The most relaxing week yet

Me trying to be prim and proper while having tea (with giant scones!)

This week was reading week where we potentially don’t have class. I just had to go to one class Monday because it was cancelled the week before because my instructor was ill (he was so sick that he sneezed out his front tooth and still didn’t have it back in class!). Monday night my floor-mates and I decided to have a nice dance party in the kitchen and I baked cookies. Tuesday I had a nice day off, went to the Farmer’s market on campus and did some research at the library. That night I went to see the musical Blood Brothers in Brighton because Accent (WashU’s London program) bought me a ticket. The musical was great and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place by the end. Unfortunately I had a terrible headache through the whole play but finally got rid of it during my powernap on the way back on the bus. Wednesday I didn’t have class so I went to tea at the Mock Turtle, this eclectic little tea shop in Brighton, with Rachel and Afua. Then I went back to my room with the intention of writing my paper but got distracted by putting my friends’ faces on singing elves online. Then Jena and I joined Amy and her mom in Brighton for dinner which was a lot of fun. Then Jena and I decided we really did need to get work done so we had a paper writing party in her room. Me, Amy and Jena at the bus stop

Thursday morning I woke up, packed and hopped on a train to Manchester to visit my Great Aunt. The trip went well and I was picked up at the Manchester train station that afternoon by Auntie Joy and her friend, Pam. They took me on a driving tour of the city (we saw the Manchester United stadium!) and then to the big shopping center in the area, the Trafford Centre. We walked around there for a bit, saw Santa’s singing bears, and snuck in Santa’s grotto. All the places where you sit on Santa’s lap are called grottos in England. Then Auntie Joy bought me some Krispie Kreme doughnuts and Pam drove us back to Auntie Joy’s house. Auntie Joy let me sit in her special reclining chair and made me relax while she fixed us a yummy dinner of chicken and potatoes. And of course there was dessert: ice cream and strawberries! Her neighbors came over to say hi and then they took me to this really cool place called The Chill Factor, which was an indoor snow slope. It was really cool (literally and figuratively!). Then we went shopping at Asda (their Walmart) and I saw my first Costco in England and took pictures for my mom. Auntie Joy and I then called my parents that night just to say hi and then we went to bed. At the indoor snow slope

Friday morning I was cooked eggs on toast for breakfast and then we watched a little TV together until Pam came to pick us up again. She drove us into the City Centre and we walked around there and they showed me all the sights. Auntie Joy hadn’t been into Manchester for years so she didn’t recognize a lot of the modern stuff but still remembered all the places she had been when she was younger. We had tea (I had hot chocolate) at a fancy department store and then went to tour Manchester Cathedral (where my great great granddad had been married). Auntie Joy was disappointed at the inside of the cathedral and I agreed that I had seen prettier. We then went back toward Auntie Joy’s house but drove so that I could see the house where my Auntie Joy and grandma had grown up and Flixton House, the place where my grandma and grandpa met. Auntie Joy then made me eat a snack before her young neighbor, John, took me out for Chinese and to a pub for a drink. I didn’t want to worry Auntie Joy, so we didn’t stay out too late. Auntie Joy's house, with her friend the cat waiting to be let inside

Saturday Auntie Joy cooked me scrambled eggs and toast and we watched Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman together. Then Pam came over again to take my back to the train station, loaded down with even more food from Auntie Joy. I didn’t have any problems getting back to Falmer, and never went hungry! Saturday night was very low key- I unpacked and Amy and I booked a trip to Ireland for Thanksgiving weekend and then watched a movie. Overall, my trip to Manchester was one of the nicest I’ve had so far- I was very much spoiled and am thankful for having such a great Great Aunt!!

Me and Auntie Joy at the Manchester train station