I’m a ‘spend all day in a coffee shop’ kind of girl. Since we never really had a coffee shop in Jasper when I was growing up (shout out to Brew for being here now–you saved our little town), this was something I discovered in college when a friend brought me to Spencer’s Coffee in Bowling Green. I’ve been a changed woman ever since. That explains why the best day I had at Harlaxton wasn’t in Barcelona, Greece, or Amsterdam, but was split between a coffee shop and a tea shop in Grantham, England.
The morning of the best day at Harlaxton was well planned. Sarah, Allie, and I had ordered packed lunches the day before so we could spend the day in town without having to buy lunch. It was only our third weekend of travel at Harlaxton, so nearly everyone else had left for various exotic locations while we relaxed at home. We got up for breakfast with Grumpy the security guard and picked up our packed lunches, then we all decided to go back to bed until the shuttle left at 10:50 am. I woke up at 10:20 am, took a shower, and got on the shuttle at 10:49. Sarah was awake and made it on the shuttle, but our dear friend Allie did not.
Sarah and I spent our morning and early afternoon in The Picture Café, a consistent favorite of Harlaxton students. We worked on homework over lattes and hot chocolate for about 3 hours, but, in typical Mariya fashion, I got absolutely nothing done. When our laptops were charged and our stomachs were empty, we went to the mall to eat our packed lunches. Sarah commented that she felt like we were elementary school students with our PB&J sandwiches and apples, and I agreed.
After eating lunch, we decided to check out a tea shop Grumpy told me to try if I wanted authentic English tea. It’s called Teaspoon, and I miss it every day of my life. I ordered the Summer Tea, and it was incredible. They had the best playlist and we sat in the best comfy chair. I wrote in my journal ‘I loved that moment the most so far’, and nothing has surpassed it since. We left just in time to go to Poundland and buy some candy and Spider-Man socks (that were, in fact, made for a toddler and not a young woman) before getting on the last shuttle home.
When we got home, we ate dinner with Grumpy (two meals with Grumpy in one day? This is the real reason it was the best day ever). The evening was winding down when I got a call from Heidi asking if I wanted to go see the new Maze Runner movie. I originally said no, then I said yes, then I said I don’t know, then I said what the heck and ran downstairs to hop in the cab with everyone. I bought an entire can of Pringles and my favorite flavor of Gatorade. We watched the movie and, no spoilers, but it wrecked me and I cried with Heidi, April, Allie, Sarah, Austin, and Allen.
Will a coffee shop and movie theater in America ever compare? Stay tuned (but probably not).
What I’m listening to: Sara Bareilles’s “Kaleidoscope Heart” album, AKA the best album to listen to straight through on repeat (too good to be shuffled).
What I’m watching: NOT Bridget Jones’s Diary because it got taken off of Netflix! Here’s a shameless link to my Amazon Wish List that literally only has Bridget Jones movies on it.
What I’m reading: ‘The Art Of Wellbeing’ by Meredith Gaston, the CUTEST book ever.
Cool apps to try: Notebook. My go-to note-taking app for over a year. Make custom, lockable notebooks, change the color of each note, add pictures, and draw on it! Connects to your computer through the cloud if you want it to. Just all-around better than Notes by Apple, and I’ll say it every time!
Join me next week for the fourth edition of Untold Stories of Harlaxton!
