Weekend in Sheffield

It's Sunday night and I am thoroughly exhausted from a very fun weekend in Sheffield visiting Anna. I left Friday via Megabus for the trek north.  The trip started off as a bit of a debacle.  I got to the bus station and realized I had bought tickets for March 26th, not February 26th.  Major blunder on my part, major hassle to fix.  I ended up taking the next bus at 3 pm which ended up coming into Sheffield 45 min late. Gah! Well eventually I made it (4.5 hours later) and met up with Anna.  We explored the mall attached to the station and then headed towards Anna's place via tram.  First impressions of Sheffield: Man there are a lot of hills! Anna is going to have very toned legs by the end of the semester! We got back and got ready to go out.  We hung out with a bunch of Anna's housemates and some boys Anna knows.  Everyone was super welcoming and friendly.  We went out to a club called Space which was a blast.  We danced to til the wee hours of the morning, ate some noodles, and called it a night.  It was so much fun. 

Saturday was devoted to spring break planning.  After much, much debate Anna and I have decided to go to Brussels for the weekend and then to the south of France for the remainder of the week.  In Brussels we will be staying with Nancy Koeppel (sp?), a family friend.  So we will have free lodging which is awesome.  I was thinking about our trip on the bus ride home today and I realized I know very very little about Belgium.  Here's what I associate with Belgium: waffles (yum), chocolate (double yum)...And that's about the extent of it. So clearly it will be an eye-opening experience.  Then we will take a train to Nice and spend the rest of the trip doing day trips from there to places like Cannes and Marseilles.  So excited for warm weather! The South of France for spring break?! I can hardly fathom that it's even an option let alone our destination.  Stoked. Very stoked.  From there I will head to Florence for part two of my European extravaganza.

We spent most of the day planning the trip, went to a pub for an early dinner, and just hung out.  We ended up going out to another bar again with Anna's housemates.  Then we came back, ate some cheesecake, and watched Benny and Joon. Bizarre but cute movie btw.  I'd never seen it.  Sunday we slept in and I headed back to the bus for the trip home.

Some thoughts on Sheffield: It's a great college town.  I can totally see Anna having a blast there.  It's very grey.  Clouds all weekend, thereby making London seem colorful by comparison.  I have become so accustomed to everything being so nearby.  In London, the far grocery store is a 15 min walk.  In Sheffield that is the closest option and you have to walk up a massive hill. So I'm definitely learning to appreciate how close everything is.

I've only got three weeks left in London. It's time to make them count.  I'm planning on heading to Oxford this weekend and doing a bit of exploring. I still haven't seen Buckingham Palace! It's a travesty! I have a list of things to accomplish/see between now and "the end" so I will be kept plenty busy.  This upcoming week looks a bit daunting.  Lots of class and lots of papers due. Ick. I'm starting to dislike the homework part of studying abroad? Can't I just explore and have fun all the time? No? Bummer.

Bummer about USA loss to Canada. I was skyping mom when it went down.  I think I heard Jamie screaming at the tv from upstairs! Home does not seem so far away with skype.  Gotta love technology.

Tired. Really Tired.  Goodnight loves.