A Craving for Caramel Shortbread

Yeah. It sounds fabulous, I KNOW. And I've been craving it all day...

But that aside, HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! So sorry to have kept you waiting for a post this long. The group had a glorious 4 day trip to York, Alnwich, Lindesfarne, and Durham which kept me from the computer (which was incredibly refreshing, by the way) and thus I haven't had time to drop an update.

And unfortunately, I've had to write at least two papers on my journey, so I really don't have the spirits to disclose the details of the weekend adventures again. Here's the short version: York Minster (Cathedral) was completely beautiful and majestic in its incredible glory, Alnwich was eventful for all ;), Lindesfarne was quaint and serves great chicken soup (although it is also plagued with an angry horde of bees), and Durham was also splendid, complete with a 325 stair trek (haha, so "punny"...) to the top of Durham Cathedral where we could see 20 miles in all directions. Wonderful? Yes. Oh yes.

But enough about the weekend, I want to talk about the glory of everyday life here at Nottingham. No, no, I promise it's exciting. Hang in there.

Let me set the scene: I am sitting here after reading a dozen BBC Mundo Internacional articles in Spanish to, 1. Practice Spanish and, most importantly, 2. Refresh my knowledge of worldly affairs. (America is poorly undereducated on what is going on around the world, and I plan on breaking that stereotype THANK YOU.) Sara Bareilles is singing her jazzy voice out through my laptop speakers (Pandora doesn't work in the UK :(), and I am drinking my body mass in water as I type once again to you lovely people. Life is sweet :)

So here was my day, typical of many a day spent here in Nottingham:
We (Aimee, Abby, and I) finished up registration at the University (I get to register for classes Monday and Wednesday -- SO PUMPED, more on this once my schedule is completed) and headed to the city centre to grab some lunch at Brown Betty's, a hole in the wall restaurant only open for lunch Mon-Fri. The service is remarkably quick, the portions wonderfully huge, and the food absolutely sublime. We had massive club ciabatta sandwiches, which I inhaled in about 2 minutes it was SO DELICIOUS. Definitely planning on hitting up BB's frequently :)

We then embarked to Waterstone's bookstore, a glorious five story bookstore that I could easily lose myself in. We grabbed coffee and sat by the window, each blissfully submerged in our book of choice (one read a romance novel, another a suspense/thriller, and one a book titled "Feminist Theology" ... what book was mine, I wonder? ;)). We read leisurely for an hour or so before breaking our silence to delve into a lengthy theological discussion. IT WAS GLORIOUS. I am increasingly amazed at how blessed I am to be surrounded by such an exceptional group of intelligent individuals, full of passion, compassion, and unique ideas -- the very models of open-mindedness, eager to learn and listen to other opinions.

After talking for a few hours, we set off in search of food at the Hog's Head pub (the Harry Potter references are KILLING me! Love it!). The food once again was FABULOUS and finished quickly as we marveled at the confusing sport that is cricket. It's like baseball... but without running... or gloves... or any semblance of a sport...

After exploring the other end of town, which was chalk full of attractive men (ALWAYS a plus), we headed home once again, where I donned my gangsta sweats and broke it down in the church overflow (complete with wood stage, PERFECT for practicing floor work) to dance off the delicious food I had consumed.

And now you find me here, completely content with the day and eagerly anticipating many more of the kind. England is treating me so well, and I can't imagine any place I'd rather be.

Cheers!