Scubophilus Thistler

After a rather intense end of semester, with loads of coursework due at once, the holidays are finally here. For those that don’t know, Sunday is the start of the trip around Europe. I’ve set up an itinerary here, though sadly haven’t been able to add any events to it with everything that’s been going on lately. Still, I’ll update that page with any changes along the trip.

We managed to squeeze a trip to North England in last weekend, with a visit to Barnard Castle and Durham. I didn’t manage to get any photos, so Ash’s photos will be throughout this post. Barnard Castle was very nice, one of the most intact castles we’ve been to so far. It was a bit drizzly when we arrived, but we preserved and explored the lush gardens and enjoyed the river views from the castle walls. Afterwards we headed to the Farmer’s market to pick up some local produce. The town, also named Barnard Castle, was lovely and all the people seemed quite friendly.

We were soon back on the bus to Durham, where Christmas festivities were underway – being the 1st of December. Whilst in Durham, we explored the Cathedral, Museum of Archaeology and plenty of markets as we ventured around the relatively small city. Was a nice day out with plenty of Christmas cheer.

Christmas celebrations weren’t over though, with 14 of us from the residence here sharing in a Christmas dinner on Wednesday evening. Everyone put in a huge effort and it was great to sit down with friends for an awesome meal.

Today marks 2 months since I arrived in Leeds. We’ve well and truly settled in now and time has flown by. We’ve certainly packed plenty in during those two months. Since my last post we’ve been on a couple of trips with a travel group called Don’t Be A Tourist. They offer cheap trips around the country for International Students studying around West Yorkshire.

The first of these was Whitby, a wonderfully picturesque fishing village on the coast. On the way we stopped in at the Hole of Horcrum, in the North York Moors. Legend has it that a giant scooped out the 400ft hollow out of the ground, and tossed it aside to create a nearby mountain. The myth almost comes alive when you look out over the huge hole, and I’d definitely like to head back when it was covered in snow or the plants were in flower. Once in Whitby we headed straight to the Abbey. Despite seeing a few in the past months, they’re each still an amazing, unique building.

Upon heading down to the town we were reminded that it was gothic weekend in Whitby, with the various types of Goths almost outnumbering their interested onlookers. We tasted some great Fish & Chips at Mister Chips – where critics of British cuisine obviously have not visited. After wondering around the quaint town we ended up on The Bark Endeavor, a 40% scale model of Captain Cook’s Endeavor. While the trip around the bay was great, it also made me glad I wasn’t part of the original crew. In the afternoon we were to visit Hogsmeade (really Goathland) Railway Station, but the tall bus prevented us from getting past a bridge. The guys at Don’t Be A Tourist couldn’t have anyone being disappointed, and shouted us to see Ratatouille in Leeds later that week.

The next week we were off to Liverpool. We got to step through the lives and careers of The Beatles at Beatles Story. We checked out some unusual sculptures across the city, highlighting Liverpool’s status as European Capital of Culture next year. The 1900’s waterfront architecture seen in the Three Graces dominated the skyline. We made a trip up to the Anglican Cathedral, and while it only finished in the late 70s it seems like a structure from another age. It features the highest gothic arches in the world, and is the UK’s largest cathedral. Inside it felt extremely open, and there was an unusual contrast between the massive stained glass windows and cafe.

Afterwards bussed it to Crosby beach, where Anthony Gromley’s Another Place sculpture dotted the beach with 100 cast-iron figures of Gromley’s own body. While it was a strange concept for us utilising the beach as a canvas for art, it was incredibly moving watching the figures gaze out to see, some almost completely submerged by the incoming tide.

The two gigs I mentioned in the last post were amazing. The Shins didn’t disappoint at all, and I was welcomed into the crazy world of the Super Furry Animals. It was a huge contrast, between the soft tones of The Shins coming out of Manchester Academy and the psychedelic riffs of SFA at Leeds Town Hall, but both were quite enjoyable – something which sums up my entire experience here so far. If everything keeps going as it has been I’m sure the last 8 months will  be just as good!

  The Shins (w/ Ash & Scuba) @ Manchester Academy, originally uploaded by Rick & Mindy.

