Wanderlust, but Tea at 4

8 Dec 2011 When the antibiotics are not lovely..

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:50:55 -0500

8 Dec 2011

When the antibiotics are not lovely..

Salford, Manchester- St Philips’s This was the best...

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 07:33:22 -0500

Salford, Manchester- St Philips’s

This was the best concert I have seen since my arrival in Manchester.

I still cannot believe I only have 2 weeks left…

Dinner over the past week! (All home/flat made.) 27 Nov - 4 Dec...

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:40:00 -0500

Erin & Dan! Breakfast for dinner!

Family Style!

Spinach Nuggets, omnom.

Tortilla Pizza!

Dinner over the past week!

(All home/flat made.)

27 Nov - 4 Dec 2011

Things I Can Now Cook

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:20:00 -0500

Greens & Mac

Quesadillas

Crepes

Spinach and Sausage Pasta

Clafouti

(above- Clafouti)

Middle of the Bed- Lucy Rose I talk to myself at nightBetter...

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:00:31 -0500

Middle of the Bed- Lucy Rose

I talk to myself at night
Better still when the lights are turned out
I talk inside my head
Better if nobody knows what I said

I’m over it, I’m over you
All over the town
They say I love you, yeah
They says I always will

Tonight, we feast! (aka Erin and I have another splendid dinner...

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:57:58 -0500

Tonight, we feast! (aka Erin and I have another splendid dinner date night. Last night I cooked Spinach and Sausage Pasta.)

Pasta with meat sauce, broccoli, garlic bread, and parmesan cheese we grated. Simple but delicious.

Chatsworth, Deryshire, England Our Valiant attempt at petting...

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:27:36 -0500

Chatsworth, Deryshire, England

Our Valiant attempt at petting sheep.

Good Morning.

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:36:38 -0500

Eating the last scone from the Chatsworth Christmas Market while drinking a cappuccino after gyming it. omnom.

Pancake Night

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 05:52:00 -0500

20 Nov 2011

Last night was pancake night at Flat 26! Erin and I were cordially invited to join some of our friends for a night of pancakes in their flat. What we did not realize is what pancakes were. Pancakes in the UK are what I think of as crepes.

You have pancakes:

and you have pancakes:

The English like to put sugar, syrup, jam, and occasionally some fruit on these delicious pancakes. We supplied some fruit and this very thick syrup. We probably could have found maple syrup in the world section of Asda.. but alas, we has forgotten to go earlier that day. (aka Maple syrup is not very common) Nevertheless, they were amazing and I can now say I cooked my first crepe. Jay’s half of the batch were arguably much more eatable than mine…

I think we are going to host a breakfast for dinner pot luck so we can make some U.S. pancakes to share with our Manchurian mates. Something else our Portugese friend Ricardo probably has never tried. It would be a beautiful night.

Our Flapjacks:

Flapjacks of the UK:

“A sweet bar made from oats and golden syrup in British cuisine.” (Wiki)

These are also good and absurdly filling/heavy. But for 99p how can you go wrong!

(The boys mixing up some batter. U.S.ers, Englanders, Portuguese, and Northern Irish come together! woo)

"There are few sensations so exquisite in life as to stand with a companion in a foreign land and..."

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:23:35 -0500

“There are few sensations so exquisite in life as to stand with a companion in a foreign land and inhale to the depths of your consciousness the alien savour of the air and the tonic picturesque of things. This common relish of local colour makes comrades of strangers.”

- A Passionate Pilgrim, Henry James

Manchester Christmas Market

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:00:12 -0500

Manchester Christmas Market:

I cannot wait for this!

WILCO @ Manchester Academy 25 Oct 2011 (At the show the night...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:58:00 -0500

WILCO @ Manchester Academy

25 Oct 2011

(At the show the night before someone moshed and broke another person’s nose to this song.)

Ah yes, London, the Bloomsbury Festival, and some of my best...

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:10:00 -0500

Ah yes, London, the Bloomsbury Festival, and some of my best friends… feels like only weeks ago…

