Retrospective: Lavenham

(First things first - I am done with my Arabic orals!! Listening was Thursday and speaking was yesterday. I'm sure both could have gone better, but I was expecting them to be pretty rough. In any case they are now behind me - the focus shifts towards the five, three-hour written exams I have ahead of me beginning a week from Monday. Yay! Until then - literally nothing - no classes, lectures, supervisions or assignments. Just library!)

As a result, I decided to recap one of my adventures from earlier this year, when Dad came to visit me around my birthday in February. A true Poseidon adventure! Dad had originally planned to come for Lent Bumps (which I rambled about here), but I told him the wrong dates (major fail, trust me, I know..) By the time I figured it out, the flights were booked and there was no changing them.

So Dad arrived the weekend before Bumps - with a full getaway planned! On Friday night he treated me to sushi, which seemed like a good idea at the time. We planned to depart earlyish on Saturday morning, but I woke up at ~4am and headed straight to the bathroom to be sick (that is British speak for vomit.. yeah..). So, maybe it was the sushi, who knows, but something wasn't right. After a second trip to the loo, and a small bowl of Jell-o, I felt better so to the train station we went!

Looovely day! (The photo from above was from the next day :) )

The train from Cambridge wasn't running because of 'engineering works,' so after a bus to Bury St Edmunds, and a bit of standing around in confusion waiting for a bus to Lavenham, a friendly bus driver finally explained we were waiting in the wrong station. In any case, we figured it out eventually. By this point I was feeling pretty horrible, and the bus motion and dreary weather weren't helping. I'm sure I was a pretty miserable travel companion.

We arrived at our destination - the tiny town of Lavenham - and made our way to our hotel, The Swan. The Swan is probably the main attraction in the village, and understandably so. The oldest part of it was built in 1400, and the character has certainly been well preserved. Unfortunately, by this point I was in major need of rest and some warmth. I crawled into bed for a short nap - curled between the radiator and a space heater wearing all the layers I had - and accidently slept until dinner time. (Sorry Dad :( )

I crawled out to visit the bar around dinner time, which was excellent. Very 'typical English pub,' with the added bonus of having been the meeting place for British and American service men stationed in Lavenham during WWII. Dad continued to try and feed me, so we got some soup (which was good, even though I didn't eat much). And that was about the extent of our activity for the first day!

On Sunday I felt much much better (for real this time), and we headed to the hotel's fabulous restaurant for breakfast. I have to admit, there isn't much I love more than a really good breakfast. Despite the iffy stomach, I managed to 'force down' quite a lot of delicious toast, tea, and eggs benedict.

After eating as much as possible, we were left with a little time to explore the town. Fortunately, it's tiny, so there wasn't too much to see. Unfortunately, this brief walk was about all I got to see after spending the entire day preceding it inside the hotel. Boo. On the upside, the weather on Sunday was gorgeous, while Saturday was cold (although I think my fever skewed things a little) and rainy - so Sunday was the better day for photos anyway!

Back in Cam I managed to capture the gorgeous view of Great Court that makes up the header of the blog! And Dad and I headed to the Eagle for dinner - probably the most famous Cambridge pub, known for (also) being a hangout for RAF pilots as well as a meeting place of Watson & Crick.

Conclusion: Lavenham is gorgeous, and the Swan is even better. Just try not to be ill while you're there..

The Grind.

Back in Cambridge after a whirlwind trip home. Although it was pretty exhausting, both mentally and physically, the unexpected joy of seeing 100% of my mom's immediate/extended family was pretty great. After the grueling study schedule I'd been keeping, an escape was both needed and welcome. The more time I spend with my family, the more I realise how awesome they are. Their presence was just what I needed.

The only issue was the state I found myself in after arriving back in Cam yesterday. Running on who knows how little sleep, the transition from being surrounded by 20+ loving relatives to being back alone in my room with nothing but impending exams to keep me company was tough. I went to bed at 8pm yesterday (English time - my body is so confused..) and feel better after a good solid sleep. For the past few weeks I've been so stressed falling asleep has been tough, even though I've been sleepy. I think it all finally caught up with me. I also had my last lectures of term, and thus, of my undergraduate career. A pretty bizarre concept really.

Now all that's left are the exams themselves! Yay. I have my Arabic listening exam tomorrow afternoon, and Arabic speaking/conversation on Friday afternoon. I'm pretty nervous, but at this point there's not much else to be done. The benefit and drawback of language learning is that cramming doesn't help much. There is always a bit of extra vocab to learn, but again you can only stuff so much in your brain.

