Wollaton Park

Today the weather was absolutely fantastic. The sun was shining, the wind was not strong at all and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. I would even say that it was warm out as well. I decided not to waste the weather, since we never know when the next time we'll get weather like this is. There is a park just a 25 minute walk from my flat that I have been told is great, so i took a walk and spent about two hours walking around and taking picture. Wollaton Park is known for the lovely Wollaton Hall, which was built during the Tudor Dynasty and has become a museum to showcase the collection that has been built up over the centuries. The Hall is filled with stuffed animals and birds, minerals, skeletons and much more. Everything is supposed to be real, done by amazing taxidermists over time who have made the skins last this long. It also has some of the remaining furniture and antiques that have been cared for by its caretakers. It has an incredible garden that i believe is home to a fountain in the summers. The entire park is also a deer park, though i did not see any deer in the places that i walked. I did however see plenty of dogs, for it is also an off leash park. There is a beautiful lake near the house as well. I should probably also mentioned that the house was used in the most recent Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, as Wayne Manor. I'm sure all you Dark Knight fans can tell that for yourselves. Here are some pictures I took:

 

 

 

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Brianna

Exploring Notts

I spent most of this weekend locked in my room trying to get some school work done (trying, being the operative word... I spent most of the time watching movies or reading other books...). I decided that since I have Mondays off, I should go exploring the town and finally see the castle. I went with Brittany, one of the American girls I found on tumblr and befriended. We found our way to the castle and took some pictures with Robin Hood, admiring the architecture. We would have actually gone in the castle, had they not been closed on Mondays. That is just going to have to be something to do later. We walked down a street next to it, taking pictures of some of the cool buildings and the wall surrounding the Castle. We found a telephone booth that we could finally take pictures with because there was no one around! Walking around the other way, we found the oldest pub in england built into the side of the Castle wall. Next time I am in the city centre and hungry, i am definitely going there for lunch! The entire city centre is basically shops, so we walked around some more before going into Primark. She had something to return and I wanted to look. Of course, i ended up buying some things. There was a poundland on our walk so we went in there and i found so much food for great prices. Stocked up on chocolate, yumm! We went into the mall to go to Boots so she could get something and i found the perfume i like to use for such a bargain price! I paid half of what I usually pay at home, which made me so happy. I really didn't want to spend any more money after that, so we walked around a bit more before catching the bus back to Raleigh Park. Brittany told me there is an ASDA around here, which is basically a Wal-Mart, so I might go there tomorrow or Wednesday to see if i can find a cheap mirror. Still doing my hair in a webcam. Today was a good break from school work and I still have time if i want to do some. I did some before I went exploring, so at least I did something productive today! Here are some pictures of my day:

 

 

New Obsession

In coming to the UK, many things changed, including what shows i could watch on Netflix. One of the shows i found was Downton Abbey, something I have been wanting to watch for ages and that every one has said was fantastic. So of course, i started watching it. In the week i have been here, i have gone through the first season and half of the second and i can now say I am obsessed. This show is like a work of art. The acting is fantastic, the setting is beautiful, and all the feels! I am now utterly invested in this show and the lives of the characters. I can't even tell you how many times I have cried watching this show and gasped in surprise and hoped for the best and hated those scheming schemers. Is this normal? Is this how every one else watches this show? I can't even deal with how this show makes me feel. Now I will leave you with some fabulous photographs while i go and watch another episode!

 

  

 

Also, the place that they film at is called Highclere Castle and I seriously want to go visit it once it opens for the spring!

 

x

Brianna

Trip to London

I went to London this weekend to attend the afforementioned TFIOSlive, so i did a lot of exploring, seeing most of the city's famous tourist spots (which are actually really close to each other, i mean, i could walk from one to the other and it didn't take me that long). As I did, I took tons of photos, though they aren't the best quality because they were either taken at night or when it was cloudy (typical London). It was chilly too, with the cold wind blowing pretty strongly. I had a really nice time though, it was cool to see things by myself and take my time looking at everything. Being in London I also got to experience the tube and found that it really is not that complicating if you know where you are going. Here are some photos from the weekend!

Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station

Big Ben

Telephone Booth

The London Eye

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace



Green Park

Green Park



Hyde Park

Where Stacey and I ate lunch - the burgers were good but really expensive!



Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

National Gallery

M&Ms World

Piccadilly Circus

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Brianna

 

TFIOSlive

On Sunday I went to Cadogan Hall in London to see John Green and his brother Hank Green live! It was a really great experience, one i never thought i would get to do. They were both really funny and it was just an incredible day overall. There were tons of people there, all of whom were so friendly. Two people baked some goodies to hand out too and i am sure there were more! As a surprise, another author that I love and who is good friends with John, Maureen Johnson, participated in the event by asking the brothers questions. That was just the cherry on top really. I got my books signed as well as my ticket and John was even kind enough to personalize the one i got as a gift for my friend even though they were not personalizing anything because of time restraints. Afterwards I was walking to some touristy things and I saw and walked past Benjamin Cook, who makes the series Becoming YouTube. I may have stared at him a bit more than is acceptable, but I couldn't even believe it. That doesn't happen in Calgary often because I'm pretty sure there are hardly any video making YouTubers there. Unfortunately he was on the phone looking for his friends, or I would have said hi. Anyways, here are some photos of the event!

 

 

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Brianna