So our first Sunday, 16th May we went to Chester. My expectations were really low when I heard that's where we would be going. Even though one of the lads from L.O. (Paul) is from there and says he loves it, I just didn't think anything could top how glorious Liverpool was. I am quite happy to say I was wrong.

Since it was a Sunday, the train didn't run from Ormskirk to Liverpool Central, so we had to take a 40 minute bus, wait for 30 minutes, then hop on the train to Central Station, get off Northern line and go to Wirral, and then take another train all the way to Chester. We left Ormskirk bus station a little after 10. We got into Chester at 1.

When we finally did arrive and started making our way up to the Cathedral (the main focus of the trip), I was very taken aback at how lovely and quaint the town was. The buildings were ancient and fantastic. Inside the Cathedral, it was both beautiful and informative. Then we were on our own.

After we left the Cathedral, Mimi, Ashley and I almost immediately ran into two men dressed in ancient Roman armour. I had gathered from our time in the Cathedral that there was a heavy Roman influence, but I was completely unprepared for people running around in their traditional garb! We took a few pictures and then continued on our way. We then spent the rest of the day shopping and taking pictures.

For me, Chester was the first most truly 'classical' European town I've seen since being here. Perhaps it is because of the Roman influence, but it reminds me of a little city I used to live in--Bamberg, Germany--which is an hour from Wurzburg and Erlangen and about two hours by trian from Nurnberg. Bamberg was a very unique town in that it is one of the few that was not bombed in the World War, so all of its history shines through the walls of its buildings. And similarly, Bamberg and Chester are some of the prettiest old towns I have seen. That is one thing you don't see much in the States. When people refer to an 'old' building, it usually only dates back to 1900 or so.

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Since our last day trip, we have mostly been getting comfortable in a daily routine here at Edge Hill University. Class, seeing Ormskirk, hanging out with Lady O, and bed. We went running the other day, which was good. And yesterday the weather was beautiful, I think it made it up to 17C!

The classes are interesting. I'm taking one English and one history and culture class. I really liked the lesson today where we were looking up Saxons, Celts, and Picts. We were also talking about what the Union Jack flag consisted of and why. It's a combination of the Cross of St. George (for England AND Wales though there has been campaign to get the Red Dragon added so that Wales can have its own separate element), the Cross of St. Andrew (Scotland), and the Cross of St. Patrick (Ireland).