Despite the music scene being absolutely huge over here, I’m still yet to have been to a gig. I missed out on tickets to local gigs by The Decemberists (who canceled anyway) and Editors, but finally things are set to change!

First up, I’m off to the Super Furry Animals on Tuesday. After discovering them though Gruff Rhys’ solo work, their reputation as a great live band inspired me to get up to date with the huge catalog. As a Welsh psychedelic rock band, I’m sure it will be quite an experience. I’m heading there with a Welsh friend, who’s well looking forward to seeing a band from home perform here in Leeds.

In two weeks time Ashleigh and I are seeing The Shins in Manchester. We’re both huge fans, and have been looking forward to seeing them play live for quite some time. We certainly don’t mind having to make the trip over to Manchester to see them, I’m sure it will be well worth it!

Amongst all this, the middle of semester here has snuck right up with 4 exams and bundles of assessment happening over the next week or two. For those that don’t know, I’m taking subjects here from the Schools of Computing and Electronics in Artificial Intelligence, Operating Systems, Database Systems, Signal Processing, Probability, Control Systems and Embedded Systems. Much the same as the subjects I’d be doing in Australia, however about twice as many at once. That kind of workload seems pretty standard here though, so it will be interesting to see how everything pans out. So far they’ve been interesting enough subjects, and I’ve really taken to the relaxed amount of assessment during term compared to what I’m used to.

With time flying by, Christmas holidays will be coming up before long, so I’ve started planning out the travel plans for that time. So far the draft itinerary sees us starting in The Netherlands on the 9th of December, spending Christmas in France and then celebrating New Years in Scotland. With plenty of room in between those, I’m looking forward to an exciting break across Europe. I’ll be sure to keep everyone up to date as the rest of the plans come to light.

Over the past week the temperature seems to have dropped, and it feels quite strange walking home from uni at midday with the temperature below 10. While I’m sure it’s going to get a lot worse, I’m not overly concerned about it. The fun shall continue right into the winter :D

Last weekend, Ashleigh and I traveled down to London. It was both of our first times there, and we managed to pack loads into the two days. The train down on GNER was a bargain at only £10, and was the smoothest and quietest train ride I’d ever been on it. 2.5hrs later we arrived in Kings Cross.

We first headed to Trafalgar Square. It was extremely quiet, understandable for 9am on a weekend. After grabbing some photos with the huge lions, and lovely fountains, we headed down on foot to Westminster. The Palace of Westminster was enormous, amazing architecture. We continued on to the Westminster Abbey, which was incredible both inside and out. As the resting place of so many British Monarchs, it was quite eery inside. But amongst it all there was so much history to be seen inside.

We’d booked a hostel, The Astor Museum Inn, to stay in for the night. It was located nearby to Russell Square (Park and Station) and so we decided to check in that afternoon. After unloading luggage, we headed to the British Museum – the namesake for the hostel. It was literally across the road, and yet somehow it took us ages to actually find it. Free entry was well appreciated, and we spent a few hours browsing the remarkable artifacts from Greece, Rome and Egypt in particular. There was much more to see, and one could easily spend a whole day there.

The London Eye was the next stop for the weekend, with an amazing view of London on offer after surviving the huge line of eager patrons. The view was spectacular, and really brings out the enormity of the city. Afterwards we headed to the Tate Modern gallery. Some interesting pieces on offer here, including a giant crack down the long turbine room floor. Whilst some objects were just bizarre, it was still quite enjoyable and the size was not to overwhelming.

The next day we were of to Buckingham Palace, where we witnessed the changing of the guard. We were in a great position for the marching bands and troops entering the palace grounds, but not so much for the actual changing. It was an extremely popular event, and for a regular event it was still extremely dramatic. Afterwards we headed closer to town to Westminster Cathedral. Outside it seemed similar to a regular cathedral, yet the interior was fashioned with spectacular mosaics.

After a spot of shopping (ie. browsing) in the shockingly priced Harrods, we decided to catch the Dockhands Light Railway to Greenwich. The driverless train was fun to catch, and we ended up in the quaint town of Greenwich. It was such a quite town considering its proximity to London. We stood on the Greenwich Meridian Line at the top of Greenwich Park, and caught more spectacular views of London. That was just about it for the exhausting weekend, and we took a late train back to Leeds. London was an amazing city, and we’ll certainly be heading back sometime soon.

