They Say It's All Been Done Before

My time in London is slowly coming to an end.
I had just over a month left before I hop on a plane and return to Kansas.
Granted, it's a very exciting month, but it's still not much time.
Tuesday I leave for my final trip around Europe (at least for now). My schedule is as follows:
April 28: Bus to Paris
April 29-May 1: Paris
May 2: Bus to Amsterdam
May 3-6: Amsterdam
May 7: Bus to Flensburg (Germany)
May 8-10: Flensburg, Hamburg, and possibly Denmark
May 11: Bus to Stockholm
May 12-16: Stockholm
May 17: Ferry to Helsinki
May 18-20: Helsinki
May 20: Ferry to Tallinn (Estonia)
May 20-22: Tallinn
May 22: Fly back to London

I am so very excited to be going. I honestly never thought I would visit Scandinavia (I always thought that the vast amounts of snow would keep me away, but I figure that May is a good time to be there) and the fact that I get to go to Eastern Europe makes me so incredibly happy. Granted, I've been to Eastern Europe before, but it was counties like Hungary and Czech Republic that were part of the USSSR but grew rapidly once they were no longer part of it. It will be incredibly interesting to visit a country that didn't change quite that fast. Plus, it will be cheap.
Since Helsinki and Stockholm are notorious for being incredibly expensive (something London too is known for) it will be nice to visit a city where the dollar can actually go relatively far (and for the record, neither Sweden nor Finland use the Euro).

In other news, my mini trip around England was quite fun.
Manchester was a bit disappointing as it is just like any big city anywhere. The outskirts of it look just like Kansas City, which definitely messed with my head a bit.
All I really did there was wander. I went to the Museum of Science and Industry, which was okay. It bugs me when museums are so little kid oriented that they dumb everything down and make it boring for us bigger kids.
It's good for the little kids to get them interested, but I think engines are interesting too and maybe I'd like to learn something and be entertained as well.

Then it was off to Liverpool, which was a VAST improvement over Manchester. At first glance, Liverpool is sleazy and dirty and scary. Of course, I loved it immediately.
My hostel was in a big old building. It looked like a Victorian castle or something. Plus, the rooms were all brand new (the building had been totally renovated) and it was clean and the bedrooms were small and everyone was totally sweet and I had a private bathroom. I approved so hard.
It's a city that's very easy to walk around in, so I walked from my hostel to Albert Dock, where I went on a Duckmobile tour (it was cute and cheap), wandered around the stores, and went to the Beatles Experience. I got my dad a special present because he's the guy who introduced me to the Beatles and I know how much he loves him.
I went back to my hostel to rest up a bit and eat, and then went down to the Cavern Club (first club the Beatles ever played at (they played there several times as the Quarrymen, and then 300 or so times as The Beatles)). It was one pound to get in and they had a Beatles tribute band playing.
I think the coolest part, aside from the fact that I was seeing a Beatles Tribute Band at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, was that there were a bunch of people in their sixties there. I had to wonder how many of them had seen the Beatles the first time around. I figured they would be just the right age to have experienced it.

The next morning it was off to Stratford-Upon-Avon, birthplace of none other than Mr. William Shakespeare.
My hostel was a super gorgeous restored Geogian Manorhouse about a mile outside the town. It was probably the prettiest hostel I've ever stayed in, on the outside at least. The inside was just like any hostel anywhere, except the beds and floors were creekier.
The town was super cute. Very much so the kind of small english town that you see in the movies.
I found the people to be quite rude, which was upsetting and confusing. You would think people would be rude in big cities like London, and kind in small towns like Stratford-Upon-Avon, but it turned out to be the other way around. I won't really get into it, but there were a few encounters that were just unnecessary. However, not everyone was rude, some were very nice.
My first stop was Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried. There is a memorial for him in the Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey (which I saw with my mom and grandma) but his bones are buried at Holy Trinity. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was so lovely. I actually shed a tear.
I had a nice time wandering about the graveyard outside the church (Shakespeare is buried inside). It was a very old graveyard with overgrown trees and broken tombstones and such. I really really loved it (old graveyards are amazing).
I also went to Shakespeare's Birthplace. It's a big, raggedy, old house in the middle of town. The interior has been restored many, many times so honestly I thought it all just looked plasticy and fake. Plus, there were an ungodly amount of tourists (I have to wonder how many of them have actually SEEN a Shakespeare play??) which was annoying, but not unexpected. I appear to have grown to hate tourists. I suppose that's ironic, but it's still true.

Anyway, it wasn't a bad trip. I think Liverpool was my favourite part and I hope that someday I get to go back (and maybe do a tour of the rest of the UK too...)

I have my final paper due Wednesday (and then I am COMPLETELY done with my junior year) but I need to turn it in tomorrow as I won't be here when it's due and they won't accept it via email. SO I really ought to go work on that.
I have no idea when I'll update again. I'm not bringing my computer with me on my trip as it is just more unnecessary weight for me to carry. I'll be staying with Angie in Flensburg and she might let me use her computer, but I may not get around to it. I don't know.
:)