Hey folks!!
Right... This month of January has been very busy! My boyfriend and I had decided to travel around the UK while he was there, as staying in Birmingham didn't seem to be very appealing...
During the first weekend, we went to Edinburgh, and I think it was the best weekend we had! The town is beautiful (and yes, also VERY windy and VERY rainy, but, well, that's Scotland!). The old town is clearly separate from the rest, and is the most beautiful part of the town. It is dominated by the Castle of Edinburgh, which is, for some parts, very old (I can't for the life of me remember the century), and it is where the Honours of Scotland are kept: the crown, sceptre and sword. The visit was very interesting, and I learn loads about the Scottish history... We also went to a writer's museum: very small, crooked place, where we could find everything related to Walter Scott (who seems to be a hero in this town), Burns and Stevenson... I loved it, of course!
On the second weekend, we decided to rent a car to go to Oxford. It was the first time I ever drove in England, i.e on the left side of the road, and I did it in an English car, i.e on the right side of the car! The first few miles were a bit awkward, but I got used to it in the end :)
We first stopped in Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday. As you all surely know, it was Shakespeare's birthplace (he also lived there during a long time, and is buried there). As I love Shakespeare, I wanted to see the town, and we weren't disappointed at all! It is beautiful, and the people managed to keep some very old houses in an excellent state. That's one thing I love in England (there had to be one): they are respectful of their heritage, and they take care of historical buildings, and all... Anyway, Stratford-upon-Avon is out of our time, and I wish we had stayed a bit longer...
Still, Oxford, where we arrived on Saturday evening (it is barely more than an hour from Birmingham), is equally beautiful, although in a different kind of way. Here, you won't find any little crooked old house, but rather grand imposing buildings. The University of Oxford is literally all over the place, and all the colleges are grander than the next.... (nb: that wasn't correct, was it?) We went to so many places I couldn't possibly remember them all: the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library, the School of Divinity, I don't know how many colleges, and of course, Christ Church, where some scenes from Harry Potter were shot: I couldn't miss the dining hall which served as a model for Hogwarts' Great Hall!!!
That was another great weekend, and gosh, I really didn't want to go back to ol' Brum...
The next and last weekend was spent in Belfast. I must say that the city was downright weird... There is no real city centre (or we didn't find it), and it's almost as if there is still a curfew. Most pubs are closed in the evening, and the streets are just empty. I can tell you that finding a place to eat and something to do in the evening in these circumstances is quite hard........ We of course went to see the murals in both the Protestant and the Catholic sides of the town. I have to say that I found the Catholic side more welcoming and just not as creepy as the Protestant one, although I might be a bit biased :) (on the photos, when there are any guns, it's Protestant, and when there aren't any, it's Catholic, that should give you an idea). We also went to the Giant's Causeway, which I loved! I had seen photos of it when Florie had been there, and I wanted to see for myself too. Here is the legend:
"It is called the Giant's Causeway because of a legend about the quarrel between two giant's called Finn Mac Cool and Benandonner. Benandonner is said to have built a causeway from Scotland to fight with Finn Mac Cool, Finn Mac Cool pretended to be a baby in a pram and his mother told Benandonner that the baby was Finn Mac Cool's brother Finn Gal. When Benandonner saw how strong the baby was, he thought that Finn Mac Cool would be stronger than him and he ran back across the sea to Scotland, tearing up the causeway as he went."
It was very windy, and I thought several times I would just be blown away! But then, the storm meant that the sea was incredibly beautiful...
Right... Enough about that... I had a great month with Ralf, but he went back on his trip last Wednesday. He should be back in August. These next six months are going to be VERY long........
Oh, and my second school placement starts on Monday. :( ( I'll try and give you all regular news.
But the good news: I'm going to be in Rennes next weekend!!! I can't wait to see Abel again! I miss him so much..... At least, I'll get to spend two days with him!
Right.... Sorry about the length, that was a really long post, and I refrained myself from writing loads more, of course ;)
Bizzzzzzzzzz
Aline
Christ Church's Dining Hall
