Relax and Rejuvenate

March 5, 2010

Presently, I’m sitting in a café called ‘Bullet’ in Hastings, England guzzling the free wi-fi and a huge latte in a cup that looks more like a bowl than a mug. And it is so beautiful outside that I didn’t put on a coat today! The sun is shining on the beach and I’ve just decided that this is a pretty perfect spring break. We had a great breakfast this morning, in bed(!), and just sat around enjoying the weather and not having to do anything. Hastings is charming and lively, just like so many beach towns in the south of the UK. I’m loving it. We are relaxing today, but tomorrow I think we are renting bikes and riding along the cliffs to another small town called Rye. This whole week has been pretty chill. And I needed it after the craziness of the last few weeks and Paris. I skyped with mom a few days ago and it was great to finally see her and Aaron. Now I just gotta find a time to see Dad! And Amy! And everyone else! Skype is awesome.

Not much to write about this week. When we got back from Paris on Monday, I just sat around and did absolutely nothing. I was so worn out. Hal and I sat around watching YouTube videos, people watching out our front windows, and unpacking. Our roommate Andy was home early from his spring break… He had the worst time! He said something rude to a couple of bouncers at a club in Portugal and they beat him up! He came back to get surgery to fix his broken nose! He has five stitches on his lip and a black eye, too! I felt so bad for him. Hal made supper for him that night and he was feeling better. And I thought getting sick in Paris was bad…

On Tuesday, Hal and I went for a long walk around Battersea Park and Chelsea. We saw an old hospital building that looked more like a palace. There were a bunch of elementary school girls playing field hockey on the front lawn in skirts and polo shirts. They were so cute. We crossed the Thames to Battersea Park and walked around there for a bit before heading back home. Julie and Laurel came up to the flat later and we discussed plans for Hastings. Like I said, pretty exciting day.

Wednesday, I got up early and went to the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park to see a show by an artist I studied in art history last year. It was free and pretty interesting. After that, I thought it would be fun to head over to Oxford Street because the weather was nice… what a bad idea that was. Oxford Street is the shopping heart of London. For me and other cheap college students, anyway. Three H&Ms in a fifteen block stretch = death to my bank account. My favorite British stores are all there in multiples, too. Luckily, my feet hurt after the trek across Hyde Park so I had to quit before I did too much damage. God, I love Oxford Street.

That night, the four of us girls went to see a movie at the BFI in Southwark. It is this cool film centre that has workshops, film festivals, and tons of movie showings. We watched Brightstar in this tiny theatre with a max capacity of like 25 people. It was great. But the movie was so, so sad. Halfway through I was already bawling and the tears didn’t stop until we got on the tube afterward. Seriously, I was crushed. It was so sad and I felt like such a sap. But I loved it. I needed a good cry. After, Hal made crepes – because we didn’t get enough in Paris, apparently – and then I packed for Hastings.

On Thursday morning we got on the train for Hastings around noon. I love riding in trains, have I mentioned that? Just love it. You have so much room, and there are really big windows and a bathroom! We got to Hastings around two and walked toward the beach to find our bed and breakfast, the Lindum. At around eight, we all decided that we wanted to go to a pub for a Strongbow. And conveniently, there was a pub almost right below our B&B! That is one thing you can depend on in the Uk – at least one pub every block. We met a group of college students from here and they asked us to join them on this bar crawl. We said heck yes, even though we were all pretty tired. But it was really fun anyway. We went to five bars, but all were within ten feet of each other. Hastings is huge.

And now I’m finished with my coffee and might go take a nap. Oh, the difficult life of a college student studying abroad. I’ll be back soon now that I found free wi-fi! Have a good weekend!

Love,
Kelly