Since arriving in Leeds I’ve made a couple of day trips out on the weekends. Being situated in West Yorkshire makes visits to the lovely traditional Yorkshire countryside very accessible.

The first trip was organise by the University Union, and involved 3 coaches of International Students heading out to the beautiful town of Scarborough, Britain’s first holiday resort, on the East Coast of the UK. The beach front was crowded with arcades and while tacky, this added to the carnival feel of the town.

Being a rather sunny day, the beach was a lot nicer then we expected. We strolled along the beachfront and headed towards the castle looming in the distance. Scarborough Castle was to be our first castle visit, and once making the incredible trek up we set off exploring around the castle walls. The cliff face was lined with photographers, but it wasn’t until we were inside the keep that we realised the QE2 cruise ship was passing, accompanied by fireworks lit from the beach. It was a nice surprise, and pretty funny that it was receiving all the attention rather than the castle.

After exploring Scarborough Castle, we headed to St. Mary’s Church to visit Anne Brontë’s Grave. The church and cemetery had remained well preserved over the years, and there were lots of tourists in and around the area.

We headed down to the beach for some traditional fish and chips, and spent the rest of the afternoon on the beachfront, along with various walks around town. It was a beautiful day, and made it easy to see why it is such a popular holiday destination for the Brits.

Two weeks later Ashleigh and I decided to head out to York, capital of the North back in the Kingdom of England. The city of York is bounded by castle walls, inside of which traffic is heavily restricted. This helps to bring out the very traditional aspects of the city, with it’s historic links drawing in tourism from around the world.

After a short 2 hour bus trip from Leeds, Ashleigh and I began exploring the city. After ducking in and out of tiny streets we ventured down the cobblestones of The Shambles, which was very awe inspiring. We headed over to the York Minster, and were surprised to find it surrounded by police and crowds. Eventually the Duke of York proceeded into the Minster along with a military procession, as an army ceremony was taking place. The Minster was closed for the rest of the afternoon, so we were unfortunately unable to enter and climb to the top.

We decided to take a walk on the castle walls surrounding town, which had been very well preserved for the most part. The walls eventually took us to Clifford’s Tower, the keep of the castle. There were great, panoramic views to be had from atop the tower. It was well worth the trek up the stairs to enter.

The day in York concluded with a visit to the National Railway Museum, the largest in the world. It was filled with amazing locomotives, and loads of interesting history on the British Railway. There was plenty to see inside, and with free entry it was a great cheap way to spend the afternoon. We had no problems finding a bus back to Leeds afterwards, and before to long we were on our way home.

Upon arriving at the Leeds Bus and Coach station, Ashleigh and I, along with 2 other International students, were picked up by the University’s International Welcome team. We were taken to the temporary accommodation office. I thought I’d be able to move into my accommodation in the next couple of days, but it turned out that I wasn’t able to until the Saturday I arrived. A bit annoying, as I had to live out of my backpack in a temporary room for a few days, but not a huge issue. We got given our keys to rooms on campus, unpacked and had a quick walk around campus at 8pm. It was still quite bright at this time, something that we really weren’t used to.

Included in the accommodation was breakfast from the Refectory. An amazing, huge place which has been home to international-scale gigs for decades. We spent the next couple of days exploring campus and town. It’s very cool being able to duck down to town between classes, with the city center only about ten minutes walk from campus. A large group of students were taken into town on a tour, and shown all the cheap spots by some experienced students. Once the two days of temporary accommodation were over, we got bused to Montague Burton, a student residence close to campus. It was good to settle in, and despite being a 5 minute walk off campus, it was much more pleasant than the previous accommodation.

The last two days of International Orientation Week were spent in lectures, with loads of information on the city and the university. It was during this that I realised how similar Australian and British culture was, despite the initially confusing language differences. While the info in these sessions would have been great for students from non-English backgrounds, it was old news to us. Luckily we met up with some other Australians who though likewise, and went out for drinks instead.

Next up, a trip to Scarborough!