Elaine, Lauren, and I went to Nottingham, England over Easter break, and for once, we did not have to get up at the crack of dawn in order to travel. It was interesting to see the difference in going to more of a country side England compared to the metropolis of London, and I really enjoyed the differences that each had to offer. When we first landed in Nottingham and unsuccessfully tried to rent a car, the landscape reminded me of the open country in west Texas, and I felt like I was getting my own little glimpse of home back in America. After arriving to our Airbnb, we went to the Nottingham Castle, where we got to explore the grounds and go through the castle, where the legend of Robin Hood began. The castle and the town in general had a very homey feeling to them, and it was a very relaxing day. That night, we went to see Zootopia/Zootropolis/whatever else it is called in another country and went to a cookie bar where they served drinks and milkshakes with alcohol in them, which were surprisingly amazing considering there were flavors such as blueberry pancake and sour skittles We ended the night by experiencing the night life in Nottingham at a place called Blue Bell (which had nothing to do with ice cream, unfortunately).
The next day, we had an exiting start to the day by having a 200 yard dash to make our train to the Peak District, a national park about an hour outside of Nottingham. We spent the day walking through the trails of the park, had a picnic in a secluded forest, went biking through the park, and got to explore several waterfalls among other things. The most exciting part to the day, however, happened whenever it began to pour down rain. We were about an hour away from the bike rental place and another hour away from our bus stop to catch a train, and it was like going mudding the entire way home. We then had to wait an hour in the rain for the bus, which was late, to show up to take us home, and by the time we had made it on to the train, we all looked like we had gone down the new mudslide ride at a Schlitterbahn. Ten really rowdy English people got on the train with us and began to chant, obviously a little less sober than the rest of us, in excitement about the England-Germany soccer game that was supposed to be on later in the night. Their favorite chant was "Jager! Jager! Jager! That's the way he likes it! Likes it! Likes it!", and I was sure that we were going to be in for a really long train ride. They decided to sit down with us, and we actually discovered that, although they were really rowdy and excited, they were actually really nice people, and by the end of the train ride, I had wished that we would've joined them to watch the game. At night, we were all quick to change into some clean clothes and enjoyed some homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese while having a movie night.
Easter was a very relaxed day. We went to Wollaton Hall, which is more commonly known as Wayne Manor from the Dark Knight Rises, for some afternoon tea, and we got to explore the huge estate and the beautiful views that it had to offer. We were good examples to all the little kids by climbing all over the trees and had a great time. We then had some English pies and got to enjoy Easter Mass at St Mary's that night before cooking carbonara and enjoying some wine for dinner. I really enjoyed the good company and very relaxed atmosphere that Nottingham had to offer.
The following day was relatively uneventful besides the home owner accusing us of drinking a 50 pound bottle of tequila that we never saw. Overall, I was blessed with two amazing friends and a very relaxing Easter Break, and I would not have traded it for the world. It is hard to believe that Easter weekend will be the last time that I travel for a while, and I have noticed that I have become spoiled, for I feel so weird not traveling over a weekend. Until next time, I leave you with some pictures from Easter weekend.
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