Last day - time has flown!

I can't believe today is the last day of lectures. This week has flown by and unfortunately doesn't feel like enough was accomplished or covered.

The lectures have been good, for the most part, and I've got a better idea of the material for some of my classes. Now I just have to go and memorize it all and hope that I can pass the exams this May and June!

Today I have 5 hours of classes, and then I'll go into town to say 'bye' before packing up my room and possibly meeting some friends at the pub for a farewell drink. Tomorrow I head back down to London (Maidenhead), and Sunday I spend the day flying home!

This has certainly been a fun 3 weeks, although my Europe trip feels a long time ago already, and Cambridge feels a bit like I've already been home for a week (due to school)... I'm sure when I do get home things will feel even more strange!

Ah well, off to breakfast and class. If I don't get a chance before, I'll update again when home!

toodles.

Student Life

I have to say I'd forgotten how much work it takes to sit in class and try absorb and take notes from a lecturer. I'm now used to going my own pace with school (a pretty hard pace, but not like lectures)... I'm exhausted!

Unlike last year, where I instantly dove into the depths of despair due to the feelings of inadequacy, this year it's been a slow climb up the mountain of terror. I've left base camp 1, but not yet at base camp 2. The summit is a while away.

To better describe it, I'm kind of numb. I love being here, learning from the Cambridge law faculty professors - its an incredible experience. I recognize all the topics we're discussing but don't know any of the details (which is what made me panic last year). I think this time I'm aware of how hard I'm going to have to work the next few months, so am better prepared?? or maybe I was knocked down so many pegs last time that I didn't get worked up this time? Who knows.

Due to Cambridge not offering a class on my History subject, I am only in lectures for 3 of my 4 classes this time. The professors for each are excellent, but for different reasons. Trusts and Land are going very well with the format and information - which is good because those are my weakest. Tort is another story: the professor is young and new and uncomfortable, and is spending far too much time waffling than educating us. But I am learning a bit here and there, and he's talking a lot about recent cases (ie in the past year), so if I can quote some of those on the exams I'm sure the examiners will be pleased.

I've made a few friends here (despite my best solitary efforts LOL (JK)). One is a South African girl, then 2 ladies from Jersey Island (Channel Island), an Auzzie who lives in London, and a New Yorker. The group is much smaller than last year - there are less than 30 in my classes this time, when there were at least 60 last year. I prefer the smaller group.

I haven't had much of a chance to re-explore the town, but may have some time tomorrow on my lunch break. I'll be holed up in the library for most of the day though.

Otherwise not much to report. My europe trip already feels miles away. Cambridge, as strange as it sounds, reminds me of home so much that it actually feels like I am at home. In many ways last year and this year have meshed together already - eating in the dining hall feels quite normal. I suppose that's a good thing.

In my free time (when not sleeping or being stuffed with too much food) I am trying to load Europe photos on Flickr. Its a slow process (due to culling down the thousands), but I hope to get a big chunk up this week.

Alright, bye for now!

Goodbye Holiday, Hello School.

Well I'm now in Cambridge, settled in at Selwyn College and starting my week of boot-camp tomorrow.

Since I last wrote:

Amsterdam - we saw as much as we could in the day we were there, but didn't find it nearly as interesting as other cities. Granted I'd been there before, but even fresh-eyed Owen didn't like it as much. The buildings and cannals are really cool, but the atmosphere is very different. Plus I hated driving in the city, the bikes and trams and people make it a nightmare.

Delft - I love that town. It was market day, which made it crazy busy, but its a quite pretty place with some cool buildings. A nice change from A-Dam.

Brugges - LOVED. Totally loved. Would reccomend for anyone to go there. Really cool buildings, really nice people, awesome chocolate, lace, cannals, etc. Can't say enough, super cool place to go.

We then drove back down to Paris for a night, narrowly missing the protest which were 3million strong (thanks to some text's from mom!). Low key night of repacking etc.

Windsor/Maidenhead - visited my Aunt and Uncle who live near Windsor in England. Explore the castle and wandered the town, then had a nice family visit. Good way to end the trip.

Owen went home today (I think he's landing in about 2 hours). He's been an excellent travelling companion and I miss his company already. Hopefully he re-adjusts to 'normal' life quickly!

I made my journey up to Cambridge - via car, tube, bus, and taxi. I'm settled in at Selwyn College and all my classes start up tomorrow. Hopefully I can focus on the positive while I'm here and not get too stressed. The view from my window is cool.

Bye for now!

France, Switzerland and Germany

Ya, so not much internet between Dijon and here! And not much time here to post much.

