I cross all the seas, it's fine by me...

3 destinatii diferite in mai putin de o saptamana...Nu e rau, nu?

Dupa Cardiff am continuat sa ma prefac ca am o viata cosmopolita si martea imedia urmatoare am mers in Leamington Spa (nu este un spa!!!), un orasel la o ora distanta de Coventry, sub pretexul unei vizite gratuite la un oftalmolog (uite cu ce te poti alege cand pierzi vremea aiurea pe internet).
Stiam ca pot sa iau autobuzul nr. 12 ca sa ajung acolo, stiam deci si cat timp dureaza calatoria, asa ca am mers la statia centrala, Pool Meadow, mi-am cumparat bilet de o zi si am asteptat putin pana soferul s-a contrat (nu certat) cu un pusti de vreo 16 ani caruia ii expirase abonamentul cu o zi in urma si care pretindea ca nu stia in ce data este. Eu i-as fi sugerat sa mearga la scoala sa invete sa citeasca in calendar, dar aici nu se face mare 'tam-tam' in situatii ca astea; doar niste batranele i-au spus ca e obraznic si ca ar trebui sa coboare, ca ne tine in loc.

Nu imi amintesc cand si daca am mai ajuns prin zonele din Coventry pe unde a trecut autobuzul, cert este ca am mers destul de mult pana am iesit din oras (prin sud-vest), iar cand eram prin zona Universitatii Warwick (adica fix la marginea orasului), masina a inceput sa tiuie ingrozitor. Degeaba a incercat soferul sa opreasca motorul si sa stationeze ceva mai mult de cate ori a avut ocazia, zgomotul nu a incetat si pace! Cum sunt zero la mecanica (si la masini & condus in general), nu as putea sa ma dau cu parerea legat de cauzele tiuitului, poate doar sa il fi pus pe seama supraincalzirii motorului...

Plecasem de acasa destul de devreme, si imi rezervasem cam o ora si jumatate pt drum. Dar stateam in autobuz, intre Coventry si Kenilworth (caci abia apoi urmeaza Leamington Spa) si imi dadeam seama ca drumul va dura mai mult de o ora (care se cam scursese deja) si va fi aproape imposibil sa ajung la programarea de la ora 13:00, mai ales ca imi uitasem pelerina de zbor acasa!

Cum, necum, autobuzul s-a mai 'tarat' putin (la un moment dat zgomotul s-a oprit, pt scurt timp insa), a trecut chiar si de Kenilworth (frumos orasel!) si chiar cand eram la intrarea in Leamington Spa (aveam sa imi dau seama mai tarziu) s-a oprit si soferul a decis ca e mai bine sa asteptam urmatorul autobuz, care urma sa soseasca in 10 minute. S-a inecat precum tiganul la mal! Dupa ce aproape ca ne-a omorat urechile, nici macar nu a fost in stare sa ne surzeasca pana la capat. Mda...trebuia sa cer banii inapoi, ca vad ca tot se obisnuieste asta aici, pt absolut orice prostie...Nu m-ati crezut cand v-am spus de karma proasta pe care o am cu autobuzele/autocarele, nu? Si au mai fost situatii, nu's "incepatoare"...

In fine, am ajuns in centrul orasului, caci acolo te lasa autobuzul, am mers jumatate de minut si am dat de cabinet, am completat o fisa, am stat de vorba cu asistentii de pe acolo (mama unuia era chiar romanca, din Curtea de Arges), apoi cu doctorul bla bla bla, nimic interesant...Pentru ca totul s-a terminat destul de repede, m-am plimbat apoi un pic prin oras, ar fi fost si pacat sa plec direct! O sa va spun cateva impresii despre locurile pe care l-am vazut in ziua respectiva, apoi va las sa va delectati cu poze.

