Making the Past Present

I have declared bankruptcy – blog bankruptcy. Finding myself so far behind on my blog – and facing the prospect of writing more essays in the next few weeks – I have decided there is no way I will ever catch up if I were to write long posts for each of my recent weekend trips. So, I present a collection of places: little snapshots of the places I have visited in recent weeks.

First up: London! On my most recent trip to London, I discovered two of the city’s most colorful corners: the Covent Garden market and Neal’s Yard. I also had an excellent time exploring all over the city, from the British Museum and Bloomsbury to Trafalgar Square and Whitehall to the Imperial War Museum.

A bit closer to home is Selby Abbey. Selby is about 30 minutes south of York by train – a relatively small town with a very large, magnificent church. Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s, Selby Abbey was a major monastic complex. Now, only the church survives (luckily it survived Henry VIII!).

Two weeks ago now, I returned to Cambridge for the first time since I studied abroad there in 2014 (my first trip to the UK!). It was a very lovely day, in terms of the weather, the architecture, and the experience. Cambridge as a town appealed to me much more on this trip than in 2014 – perhaps because I saw much more of it this time around. I think I walked around more of Cambridge in about 6 hours than in the whole five weeks I was there in 2014. Clearly, I have gotten more adventurous and willing to explore in the past six years (a good thing!).

Most recently, I’ve been exploring more of Yorkshire and visited Sheffield, about an hour southwest of York by train. Sheffield, like Leeds, is a former industrial city that in recent years has made a big push to overcome its post-industrial decline. As I explored Sheffield city center, I could tell that Sheffield has made major investments in urban renewal and redevelopment, as the city center was quite busy. It also has a number of shops and restaurants and interesting places to visit, such as the Moor Market, an indoor farmer’s market with a food court (home of excellent Thai food!), and the Winter Garden, a large greenhouse featuring tropical plants. I also enjoyed Sheffield’s nineteenth century architecture, especially the massive Victorian Town Hall. I didn’t have enough time to visit any of Sheffield’s art galleries or museums, so I have something for my next visit. (I have to come back for more Thai food, anyway!)

That’s all for now, folks!