Haworth and the Bronte Parsonage Museum

Before I jump into Haworth, I just want to say: I ROCK. At public transport, that is. You cannot even imagine how tiny the village of Haworth is. But I got there. What's more, I took two trains and a bus to get within half a mile of my hostel. I then took two more buses and a train to get to Manchester. Basically, what I'm telling you is, if you need me to get to ANY place on this island...a city, or a village, or maybe a specific field of sheep... I am 100% confident that can do it.

NOW! A few pictures.

This is...MY HOSTEL. That's right. I stayed in an old Victorian home. The rooms were spacious and all had their own fireplace. I was pleased.
This is just a picture of the countryside surround Haworth. It was positively gorgeous!
This is the church of the Pastor Patrick Bronte, the father of the Bronte sisters. Just below is a picture of the graveyard close by. Deaths were extremely common in Haworth at this time because of very unsanitary water supply.
And at last, this is the Bronte Parsonage, now turned museum. I was not allowed to take pictures inside, but it was a fantastic experience nonetheless.

The highlight was standing in the very room where Charlotte, Anne, and Emily used to spend their evenings, writing and talking about their stories. It was the room in which Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights were written, and this thought gave me the tingles. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books; I could hardly put it down the first time I read it. I really felt connected to Jane, like we were kindred spirits. And at that moment, standing in that room, I felt like I was in the presence of Charlotte, and like I should whisper a little "thank you" for her contribution to the beauty in the world. I didn't, so as not to appear insane, but I at least thought it.

I am so blessed to be here in Britain where I can celebrate and pay homage to my favorite authors. My next pilgrimage will be in a week or so, to Winchester Cathedral to pay my respects at Jane Austen's final resting place. It seems silly, but I'm almost positive I will tear up a bit.

Anyway, I'm now in Liverpool, awaiting my parents' arrival tomorrow! I can't wait to see them, or to have some traveling companions.

Til it be morrow!

A Massive Entry about Little Scotland: Edinburgh, the Highlands, and Glasgow

I'm going to put off blogging about Haworth, the Bronte Parsonage Museum, and Adventures in British Public Transport until tomorrow. For now: SCOTLAND!

I must say, I quite enjoyed Scotland. The history (and their continuing tension with the English) is fascinating. Not to mention the scenery is beautiful, the accents are fun, and the food is only for the daring! Good thing I'm the least picky eater I know.

Let's start in Edinburgh. First of all, so you don't all sound like dolts, be sure you pronounce this correctly: Eh-din-bruh. With a short e sound, and no "berg." God help you if you said Ee-din-berg to a Scot.

I took a FANTASTIC free walking tour, provided by a company called Sandeman (the tour guide works only for tips). If you're planning on being anywhere in Europe, look up this company; they have free walking tours in many cities. It was cold and rainy the entire 3-hour tour, and I had STILL an excellent experience. Here are a few places our guide, James, showed us in the city: This is St. Gile's Cathedral. Technically it isn't a cathedral, because it lacks the one thing a building requires in order to be a cathedral: a bishop. The Scots are Presbyterian. But they liked the name Cathedral, so Cathedral it is. This is an old preserved staircase with a trip step, a popular feature in the 1600s. You can see it, 3 steps up. It was meant to catch thieves. He would trip on the step and fall to his death or at least injure himself enough that he could just be rolled out into the street the next day. Unfortunately, because the drinking water was so dirty, most people just drank beer and ale all day, because it was made using water from springs that was safe to drink. This fact caused many [drunk] people to fall victim to their own trip steps...even causing death in a few instances.
Just a cute street in Edinburgh! So you can get a feel for the architecture. This is a side of Edinburgh castle that sits on what is called a crag (the dark rock below it). Crags are made of volcanic rock. Surprise you a little? It's because where Edinburgh sits today used to be located at the equator, wayyy back when the single land mass Pangea existed on Earth. Boo-yah, science! Me, in front of Edinburgh Castle. When the Queen visits Scotland (maybe once a year for a few days), this is where she stays! I didn't go inside, but I heard it's more like a museum than a castle. This would be the famous haggis, layered on top of tatties (mashed potatoes), doused in the traditional whiskey cream sauce, and garnished with some oatcakes. To quote Wikipedia: "Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach." There ya have it folks. And it was DELICIOUS. Kind of herby.

Moving right along. My second full day in Scotland, I went on a Rabbie's tour of the Highlands, including Glencoe and Loch Ness. I planned this so I could join my friend Greer, an amazing girl I met in the IES London program, and her parents for the day! It was well-worth the money. As I have already mentioned to some people, I am definitely a city girl. But the Scottish Highlands might be the only place on this planet that could tempt me to lead a simple country lifestyle. Here are some pictures!


The body of water in the above two pictures is Loch Ness! It is the largest lake in the Highlands, running about 24 miles long and getting up to 1,000 feet deep in some areas. We learned a little about Nessie, and how they think the "monster" might be some relative of the plesiosaurus. If it exists, of course. Part of the mystery surrounding the Loch is that you simply can't SEE anything in there. The water is stained very dark from bits of mineral that come down from the land everytime it rains. You get more than a couple meters deep and it's pitch black.

