The World of Beatles and Potter

Four day weekends are a magical thing. This week we decided to use them to our advantage in a new way. Instead of traveling from the second classes ended Thursday to late Sunday night, we left Friday morning and got back Saturday night. Only staying one night in a foreign city instead of three really cut back on expenses and having some down time in our beautiful “home” city of Cambridge really cut down on the brain damage. We were still able to see a lot of Oxford and Liverpool, even though we only spent one day in each location.

On Friday we caught a train early in the morning, even though Thursday’s late night had us begging for more sleep. Luckily, trains aren’t horrible locations to catch up on some lost shut eye. We got into Oxford right around noon and had lunch at a pub called The Grapes (turns out there is one in Liverpool and in Cambridge too!). Then we walk to Christ Church where they did some filming for Harry Potter. Being a big fan, it was kind of awesome to see the staircase where the first years line up and the dining hall that the Great Hall was based on. After looking at the rest of the campus and walking around the town a bit we decided we were happy to be “from” Cambridge and could start calling Oxford “The Other Place,” like the Cambridge locals do.

After deciding we wanted to wait until Liverpool for dinner, we got on the train. BAD idea. By the time we got into Liverpool and checked into our AWESOME hotel, it was almost ten o’clock and we were sooooo hungry. We finally decided on a little Italian joint because most of the pubs’ kitchens had already closed. The food at the Italian restaurant was really good, albeit a little expensive. We splurged a little, but aw well. Then we went back to our hotel for some much needed cuddling, snuggling, and sleep.

The next day I reluctantly tore myself from my center spot in the comfy king bed and got ready for the day. We went to The Beatles’ Story which is a museum dedicated to– you guessed it– The Beatles. After learning as much as possible about the four biggest rockstars, um, ever, we went to go find lunch. With the help of our own personal map reader, Lauren, we went into The Cavern where The Beatles supposedly played the majority of their show. Ok, it was only a replica built from the same bricks as the original Cavern, but it was still cool. Sadly, they didn’t serve food so we ended up eating a couple doors down at another Grapes! Now this was pretty cool, they had pictures posted of The Beatles sitting in the seats of that very pub! Plus the food was cheap and tasty, my kind meal.

After a little more walking and another museum, I was glad to be on another train heading for King’s Cross and before I knew it, I was out. Before too long we were back in our temporary home, which is starting to feel like a real home more and more every day. My seven comrades and I had figured out that Oxford shied in comparison to it and the Liverpool(ians?) were extraordinarily kind. Then Sunday I slept in til noon and made myself crepes. Man I love studying abroad.

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