Prague

Prague is beautiful! It is full of tourists on New Years. People have gathered from all over, and English is the common language.

This is one of Jewish cemeteries. We didn't pay to go on the tour but there was a garbage door open, and a handful of people were lined up taking turns standing on a rail and looking over the fence. It was all very diplomatic.

View of the West bank of the Vltava river.

View of the East bank of the Vltava river. This is Charles bridge. We made the mistake of crossing it to get back to Old Town, and there were so many people on foot crossing from both directions that when the two sides met it created a massive traffic jam. It took an hour to cross. Fortunately the clouds held.

Happy New Year!

A White Christmas

When I left Northumberland, Nick's parents insisted on walking me into the train station because I was anxious about my journey. I hadn't traveled alone since I arrived in England 3 months ago. I got teary eyed saying goodbye. I had to cross over a bridge to get to my platform, and when I looked back, they were still watching me go. They are probably the nicest family I have ever met.

I took the train from Newcastle to London King's Cross, where I had to take the tube to London Liverpool St. before transferring to a train to Essex to see Lois.

The view from the train was so spectacular, that I didn't even want to read the last 50 pages of Isabel Allende's Eva Luna (my favorite book of all time, re-read and reconfirmed 6 years after first reading) fearing I would miss something. I was in such a content and happy place on that train ride. I had a lunch packed, it was warm, my heart was full. The snowy hillsides were riveting. I realized then that I would experience moments in the near future that would not be as blissful as that train ride, but it all comes in turn.

View from the train

It was 11 o'clock in the afternoon, and Newcastle isn't that far north, which was why I couldn't understand why it looked like the sun was setting. There turned out to be a power plant in the distance.

Transferring at Liverpool St. was easy, and when I arrived in Braintree, I saw Lois on the platform. I love traveling by train.

Snowy park in Colchester where Lois and I went to the spa.

Chelmsford Cathedral

Beautiful bread market in Chelmsford where we did Christmas shopping and watched Avatar.

After Essex I moved into my new house, which was a little scary. It is enormous and old, and with that comes scary sounds intensified with night and imagination. But I made my beautiful new room a safe haven to spend the night. The next day I took another train to Lowestoft to spend Christmas with Will and his family and friends, which was full of adventures impossible to articulate. Hopefully I can rely on my memories. Currently my brain is writhing with them. In a good way.

Boys live here.

Newcastle upon Tyne

Nick and I took the bus into Newcastle. It is a spectacular city with an interesting mix of old and new architecture.

We went to the Laing Art Gallery, where there was an exhibition exploring the theme of dance. It centered on Edgar Degas' A Group of Dancers, which was absolutely stunning. Degas' ability to capture movement is incredible. The red, white, and greens in this painting make it so Christmassy. This painting reminds me of going to the ballet with my grandmother.

The Laing also had a lovely collection of watercolors of Newcastle from the 18th and 19th centuries.


It started to rain, so we hopped inside a pub for a pint and our lunch of leftovers.

Newcastle Brown Ale in Newcastle. The butternut squash in the lasagna brought out the sweet aftertaste of the Newcastle. Delicious!

The Tyne Bridge

Gateshead Millennium Bridge

Glassy water

The decorations were up and people were shopping for Christmas!

Barter Books

Nick took me to Barter Books in a neighboring town called Alnwick. It is one of the largest second hand book stores in Europe. They had a impressive Christmas tree and an impressive selection of books.






After a perusal and a cup of tea, we shopped for our evening meal. We made three cheese spinach, roasted butternut squash and minced turkey lasagna, with green beans and garlic bread. Complete with Chilean wine and apple crisp with yogurt for dessert. It is so nice having an oven after going without for the past three months.

Northumberland

After driving five hours from Norwich to Northumberland, Nick and I arrived at his home to a warm fire, hot meal, and Christmas tree prepped for decorating.


The entire house welcomed us with delicious smells. The kitchen smelled like meat stewing in red wine and rosemary and the front room smelled like a Christmas tree. After dinner, Nick and I got to decorating.


The next morning, Nick and I decided to do some baking. We made banana nut bread, and apple crisp with apples from the garden. Before that we had to go get eggs from the neighborhood egg lady.

View from my window of Nick's family's garden. Notice the sheep lined up on yonder hill.

This is the Felton Christmas tree. Nick lives in a small village with a pub, a paper shop, and a post office/general store.

Nick's dad told me that last winter the river reached the top of the arches.

Making a List

I move out of this room in a week. I have never lived somewhere for so short a period of time, and it is amazing how quickly it has become my home. I started thinking of all the things I am going to miss (and not miss) and what I am looking forward to when I move.


I will miss how many faces I look forward to seeing in the kitchen multiple times a day.
I will miss the conversations that take so many hours away from us.
I will miss tea and biscuit breaks.
I will miss impromptu movie nights.
I will miss living in such a close vicinity to the library, my lectures, football training, and the pub.
I will miss having more friends than time to spend with them.
I will miss how it is always warm when I come home.
I will miss the male energy.

I will not miss the obliviousness of boys, who turn and leave lights on, leave the fridge open, leave the dirty sponge on top of the clean dishes.
I will not miss the buzzing of florescent lighting.
I will not miss the crumbs in the kitchen or the trails of food, evidence of consumption.
I will not miss Mary the cleaner's voice booming early in the morning or the pungency of her prefume.
I will not miss loud voices outside my window.
I will not miss the electric hobs on the stove.

I look forward to serious girl talk.
I look forward to hosting friends in my new home.
I look forward to having an oven.
I look forward to my huge room.
I look forward to being closer to the city center.
I look forward to getting my money's worth out of my bus pass.
I look forward to the pubs.
I look forward to having a sofa.

Before I take them down.

I like the transitory nature of my situation. It enables me to appreciate more and not dwell on as much. I have so many things to look forward to in the coming months. I should finish my essays so that they get here faster.

Famous.