Crimes of the Seven Legged

Needless to say Monday was a very good night...but it all started with MonDAY. I always love my Mondays because I don't have class, so this Monday, Charlotte, Kaitlin, and I took a trip into town to plan a weekend in Paris and drink tea. After town was dinner and after dinner the girls in my block and I immediately started getting ready for the Seven Legged. For the girls of Block 4, getting ready meant putting on our prisoner costumes ("fancy dress" according to the British). And for those of you who don't quite understand the concept of the 7 Legged, it is a bar crawl that is completed with teams of 7 or more people--we had 8. Generally six of the seven people tie their legs together and go from bar to bar--making 7 legs and then there is one person who is a runner, meaning the drink-go-getter. I started as the runner, but then we progressed to being a 9 legged team, with all of us connected by our shoe laces. It was quite an experience, but the 9 legs didn't last too long, because, needless to say, it is a bit of a challenge.

Me, Sarah, and Ella in the taxi on the way to the bars

Our first attempt at tying everyone together -- we used duck tape
but it turns out it ripped and ran out very easily, so the next idea
was using our shoelaces

The "7 Legged" Team - Emilia, Holly, Ellie, Liv, Sarah, Ella, Lucy,
and me (in the front) 

All tied together

And then we tried to untie all of the shoelaces...

Look who I found! Charlotte and I were so excited to
finally run into each other

Bar crawling

We finally got to our final destination - Gatecrasher 

Then there was the trip to McDonald's

It had been quite a long night... but it was so much fun

Tuesday was a laid back day (after a late night). I spent my day going to classes and working on an essay, my plan is to have it finished by the end of the week, but we'll see how well my will-power holds up.

Wednesday has been quite a dreary day so far, but since I've just finished lunch and yet another blog post it is now time to give in and do some work. Happy Wednesday!

Home Sweet Nottingham

This week was quite a laid back week. I returned from Edinburgh on Monday evening, my classes were Tuesday through Friday, spent Friday night at a club called Ocean, and spent Saturday night watching movies and relaxing. I've been enjoying my time in Nottingham and it has gotten to the point where it feels like home. I feel comfortable in my hall and I love all the people I live with. I no longer feel as if I am living in a foreign country, I hear accents less, and I understand so much more. 

So here are some pictures from my week....

Will and I went on a quick grocery shopping trip to the Student Union
Shop and he couldn't resist trying on the hats

Walking past Quidditch practice at the University of Nottingham

Liv eating her "beefburger" with her knife and fork...so english

Friday Night @ Ocean

Just being silly after getting ready 

The boys of block 4 (and me)

Liv and Sarah

Hanging out at The Mix before heading out

The girls
(Ellie, Emilia, Hannah, Ella, me, Char, Liv, Sarah, and two of Char's friends)

Liv, Emilia, Ellie, and me at Ocean

The girls 

This was a short post, it hasn't been a very eventful week. Soon you'll be hearing about our adventures on the 7 legged bar crawl. 

Scottish Travels: Our Trip to Edinburgh

There has been quite a bit that has happened since my last blog post. I had a fun night out at an International Party towards the end of the week, and then my weekend and Monday were spent in Edinburgh with Charlotte and Kaitlin.

International Party @ Coco Tang

Anca, me and Katelyn in the room covered in twinkly lights
(obviously not the best lighting for pictures)

Anca (from Canada) and Katelyn (from Georgia)

Me and Anca enjoying drinks in the "secret room"

The Weekend in Edinburgh

Charlotte, Kaitlin, and I started our weekend trip on Saturday morning, which meant waking up early and heading to the train station.

Making our way to Edinburgh

Charlotte making friends on the way to the station

The Nottingham train station (when I saw it I was so excited
for our trip to begin!!!)

Our mug shots also known as our Student Railcards

Breakfast on the go

From Nottingham the train took us to Newark. We had plenty of time between our two trains, but we found out this was because we had to treck across the town of Newark to get to the North Station. We were still able to make it to the North Station in plenty of time to grab tea, real breakfast, and a snack for later in the trip.

Our stop in Newark came with many pretty views 

Newark

Waiting for the train from Newark to Edinburgh

On the train I was fortunate to sit next to the nicest man who chatted with me for quite a while. He was a mechanical engineer who worked with wind turbines, so we talked about his job, my trip, television (American vs. British), and a lot of other things. When he hopped off the train Charlotte told me I "could talk to a brick." After my new friend left, Kaitlin claimed the seat next to me and we spent the remainder of the trip listening to music and taking pictures of everything we passed. 

Views from the Train

Water!!! It looks so cold

And we finally arrived!! -- Edinburgh Day #1

It had been a long day for Charlotte...

On our walk through the Old Town of Edinburgh we came upon a sword swallower... 

For dinner our first night we had a traditional curry dinner and then headed back to our home for the weekend for lots of talking and lots of sleeping.

Our home for the weekend...

(https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/569944)

So touristy -- Edinburgh Day #2

Our day started with a lovely breakfast, then we headed over to Starbucks to get wifi and plan our day. The day consisted of....

The Edinburgh Dungeon - also known as "the scariest day out"

Pictures with a William Wallace impersonator - his name was Andrew, he was a drama teacher, he was raising money for children with leukemia, and he was such a nice man

Going to the Edinburgh Castle and taking so many pictures - the views were beautiful

Walking up and down the Royal Mile so so many times

Buying postcards - the one thing that I am allowing myself as souvenirs 

Venturing through Mary King's Close - it is a part of Edinburgh that used to be streets that saw the sun and are now underground

The Scotch Whisky Experience

Dinner at the Royal Mile Pub for Bangers and Mash - it was such good food and the waiters were so nice (I left my scarf and when I returned to collect it, they saw me walking in and retrieved it right away!)

A stop at Cafe Piccante to grab a Deep Fried Mars Bar - it was one of the last boxes on Charlotte's Edinburgh checklist

The Edinburgh Waverly Station and a beautiful view of Edinburgh

Charlotte looking so fashion forward
with her ear-warmer

The queue at the Edinburgh Dungeon
("Wait Here. Await thy doom.")

Charlotte with her "fizzy lemonade" -- it turned out to be Sprite 

Scottish pounds 

Obviously you find bagpipe players in Scotland

View from the Edinburgh Castle

The Edinburgh Castle (and all the tourists)

A very fashionable Charlotte

Grabbing a few drinks before the Scotch Whisky Experience

Gaelic Coffee 

Picking which whisky we wanted to try

Just a glimpse at the largest whisky collection in the world

The Lowland Whisky we sampled

Look at Charlotte examining "the body of the whisky"

We were very unsure of trying the Haggis Balls

But it turns out Haggis Balls are quite yummy!

And then my meal of Bangers and Mash

Kaitlin and the Deep Fried Mars Bars

The night ended with deep fried Mars Bars

Goodbye to Edinburgh -- Edinburgh Day #3

The last day in Edinburgh Charlotte, Kaitlin and I got breakfast scones and headed toward the train station. The rest of the day consisted of riding on the trains and then returning to Nottingham for dinner with all of my good friends from Block 4.