Tentative Plans...

My friends and I have been making plans to do so many different things. Francine, Gerald, and I have been talking about going to London for weeks now. I'm planning a second trip to London with Mady and Amy. Victoria and I have just talked about going to Loch Ness today. Holly and Gerald and I were talking about doing a "haunted tour" of Wales.

The problem is, I'm so bad at planning things, and I never know what to do or when to do it. If we're going to go to London, we have to buy tickets several weeks in advance to get cheap ones. But we've just talked and talked and haven't done anything. We need to get train or bus tickets, book a hotel, decide on what we're going to do there and buy tickets if we'll need them. I'm just such a go-with-the-flow kind of person that I just can't be bothered. 

But I'm also really worried that I'm going to run out of time. I've already been here almost 2 months. It's going so quickly and I'm starting to panic. I don't want to go home yet. I haven't done everything I want to do. I'm just starting to freak out, no big deal. 

An Eventful Weekend: Liverpool

Earlier in the week, I decided I needed to get out and go somewhere new. I talked to my friends and decided Liverpool would make a nice day out, as it's close enough that we could just go for the day and then be home by dinner. So it was set; we bought bus tickets for only £8 for round trip and set out  early in the morning for a day of sightseeing.

The bus ride was uneventful on the way there. I caught a short nap and woke up just as we were entering Liverpool. Then Holly, Gerald, Katia, Francine, and I walked to Albert Docks. We walked around there for quite a while, and everyone grabbed a bite to eat for lunch in a small cafe right there on the docks. I didn't; I wasn't hungry because I had eaten five doughnuts for breakfast (don't judge me, they were small doughnuts...)

Francine and Katia. It was very windy.

But anyway, the views were amazing and so were the buildings. Seb, Holly's boyfriend, told me a lovely story about the birds atop this building, the Liver Building:

The birds face away from each other, one looking out to sea, and one looking inland. The one looking toward the sea represents the wives looking out for their sailor men to come back safely, while the one looking inland represents the men looking out for their loved ones at home. Legends say that if they ever look toward each other, they would fly away together and the city would cease to exist.

Here's a close up of the Liver Bird. Obviously, I didn't
take this photo; I stole it from the wikipedia site. 

There were quite a few statues laying around:

Francine unintentionally photo-bombed Queen Victoria's statue :) 

I really liked this one, the little family. 

After walking around Albert Dock, we had a quick look around the Museums in the area. The International Slavery Museum was first. It was a very eye-opening experience. It was also really interesting. Since America and Great Britain were in the slave trade together, I also got to see my country's history through another set of eyes:

A set of Ku Klux Klan robes. These really gave me the creeps. 

Explaining racism and discrimination and how they are,
sadly, still very relevant in Great Britain and the US today. 

The Museum of Liverpool was also on the list. Liverpool, being a major port, was very heavily damaged during the World Wars, so the wars were a very prominent part of the museum. It was very heartbreaking and somber, and hit quite close to home for me because my Great Grandfather was stationed near here during the war. He met Granny Norah here and without that I wouldn't be here today.

An exhibit of World War I in Liverpool. 

Mass produced Toy Soldiers, a favorite for little boys at the time. 

After the Museums, we sat in front of the water for a while. It was a beautiful day and it was great to just sit in the sun and listen to the seagulls. I also had my first proper taste of Fish and Chips, complete with salt and vinegar. IT WAS DELICIOUS!! So good, but the fish was the size of my forearm, so I couldn't eat it all (sadly.)

The view from my bench. If you look closely at the barrier, you'll see a bunch of padlocks. 

These were put here by couples who threw the locks into the water, similar to the 

fence in Rome.Many of them are engraved with names and dates. and was so sweet to see. 

Probably my favorite part of the day was riding the Superlambananas. If you were wondering what a Superlambanana is (and we all know you were), it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a giant cross between a lamb and a banana. The original is bigger than these ones and bright banana yellow. But now they are all over the city, each one painted completely different. Why? I don't know, and I probably never will. But they were a lot of fun.

The sign told us NOT to ride the Superlambananas.
But we're all rebels and so we all did anyway. 

It was relatively difficult to get up on them. But I managed by myself.
It's easier than Riding the Tiger at Mizzou, as they are smaller. 

I loved my Lambanana. I want to buy one (a small one.)

Liverpool is best known as the birthplace of the Beatles. Sadly, we didn't do anything Beatles related, as everything was very expensive. But I plan on going back at some point to do a Beatles tour.

And here's a bonus picture, just for DeAnne :D

Nothing Exciting to Post

Sadly, I've not done anything in the past week worth mentioning. I've been very busy with schoolwork the past couple days, and I'm sorry to report that this trend will continue into this next week. I have 3 essays due these next two weeks, and as much as I would like to, I can't slack on my studies. I'm hoping to finish my essays early, and maybe plan a day trip for next weekend. I'm not sure where I want to go though; any suggestions?

I also plan on exploring more of Manchester this next week. I've not hardly been anywhere except the university. Maybe I'll make my way to the Northern Quarter, where there are supposed to me a lot of vintage shops and boutiques.

I'm very excited about my upcoming Easter break though. I'll have 3 weeks to do as I please. I'll spend one of those weeks with family. Susan and Ray said they would take me around Wales to see all the old castles. I also hope to make it up to Scotland. Francine, Katia, and I are planning a tentative trip to London at the tail end of the break. I'm very excited for London! I might be going more than once, too.

Then after Easter, it will be my birthday. I'm still very upset about having to spend my birthday away from home. This will be my first birthday that me and my best friend, DeAnne, (whose birthday is the 18th) will spend apart. Since meeting in second grade, we've always been together for our birthdays. I'm sure it will be fine though. My friends here will have no problem coming out with me to celebrate!