Sunday, November 13th

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:37:38 -0500

Tonight will be a family dinner night of sorts. Since I’ve been here I cannot say that I have truly cooked an intense meal. I’m not one to make a pizza every night but I am a fan of good sandwiches, humus, sautéed vegetables, pasta, soup, and cereal. All of these things can be made easily. However tonight I am trying out a dish called Mac and Greens and I am making it it not just for Erin but for some of the lovely Colgatians and one of our Manchester friends. “WE COOK FAMILY STYLE,” Dan types to me over facebook. So at 6:50pm, I put down what I have so far of my Calvino/James essay after returning from another day at the library, and head upstairs to the kitchen. And we begin! I had picked up a few things per Dan’s request this morning at good ‘ole Lidl and we were ready to make the meal. It was so much fun. We chatted, we cooked, and I appeared to know what I was doing. I can cook a mean bowl of pasta but this was my first time dabbling with buyjon cubes and making any sort of real sauce (while mozzarella, tomato, olive oil, and basil is delicious, it is not that hard to prepare.) I measure and I made that cheese to add to the pasta. I tossed in the spinach and peas while the pasta cooked. After an hour, I had cooked enough for the lot of us. Most importantly, this was the first time I had cooked for Erin. She was happy and I was happy that she went for seconds and thirds. Mission accomplished. Dan, Erin, Pearce, Breanna, Paul, and I talked and laughed and ate a tart. Of course afterwards, Dan, Pearce, Paul, and I headed off to watch an episode of Breaking Bad to feed out addiction.

We had a night of pot luck. I think this may be an American ‘thing,’ I will do some research to confirm. Paul, our lovely Irish buddy, had not really done anything like this before. But we all enjoyed ourselves and ate food. Nothing brings family together like Pasta and Breadsticks at the Olive Garden… The Olive Garden has the right idea. Seldom things can bring a group of friends closer than sharing a meal. Particularly one you spent time on. This is something that crossed across cultural lines, I would have to say.

And I am Laura now, and Laura still, And you did always say...

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:27:00 -0500

And I am Laura now, and Laura still,

And you did always say that one day I would suffer.
You did always say that people get their pay.
You did always say that I was going places,
And that you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Manchester United vs. Basel!

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:23:54 -0500

Manchester United vs. Basel!

Thursday, November 10th

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:19:00 -0500

To adventure or not to adventure.. Erin could not make our adventure day today so I decided to do a little on my own, I took a bus to Piccadilly and walked past the center to explore. I started with Affleck’s on Tib Street. On the top floor many of the shop keepers make their own clothing. It was amazing. Some of the clothing up there was amazing. There were even a few people on their sewing machines as I walked around. Manchester artists at work.

Not too long after I discovered Retro Rehab. The store take vintage garments and refurbishes them. I was in heaven. It was amazing to see shops that were so original. Each venue presented a person opening a shop and making their dream a reality. As it turns out, I had discovered the vintage street of Manchester. Oldham St.. my love and my nightmare. After peeking into almost every store on the street, I remembered how amazing it was to be in the city, to be able to discover so many new things on a whim. Each city had their artists, their entrepreneurs, their quirky alleys, and of their locals. I just happened to stumble upon one street of it.

That night, a few of us went to see the Manchester Christmas Lighting in Albert Square. The square was far more packed than expected it to be. It was warm out and Erin and I may have whimpered a bit about missing our New York snow. However, it was lovely not to be wet or cold so no complaints! We reached the square as soon as the Radio DJs were coming to open the festivities on stage. I have to say that one of the highlights of the night was Manchester’s Lord Mayor entering the stage.. well dressed as a Lord Mayor I suppose. I wonder how often he dresses this way.

Tynchy, a London based rapper was the last performer. Apparently, he had a big hit two years ago. Whenever we have a question we’ll look to our Manchester friend for an answer. Most of the time they can enlighten on the UK knowledge was have yet to gain. “Why does this always happen to me?!,” Erin exclaimed as the song cut out waiting for the crowd to fill in. We didn’t know this pop hit unfortnunatley.. Alas,.. earwax. I bopped around despite that and when he finished his song, produced by Calvin Harris, it was time for the lights. Earlier on Tyler and I searched for the tree that would be lit. In fact, it would be the parts throughout Albert Square that would light up at the lever was pushed. Seconds after, a fireworks display started above. It was amazing to be in the midst of it. The crowd cheered. Lady Gaga and Adele tunes were blasted and we left satisfied with firework ashes in our hair.

Thanks for sharing Manchester.

Cheers.

Monday October 17th

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:17:57 -0500

Another full day of film. The Art of Film that is. This class has to be one of my favorites. Our small seminar class is extremely engaged and I am participating with the rest of the lot. One of the students took a German Expressionism class. Much of what he notes relates back to it. I know a bit about German Expressionism in regards to film but most of it is what I know in contrast to Russian film at the time. I would like to expand my knowledge on that..

Our film for the day was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I knew I recognized the main actor’s name but couldn’t recall from where. James Stewart, from it’s a wonderful life played Jefferson Smith! I can’t believe I have not seen more films with him in it. I must catch up. What was interesting especially was how much of an American film this was. It was based around the system of American government, patriotism, and overcoming corruption. I wonder what the British students thought when they saw this film. Did our system of government look absurd? Were they curious? Did they chortle and thank the lord that the British parliamentary system was the government of England? I should have asked James when we were walking back together. What he did tell me though is that he saw Space Ranger graffiti in Manchester. I was admittedly a bit excited and have made note that I have to find it. It made me that more excited for London this weekend and the Banksy Hunt I hope to have.

