Planes, trains and automobiles.

This past week was half-term- meaning we had two whopping days of hard work at school and then off to Ireland for the week! We took a bus from Cambridge to London, a train from London to Chester, a train from Chester to Holyhead, then a ferry from Holyhead to Dublin and then did it all over again. I guess the title should really be, "Boats, trains and autmobiles," but that just doesn't sound as good. We stayed in Dublin for the first four days, Galway for the next two and then back to Dublin. Dublin was beautiful! Our hostel was close to the River Liffy and rated the number one hostel in Europe! Needless to say, our first hostel spoiled us for the second...

In Dublin we went to the Kilmanhaim Jail, the Old Kilmainham Hospital which is now home to the Modern Art Museum (whose pedestrian pathway was so beautiful, it almost seemed fake), the Guiness Factory, St. Patrick's Cathedral and park, and a few Starbucks along the way (we won't mention the McDonalds or the Burger King except to say that McDonalds had curly fries and a Rolo McFlurry that was absolutely not made with real Rolos). On Monday Dublin hosted a marathon, so I got my yearly marathon fix in since I'll be missing Dad in the Richmond Marathon this year! Afterward we went to lunch at a small cafe. When we asked what the soup of the day was, the waitress told us, in a very matter-of-fact tone (one which implied it should be obvious), "it's bank holiday, no soup." Still not quite sure what bank holiday is, but definitely skeptical.


On Tuesday we took a break from Dublin (rough life) and took a train to Galway for two days. Galway is a beautiful town, home to the Spanish Arch, the famous Claddagh Village and close to the Cliffs of Moher. Although rainy most of the time we were there, we took a bus tour to some caves (not very exciting ones, almost felt like a repeat of our field trip to the Luray Caverns), the Cliffs of Moher, which were beautiful, and a few other picture stops at castles and cathedrals. We also tried mushy peas (delicious!) and saw traditional Irish dance and music. Then back to Dublin, and finally, back to our clean B&B in Cambridge! We made a lot of friends along the way - a French Rugby Team, a Canadian who has a lot to say, an Austrian enjoying his "whooper" from burger king, and many a tour guide, but it's nice to be home. Tomorrow is Halloween and then off to our first full week of school!

A Wild Goose Chase

Literally. This was before Emily was attacked by a very angry (but not wild) cow. Sunday we walked through Grantchester Meadows up to the village. It's about an hour long walk from Cambridge and along the way we stopped at the Grantchester Church and Cemetary until we reached our final destination- the Red Lion Pub. We stopped for lunch and then off back through the fields, but this time we were more aware of the wildlife surrounding us. So aware that I managed to take 253 pictures...

Today we had our first real day of work! We went to Homerton where we were introduced to the library and successfully checked out 4 DVDs. (That's what libraries are for, right?) Then, we got ourselves put on the Homerton e-mail list so we can do things like attend the themed formal dinners (the Harry Potter one is unfortunately already sold out), play frisbee (our first practice is tomorrow!! And, no, I'm not kidding), and attend other social events at the college. We then went to lunch at the Buttery (you can tell we're really working hard) and then we actually had class. We have class with both our American and British Professors and learned all about the British School System, which seems to be really similar to the American school system just with a lot of words that I don't understand. We hit the really key notes, like don't say pants because that actually means underpants and probably would not go over well in a class of 5 year olds. Tomorrow we are going on a walking tour of the University and then off to frisbee practice! (Still in the process of looking for a pick-up football team to join as that is likely to be a lot less embarrassing.)

Haven't started classes yet, but getting smarter and smarter every day!