For now I'm sitting back, doing a bit of light reading about the 'Abbasid caliphate, and planning on another early night. Tomorrow I'll do some more revision, and spend the day with BBC Arabic in the background - looking forward to 5pm tomorrow when I can take my new running shoes on a spin around Cambridge! (more on them later, but as a teaser - they're bright blue!) Tasty Kakes and tea are sustaining me, as is the thought that all of this will be over in less than three weeks. Totally doable, right?

This sounds really grim - I'm sorry! Things are not as bleak as this post makes them seem. Positive things: my parents sent me back with a suitcase full of food. And I mean literally full. American staples like Reese's Cups, Tasty Kakes, Peanut Butter Puffins, Sunflower Butter, M&M's, Love Grown Granola, Luna Bars, chocolate from the one and only Abington Pharmacy which has been a family staple for years, etc.

Plus, our trip to Philly included not only much needed family time but some delicious eats! First of all cheesesteak, of course from the classic destination, Jim's.

On Saturday we took the entire family to Ralph's - our family's traditional gathering place in South Philly. We've been coming here for as long as I can remember, but I'm not sure we've ever made it with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins at once.

We are many..

A toast, to an incredible group of relatives!

Followed by incredible eats - the classic mussels in red sauce -

I tried Chicken Sorrento for the first time, and man it was good - drenched in cheese, butter and white wine cream sauce. Om nom nom.

Some more tasty things..

And finally.. a cannoli. Apologies for the horrific photo, light was getting bad this late into the meal :)

Driving through Center City/South Philly is always fun too.

On Sunday the parents and I set out to do a little more exploring in South Philly. I was feeling pretty awful - tired and hungry, but the aforementioned cheesesteak cleared things up. Plus this guy made me smile.

We explored the old part of the city, which I loved. History nerd! :)

We visited a convenient store to stock up on the goods - Tasty Kakes! A Philadelphia staple.

I was equally excited to finally get to try the craze that seems to be everywhere in America, but no where in England - frozen yoghurt!

This was A.mazing. Cake batter, chocolate, peanut butter cup, and watermelon flavour yoghurt; chocolate chips, raspberries, mango, peanut butter chips, gummie bears, reese's cups, and more that got buried on top. So amazing.

Overall, not a bad way to spend a few days in the middle of Cambridge exam term, if I do say so..

On Royalty

Apparently there is some kind of big something happening tomorrow. Someone's getting married..?

I know the Royal Wedding has escaped no one. But everytime I think about it, something gives me pause. My strange perspective as an American in England has allowed me to see both the American and British build up to the whole thing. Basically, everyone is excited. What's strange to me is that along with this excitement is something else, which I think could be called embarrassment.

Hear me out.

While I was home for a week earlier this month, I was legitimately surprised at how coverage of Kate and Wills was literally everywhere. I knew that Americans like the royal family - I remember the reaction when Princess Diana died. But I really didn't know it was on this scale. I'm sure everyone knows what I mean - magazine covers, mentions on every news show in existence, etc..  But while everyone has noticed this proliferation of memorabilia and stalker-like coverage, no one will admit to being part of the intended target audience.

Follow me now across the Atlantic to England. I honestly think there is just as much coverage here, if not more. I don't watch the news, so I have no idea how things compare on that front, but the BBC has a designated Royal Wedding page, any shop that sells anything gifty has Union Jack merchandise displayed in the window, and this morning on the river I saw a pleasure boat cruising with a Kate and Wills flag billowing behind it. I get it. I think. It's their royal family, and they love them.

The Queen herself was in Cambridge yesterday, and there were certainly crowds here to meet her. (Note: these photos aren't mine. I had a class :( But I made sure to give my camera to a friend who was going to go and try and catch a glimpse! )

However, a lot of my friends/classmates were grumbling about how they closed the roads, it was so inconvenient, etc..

 

There she is!

(obviously not my photo)

One of the reasons I wanted to go to university in England was just because I love this country. However, my enthusiasm for the royal family/wedding is really not anything remarkable. My friends consistently make fun of me for a) taking pictures of everything and being a massive tourist and b) getting excited about little things. So, my excitement about going to the wedding has been the target of many a British joke, but what annoys me is that they won't admit their own excitement. Plus, my excitement isn't limited to the royal family - I want to experience this because it's a once in a life time chance, not because I love the monarchy.

Of course, it really doesn't matter why people show up. But both my British and American acquaintances are poking fun at the hubbub. Why? I don't know what's wrong with admitting that this is something fun and interesting. For Americans, monarchy is the stuff of fairy tales. For the Brits, it is an essential element of their identity. Either way, what's wrong with embracing it? I have long ago relinquished all dignity, and plan to fully embrace the experience.

Off now to catch a train to London, stay over with a friend who lives there, and catch a night bus to the first train of the day into Westminster - look for me on TV!