Warwick and Chatsworth

This weekend I visited Warwick Castle and Chatsworth House. On this map they are close to the "Heart of England" in the Peak District, near the towns of Stratford-upon-Avon and Sheffield, respectively. I went on the trip through a company called National Holidays; it was great! The hotel we stayed at was nicer than my flat and the breakfast was the best food I've had since I've been in England...

This is Warwick Castle. It was built in 1068 by William the Conquerer. It is huge and gorgeous. Inside there is a great hall, bedrooms and sitting rooms that are furnished from centuries ago. The garden is also beautiful, but the craziest part was that there were peacocks everywhere! There are a lot of activities to do at the castle: archery, bird shows, story time, playgrounds, restaurants, and shopping.

Here is Chatsworth House, and you may recognize it from the movie Pride and Prejudice. I was so excited to see it (because Pride and Prejudice is my favorite movie!), and it was well worth it. There is scaffolding on the front of the house, but it was still wonderful. The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire live there, and it also has beautiful furnishings.

Here is a video from youtube with a slideshow from Chatsworth:

Scotland

Today I just got back from a weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was visiting a friend that I met last summer in Uganda who lives about 15 minutes outside of the city in a town called Bo'ness. Unfortunately the weather was terrible; it snowed a few inches on Saturday and rained for most the day Monday, but we managed to get a few things in during the nice weather on Sunday. We visited Queensferry, which is the bridge in the picture. It was so beautiful! Apparently the experience is much better with ice cream, so we lived it up and enjoyed the treat even though the weather was chilly.

In the center of Edinburgh there is a castle with a moat! It looked like it came straight out of a movie. Laura's hometown, Bo'ness, was my favorite part of the trip, though. The town is right up against a river with huge hills on the other side. The view is breathtaking. Scotland is a gorgeous country, so hopefully I'll make it back sometime when the weather is a little warmer.

Laura had a wedding reception to go to this weekend, and so naturally I was hoping that I would get to see some kilts and maybe hear a bagpipe, but unfortunately that was not the case. However, on my way out of town I had the great opportunity to run into a man on the corner wearing a kilt and playing a bagpipe, so I got my picture with him. Now my trip to Scotland is complete! :)

Going Green

The green movement is definitely not limited to the United States. If anything, people in Europe are more conscious of their carbon footprint than Americans. So many people ride bikes, and the cars that they drive are more fuel efficient than cars driven in America. One article from MSNBC discusses the differences in European and American vehicles:

"CSI found that the number of vehicle models sold in the United States that achieve combined gas mileage of at least 40 miles per gallon actually has dropped from five in 2005 to just two in 2007 — the Honda Civic hybrid and the Toyota Prius hybrid. Overseas, primarily in Europe, there are 113 vehicles for sale that get a combined 40 mpg, up from 86 in 2005. Combined gas mileage is the average of a vehicle’s city and highway mpg numbers. Adding insult to injury is the fact that nearly two-thirds of the 113 highly fuel-efficient models that are unavailable to American consumers are either made by U.S.-based automobile manufacturers or by foreign manufacturers with substantial U.S. sales operations, such as Nissan and Toyota." (Link for article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17344368/ns/business-autos/)

At home we have the opportunity to buy bags for our groceries to avoid using the plastic ones, which is also an option here, but some stores actually make you pay for each plastic bag that you use. This caught me off guard the first time I went grocery shopping!

Recycling is another point of difference. Outside of our back door we have three different recycling bins:one brown, one green, and one blue, and each is for a different type of material. Living here has made me much more conscious of the impact that my choices have on the environment, and it has given me a different perspective on the importance of "going green". They have made it a priority to instill a consciousness of the environment into the everyday lives of people, which will certainly produce beneficial results in the future.

Plastic bag picture: http://dailyenergy.net/2011/01/05/bio-plastic-bag-cost/

Cambridge

Last weekend I took a trip to Cambridge to see the colleges. Even though it was rainy, it was well worth the trip. There are 31 colleges that make up Cambridge University, which is the second oldest university in England after Oxford. In the picture you can see King's College, the building in the middle, which is the most prestigious out of the 31. This picture was taken from a punt ride; you are able to see most of the university from this canal that runs along the back side of the campus.

Here on the map you can see that Cambridge is quite a way south of Hull. It was about a three hour bus ride, but it was a pretty drive.

Right before we left we visited an art museum, and this was probably my favorite part of the trip. There were some beautiful paintings from almost every time period and nation. There were also Greek and Egyptian exhibits that contained sculptures and artifacts. Unfortunately the only place where pictures were permitted was the lobby.