Driving Me Mad

This Monday is a Bank Holiday here in England, meaning school is canceled and most businesses are closed. I am not sure what the bank holiday is for, but I don't really care, as it allows me to have a four day weekend.

My flat is empty at the moment: Liz is in Ireland visiting her parents and Becca, Nicole and Jenny are in Scotland, hopefully not being bitten by any rabid animals. I have had the flat to myself, which mostly means I'm not here--its creepy all alone in these little shoeboxes!

I spent Friday night at Natalie and Emily's watching Chocolat and eating tons of it. We gorged for the second night in a row (Thursday was a huge Polish dinner made by Eva and her friend who was visiting from Poland, along with tons of chocolate and ice cream. Oh, and Lambrini. Of course.) It was a lovely night.

Liverpool was our Saturday excursion. A rather large group--6 people-- journeyed out and we went on the Magical Mystery tour. We got to ride on the Magical Mystery Tour bus! It was really neat. We saw all that stuff Beatles fans see in Liverpool--their homes, their schools, places they hung out, the church where Paul and John met, things like that. We also saw Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. The tour ended at the Cavern Club. We went to the Cavern Pub across the street for a drink and then wandered around the Cavern Club. It is not the actual building they played in; in the early 80's the city of Liverpool was incredibly dumb and filled the original club in, claiming they had to run a sewer line through it. They actually ran the sewer line around the corner, and so it was pointless for them to have ruined the club. However, they actual rocks from the club had beens salvaged so the place was rebuilt basically in the same spot, and you can now go and see it and lots of live music. They still have bands playing everyday of the week.

In the Cavern Pub, they have one of the coolest Beatles things I've ever seen or heard of-- an original Yellow Submarine jukebox. It is really beautiful (I will put some pictures up on facebook, but others have better ones) and only 100 were made. Four went to the Beatles, their management and friends, one to the Cavern Club, and the rest were sold. It's so neat. The machine is loaded, of course, with all the Beatles albums, and it also contains albums from other bands that have played live at the Cavern Club.

We also went to the Tate museum in Liverpool, which was really well done and a nice relaxing way to end the day. One of the freakiest exhibits is this 7 foot tall sculpture of a young girl that is incredibly life like. In the brochure, the photograph actually looks like just that--a photograph of a real person. To turn around and realize she is actually a 7 foot tall piece of plaster is a bit startling.

After a train ride home populated by leg kickers and obnoxious screamers, plus a smoker and someone with a boom box, we made our way home to Taptonville. The night was ended with reading, recovering from the excessive sweet eating of the past three days, and a bit of Pride and Prejudice. Overall, it was a lovely English day.

In good Chicago news: I have an apartment! It's at Halsted and Armitage, so it is pretty close to campus and Oz Park... plus all of the tantalizing shops of Armitage. Everyone will have to come over for a party after I move in (probably mid-June), and again in July after one of my fantastic roommates returns from her study abroad. Now I just need a job...

This weekend is also Beerfest at the University. Yes, the University has Beerfest. For four days (Friday-Monday) there are huge beer and cider tents in the Raynor gardens and lounge and people can drink to their hearts content beer from many many local breweries. There are all sorts of different kinds of beer: ales, lagers, bitters, etc. There are only four imports, so its really an English festival--kind of a good way to get a taste of the local flavor. Ha. Oh. That was a bad pun. Anyways: Beerfest. I will probably be attending this afternoon/evening with one of those fantastic roommates I mentioned above. Steph is visiting Sheffield this weekend and she, Britni and I will have to go out, perhaps to celebrate the acquisition of the apartment!