I don't even want to think about the time...

It late and I am exhausted, but am feeling pretty happy about what I've done this evening... Check it out for yourself: http://www.myadventuresinengland.com

It's not exactly what I had it mind (and I really don't think it is all that nice looking), but at least it is something more than I had before and I can always go back and change it when I want.

My plan is to use it for communication with family and friends, and update every-so-often. My blog I'll keep updating regularly - it's for the things I don't want my grandparents to read. Of course, with the way my life has been lately, I FEEL like a grandparent myself.

I am heading to Bruges (Belgium) on Saturday and I am counting down the days until I get a break from school. It hit me this evening that I will be on a plane to New York in a week from Monday! Then it hit me that I only have two weekends left to do my Holiday shopping - agg!! I just have to make it through next week with school, then I can go crazy with the gifts!

Rochester, twice in one weekend...

Friday night I went with Chris and Jenny to see the second Bridget Jones movie. I've heard good and bad reviews, all-in-all it was a good film. Mostly, everyone just said that it was "more of the first." And that it was. I still love Mark Darcy, though, and hope I can one day meet someone who will love "all of my wobbly bits" and love me "just as I am."

Enough sap. Moving on...

We drove to Rochester to see the flick - nice town not far from where I am. It was a new area that has been built-up and looks quite familiar to many complexes I've seen in Knoxville, Charlotte or any other American town. There was a Mexican restaurant, an Italian restaurant (advertising its 'American Italian' cuisine) and the movie theater.

Saturday, I took the train to Rochester for the Dickens Christmas Market, described as:

An hour south-east of London, this compact city beside the River Medway,
celebrates its links with Charles Dickens - he lived and wrote there for years -
with a Dickensian Christmas celebration. The free annual event includes a High
Street parade of his fictional characters, with top-hatted gents, ladies in
bonnets, chimney sweeps and the ultimate Dickensian character: the street
urchin. There are also carol singers, ice-skating, roast chestnuts and mulled
wine to enjoy.

It was nice. Historic Rochester is beautiful! The old streets and buildings were amazing. There is even a castle, right in the corner of town! I'd love to go back and explore more, but as for the Dickens Christmas Celebration, it was too crowded to really enjoy too much. There were lots of people dressed up and lots of people selling mulled wine and other treats. There were carnival rides one the grounds in front of the castle and there was fake snow drifting around in the air. They even had a night-time parade where everyone sang carols and carried candles. With the 'snow' and the candles, it really was magical.

I've heard really nice things about Rochester, even as a place to live it is supposed to be very nice. I am impressed with how there is plenty of old stuff, even with the amount of new stuff that is being built-up in the area. The reason I haven't made it to see Rochester until now has to do with the fact that they've been doing work on the railway since January 2004 and that you have to take the train to Higham, then a bus from Higham to Strood (that's the part of the tracks they are working on), then catch the train from Strood to Rochester. It was not horrible, but I think I will wait for the train to start running again before I attempt to explore the rest of Kent. Guess Canterbury and Dover will have to wait until the tracks are fixed and running again...

I'm off to daydream about meeting my own Mark Darcy... You never know, it could happen.