London

One of my favourite cities in England (along with everyone else who has visited, I'm sure) is LONDON! It's a big city with the famous British charm that every town in this country holds. It has a lot of modern parts to it, which I'm used to (and slightly bored of, living in Canada my whole life), but the majority of it is still old and beautiful. The buildings' architecture, the cobble stone sidewalks, and the picture-perfect historical landmarks are what draw me to London. I've visited London twice for a total of 6 days and I can't wait to go back.

My top 5 favourite tourist destinations in London include:

Tower Bridge

Parliament and Big Ben

The London Eye

[Photo above- taken by my cousin, Kate]

THIS Spot/Angle in the Westminster Area (It is the definition of picture-perfect)

[Photo above- taken by my cousin, Kate]

Buckingham Palace, It's Gardens, and the Walk To It

The next time I go to London, I plan on seeing and doing things that I have not previously seen/done. I want to find the little city treasures that should be well-known, but aren't. Some things that I think would be great experiences are a roof-top cinema that plays older(but awesome) movies and climbing the 311 spiral stairs of Sir Christopher Wren's monument to see an amazing view of London!

Day Trip to Malham Cove

Malham Cove is located within the National Park of Yorkshire Dales, England. The area has rolling hills that provide panoramic views of beautiful landscapes. Most of the area is farm land but there are hiking trails running through the fields. This confused me a lot because that's someone's property but, that's how they do it in England haha.

I joined the Outdoor Society at my university and every Sunday they go on hikes in Northern England locations. Malham was a great area to go for my first hike with the society. The area was so beautiful that it maked me want to continue going on hikes with them even though the terrain was MUDDY and the hike was quite hard (but EXCELLENT exercise). 

The hike I went on was called a "medium walk" but it was around 10-13 kms long, up and down hill and it included climbing 400 stone steps to the top of Malham Cove.

Here is a picture from below, looking up at the 260 foot cliff! (I climbed up that!! ahh!!)

And here is a photo of the view from the top:

The limestone pavement at the top of the cliff may look familiar and it should if you're a Harry Potter fan! There are scenes from Deathly Hallows Pt 1 that were shot on this very surface :). 

The climb to the top was very difficult for me and most of the other people I hiked with but it was worth it!! I would definitely do it again. It wouldn't have been so hard for me if I hadn't gone to the gym two days before or if I hadn't have been out drinking and dancing all night, the night before. That's what I get!

I absolutely recommend visiting Malham Cove if you're ever in the Yorkshire area of England. 

The City of York

Or in other words, my city! York is in northern England in the region of North Yorkshire. There seems to be a hate for the north of England by people in the south but I find both territories to be quite similar. York is one of the most charming, decent sized cities I've been to in England (and I've made it to quite a few now). It has streets and streets of cute and useful shops, wonderful people, amazing market, and plenty of historical landmarks. The city also has the most amount of pubs, bars, and clubs that I've ever seen in such a small radius. It's amazing and makes bar hopping very easy for us students!

Here's a few shots of downtown York!

And here is some of the more historical bits of York

The York Minister- outside and in

The Wall! Back in medieval times, York was a walled city and still partially is. Oh and there's me. You can see the York Minister in the background.

Clifford's Tower. I have yet to go inside but, I definitely will!

The Shambles - A street of very close together, old buildings and interesting shops.

So there you have it. There's your mini lesson on the City of York. There will be more to come as I further explore the area!

The Beginning

Ok so! Here's a little bit about where I'm at right now. I'm on exchange at the University of York, UK. I'm taking Environmental Geography (BSc) even though in Canada, I study just Geography (IBA). I live with some great people in a traditional residence. My residence is full of upper year students along with international students. I fall into both categories! I have yet to meet another Canadian at this school but I kind of like being the only one anyone knows.

The day I get to decorate my dorm room each year is better than Christmas to me.
Have a look at my current room:

As you can see, my dorm room is quite big. Compared to my previous rooms, this place is a mansion. It's void of anything that make's my room "my room" (you'll see once I post my old dorm's photos) but, it's home and it's a work in progress. 

This collage of my friends, my family, and myself, is one of the most important things in my room. I don't have much in this country but remembering I'll always have them makes everything better.

So I've just begun a year of international schooling and traveling and I can't wait to post about all of my adventures!