Leamington Spa este un orasel tare sic si dichisit, chiar daca este mic (aici are statutul de 'town', nu 'city' - nu pot sa fac distinctia in romana), cu vreo 45 000 locuitori. A fost (si este) intr-adevar un oras de bai (spa), probabil echivalentul Bailor Felix/Herculane la noi, dar nu bag mana in fc. Cand am ajuns era foarte aglomerat, multi tineri pe strazi, unii pareau de varsta mea (ma intreb de ce nu erau la facultate), dar si multi pensionari, foarte eleganti. Cladirile au o arhitectura clasica, in stil victorian si georgian (inca o data mi-am spus ca am nimerit in cel mai urat loc din Anglia) si se vede ca orasul nu este unul de studenti, este mult mai ingrijit. Totusi, cand m-am indepartat putin de centru parea ca nu mai arata asa bine. Dar am traversat un parc/o gradina care arata pur si simplu superb (am aflat acum ca se numeste Gradina Jephson), avea si un fel de sera, legata, pe de o parte, de un restaurant si, pe de alta parte, un fel de sala de seminarii pt un colegiu. Per total, din ceea ce am vazut, pot spune ca mi-ar fi placut sa stau intr-un oras ca Leamington Spa.
Se facuse cam ora 16:00, imi era foame si chiar daca erau destule locuri unde as fi putut lua pranzul, detest sa mananc singura, asa ca m-am gandit ca puteam sa mai rezist o ora, pana in acasa. M-am postat, deci, in statia de autobuz si am plecat, fara sa cumpar (caci nu am vazut pe nicaieri) 2 vederi, cum fac de obicei - una o trimit in Bucuresti, alta o pastrez pt mine...Nu-i nimic, se gasesc in Coventry :)

Pe drum am trecut din nou prin Kenilworth, as fi putut sa cobor si sa ma plimb putin prin oras, caci arata foarte frumos, cum spuneam, dar e foarte plictisitor sa fcai asta singur. Poate o sa ma intorc intr-o zi sa vizitez castelul de acolo, ma rog, ruinele. Apoi am trecut iar pe langa Universitatea Warwick, care era foarte populata la ora respectiva, probabil ca se terminau cursuri. Universitatea asta este literalmente in mijlocul pustietatii, dar campusul (zona universitara, ca sa definesc mai precis) este extreeeem de mare, cred ca mai mare decat toate cladirile/locatiile Universitatii din Coventry puse in acelasi loc, desi noi avem Parcul Tehnologic, laboratorul aerospatial si chiar acum se construiesc doua noi campusuri (dintre care unul va fi cam cel mai performant din UK pe domeniul IT), plus ca au deschis si unul in Londra (pt programe de licenta pe business&marketing + MBA). Practic, Universitatea din Warwick este un orasel in sine, cu magazine, cafenele si baruri, exact cum vezi prin filme. Au un teren mare de sport si multe facilitatitati de gen, multe dormitoare studentesti, rasfirate peste tot. Cred ca ambele universitati au cam acelasi nr. de studenti (dar ai lor par mai desteptin:P), dar la Warwick parea asa de 'aglomerat', poate pt ca la noi nu prea exista un punct central al campusului si ne amestecam si cu locuitorii din oras...

Ma gandeam ca, daca ar fi sa o iau de la capat (cu un Master, in nici un caz licenta), mi-ar placea ori sa merg intr-un oras mare ori la o astfel de universitate, unde sa fie spritul asta de studentime, caci aici nu prea am simtit eu ca am dus o viata asa grozava din punctul asta de vedere (era mai misto pana si in Bucuresti). Sigur, aici fac un master, deci am mai putine cursuri pe saptamana, am mai putini colegi, dar nici o clipa nu au existat "excese" de prietene sau macar idei de genul "Haideti la o bere" dupa ultimul curs dintr-o zi si nici eu nu mi-am dat silinta, caci sunt genul de persoana care se descurajeaza repede cand da de obstacole de genul asta...In fine, spuneam ca mi-ar placea sa experimentez si traiul intr-un campus exclusiv studentesc, desi categoric asta spun doar momentan, m-as plictisi enorm sa fiu izolata, deja ma plctisesc acum, iar centrul este la doar 15 minute de mers pe jos (deci nici macar nu sunt rupta de lume). Si, bineinteles, nu as mai alege o universitate britanica decat daca ar fi moca si m-ar mai si plati...

