Day 3: I do pay attention in class!

Today was a very low key day and by low key I mean I speant most of the day on a train and then went to my hotel early because I had to register for classes for the fall. But I did figure out 2 things. 1) I can graduate Fall 2012 and 2) what i want to be when i grow up. I just feel so accomplished and really excited to know where I am headed in life. Anyway for my adventure today I went to Durham. O yes it is famous for. . . well being a historical city in England. much like every other place I go. I chose to go to Durham because that is where Bede's grave is and also ( I did not know this before I was there) where St Cuthbert's tomb is. For those who are going who? Bede was a monk back in the good old days of 7th century. He is known as the father of English History because he wrote the first known history of England. I read (or was suppossed to read) his works in My Medieval England Class last year and thought it would be worth it to make the journey to see his tomb.
As for Cuthbert, not actually sure it was his tomb that I saw. It is beleived that his final burial place is only know by 12 monks to keep it protected. It seems that Cuthbert struggled more after death than when he was alive. 11 years after his death his tomb was opened and it was discovered that his body had been perfectly perserved) when the danes invade his body was taken and monks wandered with it for 7 years before putting it to rest again in st cuthberts church. But then once again it was moved to Ripon and then one last time to Durham because it was believed that is where he wanted his final resting place to be. You would think that would be the end of it but nope during the dissolution of the monastaries his tomb was hacked to pieces but luckily all his relics were saved. basically he is one of the most important medieval saints and is now the patron saint of Northern england.

Well that is it for my history lesson today. :) I am now in Newcastle-upon-tyne and because I am an idiot my hotel is actually no where close to the actually city so I did not get to see much of it today. To be honest though the only reason I am here is to go see Hadrian's wall which is tomorrows adventure. Hopefully that plan goes accordingly.

Day 2: Im going to Marry a lighthouse keeper

I spent today in Scarborough. Everytime I told someone that I was going to Scarborough thier responses were along the lines of "why are you going there. what is in Scarborough" My response "a light house" which is actually 60% of the reason I went. I have a soft spot for lighthouses for some reason and have never actually seen one. So it was mandatory to visit. The other reason I wanted to go to Scarborough is because I read a book last year (it was terrible. I actually ended up hating it) that was based on the song Scarborough Fair. I was reading this book when I found out I was going to be studying in England so i thought it mandatory to go to Scarborough. I started the day off with a lovely walk along the beach. O it was gorgeous. I then made my way up to the castle via the 199 steps. (jess would be jealous she loves her steps) To be honest, I love the history behind the castle and seeing it was pretty cool but it is getting to the point that when you see one ruined castle you have seen them all. Cuz that is what they are. . ruins. O do not get me wrong I will continue to go but the epicness of it all is simmering down. Intact castles I am chill with going to. Although the view was amazing. After the castle I went and played in a grave yard to try and find Anne Bronte's grave. Yet again it was a wild goose chase so I gave up and went to find the town center, because it is mandatory to go to every single town center of ever single town I visit. Even though it is just a square with shops everywhere. I did buy a lighthouse though which I am pretty excited about. the last place I wanted to visit was the south cliff gardens but I had some difficulty finding them so in the end I ended up walking along the beach yet again for a couple hours, chilling on a wall for an hour or two that over looked the ocean and then headed in for the day. Personally I thought it was a good day.

#103

#103 Buy Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Tyme in Scarborough.


BAM! Mostly for my own amusement. No real story behind this one just went in to Tesco bought them and walked back out. But i feel so accomplished. for those who are confused press the play button.

Day 1: It seems I have gone the wrong way.

well today turned out nothing like it was supposssed. First day of my adventure up north and it was a total and epic FAIL but an amusing fail. I think my mistake was going to bed at 3 because I was up passing notes with Jess and watching Vampire Diaries but I made it to Chesterfield without anything bad happening. and I did get really excited when I walked out of the rail station and saw the Church.

This steeple is famous. It has many myths that focus on it and I read about it in one of my many England books not thinking I was every going to actually go and see it. To be honest I totally forgot about it until I saw it today.


THE MYTHS:
SHOD DEVIL: The story asserts that a magician persuaded a local blacksmith to shoe the Devil. The man was so nervous that he drove a nail into the Devil's foot. The Devil flew off howling and, as he was passing the church, felt a twinge of real agony. He lashed out savagely with his foot which caught the Spire and twisted it, leaving also a footprint on one of the buttresses.

