Toga!

So I mentioned Monday briefly in my last post, but I didn't really get to talk much about it all. After my classes, despite the snow/sleet/rain/frozen liquid falling from the sky, I decided to walk around city centre and explore some of the places I hadn't been to yet. I found the Saks Fifth Avenue's of England, Harvey Nichols. I felt inadequate wondering around through the Burberry, Prada, and so many other expensive brands in my jeans and tee. I didn't dare touch anything, let alone try something on. I also found my way into a few really cool vintage shops, along with the old favorites, Primark and H&M. No worries mom, I bought 2 things for under 20 pounds. That night, as I already mentioned, went to basketball. Going has just made me realize how much I miss it and I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do when I go back without a group of girls to play with weekly. They invited the three of us who showed up from last week, Bec (Australian), Elizabeth (KU) and me, to play in a tournament with them at the end of March. I'm so excited! I then went back and made some delicious rainbow trout with lemon, salt, pepper, and parsley. I was rather proud of myself.
Tuesday I had classes, as usual. I had a two hour break in between Physics and Philsophy, so I went and bought my reading book for philosophy. Right next to the bookstore in the Union was the Hidden Cafe. I ordered a cup of tea (bottomless for only a pound!), sat and read for my next tutorial. It was such a nice little cafe. I am definitely going back soon!
After my Philsophy class was done was done at 6, I headed straight for the bathroom. Don't worry, I'm not about to talk about bathroom issues. I simply changed into my outfit for the evening - a toga! Some of my friends and I were about to embark on a Leeds tradition, an Otley Run. The Otley Run is a pub crawl which starts on Otley Road (hence the name) and goes to a total of 16 bars, originally. I missed the first stop because I was at my class, but I met my fellow toga wearers at The Three Horseshoes. Here's the list of where all we went:
1. The Three Horshoes
2. The New Inn
3. Headingley Taps
4. The Arc
5. The Box
6. The Skyrack
7. The Original Oak
8. The Hyde Park
9. The Library
10. The Packhorse
11. The Eldon
12. Strawberry Fields (aka Strawbs)
13. Dry Dock
As mentioned, I missed Woodies because I was in class, but we also missed Citrus Bar & Lounge because the Otley Run has been banned, the Old Bar and Terrace Bar in the Union because they were about to close, along with missing the Fenton Bar because it was closed. We did stop before Hyde Park to get some food, and I devoured a pizza and fries, along with discovering the back of my foot was bleeding. I think my shoes decided to attack it. Quinn had busted his toe open walking to Woodie's, so a picture of the feet battle wounds was necessary (picture below - I know you are excited to see it). Overall, it was a lot of fun, though. Here are some pictures:

Today I finally went and got inducted at the gym here, The Edge. It is really high tech. They have these keys that you have to check in with before you start your workout. Most of the machines have slots for the machines that will keep track of all the work you've done, along with giving you advice as to what to do during your workout. I used a crosstrainer today. Each had their own screen that was connected to TV, radio, and even had games on it. Because I forgot my iPod, I played Sudoku while working out today. It was crazy, and kind of weird. Hopefully tomorrow I'm going to go back after class and get my work out on. Gotta get ready for the warm weather to come in April when I go to Greece, Italy, France, and Spain.

The Toga Master,
Jessica