Chiar ascultam (nu ma puteam abtine) conversatia a doi tipi in autobuz, aflati cateva randuri in spatele meu, unul parea asiatic dupa voce si accent, altul nu imi amintesc...Din cate mi-am dat seama, caci imi mai zburau si mie gandurile admirand peisajul, studiau ceva legat de matematica sau fizica, stiinte exacte oricum. Tot vorbeau de examene si cursuri, iar unul dintre ei (asiaticul) a inceput sa se planga la un moment dat ca nu este multumit de facultate, de nivelul studiilor etc. Si eu care credeam ca asta se intampla doar la Coventry!!! Celalalt l-a intrebat de ce nu a mers in alta parte, iar raspunsul a fost ceva de genul: "Pt ca nu am intrat la Oxford si nu am primit un raspuns in timp util de la Imperial College". Mi-a picat fata: Warwick, o universitate aflata constant in Top 5 in UK, sa intre in categoria "nu am avut o optiune mai buna"!? Pt mine Warwick ar fi fost o universitate prea buna (si prea scumpa - un master in domeniu ar fi costat cel putin 5000 de lire). Atunci cred ca eu ar trebui sa spun numele universitatii si sa bag repede capul sub nisip, precum strutii, cand ma intreaba cineva unde invat...Ma rog, ma bucur sa aud pareri si de la alte universitati, venite din partea unor studenti straini, caci pana acum nu stiam daca ar trebui sau nu sa pun toate nemultumirile legate de universitatea mea pe principiul "cat dai atata face".

Cred ca ar fi cazul sa nu mai deviez de la subiect si sa trag concluziile: Leamington Spa & Kenilworth = frumoase & cochete; Warwick Uni = aer de studentime.
Acum pozele!

Memorialul Jephson, comemorand bravura parasutistilor armatei eliberate a Cehoslovaciei, aflati in exil in Warwickshire, care au participat in Operatiunea Anthropid, menita sa il asasineze pe Generalul nazist Reinhard Heydrich.

Jephson Memorial, honouring the bravery of the parachutists of the Free Army of Czechoslovakia, exiled in Warwickshire, who took part of the Operation Anthropoid, designed to assassinate the Nazi general Reinhard Heydrich.

In Jephson Garden

Primaria (stanga, cladirea rosie), avand in fata statuia Reginei Victoria + Biserica Tuturor Sfintilor

The Town Hall (left side, the red bricked building), with Queen Victoria's statue in front + All Saints Church

Ultimele 3 poze sunt de la Universitatea din Warwick

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Around the Albion: Leamington Spa

3 destinations in less than a week...Not bad, huh?
After returning from Cardiff I continued to pretend I have a cosmopolitan life and the following Tuesday I went to Leamington Spa (it's not a real spa!!!), a little town just a hour away from Coventry, under the pretence of a free visit to an eye doctor (look what you can get when you're waisting your time on the Internet).

I knew that bus no. 12 would've got me there, I knew the duration of the journey, so I went to the central bus station, Pool Meadow, I bought an one-day ticket and I've waited a bit for the driver had an argument (not a big fight) with a 16 year old kid, whose monthly ticked had expired the previous day and who was complaining that he didn't know what's the date. I would've suggested him to go to school and learn how to 'read' the calendar, but people tend not to overreact; just two old ladies told him he's being cheeky and he should get off, he's keeping us on the spot.

I don't remember exactly when and if I had ever reached some areas of Coventry which the bus had passed, but it surely took a lot of time until we got out of the city (south-west) and when we where just in the zone of Warwick Uni (so at the outskirts of Coventry), the bus begun screeching. The driver tried to stop the engine and to take advantage of every moment when we were stationed, but it was all in vain. As I am crap when it comes to mechanics (and cars & driving generally speaking), I couldn't tell what was the cause of that terrible sound, perhaps the overheated engine...

I left home quite early and I reserved 1 and a half hours for the journey. But I was there, sitting in the bus, somewhere between Coventry and Kenilworth (only after that it comes Leamington Spa) , realising that it will take more than an hour to reach my destination and it will be impossible to get to my 13 o'clock appointment, especially since I had forgotten my flying cape at home!

One way or another, the bus 'crowled' a bit (at some point the screech actually stopped, but only for a short period of time), managed to pass Kenilworth (beautiful town) and right at the entrance in Leamington Spa it had stopped and the driver decided it can't go any further and we should wait for the next bus, which was due to arrive in 10 minutes. Well, I should ask for a refund since this is such a common practise here, for absolutely anything. And you didn't believe me when I told you I have a bad karma in relationship with buses/coaches, did you? And there have been more situations, I'm not a "rookie"...

However, I got into the town centre, where the bus dropped me off, I walked for a half a minute and I reached the clinic, I filled in a form, I chatted a bit with the consultants over there (one of them was half Romanian), then with the doctor bla bla bla, nothing unusual...Since everything ended quite rapidly, I walked a bit around the town, it would've been a pity not to!