On Thursday, our professor, Ellie, and her husband took us to an Evensong at Clare College. An Evensong is a worship service meant to mimic the experience we will have in heaven - the congregation is listening to God's praise rather than singing it themselves and the members of the choir are like the angels in heaven singing it. At least that's what I took out of the bulletin. It was a beautiful service sung by about 30 students. Did you know that real live students in England (in other words, not just in Harry Potter) wear dress robes? We'd seen a few walking around in them and there was a sign encouraging students attending the service to wear their robes. Someone pointed out yesterday that Harry Potter was based off England and not the other way around, but it's really hard not to compare everything to something in Harry Potter! Then Ellie took us (it's so great having her here!) to the Scott Polar Institute where we got to see the clothing, weapons, and tools of the natives, fur outfits worn to keep warm on the expeditions, a mini outfit for a five year old (so cute!), and read the last letters the members of the expedition wrote when they knew they were dying. We also got to try on a super big, puffy, heavy coat that you wear on a polar expedition- I felt like a kid at space camp. Not mention how cool I looked. Then Ellie took us to her flat in Downing College. There is a huge lawn area surrounded by faculty flats, the Downing Chapel, the Downing Dining Hall and Downing College Dorms. In America, she had compared it to the lawn, but I'll let you judge. After exploring a bit, Ellie had us up to her flat for tea and biscuits (mostly biscuits at this point, but I'm trying!!).

Another part of Cambridge that reminds me of Charlottesville? A bridge that Caity and I found while walking to the city. Emily had given us the directions that we "followed."Later, Emily saw the pictures of the bridge and asked where we found it- whoops! We obviously didn't go the right way...and of course had no idea until then. But, anyway, it's just like Beta Bridge in Charlottesville! Couldn't find it again if I tried, but hopefully we'll stumble upon it again after it's been repainted. It's beautiful!

You know that scene at the end of Love Actually when everyone is hugging and Hugh Grant and that girl he falls in love with are finally kissing, and that adorable British girl is singing All I want for Christmas? Well, today was kind of like that. Ellie plays violin in the City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra and did a showing of Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev, Flight of the Bumble Bee by Rimsky-Korsakov and many other children's songs. The music was beautiful and it was so fun to see Ellie perform; not to mention the adorable kids in the audience-"Mummy, can we dance? Mummy, may I have a snack? Mummy, I've got to go to the toilet." Then, Caity and I (sucessfully!! we tried using a map this time...) walked back home and went grocery shopping! Tomorrow we are going on a walk through the Grantchester meadows (cue Pink Floyd. But really - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfZPNQPNw-U) and then off to a pub for lunch and one of many five o'clock church services!

Directionally Challenged

We've spent the majority of our time on buses in the past few days, so it's a good thing that I still love sitting on the top floor! We've been told that bus number 3 will become our best friend, but at the moment buses are seeming more confusing than anything- they all have different numbers and road names and on top of figuring out that, there's deciding which direction you need to go, which side of the street to stand on, trying to read military time to figure out when which bus will be there, and then trying to figure out which stop you are sitting at. It may seem like common sense, but it's exhausting! In between bus rides we've gotten to explore Cherry Hinton, the City Centre, and Homerton College, as well as many other areas of Cambridge. Everything is beautiful! And the sun does shine in Britain! (Although only for a few hours a day.) The funniest thing we've found so far? A Magic Corn stand with something like 30 different flavors of corn! Corn seems to be a pretty big deal around here - there is also a Corn Exchange Centre. It's tiring walking to and from bus stops, around and around in circles, but so much fun to see everything and very slowly (emphasis on slowly) learn our way around! Tomorrow we're going to see more of the University at an Evensong at Clare College and then we're going to dinner at The Eagle with our Professor!

Our home for the next 60 days

After an overnight flight and a scenic tour of the English countryside (I'm not sure we understood the meaning of direct route...) we arrived at our home for the next couple months. We are living in a Bed and Breakfast called the Avimore Guesthouse; there are 16 rooms total, and our program has the whole right side of the building. Each room has it's own toilet, and I am in the master suite (i.e. Pete, the owner, gave up his room for me) complete with a bedroom, office, and toilet. We have a full English breakfast every morning and a coffee/espresso/cappuchino maker only feet away from my bedroom door!! After unpacking and getting as settled in as possible, we went out for our first pub dinner at The Rock. And don't worry, Dad, Pete gave us specific instructions to only cross the street at the "zebra crossings." Tomorrow we are going to start learning our way around Cambridge- get cell phones, a bus pass, find Homerton college and meet with our Cambridge advisor!