VIRGIN: A story of Chaucerian flavour. The spire was so amazed to hear of a virgin being married in the church that it developed its intricate twist in an attempt to see such a wonder with its own eyes. In a slightly amended version the Spire owes its twist to its admiration of a virtuous maiden of such beauty entering the church that the spire bowed in admiration, and could not resume its normal position.

INCENSED DEVIL: Some attribute the deflection to His Satanic Majesty. The legend goes that Lucifer, after a long day's journey, alighted for a moment on the apex of the Spire. It so happened that midnight mass was being celebrated and that the abundant incense from below so irritated his unholy nostrils that he gave a violent sneeze. He managed to keep his hold with his claws and tail around the Spire; next morning, however, the damage was there for all to see.

THE REALITY!!!
It is important to distinguish two elements in the spire’s ‘crookedness’ : The inclination and the twist. It is unfortunate that most people use the word ‘crooked’ unhelpfully, combining the above two features.

The inclination (lean) is due to a number of factors: the use of unseasoned (green) timber, the absence of skilled craftsmen (Black Death) and the neglect of cross-bracing.

The spiral twist is considered to be by design

My reason for going to Chesterfield was to make the journey to Chatsworth house- O I made the journey alright, the long painful uphill in the wrong direction 3 miles and no sidewalk journey. I went to the info center to find out how to get there from the city center the lady said and I quote "Take bus 170 to Baslow and then it is a 20 minute flat walk to the estate." LIES blates!!! So I get to Baslow no signs anywhere telling me which direction I should go so I took a random guess, luckily I was right. . .for now (side note The British System for marking streets is horrible. It seems it is not possible for them to mark every street so you just have to randomly guess where you are. sooo helpful.) Was walking for atleast 10 minutes before I saw a sign telling me that I was going the right way and then 5 minutes later the sidewalk was gone. O yes I was playing in traffic- it was quite enjoyable. Then I came to a cross roads the sign said go up the hill to get to Chatsworth. so I did. . . the sign lied. Walked up this beautiful hill for like half an hour dodging cars, singing to myself cuz my ipod died. You would think I would be upset by being sent on a wild goose chase but to be honest I was very amused. Laughing the entire way at one point there were tears in my eyes. I loved it. A wonderful stroll in the English country side on a gorgeous day. I even found a cute little village on the top of the hill. This is the kind of place I want to live in once I graduate.




So then I see a sign saying 'Chatsworth House 1 1/2 miles" I had come this far I might as well go find the stupid house. Started following the signs. . . once again no sidewalk (chrissy will be mad I played in Traffic without her)Im not exactly sure the distance was measured correctly cuz I kept seeing signs saying 'Chatsworth House 1 1/2 mile" I know I wasnt walking in circles. by this point I had been wandering around for 1 1/2 hours and had 2 hours until my train left. I finally made it to the blasted house and went to the gift shop. My dad will be so proud of me. :) Got some freaking postcards and headed back to the bus stop. Didnt even get to go in the house or the Gardens. It looked pretty from the outside though.
Caught the Train to Scarborough, may have made friends with the guy I sat next to. It was the blond hair and blue eyes. . .not my fault. I am now in Scarborough 5 minutes from the beach- exhausted but not tired. Wierd I know. I wouldnt never say this was a waste of a day at all. I thought it was brilliant!!! These things would only always happen to me. Enjoy some pictures of the place I was suppossed to go but didnt. pretty!!!

The pressure got to us

which is why Chrissy, Jess and I wandered around lindsay for a good 30 minutes collecting dirt. It was actually pretty funny and we enjoyed every minute of it but we have no idea why we did it. Yes, life had been pretty stressful the last 2 1/2 weeks probably why we hung out in chrissy's room from midnight until 5 am most nights but great stories have come from it. but alas what happen's in chrissy's room stays in chrissy's room.




we also had a tragedy happen to us. my poor cactus died a sad sad death. It seems cacti do in fact need water and sunlight to survive- I neglected both of those. but my mom was nice enough to send me some cactus seeds so now we have a new cactus growin. we named him giuseppe. :)