Leamington Spa is a very chic and posh town, even if it's small, with around 45 000 inhabitants. It was (and still is) a spa and when I reached it it was pretty crowded, loads of youngsters on the streets, some of them my age (so I was wondering why weren't they at Uni), but also many pensioners, very tastefully dressed. The buildings have a classic architecture, Victorian style (one again I told myself I got to live in the ugliest place in England) and you can see it's not a student place, it's neat. Although when I got a bit further of the town centre I could've seen that it doesn't look that good anymore. But I crossed through a park/garden which looked just superb (I just found out it's called Jephson Garden) , it had also a kind of greenhouse, connected on one side to a resaurant and on the other side to a sort of a seminar room. Per totally, from what I've seen, I can say that I would've liked to live in a place like Leamington Spa.

It was already around 16:00 so I was getting hungry and although there are many places where I could've had a decent lunch, I hate eating alone so I decided that I can handle my hunger for another hour, until I'd be getting back home. Therefore I left, without buying 2 postcards, as I always do - one to be sent to Bucharest (not to Coventry hahaha) and one to keep it for myself...But that's OK, there are plenty of postcard with Leamington Spa in Coventry :)

On my way back I passed again through Kenilworth, I could've stopped to visit it a bit, but it's really boring to do that when you're alone. Perhaps I'll return one day and visit the castle over there (well, the ruins, to be more precise). Then it came again the University of Warwick, which was very populated at that time, probably some lectures where finishing. This Uni is literally in the middle of nowhere, but the campus (the university area, to be more accurate) is extremeeeely big, perhaps bigger that all the buildings of Coventry Uni put all together, although we have the Technological Park, the aerospace lab and now they're building 2 other campuses (one of which will be kind of the most innovative IT campus in the UK) and, in addition, they've just opened one in London (for Business & Marketing Bachelors and for MBAs). However, the Uni of Warwick is practically a town of its own, with bars, cafes, shops, pubs, as you'd see in the movies. They have a huge sport fields and many adjacent facilities, lots of student residences, spread around the area. I believe both Unis have more or less the same number of students (their looked smarter :D), but at Warwick it seemed more crowded there, probably because we lack a kind of central point of the campus and we get mixed up with the inhabitants of Coventry...

I was thinking then that if it were to start again (another master, definitely not a Bachelors), I'd like to go to a big city or to a Uni like Warwick, where you get that lovely student spirit, because I haven't quite felt I had such a great life here, in this respect (even in Bucharest it was better). Sure, I'm on a Master, so I have less lectures a week, less colleagues, but there weren't any friendship "excesses" by far, or not even ideas like "Let's go for a drink" after the last class of the day. I didn't do much about this myself, because I'm that kind of person who gets discouraged when facing these type of situations...Oh, well, as I was saying, I would like to experiment the life in a student campus as I've seen in Warwick Uni, although I'm positive that I'd get bored rapidly, especially in such isolation - I'm already bored now, and I'm only 15 minutes away from the city centre (so I'm not that remote). And, plus, I wouldn't start over at an English Uni, perhaps only if it would not cost me a dime and they'd also pay me to study there...

In the bus, I was actually listening (cuz I couldn't help it) the conversation of two lads a few seats behind me. One of them seemed Asian, judging by it's voice and accent and the other one, well, I can't remember...As far as I came to notice, they were studying something like maths or physics, science-related anyhow. They we're talking about exams and lectures and one of them (the Asian chap) started complaining about the fact that he's not satisfied with the Uni, the level of the modules etc. And I thought that was happening only at Coventry University!!! The other asked him why didn't he go somewhere else and the answer was something like: "Oh, I didn't get into Oxford and I didn't receive a response on time from the Imperial College". My jaw dropped in that very instance: Warwick, a constant presence in Top 5 British universities rankings, was just a I-had-no-better-option university!? To me, it would have been a too good option 9and too expensive - a master in my field would've costed at least 5000 GBP). I guess that in this case I should say the name of my Uni and bury my head in the sand, like an ostrich, when someone asks about where I study...Oh, well, I'm glad to hear opinions about other Unis, coming from foreign students, because until now I had doubts if my negative feed-back is all related to the tuition fees (or "you only get what you're paying for").

I think it's about time to stop straying from topic and to conclude: Leamington Spa & Kenilworth = beautiful & chic places; Warwick Uni = student vibe.

Enjoy the photos!