Our Final Sans-Family Adventure

With a fresh bank account, it was time for the last true exploration prior to my parents joining us in England. We had a free week between the end of classes and our first final and we weren't about to let it go to waste.

The morning of the trip, we hopped up and headed to Oxford. No real interesting stories to tell other than we made it safely and on time...which is a feat in and of itself. Oxford was great. We started off buying postcards for 50p and paying with a 20 pound note (all we had). Somehow, we got 25.50 back in change. We noticed as we had left the store and debated returning. Condemn us if you wish, but we carried on, profit in hand. Oxford was a great town. It was beautiful and peaceful with a youthful college vibe. After exploring numerous stores, we stopped in the Gourmet Burger Kitchen...because I couldn't resist. It was well worth it.

No time to rest, though, as we hopped the next train to Windsor. After checking into our gorgeous hotel, we set off to explore the town before the sun set. Surprisingly substantial, the town expanded beyond its central castle. While the castle remained the focal point, the town was easily a favorite of ours. The streets were dead and the shops closed, but the town had that feeling. You know, the feeling that just speaks to you and says, "I'm a cool city." That feeling. And anyways, it had Nando's; what we initially thought was a delicious and unique restaurant and turned out to be a common and delicious restaurant found throughout South England.

The next day was full speed ahead as we took the early train to the edge of the country. 7 hours of train travel from central England to southwestern England, Cornwall, was draining. It probably did not help that I was sick as a dog at this point. My sore throat and fever meant the last thing I wanted to do was travel. But we had to carry on. Arriving in Penzance, we were met with miserably cold weather but beautiful scenery. The town was perched atop a hill overlooking the waterfront below. It lacked the beach-side allure of Blackpool and had a heavy nautical sea-port feel to it. It was definitely a side of England we had never seen. Unfortunately, this day was spent moping around half-heartedly looking at the views as I flew through tissues.

The following day, however, was much better. Rather than staying in the industrial town of Penzance, we took a quick train North to St. Ives. St. Ives was a beautiful place that brought back memories of Cinque Terre. While nowhere near as impressive, the town retained a nice charm as it sat idly along gorgeous blue water. Sea-side England was not lost, however, as arcades and junky tourist shops were abound. The view and scenery were undeniable as we bought some Cornish Ice Cream and watched the pelicans circle the docked boats. We relaxed and did nothing as we took in the sights and reminisced on our time so far in England. After the relaxation, though, we took to the 2-cent arcade game we love so much. We were so good, we had a crowd watching us. Pretty embarrassing. And if you're ever in Southern England, don't eat at a chain called Wimpy's.

The next day, we had a joyous 8-hour train ride to Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds region. Since computers don't pick up sarcasm, the last sentence was sarcastic. It was terrible. But the ultimate reward justified the means; the Cotswolds were gorgeous. We took a bus to our homebase of Chipping Campden and fell in love. Our late arrival meant there was nothing for us to do other than wander the city and enjoy our nice comfortable room. The city was dead and peaceful at this time of night
which provided a nice refuge from our long trip. Dinner choices were slim, however, in this tiny countryside village and our picky palettes demanded a dinner of peanut butter sandwiches and Milky Bars.

The following day started off with Steph's favorite activity: dogs! The owners of our Bed and Breakfast had 3 dogs that lazily roamed their stunning backyard: 1 small pug, 1 big black lab, and 1 skinny greyhound. The pug, Connie, loved Steph. She petted him/her (not sure) as his/her leg thumped emphatically in praise of Steph finding his/her 'spot.' I practically had to tear Steph away from the adorable pooches seeing as how we needed to start our bike ride.

We walked down Main Street to a local pub that rented bicycles. Paying 10 pounds each, we were taken out back and supplied with our gear, helmets and all. After deciding not to wear the bright orange safety vests, we hopped on the bikes and wobbled out of the alley. Having not riden a bike in years, it was rough. We had to stop every 3 minutes from exhaustion as we worked up the countless hills. On a positive, however, there were no crashes.

Our goal was to make it to the Snowshill Lavender Fields in Snowshill, a town about 8 miles away. Going to the town was unfortunately all uphill and we felt the burn. The closer and closer we got, the more we wondered when the lavender fields would jump out of of the yellow and green countryside. We wondered this as we kept getting closer. As we saw the sign for the fields, our confusion grew. As we turned into the lot for the fields, we understood. We were a few months early. Our 2 hours of uphill battles and soar butts rewarded us with 200 acres of unbloomed lavender plants...I sight much like that in Iowa. Turning to Steph, what reaction was it going to be? Anger? Desperate sadness? Crushed hopes? None of the above. We turned to each other and laughed. Only us we figured. Just our luck.

Not being ones to get down, we went into the nice little store and shopped around. Delicious minestrone soup and ice cream lifted our spirits as we rejuvenated for the imprending ride home. Yet what felt like a task coming out was a joy on the way home; for it was all downhill. This allowed us to appreciate the beauty more. For the scenery was stunning. The weather was perfect and for once, you could hear actual silence. Laying in a grassy field surrounded by yellow flowers and chirping birds, we took in the forzen moment of pure serenity. Between Steph's blowing noses, I took in the silence and debated whether you can hear silence or if silence is a lack of hearing altogether. By far one of the highlights of the trip. Riding the bikes through the countryside provided us imagery and an experience we would have otherwise never had. Who cares that there were no purple fields. We had the most fun we've had in a long time. And trust us, we have lots of fun.

Returning to the pub, we dropped off our bikes and enjoyed our favorite English past-time. Grabbing some drinks and watching the soccer game. The match had 2 teams we didn't like, but we enjoyed it nevertheless.

The next day was more of an endeavor than we planned. The plan? Catch the early bus to the train station. The problem? The schedule I had looked at ran from Mon-Sat and there were no buses on Sunday. Walking to the TI, we asked for tips. They said there was no way to get to the train station on Sundays other than taxis. This was a problem considering we had budgeted 20 pounds a day for food and such and the taxi would cost a flat 20 pounds. The old man gave us a list of numbers to try and we set off to the nearest cliche red telephone booth. Calling every number, only one could pick us up and take us. Thank God. The trip was a lot of fun as he filled us in on English history and showed us the beautiful countryside. We made it to the station on time and made it Canterbury.

Canterbury was beautiful. Our Bed and Breakfast was a treat at a steal of a price. The town was very college-friendly mixed with classical history. It had an undeniable charm that is difficult to describe...you know the kind of place that you enjoy not because of 4 star attractions and photo-op scenes, but rather from the little stores you love and snacks that couldn't be beat? This was one of those places. Every store was unique and the town had a great feel to it. While there was very little for us to do there, we didn't want to leave. But after one night, we had to. Riding back to Hull, we knew there was no more true travel until my family came; signlaling the beginning of the end of our semester abroad.