Monday, October 18, 2010

North trip

At the Cavern where the Beatles played

best museum ever.

Durham cathedral and abbey.  Yes... this cloister is used as part of Hogwarts. 
This horse was SO sweet.  Bede's world!
Hello.
I am back from my week long North trip.
There is too much to say so I'll just add the itinerary here and talk about the highlights.

Monday:
Left early on the coach.
Stopped at Chatsworth, visited the house and gardens. (This is the house they used as Pemberley in the Kiera Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice.)
Then we went to the Bronte Parsonage Museum, Haworth, the church and the moor.
We checked in at the York youth hostel.
I love hostels... 
Tuesday:
Spent the WHOLE day in York. 
Guided tour of York minster in the morning.
After the tour we had the day to go to museums, shop, eat, and went on a Ghost hunt tour through town (which was not scary and our guide made dirty jokes the whole time. Awesome.)
Hostel.  
I love hostels...
Wednesday:
Left for Durham.  
Tour of Durham cathedral.  Refreshing to see a NON Gothic cathedral.  Plus, part of Harry Potter was filmed here.
Went to Bede's World.  Disappointing because it was not an actual theme park with rides.  However, the playground was lots of fun and we got to feed some barnyard animals.  <Insert enthusiasm here>
Next we went to Hadrian's wall.  Right between England and where Scotland's boarder used to be.  I loved hiking up to this spot.  It was so beautiful and looked like a scene from Braveheart.
Got to Ambleside and checked into our hostel that looks right out onto lake Windermere.  
I love hostels...
Thursday:
BEST. DAY. EVER.
Hiked from our hostel to Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth museum.  Then we had the whole day to do what we wanted.  Everyone went to Beatrix Potter's home and back to the hostel on the coach except for four of us, who stayed in Grasmere and hiked for the day... all the way back to Ambleside through countryside and town.  We went to the lakes, the caves, and spent the evening in town eating dinner and seeing a movie.  One of the best days I've had since I've been here.  
Got back to our hostel pretty late.
I love hostels...
Friday:
Left Ambleside.  Stopped in Preston for some church history stuff.  Worst part of this visit: it actually rained on us for a change.  Best part: as we were stopped on some random street listening to our tour guide this old woman in a large window from across the street put her hands up to the glass and started saying "help me."  It was like horror movie, creepy with the rain and such... but her neighbors said she's just crazy.  Hope her neighbors aren't murderers.  
Got dropped off in Liverpool with a few others that opted to stay.
Best news: didn't have to stay in a hostel because Liz has a friend that goes to school in Liverpool.  So we stayed at her house and shared a bed.  
Saturday:
I love the Beatles.  According to Andrew... everyone loves the Beatles so really I'm just stating the obvious.  I'll even be redundant about it.  I love the Beatles.  And I'm wearing my Beatles shirt.
Take that Andrew.
It was such a great day.  We went to the Beatles museum and on the Magical Mystery Tour.  By far the coolest museum I've ever been in (and at this point I've been in a ton).  The tour was awesome because the bus was probably actually from the 70's.  We went to all the houses the Beatles lived in and other places that they put into their songs, like Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields.  After the tour we went to the Cavern where the Beatles started and played in almost 200 times.  You can be jealous because it was a major experience.  If I didn't already love the Beatles I certainly do now.  
Took a train back to London.  
John Lennon's house. 
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.  Clear beneath the blue suburban skies.

Creepiest moment ever.  Of course I had to take a picture of it.

Me and my bestie... haha.  On our hike in Ambleside.
Hiking to Dove Cottage.


Bede's World.  Not an amusement park, but we did dress up as monks.

Chatsworth gardens.


Why I loved this trip:
Did you just read my itinerary?!  How could I not love this trip?!
Unlike France (which I did like), this trip was not jam packed with touristy type assignments.  We had time to enjoy everything we saw and experienced (apart from Hadrian's wall... needed more time there, less time at Bede's world).  Our days in York, Ambleside, and Liverpool were free for us to do as we pleased.  Note: we saw "Winter's Bones" after our hike in Ambleside.  It's a Sundance movie so if you like independent film festival movies that make you depressed and sick with life then I recommend you see this little gem.  It's rated "15"... whatever that means.

I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors.  I usually write these posts in the early hours of the morning.

Thanks for reading.  


2 comments:

  1. Ambelside was one of my favorite parts of my study abroad too. Aren't those lakes something else? What I would do to be there with you, Rick. Love you!

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  2. I love Beatrix Potter! Oh man, this sounds like the best week ever! I would kill to go to the Beatles Museum. That is definitely on my list when I go :D

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