A monk is a bald chap who works in a church

So, I'm now back in London for a while and trying to get back into the swing of things here. But before I do, I'll update on this weekend in Leicester. Kristen and I had a lot of fun. First, let me comment on how awesome she was and prepared for my visit: her roommate was headed to Scotland for the weekend, so she asked if I could 1) borrow her bus pass, 2) borrow her meal card, and 3) sleep in her bed. The answer to all these questions was "yes", so I (should have) left Leicester well rested and fed. But we did so much, and the food wasn't all that great, that the best work for the weekend in general was just fun.

Kristen joined the Ultimate Frisbee team at U. of Leicester and on Friday night, I got to participate in practice. It was a lot of fun. I had forgotten how fun team sports can be, and although I'm not head over heals about ultimate, it really was a great time. After practice the plan was to figure out what to do on Saturday. Lucky for us we stumbled upon the OFFICIAL Robin Hood Festival that was taking place in Nottingham this weekend. So, Saturday we made our way there. It was great...it reminded me a lot of the madrigal dinners we used to put on; everyone was in costume/ character. There were little kids running around dressed like Robin Hood, there were a variety of different artists/ guildsmen selling their items, and a lot of really cheesy shows that each had it's own spin on the tale of old Robin Hood. It was also a gorgeous (although slightly chilly)fall day, so it was a picture taking feast. The trees and colors are what I expect New England looks like in the fall (but since I haven't been there in the fall-- or ever really for that matter-- I don't know for sure). BUT, I haven't had a chance to upload my pictures yet, so while I can talk about the colors, I can't share them just yet.

England was in the finals of the Rugby World Cup Saturday night, so we spent the evening enjoying the festivities there. For those of you who haven't been to Europe or who aren't all that familiar with Rugby and how popular it is over here, think of the excitement of the Super Bowl and the Olympics combined and you have your Rugby World Cup Finals. The Brits didn't pull it off-- they lost by a fairly big margin to South Africa-- but it was a lot of fun. A lot of Europeans can't understand why we like football so much better than Rugby- they thing it moves too slow and that the padding is silly. Well, I think the padding = safety. As for the flow of the game, I actually thought the rugby game was fairly slow. Although they don't blow the whistle as much as we do in football, they set up plays over and over again in the middle without a whole lot of action in between. Also, we play EVERY minute (or close to every minute) on the clock while they let the clock run during all the penalties, etc. I think I also thought it a bit slow because there was such little scoring. I would think it fair to say that in most games, there is scoring, or at least the excitement and apprehension of scoring, at least once a quarter; in contrast, most of the rugby action took place in the middle of the field. Now, all of my comments are not meant to say that rugby isn't a fun game to watch-- it most certainly is. However, I think I'll stick to my pigskin. :) (Speaking of...ROCK CHALK..KU is 7-0, ranked 9 in the BCS and 12 in the AP polls!! Who knew!?)

Back to Leicester-- well, there really isn't a whole lot else to say. Sunday was pretty relaxed...we played cards, hung out, met some of her friends and walked around the AMAZING botanical garden that is in Kristen's backyard. That was yet another opportunity for a feast of picture taking, but my camera batteries died, so I only have Kristen's pictures. I got back to London last night around 9 after a bus ride that was vaguely reminiscent of the bus ride into Cork.

Now, like I said, it's back to work here in London. I have a final on Friday that ends one of my classes which has caused me to put in more work today than I have put in all semester (okay, not 100% true, but not that far off either.) I don't have any more travels planned (as of now) until Thanksgiving weekend, but there will certainly be adventures around London. I'll continue to write, so continue to check in. I already have some "discussion" topics in mind. :)