Due to the bad economy, Penny Lane is now known as Tupence Lane

Nottingham was a cool, artsy town. I found Nottingham castle and statues of Robin and the Merry Men (pictures to be posted soon) and there were great B&Bs for super cheap. I want to spend a weekend there in the future.

So to recap, I plan to come back to the UK and:
Spend two weeks in a small Scottish cottage in the highlands
Spend a weekend in Edinburgh
Live in York for three months
and stay in a B&B in Nottingham for a weekend.

After Nottingham I went to Birmingham which is a cute little shopping town, but everything was closed so I went straight to the hostel and started reading Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe which deals with the characters of Nottingham. It was so cool to read about places I had just visited and the people I had been thinking on.

On the train to Birmingham I was feeling anti-social and just listening to music but a guy sat across from me and he started pulling interesting things out of his bag and he looked so emo-chic that I ahd to strike up conversation. His name was Adam, he's 19 and in university and may hang with me in London. I can't help but be a social butterfly.

In the hostel in Birmingham I stayed in a mixed room for the first time and my bunkmate was a guy named Chris who lived right out of the city but was watching a show and couldn't get a train back home so late on Easter. He took pity on my diet of sunflower seeds and bread and tossed me some chocolate. There were also a couple Swedish girls, a guy from France, and another American, Eliza from Indiana. On top of Eliza was an Irish guy who came in during the middle of the night, began snoring like a beast and then slept most of the morning. When he did wake up, Eliza and I discovered that he slept only in shiny bikini underwear and was not afraid to show it. I'm thinking Ireland will be an adventure.

I took the train to Lancaster, met my friend Danielle and she made me real food (Yay!) and I called my family because she has this thing called Magic jack which lets her have a Florida landline here. It really is magic. Free calls to the US, ftw!

Today I woke up, had a real breakfast (Bacon!!!) and set off for Liverpool where I listened to 96 Beatle songs on my iPod, found Penny Lane and saw some crappy stunt cycling. I didn't realize that Liverpool was such a big city. The first big city I've really been in on this trip. It's nothing compared to London, I am sure, but was a bit of a jolt. Very cool place, great for a day trip but I wouldn't do more.

Then I came back to Lancaster where Danielle and friends had made shepard's pie and we feasted and made merry. Hoorah!

Tomorrow is the Coney Island of England - Blackpool! And then to London. I don't even know what to expect, which is perhaps best.