Leicester is COLD.
I went there by train after my last Friday lecture. My first train to Birmingham New Street was delayed by more than an hour, meaning that I missed my connecting train, so I had to catch a different Leicester-bound train. When I finally got there, I was greeted by my long-time friend, T whom I missed dearly. I stayed over at her place for the 2 nights I was there. Her hall, Opal Court, is amazing. It's so close to her medical school and the facilities are wonderful. Local freshers don't get to stay there, she says, only final year students. Definitely one of the most posh places in Leicester. And to think that her rent is almost the same as mine, but I'm getting such a dingy place instead :P
Met S, another collegemate, who lives in the same flat. She made fried rice and we squabbled over the amount of chilies to put in. Then we chatted until 1am before we slept.
The next day, T showed me around her uni campus.. It was just a short walk away from her hall.. She also showed me the medical school and all the uni's music rooms. She wanted to show me this doorless elevator in the Attenborough building which sounded really scary but unfortunately it was closed for the weekend :P
Afterwards, we visited the Nelson Mandela Park, which was next to the "castle" which T eagerly wanted to show me. The castle was huge and looked really grand.. I was walking towards the entrance before T nudged me to look at the signboard in front of it.. That was when I realized what the "castle" was really for.. LOL.. You got me real good, T :P
For lunch, S joined us for a halal Chinese buffet.. The food was lovely.. We had fried rice, all sorts of chicken, beef, mushrooms, fried mee, teppanyaki and two scoops of ice-cream to top it off nicely.. One thing I really like about Leicester (and apparently somewhere outside of Southampton) is how easy it is to find halal restaurants which doesn't serve the typical kebabs or Indian food.. I'm talking Nandos, KFC, etc. and they're mostly halal in Leicester.. How I miss the freedom of going into shops without worrying whether I can eat the food or not.. I guess Southampton's more of a 'white locals' area than I thought..
Afterwards, we went to Hay Market and The Shires where I bought a scoop of the most decadent ice-cream at Thorntons.. Yup, I was eating ice-cream while the temperature was 5-6 degrees.. Then, we went to Leicester Market for some grocery shopping before heading back.. The colourful array of vegetables, the buzz from the jostling crowds and the sellers yelling their lungs out - every inch of the market feels very lively :)
After taking a short nap (eat + sleep = hibernate mode) we went to a Mexican restaurant not unlike Chili's in Malaysia.. We had salad, king prawn fajitas, nachos and chocolate cake.. Talk about indulgence :) By the time we walked out of the restaurant, it was -0.5 degrees outside! Brrr.. It was so foggy that we almost ran over a drunk guy who tried to cross the road while the traffic light was green!
On Sunday morning, T and I took a lovely stroll along the canal.. T brought some bread for me to feed the pigeons, ducks and swans with, but we didn't expect to be swarmed by such a huge flock of them! We were almost 'attacked' everytime the bread was handed out :P
We tried to look for a cafe to have breakfast but since it was quite early in the morning (by British standards) we couldn't find any.. Cold and hungry, we were getting ready to head back when T saw a door with an 'open' sign in front of it and we barged in.. It was a small, quaint shop run by a friendly old man and we had the nicest English breakfast of vegetable sausages, eggs, baked beans, potatoes, mushrooms and toast with coffee and tea.. I guess what made the breakfast even more special was the fact that the old man knew all the other customers by name, and he really took great care that T and I were both comfortable.. He brought us the morning paper and turned up the heater in between "Are you alright there?" every now and then.. It was definitely quite an experience :)
I had to catch a morning train back to Southampton so I bid T goodbye at the Leicester train station at 11am.. The trains were surprisingly prompt this time around.. While I waited for my connecting train at Birmingham New Street, I called my mom in Malaysia and she was worried sick when I told her that I was travelling alone.. After reassuring her that I was OK, I got onto the train to Southampton and arrived on time :)
BTW, did I tell you that I had a programming coursework due on Monday? So I lugged my laptop to Leicester and finished my work during the train rides.. Virgin Trains have latched tables behind each seat and power sockets next to the window seats which is really cool :P Of course, I didn't sleep much last Thursday so that I could finish 50% of my work before I went to Leicester, but I think bringing my laptop definitely paid dividends.. I know that working onboard trains sounds like a funny advice to give when you're stuck on a programming project, but you never discover how easily ideas flow until you're zooming past miles and miles of greenery :)
Next week's itinerary : St. Margaret's House! LOL, I'm not going anywhere this weekend.. Considering that it's getting colder outside, I think I'll hold my wandering ways until much later..
Until winter holidays, at least ;)
P/S : More pictures here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/coolster1/
::
NHA at 2:00 PM ::
0 comments ::
