england : day six

I'm so stressed out right now because I'm trying to write this while watching the USA v. BEL game and it's in extra time and it's basically been Belgium v. Tim Howard the past 90 minutes! Belgium just scored thanks to the USA not being able to defend but I've my fingers crossed for the next 22 minutes.

So anyways, on Sunday we chilled for a bit at the camp spot in Scotland before heading back to Carlisle late morning. I took a little walk around the beach before we took off. It was so incredibly nice and the weather was perfect.

After getting back to Carlisle, Tom and I managed to make our way to a bar called McQueen's for lunch. I got to try my very first Sunday Roast! I approve. I think the Yorkshire Pudding was my favorite part. Also, I don't know what it was about their coffee but it was the best.

After that we went back to his house and watched Breaking Bad for a few hours (we're finally getting close to the end) and then got hungry again. Normally I wouldn't include every single meal in my posts but we ordered fried chicken and the box it came in was amazing.

Also, the "fried" chicken came in something that was more like batter that you'd find on fish in a fish n' chips meal. When I laughed at it, Tom said to me, "Keep in mind their menu used to say 'open 8 days a week'". It gave me a good laugh.

After fried chicken came s'mores! We had the ingredients leftover from camping so we thought we'd put them to good use. We made them in his garden on the grill.

I really wish we had gardens like this in America.

Thought I'd include this lovely matchbox for you guys, because fire only kills children and I thought you needed to know!

By the time we finished with our s'mores (I introduced his parents to them as well), it was nearing 11pm... Which meant USA v. Portugal was going to come on soon! We stayed up late to watch that and witness the dramatic equaliser by Portugal in the last minute of injury time. I was sure we were in for the win but hey, we still ended up making it to the Final 16.

Speaking of, the USA v Belgium match has ended amidst my writing this. The last 30 minutes of extra time were the best of the whole game. Tim Howard was an absolute beast. Without him the US would have been destroyed.

I'll leave you with this amazing Buzzfeed article.

Goodnight!

-teddy x

england : day five

Okay guys, lots of pictures with this one... On Saturday we camped! I'm always the last one ready for things so I got up extra early since we were getting picked up... but then the one time I was ready early, our ride was late! Six of us went: Tom, myself, Gez, Afzol, Jess, and Sarah.

The place we were camping at was a little place in Scotland called Knockbrex. Well, maybe it's not that little, I'm not sure. It just seemed like tons of countryside and farms to me. It was gorgeous though! Oh, also, there was a tiny castle close to our campsite. It's called Knockbrex Castle and it is absolutely adorable. I found through their website that they rent it out. Definitely plan to do that one day.

Cute, right?? Check out the link I embedded above for more pictures.

Obviously we needed lots of stuff... This was about 1/3 of what we had. Better safe than sorry, right??

It was a little bit of a struggle putting up that massive tent. Strong winds didn't help.

 It really was a perfect spot for the sunset.

I wish these photos were better quality. I got scared about bringing my Nikon so these are all iPhone pictures!

Basically all we did all day was eat and drink and eat some more. I taught them how to make s'mores and I'm pretty sure they fell in love. Also, I discovered haloumi, a Greek cheese, and now sometimes that's all I can think about it. Someone please let me know if you can find it in America!!

I'll put more photos from camping in the day six post. Enjoy!

-teddy x

england : day four

Things were pretty low-key on Friday, partially because we were leaving early Saturday to go camping and partially because of slightly excessive amounts of vodka the night before.

After fish n' chips for lunch (Chip Shop Friday!!!... Seriously one of the highlights of my trips) we did a little walking around town. I wanted to check out a few shops, Topshop being one of them as the closest one to me at home is Chicago, I think.

The city of Carlisle intrigues me. I feel myself falling more in love with it with each visit I make.

Ohh, I also bought an Arsenal t-shirt from JD Sports seeing as I'm a newly decided Arsenal supporter.

Before my trip, Tom and I were planning things to do while I was going to be there. Originally we were thinking camping for Friday, but then I realized that I was only going to be there for one. Once I figured that out, I told Tom we definitely had to reschedule camping. Friday evenings we go to the pub!!

I've gone to the pub with Tom and his parents every Friday, every trip. I love all the people there and I meet new ones each time. I would say the main people I go to see are Derek and his wife, Linda, and Kenny and his wife, Jean. They're all such lovely people and they always seem so happy to see me. It makes me smile! This time, Derek and Linda were ecstatic when Tom told them that I said we had to reschedule camping so that we didn't miss them at the pub.

Everyone's favorite question when I come in seems to be "when are you two getting married?" and it's so funny because they always ask me and I always tell them they're asking the wrong person!

We headed home fairly early that night to pack for camping, order take-out, and watch Breaking Bad.

I can't wait to see them all again next time! :)

-teddy x

last day of work!

...before my trip. :)

I love my job but it will be kind of nice to get out of the office for a couple weeks seeing as we've been in a temporary location due to the library undergoing renovations. I miss my real office!

I've got the weekend to pack and whatnot, then I leave Monday! Really hoping my long flight has the individual TVs at each seat... Makes the 8 hours go so much faster.

So here's a little bit of what I know is happening during my week in England:

• Camping (for one night, with 6 people total, in Scotland I believe?)
• Dinner with the mayor and his wife (this is what comes from dating a politician!)
• Visiting an animal refuge (looking at the cute kits and pups! ^_^)
• Chip Shop Friday!!! (fish and chips for Friday's lunch-- one of the highlights!)
• Going to the pub Friday evening (love the people there & they treat me like a celebrity- so funny!)
• Watching the England v. Uruguay World Cup match (wish I was gonna be there for more than one)
• Having Breaking Bad marathons (Tom and I are hooked & need to get through 3 more seasons)
• Boot camp workouts & running (whipping the boyfriend into shape!! Plus I've been doing them twice a week for over a month now so I can't take afford a two week hiatus!)

That's all that comes to mind at the moment. Not sure how realistic this idea is but I'm going to attempt to do a post per day during my trip. Hopefully I can stick to it!

-teddy x