Moving on now to Glasgow! This city reminded me of a mini-London in some ways. I also met up with Greer and her parents in this fashion capital of Scotland. We went to dinner at a pub called Sloan's -- and it turned out to be quiz night! So of course we partook...and lost. Miserably. Our consolation prize (?) was apparently a can of meatballs. Pretty exciting stuff, folks.

Glasgow Necropolis: City of the Dead. Aptly named, but perhaps creepier than was truly necessary.
City Chambers. Just a really cool building, and has been in a few movies as a double for the Vatican.
Museum of Modern Art. I went in and looked through all the galleries, and what can I say...it was modern art. However, note the statue outside of Wellington astride his horse. He is wearing a traffic cone on his head. Apparently this prank is so common, the traffic cone is now considered his "traditional" headwear.
An old tower where you used to pay your taxes, hundreds of years ago. You could also be chained for 24 hours to some metal loops (which are still on the tower) as your punishment for gossiping.

All in all, I think I prefer the countryside of Scotland to the cities. But I had a great time! Another update coming your way tomorrow.

Cheers!

Backpacking Begins: Oxford and York

WHOA. So much to say. Let me start with Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason. It was BEYOND delicious, and so much fun! We got gazpacho and mini quiches to start, then our tea, then finger sandwiches and scones and desserts. I felt like a proper Englishwoman. Some pictures:





The next day, I set off on my own. I must say, it gets a little lonesome at times, but I do rather like taking train rides alone. It's good time to catch up on my journaling, and also to stare out the window and get a feel for the countryside. However, the nice thing about traveling on your own in Europe is that you will always meet other backpackers who are doing the same. You are in the same boat, so you are INSTANT friends. In fact, you get so caught up talking to people about where they've been and where they're going and why, that it isn't until about 20 minutes into a conversation that you exchange first names. Everyone talks to everyone and isn't afraid of anything. I have already met some great Twenty-Four Hour Friends (as I call them) who are just as eager to try new things as I am!

The first night I stayed in Oxford. I met some German girls, Alexa and Miriam, and we spoke a mixture of German and English to each other all night! It was fun. Overall I liked the town, but I think it disappointed somewhat after the glory that was London. Unfortunately the bus tour I did wasn't very informative, so I haven't much to share with you about the pictures, but you can at least get a feel for the city:

The picture above and the one below are both of Christ Church, a famous college at the University of Oxford. The university is made up of 38 colleges. Something interesting I found out is that you don't attend a specific college for a specific study -- you can study anything at any of the colleges. Seems a little silly to have 38 of them then.

Oxford Museum

University College, at Oxford University. (Oxford is made up of 39 colleges.) This is where Bill Clinton attended for a time...also where Stephen Hawking received his first degree in Physics. Boom.

The next morning I left for York, and I must say, I quite liked this city. I made a good friend named Jennifer, from Canada, who is 25 and spent the last year teaching primary school in Cambridge. We walked around the city together, got Yorkshire pudding, and went on an excellent walking tour the next day. Some pictures and stories about York:

The following two pictures are of the York Minster. It is a gorgeous gothic cathedral that took 252 years to build; it was completed in 1472.

The above is a bunker built during WWII. But not for humans. It was built to hide and protect all the medieval stained glass in the minster.

This is a statue erected for Constantine the Great. He was a Roman ruler who was crowned in York at the same time as another was crowned Emperor in Rome. It eventually came to a war, and the night before battle Constantine had a dream. He saw clouds, and they parted to reveal the Christian cross. A voice said, "Under this symbol you will win the battle," or something like that, and he was very moved by this and had all his soldiers paint crosses on their shields and Constantine announced they would fight the battle for Christianity. This is an extremely important moment in history: without Constantine's decision, Christianity may not have taken off as a world religion. It needed the support of an extremely successful empire to flourish. His decision essentially changed the course of Europe's history.

This is the remains of an abbey built by King William II, son of William I, or William the Conqueror. William and his father committed horrible crimes against humanity when William I became king, and later in life he began to fear for his soul. He built this abbey as an act of atonement, and asked the people to pray for him for 50 years that he might make it into Heaven.
This tiny walkway in York is called the Shambles. It is extremely famous for its narrow path and the yummy tea rooms and chocolatiers that stand here. At the top, you can see how close two of the buildings get to each other -- to the point that people hanging out of the windows could reach across and shake hands.

Right now I am in Edinburgh. This hostel isn't quite as nice as the two previous ones I stayed in, but it is right across the street from the train station, so it's terribly convenient, and I've met some pretty cool Australians here. To be honest, I've pretty much ONLY met Aussies. They flock to Edinburgh. I don't know what the deal is. I've only met one other American since showing up. Anyway, this has already been a long post, so I think I'll wait until after I'm done with my time in Scotland to post about Edinburgh and Glasgow (should be around the 5th).