this weekend was full of adventure. friday, desi and i went to startucks and had good chat for a few hours, decided we wanted to see random london, so we got on the tube and went to cockfosters (cuz we're mature) went to the harry potter platform 9 and 3/4, went to barnes (the area) and saw where rob pattinson's parents live, then went to gloucster arms, then imperial. after imperial we decided we wanted to go somewhere new, so we found this place in northeast london called the hideway, and went there with chris (alex's friend). cool place, but there was a private party downstairs, so we'll have to go back again when the live music area is open. one thing led to another, and desi got this idea to road trip to the lake district to see alex. chris has a car, so the idea was for us to take the train to cambridge (where chris lives) and then drive to the lake district. desi was serious, so in the morning, we woke up and got the first train to cambridge. on the way, we discovered alex was actually in liverpool, so slight change of plans. got to cambridge, and it was gorgeous. chris's house is straight out of the movie "the holiday". we had to walk up dirt paths and muddy stone walkways to get there and it was in the middle of nowhere. the house was so small and adorable. i felt like i was stepping into a harry potter movie. it was perfect. i cant even say how perfect. straight out of a movie. i wanted to stay there forever. he let me drive his car down the road by his house. it was probably the highlight of my life! the majority of cars in the UK are manual, so that made it even better. obviously the gears are in the same place, but your sitting on the opposite side, so everything seems backwards. the clutch was still on the left though...very weird. ate lunch in the eagle pub, which is where the discovery of atoms and dna was made... i thought of you dad :) ... cambridge is such a cute little college town. driving to liverpool was cool. left side of the road, roads smaller, everything is just new and different. apparently in england it's illegal to pass on the left when there is more than 1 lane of traffic going the same way. you just have to get in the far right lane and people are supposed to move over for you. got to liverpool after dark. found alex's grandparents place (well, desi worked that one out :) haha) ... desi convinced alex that she was watching a live satellite, so the poor guy came outside to wave to it...priceless :) ... went inside and had a chat with his parents, met his family, had some cake, endured the awkwardness, and left for the pub. after much drama of trying to find somewhere to park, we located an irish pub. they had karaoke, and needless to say it was a very good night :). i met a german boy who i talked to for like 2 hours. he was really sweet. ventured around liverpool some more, desi peed on my burger and didnt tell me until today, and slept in the car. i think we were in the country somewhere on a back road, and the person who owned the field def knew we had slept there. haha...oh boy. went to the beach, walked around. drove back into liverpool, ate lunch on the pier. it was beautiful. drove around/more sightseeing. back to west kirby (suburb of liverpool) and had a coffee at the cafe by the beach. oh, and you could see wales from the beach! it was very cool. we all said our goodbye's to alex, and headed back to london. i got to sit in the front on the way home, so that was interesting...i felt like i should be driving since i was on the left side...but after spending nearly 15 hours in a UK car, it almost felt normal - the driver being on the right. driving into london i got to see the city from a different route. london is very different when you are driving in car as opposed to the tube or the bus. got back to the dorms, skyped with mom, then brittany, then went to bed. woke up and my throat was swollen shut (figured out later why...thanks des) haha. didnt go into work, didn't go to class, instead went to a concert with desi, jen, and emily. at a place called the social. it was very cool. really chill, the bands and music were great, and they had delicious strawberry cider. reminded me of when i went to the RFGF concert with brittany. :) such an enjoyable night. marcus foster and tom somebody were there...apparently they are best friends /w rob pattinson. i know this cuz of desi, lol. pretty sweet life eh? chillin at a cool pub in london on a monday, rubbin elbows /w the rich and the famous. :) america is gonna be so boring when i get home.