Waking up in England is still like waking up in a dream for me. I know that it has been almost a month now, but it still doesn't seem real. 


This past weekend, we layered up and set off for the town of York. It started off as a damp morning, but we fueled up at a coffee shop before heading into the York Minister Cathedral.

The cathedral was so gorgeous. Most of us got tickets to go to the top of the Cathedral and after climbing 275 steep steps, the view was gorgeous. I really get blown away everyday living in this country.




If you're looking for things to do in York, I would for sure recommend stopping by and climbing to the top if you're not afraid of heights! If you want to know more, visit their website here! for times to visit, how to book and other questions you might have.

York also has this adorable lanes called "the shambles" which looks a lot like Diagon alley from Harry Potter. Like almost every city I've visited so far in England, there were street performers as well. And they were amazing.
As we walked around York, we also found the Yorkshire soap shop, which smelled so great and the soaps were shaped like cupcakes and cakes.

We stopped at York's famous lunch spot Little Betty's, which was worth the wait and will be in a different blog post, because it was that good! The day in York started out bright and early and rainy but it turned out to be a perfect sunny day at the end of it.
We ended our trip with a quick stop to a chocolate shop. I got a dark chocolate belgian square, I loved it.

My Liverpool blog post went up on my 3 year blogiversary! I hope everyone has enjoyed reading my posts as much as I love sharing them, looking back I can see that I've had a pretty wild adventure so far. Right now, I'm in England, a dream I've had since I was little, and I'm blogging about it. To those who read my posts, thank you so much. 

This past Wednesday, my school organized a free trip to the town of Stamford, a thirty minute bus ride away from the university I'm studying at. The weather started out sunny during the morning and at the end of it the fog and coldness had rolled in.


Stamford is the prettiest town in England I have seen thus far. Everything from the cobblestone streets, tan stoned buildings, the wooden doors and the massive churches that towered over the village was breathtaking.




The corefour stuck together, taking photos of each other and the magical village we were in.

PC: Gretchen Reese

Later on, the trisquad went to a cute little place to eat and had soup and sandwiches, it was called Pennies from Heaven. The woman who owns it was so adorable, and it was a nice break from the cold temperature that was starting to set in as it was getting later in the afternoon.




Spending only a few hours in Stamford was so much fun, (even though I really could not feel my toes they were that cold) I hope we get to see more villages like that as this semester goes on.

PC: Gretchen Reese

Have you gone on any day trips to Stamford or any little towns in England that you've loved? Let me know in the comments!

Next stop: Lincoln & York 

It's hard to believe that it has already been 18 days since I  arrived in England. I didn't know anyone here, and now I feel like I have some of the best friends you could ever find. I've had a full week of classes already and have a lot of readings to do each week, which keeps me pretty busy and not homesick. 

On Friday, a group of five of us (The Fab Five), packed our bags and headed out to the nearby train station. It was freezing, but luckily the wait wasn't so bad and despite my friend Hannah getting her crisps stuck in the vending machine, we still made it without error. We were going to Liverpool. 

Riding on a train through England is so much different than the states, and it's actually really relaxing looking at the rolling green hills and farms outside the window. 

Saturday, we tok the train into the heart of Liverpool, a bustling industrial city with amazing buildings and cute little shops. The main attraction for all of us was the Beatles tour, and we spent the afternoon listening to the audio book, listening about their lives. 

1/5 of the Fab Five, likes to tell scary stories, and so the tri-squad squished together on one bed the two nights we were there. 

Though Liverpool wasn't extremely exciting for me, I still enjoyed my time there. Someone told me before we left for this trip, that it isn't about where you go really, it's about who you're traveling with. And that's true, we had so many laughs and memories I won't forget. 

Thanks for listening to this post! Next stop: Lincoln and York


Photo Credit: Gretchen Reese

When I first knew I wanted to go to England, I knew I had to visit London. It looked like such an amazing city, since we didn't actually see any of the city other than when we flew over it, I was excited to finally be there. My screensaver on my camera has been a photo of Big Ben ever since I got this laptop (which is like 5 years ago).

The first day we got there, we visited Oxford Street while it snowed and rained a bit. Then attempted to ride the tube. We were a group of six and didn't jump on in time before the doors shut three of us in and three of us on the platform. Luckily, we knew where we were going to get off and we met them a short distance away. The whole experience still makes me laugh. 

We made it to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye. Seeing Big Ben in person for the first time ever is such a surreal feeling. I actually couldn't (and still don't) believe this is my life right now.
If you don't follow me on instagram make sure that you do! I'm posting a lot of photos over there. I hope you don't mind! The weather in London was chilly, we all felt a bit lied to as they told us we didn't need really warm jackets but they would have helped a lot. Luckily some warm drinks and macarons helped us through. 

I melt everytime I look at this photo

The rings were gorgeous!

As I looked around the city I had this overwhelming feeling that I was so lucky to be here. I'm so mushy but I'm really glad I've made all of the friends I have so far, they make everything fun. 

I've had a few moments while being away where I felt overwhelmed and clustered, but hopefully by the end of next week that will lessen and I'll actually put my life together. But this weekend trip was my favorite so far and it's only the beginning. After Trafalgar square my friends and I bought tickets to see Wicked and it was amazing.

London is a dream come true, and it is so breathtaking. Despite the aggressive pigeons, the rain, and snow, England has been a dream and as I sat in the hotel room with my friends laughing about a bidet, I still couldn't believe that I'm running around England right now. 

Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a great day! In my last post, you read that I was setting up to travel to England. Since you're reading this, I have officially made it. It was an 8 hour plane ride, and I stayed awake the entire flight, which is the same as staying up until 3am! There was a special student line at the passport area and the group of students on my flight all got through! 

We met up with our group after grabbing our luggage, and waited for the last people to arrive. The six of us that were on the same flight all went to grab some caffeine. I still took a nap on the bus for about a half hour, maybe an hour as it was a two and a half hour journey to the manor anyway. I slept that night for a solid 9 hours and 19 minutes (thanks Fitbit) 

After wandering around a bit, and finding my room, I unpacked and decided to do some more exploring. I'm probably going to get lost a few times here, but everything is magical. My room overlooks some of the garden. which is pretty cool. The second day, was full of wandering and making sure everything was set to go for Monday. We gathered for a great meal and went for drinks afterwards.

First things first, how does everyone like Tuesday's as a posting date? I hope you all can check in once in awhile, especially since there will be a new study abroad/travel post every week on this day! 

I was lucky enough to be one of the people who had finals due online instead of in person and stole a bit more time at home than I thought I would have. 

Because at 7:39 US central time, I'll be boarding my flight at the Minneapolis Airport headed for London. A place that I have dreamed of being in since I was sat at a desk aged 12. 

I'll probably cry. 

I'll probably order wine on the plane, settle into a movie and find as much sleep as I possibly can. 

I loved being at home. I hate goodbyes. But knowing that my family is coming in April at the end of my trip to Prague is reassuring that I can do this.

                 

Pre-thoughts:

I am so nervous. I get homesick so easily and I am terrified but excited to run around the streets of London and go to all of the places I've read in blogposts (farmgirl cafe. yes please). Maybe even meet a few fellow bloggers (email me if you'd like to meet up!) 

I am also so excited.  My next post that will be up on this space will be about my first weekend in England. Settling in and all that. 

As I board the airplane I have to remind myself that this is the dream and I didn't work so hard to chicken out now. 

Are there any spots in London or Europe that I should put on my list? Let me know please! 

Check out my snapchat (kenziedear)  and my instagram for photos of the fun. I also started a youtube channel (CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE) The next time you hear from me, I'll be in England!