Dijon: cute little town, explored a number of churches and the local market, bought some Burgundy wine. All in all a nice spot to stop in.

Mullhouse: Unexpectedly lovely town. Town hall is very proud of its roots, has a really cool museum, and we ate some churro's!

Switzerland - we went into Basel and were once again really surprised - it was a lovely little town with some interesting architecture, some nice history, and a cool river. Great intro to Switz.

Zurich: we were there to a) see the city and b) meet up with my friend Reesa. "A" worked, but "B" didn't. We walked around the town and went into some churches and generally got a feeling for the place, but didn't have a lot of time.

Karlsruhe: To get here we had to drive alongside the Black Forest (a la Cake) for about 2.5 hours. Yup, big green trees. But it was really pretty, especially thinking back about it now! We got to Karlsruhe quite late, so didn't get to see much until the next morning: big palace, big german town layout.

Koblenz: On the way to Koblenz we stopped at Maulbronn, a UNESCO protected monestary, then Heidelburg, an awesome german castle, and finally Worms, a cute little german town along the Rhine. Koblenz itself is at the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine rivers - very cool location, not much space to build!! We explored the town and visited some old churches.

Rhine Valley: Drove sections of both the Mosel and Rhine Valley's, both of which have wicked castles on the land above and amazing little villages along the river. We loved this part and definitely want to come back.

Cologne (Koln): AWESOME Cathedral. Big dream of mine fulfiled. We spent all our time here exploring the Cathedral - we'll have to visit the other 20 churches some other time.

We are now in Amsterdam. We visited Utrecht on our way up - such a sweet little town. Amsterdam is its usual self, but a total nightmare for driving because of all the bike riders. Ugh.

Ok, that's it for now!! bye!!

London, Paris and such (March 6 - 12)

Bon Soir from Dijon, France!! We have been having a fantastic time, have accomplished so much and are pretty much exhausted - which is the way to be when you're travelling, in my opinion! =P

I don't have much time, so I'm going to list what we've accomplished so far!

London = A big walk including: Oxford St, Marble Arch, Hyde Park, Green Park, Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Admiralty Arch, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery (visited), Whitehall, Banqueting House, Westminister & Big Ben, Westminster Abby (tried to visit but as was Sunday, closed), Thames, Tate Modern (visited), Globe, Millenium Bridge (walked on), Tower Bridge (saw), St Pauls (visited), Fleet Street, Inns of Court, Temple Church (visited), Aldwych, Bloomsbury, British Museum (visited), British Library, St. Pancras.

Eurostar train through the Channel Tunnel.

Paris = 3 days, visited: Sacre Coeur (climbed), Monmatre, Dali museum, Monmatre Cemetary, Isle de la Cite - Notre Dame (night and day visits, multiple times), Saint Chapelle, Notre Dame Tower, Notre Dame crypt, Catacombs of Paris, St. Sulpice, Musee D'Orsey, Louvre, Champs Elysees, Arch de Triomphe (climbed), Eiffel Tower (climbed), Latin Quarter, Sorbonne (saw police reponse to student protest), Pantheon (closed), Seine River cruise by night.

Versailles & Gardens.

Have now driven from Versailles to Dijon, and it looks like a fantastic city and we can't wait to explore it tomorrow!

Other tid-bits of the trip:
We are surviving on bigger breakfasts, no lunch and minimal dinners. This seems strange to most, but it works for us.
We are quite tired from all our walking (hopefully this is understandable), but we want to get as much as we can out of this experience, so we're not being lazy!
My knee has once again lost it's battle with Paris. This is my third time to Paris, and every time I visit the city my right knee is destroyed. No idea why, but it's not exactly fun.
Driving over here is crazy, but it certainly keeps you on your feet. Owen is my navigator, with the help of my GPS unit.

Well, not sure when the next internet will be, but know that we're having fun and taking a million photos!!!

Bags Packed, Ticket in Hand.. waiting..

The worst part about going on a trip is the 24 hours before leaving... at least for me. My bags are packed, I'm all organized, prepped and ready.. and now I have to kill time!

I've gone through every unit of my 4 subjects, so in that sense I'm prepared. I know that as soon as I get to Cambridge I'll start getting very worried.. I mean, who remembers what they read in October in great detail?! But that's why I'm going - go through some bootcamp to prepare myself for the hard exam-prep slog ahead.

Anyway... have 2 fun filled weeks ahead of me. I am very excited; this is going to be such an interesting journey! I'll post as frequently as I find internet, and will definitely post excerpts from my trip diary when I've got the net at Cambridge. Photos will go up whenever possible.

Now to go kill time....