The group tried to do some planning tonight as well. Luckily, I had an awesome friend, who happens to be from Ireland, to help. Storytime: Story of the Giant’s Causeway. It made me want to visit there just that much more. It some so much more intriguing coming from him then from the website. I can’t help it, I love a good story.

Back to reading the Buccaneers by Edith Wharton I go..

Cheers!

Saturday October 15th & 16th

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:17:18 -0500

Today was our study group’s adventure to York. I made it on time and was ready to go after a lovely evening out. It seems that every time I walk into a new city, I now try to compare it to somewhere else I’ve been. As we were walking through York, I thought.. Venice. I saw Venice in the narrow cobble stone streets and the old building. It was an initial reaction, of course. However, these cities both have that old close-knit town feel. And this association was one that was lovely. It seems like it was such a long time ago that I was finding my way around Italy with Anneleise. York, minus the canals, seemed for a moment like the Venice I knew in a few days.

But back to York.. We hopped off the train ready to explore the city. We hopped on the site seeing bus and as per usual, I headed up the double-decker stairs. Why sit on the bottom when you can sit on the top of a double-decker! This one was a bit different. The back of the top was open and immediately most of us headed back there. It was a bit cold, but not too bad at all. We drove by several attractions and saw the West Minister Abbey… in the distance. I think one of the best parts of the sightseeing tour was getting to bond with Jonah. He is such a character. A bundle of energy, as many four year old boys, but boy does he have a lot to say. I forgot how we started talking about food but somehow we started talking about hummus and then a bunch of different foods. He’s so intelligent. I remember when we were at Prof Rood’s house and he mentioned something about pummous soap. When we were at lunch he was so eager to practice his letters. We went around spelling people’s names. Then I made him some cups aha. I tried to teach him how to but he seemed more satisfied with coloring them and that was absolutely fine with me.

But before lunch we did a few things. We went to the Viking Museum. Oh yes, there was a ride inside. We got to travel through the Vikings’ village and smell it as well. Interesting stuff. We then headed off to a lecture. In York, there is currently an archaeological dig in Hunsgate. The lecture revolved around how they came to choose this location in addition to what they have discovered thus far. Unfortunately, this lecturer was not what many of us had hoped for. It happens. He spoke loud enough for the front row. Though the lecture could have been intriguing, it was not presented as one that was. At lunch, Jonah and I did some spelling and I entertained him with my origami cups. Cups was of course the wrong word to use because I soon as words slipped out of my mouth he reached for the jug of water at the table. Haha. The cup then became a waste basket.

We then walked through York bit more and reached the cathedral. The cathredal had gone through so mnay transisitons. From being built by the … then added on by the Normans. As we toured the underground area of the church, we were actually able to see the changes that this building had gone through. It was interesting to note that this was something that we weren’t likely to see in the U.S. Buidlings in the U.S. have a history of course, I am not trying to say otherwise, but not like this. This church had been standing since… and had gone through so many various conquerers who made this church their own. York was just beautiful in general. Some of the timber buildings were collapsing in the middle a bit because of their age.

New… York. I thought I saw New York so many times while we were walking around. I saw only half of a bus and when it passed by I crosses my fingers hoping there would be a new in front. Unfortunately, I did not see a ‘new’ anywhere. It was a lovely reminder though. It’s like enjoying half of my state.

That night we had dined at an Italian restaurant and celebrated Asher’s birthday! We did so one more time at the hotel. “I enjoyed hanging out with the students today,” he told us. Overall, it was a long and amazing day. It’s hard to believe how close to Manchester we were and yet how different and historic this town was in its own right. It’s not the same as living two hours outside New York City, as I do. Just a but different.

I think one of the best parts of the day was getting back to the room and just chilling with Erin. There are seldom things better. The next morning we walked around York for a bit before heading back to the train. The town was sleepy. Shops were just beginning to open and the merchants at the Sunday market were still setting up their goods. Items ranged from an array of hats and mittens to KISS and metal memorabilia. We stopped in a few places that were open and watched a marching band playing in the street.

We’re back in Whitworth and now I must put my nose into my Planet Earth textbook. It was a lovely weekend.

Cheers.

I've been awful

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:15:19 -0500

at posting. From now on when I have a post, I’ll just throw it up. My journal is chock full of little stories but I don’t put them up because I keep thinking I’ll go back in fill in the entries I’ve missed..

Alas.. earwax.

Here are some posts!