Hello everyone!  I am a new blogger and my name is Katie 🙂

I have been in the UK for a little bit more than a year now and I haven’t actually been around, except for London.  Before I came here, I thought I would be visiting somewhere every month but it obviously did not happen.  So I decided if there is one thing I will do this year is to go somewhere I have never been before! (and of course to pass my first year) Over a funny misunderstanding, my friend thought I was going to visit her and she was delighted, so I thought, you know what? It’s about time, I might as well!

 

Over the last weekend, I went to Sheffield and it was absolutely amazing!  First of all, the tickets only cost £13.50 which is not bad at all considering the length of the journey.  Instead of taking the train which is what I always do, I decided to take the bus.  I found my tickets on https://uk.megabus.com/ and was pleasantly surprised with its service.  I expected it to be an uncomfortable ride solely because of the inexpensive price and usually that is an implication of an inadequate quality.  But I could not be more wrong, the company was highly organised, the coach station was easy to find and the bus was quite spacious, I honestly could not have asked for more!

 

It took around five hours but I eventually arrived and to my surprise, my friend was already waiting for me there!  She has an accommodation outside campus that was very neat, it was an apartment which is quite different from what we have in Guildford.  The next day, we went to the Christmas market and walked around town,  I was beyond excited!  It looks very different from Guildford because it is a bigger city and naturally it is more populated, they had more apartments and restaurants, it was really interesting to see another side of England.  We went to the Winter Garden and the Millennium Gallery, and there were a group of people caroling in the Winter Garden which created a very warm and loving environment.  Both of those attractions were impressive and special in their own way and I’m afraid words alone would not do them justice.

 

I had a really long time to reflect on the journey home and I did not realize how much I missed my friend until I saw her but I was really pleased to see how well she is doing.  I felt a bit sad and guilty for not going around more last year and I was trying to figure out why-I was always busy with ‘work’.  One piece of advice I would give for people who studies in a foreign country, there is always going to be a reason to not doing something but if an opportunity presents itself, Take It!  Now this is not to say that you should ditch everything and leave, it just means that from time to time, it is okay to take a break and explore the world!

 

Here are some links for those who are interested or wants to know more 🙂

The Winter Garden:  https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/out–about/parks-woodlands–countryside/gardens/the-winter-garden

 

 

 

 

 

Millennium Gallery: http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/museums/millennium-gallery/home