My Birthday!

My birthday coincided perfectly with the Ellerslie End of Term Cocktail Party.
So, here I am celebrating my 21st birthday all dolled up with my hallmates :)

I had a great birthday, thanks for all the birthday love everyone! :)

Our Beer!

If you didn't already know, I am currently enrolled in 'Traditional Alcoholic Beverages' here at Leeds.
So, basically, it's a class about beer brewing.

Paul, Marko, Yannish and I (and two other international students) were in a group and we made an American Pale Ale. Well...tried to...

It was a lot cloudier than we wanted and it had a pretty bitter aftertaste, but it wasn't terrible for our first time!

Edinburgh!

Last weekend, Paul and I went to Edinburgh on a trip put on by the student's union. I really liked Edinburgh and I had a really great time!
We went on a walking tour around the city, which was really good because I got to learn about what I was actually seeing and visit places I probably would have missed. We also went on a ghost tour - I had no idea Edinburgh had such gory history.

It was my first time in Scotland, so I did all the typical toursity things (aside from try haggis, I just couldn't bring myself to do it). Here's some touristy photo evidence:

We stayed at Budget Backpackers - my first hostel ever!

Guess which one is my bed?

The colourful, cobble-stoned streets of Edinburgh!

The Elephant House
This is where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter!!!

Scottish Tenements
(taken while on the ghost tour)

Edinburgh Castle

A wall that was built to keep the English out of Scotland

This area of the graveyard was once a prison and
has been padlocked because it's supposedly haunted

I don't know what this is...

The NHL is in Scotland!

The New Town

The Old Town

"The Shame of Edinburgh" - their half built monument :(

The Royal Palace
Apparently the Queen stays here when she visits Scotland!

Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano
  (it's the middle pointy bit)

Paul and I got up REALLY early on Sunday morning to climb Arthur's Seat.
It was really, really beautiful and definitely worth the early morning.
We unofficially pronounced ourselves as the first people to climb Arthur's Seat that day :)

And so it begins...

The view from about 100 meters into the walk

The sun is coming!

Still not at the top...

The top!!!
(The photo doesn't quite capture the beautiful view - sorry...)

A Baaaby Bicycle

This week the Leeds University Union put on Climate Week.
Today they were promoting sustainable methods of transportation, so they had all these cool bikes to try out.

They had a penny farthing bike (which was very difficult to steer)...

A lying down bike...

A tripod scooter bike (I just made that name up)...

A crazy 4-front-wheels bike (another made up name)...

And, a baaaby bike...

They also had tandems, cruisers, fold-ups, and other crazy ones that I don't really know how to describe. Yay bikes!

Nap Time

At about 7pm last night I got reeeally sleepy.
So I lay down for a rest.
But then I got cold.
So I snuggled up in the blankets.

The bed post-nap?

Nope, there I am!

What The Heck, UK!?

I have noticed some interesting things about the UK that sometimes make me think, "What the heck, UK!?"

Hot tap. Cold tap. How do I get warm!?

Let me just read these numbers upside down...

Some steps that lead to nowhere.

Hot dogs don't come in jars, UK.

Nor do they come in cans.

But I need a deep fryer!

So I can use my 21st Century cell phone here?

Note to self: electronics will only work if the power is turned ON.

Spice Up Your Life!

Last weekend I as really cultured and went to the Leeds City Museum.
(Look at me: two museums, two weekends in a row!)
I was drawn to the museum because of its current special exhibition.
I thought I was somewhat obliged to go because of its importance in British culture.

So what exactly did I go see?
Spiceworld: The Exhibition, obviously!

The exhibit was based on a West Yorkshire woman's personal collection of Spice Girls memorabilia.
And no, it wasn't lame with just CDs from different countries and thousands of magazine covers (although those were included in the exhibit).
This lady has somehow acquired their actual clothes and shoes and crazy things like that.
She probably also has a kleenex used by Victoria Beckham, but decided that it may be a little weird to put that in the exhibit.

Here's a taste of what I saw...

PS: Scary Spice is originally from Leeds - how fitting!

Art, Tea & Lots of Books

Paul and I went on another adventure to the City Centre today!

Victoria Quarter

  

We went to the Leeds Art Gallery because we felt like being cultured, and because it was free.
To be honest, the highlight of our trip to the Art Gallery wasn't the art, it was having tea in the Tiled Hall, which is part of the museum.
As the name suggests, the hall is fully tiled - even the ceiling!

Tea Time with Paul!

Then, after our tea party, we ventured to the Leeds Central Library!
Luckily, we didn't have to go very far since it's connected to the Art Gallery.
I plan on getting a library card soon so I can read something other than textbooks or the Leeds Student Newspaper...

We then walked around the City Centre, and look at what we stumbled upon!

Jamie's Italian!

I think it's a sign.
I've got to go to Jamie's for my birthday.

While walking around, we were stopped by a gentleman giving out books for World Book Night.
The purpose of World Book Night is to give away one million books throughout the UK and Ireland. The books are meant to be given away (as opposed to sold), read, and then passed on to someone else.
Each recipient of a World Book Night book is supposed to register their book online so that the giver can track the book and follow its journey from reader to reader.
There are 25 titles selected and specially printed each year for the event.
I received "The Cloud Atlas", which I haven't started it yet due to excessive school work, but hopefully I will soon.