To King's Lynn and back

Wow, I have officially been in Norwich for two weeks now! Part of me doesn't know where the time has gone and part of me feels like I've been here forever! I have been settling in well, meeting a lot of people, and getting used to classes. So far I am really enjoying England. And it hasn't rained for TWO WHOLE DAYS!!! Yesterday I actually saw the sun almost all day and today I was thrilled to have a glimpse of it. It's funny how excited we get about the sun here. And yes, the stories of Brits talking about the weather all the time are so true! It is definitely a focal point of every conversation here.

Since I know this semester is going to fly by, I really want to see and do as much as possible while I am here. Last Saturday, a friend from Australia and I decided to go on an adventure and see some of the English countryside. We bought a day pass for the bus and hopped aboard with no real agenda, but with a vague expectation of arriving in King's Lynn, a town about an hour and a half (by bus) west of here. On our way out, we made our first stop at Dereham where we walked around, explored a few old churches, and devoured a delicious traditional scone. Then we boarded the bus again for King's Lynn. I, however, managed to fall asleep (as I tend to do in any moving vehicle); so when I woke up, I panicked and thought we were at our stop. We got off the bus as fast as possible only to find ourselves one stop too early and in the midst of a retail area complete with grocery stores, McDonald's, KFCs, and other lovely chains. We managed to make it into the historic part of King's Lynn after dodging numerous cars and running like mad through round abouts. Without our extra mini-adventure though, we would have missed seeing the city gate built in 1504 and a nice park where parts of a 13th century Franciscan friary stood.

Once in town, we wandered the streets for awhile and then went to the Old Gaol House Museum where we donned cassette recorders and were guided through the museum from the point of view of a 1930's constable. The headset gave us insight into some of the tales that had taken place in that area over the centuries. Parts of the museum were interactive, so we were able to be fingerprinted, take mug shots, be put in the stocks, burnt at the stake, etc... The last part of the museum- the Regalia Room- had many historical and valuable items in it, like the Red Register and King John's Cup. After exploring the museum, we saw some of the other historic parts of this old port town, like St. Margaret's church, the Customs House, the river, and another museum, before grabbing lunch and touring some of the shops. After spending the day in King's Lynn, a town we never before knew existed, but grew to love, we caught a bus back to Norwich. However, wanting to make the most of our day pass and see as many places as possible, we stopped off in Swaffham on the way home for tea and biscuits. : )