Sooo I left you on Monday the day before I went to Yarm. Yarm was amazing, very bittersweet. Stayed with our old friends the Harrisons and being in their house was like a time capsule it was amazing! I remembered so much of it, the art on the walls, where things were in the kitchen, the garden etc. It was a very strange feeling because we knew a huge number of people over the ten years, yet very few people knew I was back. I just felt so incognito if you know what I mean. I looked like a tourist, and I was essentially, yet I have so much history there and know a lot about the place still.
I visited our old house and the new owners very kindly invited me in and let me have a cup of tea and a tour... the basic layout is the same but they changed all the GORGEOUS flowery and stripey wallpaper, huge loss! haha :) As I walked into each room, I had vivid flashbacks of how it used to look and particular occasions like birthday parties and christmas dinners in the rooms. Very strange...
I also got to see 5 old friends, who were really my absolute best friends in elementary school: Sammie, Emer, Vicky, Rach, and Bizzy. It was cool because none of them are incredibly close anymore yet they all go to same school still (have their whole lives) so there's a pretty deep bond and it was really nice being all back together again. And characteristics of us then remain to this day which was BIZARRE. The loud one was still loud, the stylish one was still stilish, the rebellious one was still a rebel, the quiet one was still quiet. It was so interesting!!
Apart from those two key visits I just wandered around really which sounds boring but it was comforting being back and seeing the old shops I used to go into and the new ones that I've never seen before, and walking past houses where we used to know people. You can't help but imagine what life would have been like if we'd stayed there... I would have one more year of school then be going off to an English university and would, most likely, have different friends and some sort of job. We can never really know for sure what was better or worse, but after going back I'm very happy that I got to see other places, live other places, and meet other people. There's definitely a huge part of our 'family soul', if you can call it that, in Yarm because I mean 10 years is a long time!! More than half my life!! It truly embodies my childhood, and it's important not to forget a place like that...
After Yarm it was back to London for a night then off to Bristol to see the Monks for 3 nights. All really well and very busy. Elise (dad's goddaughter) and Chris share their birthday which was on Monday, so Elise had a party on Saturday with 18 other energetic eight-year-olds. So I was happy to entertain and supervise for a few hours... then Sunday we went to Daniel's football game and on a little sightseeing tour of Bristol. I saw the flat where Aunt Clare & Uncle Tim lived, and the flat where my Dad lived with Stuart and mum for a while as well... it was weird because Bristol is really where all those friendships got cemented, our circle of English family friends, the Monks, Taits, Greens, Calders & others, it's where it all started over 20 years ago!! Very inspiring that those friendships are still going strong today :) And great for me too, free accomodation haha!#
Had coffee on Monday morning with some of Chris's friends which was hilarious because one of them had just got back from a singing holiday in a convent near Verona and had the most horrifying travel experience, getting no sleep the night before leaving, losing her phone at the airport, almost missing her plane, getting on the wrong train, missing her stop, then being asked to pay a 50 euro fine for having an incorrect ticket (she'd found the right train at this point), refusing to pay the fine, and being escorted from the train by Italian policemen. Oh, and not speaking any Italian of course. Instead of feeling bad (which we did a little), we were all in stitches because the way she told the story was HILARIOUS.
After that I got on a train to Bath, about 15 minutes from Bristol, and looked around the incredible Roman city. Visited the Roman baths which are (you guessed it!) 2000 years old which is, if I may quote Mr. P, "mind-boggling". The whole city is just so beautiful, and really goes beyond the medieval feel of a lot of towns I've visited. This might sound bad, but it was also an interesting break from the christianity aspect of history in so many cities... instead of cathedrals full of crucifixes etc. there were temples full of statues of Roman gods and other figures of mythology, very interesting...
Monday night I got back to London and have been here ever since. I've had an amazing time with G&G who have just been so kind and more than generous while I've been staying with them. I'm recovering from a pretty bad cold so haven't been doing too much here, but we've walked around which is gorgeous at the moment because all the leaves are changing colors and falling. Admitedly not as beautiful as Virginia, but still nice :) Today, we went off to Peter Jones and Granny got, drumroll please, an iPod!! So now I'm in charge of setting it up and giving tutorials etc...
Tonight Granny & I are going to see French & Saunders LIVE ON THEIR LAST TOUR EVER!!! I'm beyond excited, my family bonded watching Dawn French in the Vicar of Dibley and own a substantial DVD collection. What a way to finish up a UK tour, with the ultimate in British comedy! Tomorrow, if I haven't died from laughing, I'm visiting Exeter University. Yes, the big day has arrived, the ultimate reason for this trip to England is this big visit. I was about to say I have mixed feelings, but to be honest I'm not sure that I have any feelings at all. I'm going in open-minded and I think that's about all I can do. I know so little about the uni that it's just educating myself really... expect a full report over the weekend.
Friday I go back to Wassenaar I cannot believe it's time already!! But I'm VERY VERY VERY VERY EXCITED to see M&D and C&P and to have more than 2 pairs of jeans and 5 shirts to choose from every morning!!!!!!!!! Haha shallow, I know. Four days in Wassenaar then I'll repack my bag (blahhhh) and we're all off to Paris for 6 days (yayyyyyyyyy)! I'll let you know the plans after that in the next entry...
You can hopefully fingers crossed expect pictures of the past month this weekend or next week, once I have access to my computer! Prepare yourself, I've taken about 600, but I'll try and narrow them down a little before uploading them.
I'm having an amazing time on this year of adventure and hope you all are having fun wherever in the world you are!
rach xx
No comments:
Post a Comment