 30th.

I'm alternating feeling like this:

and this:

I shall be largely out-of-touch the next month, but I hope you all have a lovely April, and know I'll be thinking about you guys!  So...Happy April Fool's Day, Happy Easter, Happy Birthday (to me), and I'll talk to you in May!

xo

This is a quick and subpar post.

Just a brief note on the next few weeks so you have an idea of what I'm up to if I don't get to post about it all later.  It's post-midnight now and I'm frantically finishing my to-do list, because...

I'm hopping on a plane in t-minus....11 hours (!) to fly to Germany.  I'm meeting a friend there and we're going to over to Belgium to spend a few days in Brussels.  (First time I'm doing some passport-required traveling over here!)  I'll be back in Leeds on Monday.

Then, a mere few days after arriving back here I'm going on a weekend trip to Edinburgh the 25th-27th.  Should be kilt-y and fun.

Finally, on the 31st I will get on a flight from Leeds, ne'er to return.  That's a lie, but I will be away from England for about a solid month while the Uni is on Easter break.  In order, I'll be going to:

Spain: Málaga, Córdoba, Barcelona
France: Nice
Italy: Rome, Florence, Venice
Greece: Athens, Santorini, Mykonos

Then a few days in London at the end of April for the royal wedding, and I will finally arrive back in my English dorm home for the last few weeks of classes and exams.

Odds are my Internet time will be...uhh...limited.  Whenever I have an available computer, I'll try to give a Facebook shout-out at least about where in the world I am.  But you may not hear from me on the blog through April.  Sorry about that.  I'll be on the beach...

xo

Catching Up

There's a reason I was never successful at writing in a diary.  Because it's hard for me to do it often (that's what she said), and I get way behind.

Anyway, I owe you a lot of info.  I've been several new places and done lots of things over the last few weeks that I haven't shared with you.  You probably won't get all the details that you deserve, but I'll do my best to share as much as I can!  So, a la This American Life (because I'm a nerd), this blog is split into four acts.

ACT ONE:  York, and York again

A month ago, now, I went to York.  Then, 2 weeks ago, I went to York again.  I'll explain why in a minute.  York is such a gorgeous old city, built by the Romans many many centuries ago.   The central highlight is most definitely York Minster, a ridiculously fabulous church you can't miss. 

Oh, you mean the giant one you can see from pretty much anywhere in the city?

It's amazing inside and out.  We went down into the crypts (in a couple places you can actually see skeleton fragments in the walls) and saw the remnants of the foundations of a Roman fort, and then the Saxon one on top of that, then the Norman cathedral, and finally the "modern" Minster, built in medieval times.  The other highlight is climbing the tower to see the view of the city.  When we first went Friday the tower was closed due to high winds (thanks for making me feel safe, York), but we went back Saturday and it was reopened!  Yay...  So, another tiny spiral staircase.  Not only that, but if you buy now, we'll throw in a walk along at roof level between the two towers to make it the rest of the way up!  My knees trembled, my stomach queased, but we made it to the top and it was once again worth it for the views.  From the top you can see the lines of the stone fortification walls that still surround the city and the ruins of other ancient buildings.