Adventures!

Hello again dear blog readers,

I've been out and about exploring some other areas of Kent! What a hectic but fun filled week!! My parents arrived on Saturday, Oct. 13th. We got full English breakfasts at this quaint restaurant in town that morning. Then we walked around window shopping & stopping for treats from venders on the side of the roads to give them a little taste of England. They'd never had nutella before!! What the heck?! We can even get that in the states! So, of course, we gorged ourselves on nutella crepes that afternoon! There was an awesome parade around noon we stayed to watch before touring Canterbury Cathedral! It was really beautiful, definitely a site to see! Unfortunately, more than half of the cathedral was blocked off for a wedding, so I really didn't get to see all of it that I wanted. Hopefully I'll be back with my sister when she comes in December! We finished the evening with dinner at this delicious English restaurant called the Old Weaver's Tavern. Mm mm tasty :)

Sunday morning, we caught a train to Bearsted to explore Leeds Castle, another big attraction in Kent. It was magnificent! It sits on a small island protected by a moat. The rest of the surrounding land is now a golf course, but the castle grounds are like something out of a Disney fantasy; beautiful trees and landscaping, hilltop cabins with stone chimneys, water fowl (swans, ducks, pigeons, etc...) all walking freely among the guests and diving into the ponds. Absolutely gorgeous. I was feeling pretty crappy because of a cold, so I showed them around my flat when we got back to Canterbury and said goodbye soon after. Then passed out. 

Leeds Castle Grounds

Leeds Castle

Mr. Peacock 

(They're all over the castle grounds, along with swans & other water fowl)

Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle Grounds

I'm pretty exhausted from this weekend, it was so eventful. My boyfriend came in late Wednesday night to help celebrate my 21st birthday on the 21st. Friday afternoon/evening we took a train to Longfield to go to the Broadditch Farm Shop in Southfleet to explore some haunted houses! They have an amazing Halloween set up along with other seasonal events. Check out their site: http://www.broadditch.co.uk/seasonalevents.htm

I'm all about supporting local businesses! It took a bit longer getting there & getting back (about 2 hours each way) for an hour and a half of fun, but it was an adventure nonetheless! My flat mates threw a big Halloween/Birthday party Saturday night. It's safe to say that I exposed them to Halloween the American way! The holiday is much less commercialized over here, but I insisted we get costumes & a few decorations to set the vibe. A ton of people came! By the middle of the night, all of us were crammed inside our itty bitty little kitchen! It was awesome!! Then my flat mates surprised me Sunday afternoon with totally unexpected presents & treats! THEN they surprised me again after dinner with a deeeelicious chocolate fudge cake Frankie made himself! I felt so loved and lucky! What a wonderful way to spend my 21st! 

Haunted House @ Broadditch Farm Shop

                           

Frankie and Lily! We were the three cats! 

The ladies of the house! From left: Charlotte, Lily, Me, Margaux

The witch & the cat

The cat, the skeleton, the zombie, the witch! With the "Happy Birthday" pumpkin they carved!

Now, I'm beginning to stress a bit about my midterm exams. They're due in a week and a half, so tomorrow I gotta knock out some intense studying. We have a few other trips planned already, one to Copenhagen for a concert, another to London to see some football matches!! I'm off to get some much needed shut eye. 

Cheers! And a special thanks to everyone who helped make my 21st one of the most amazing and memorable birthdays!!

Kat