My trip to Exeter

It was a big relief when my exams finished on 29th January, it was an even nicer feeling to know that I had another week off before I started lectures. In that week I had planned a short trip to visit my best friend who is living and studying in Exeter.

I left Monday afternoon and enjoyed playing pokemon while on the train on my new pink 3DS - one of my best purchases of 2015 so far.

After negotiating the many stations of Exeter I arrived at St James' Park and was greeted by Kelly who lead me the short walk back to her house. Being a first year currently, I am looking to move into my own student house with a few other girls next year. I recently organised a house viewing (very exciting) and now have a particular interest in the houses of other students - that, and I'm just nosey!

Kelly's house is lovely, all the girls have their own double beds and it's cute and clean. All the girls themselves are also lovely, and I had a very sweet welcome. One thing I did notice was the cold though, and I can't say I'm looking forward to having to budget on heating!

To my absolute delight Kelly suggested we ate at Wagamamas that evening. I have been craving a Wagamamas recently and was very excited to be going. I am also just a big fan of Oriental food in general.

We both shared tori kara age, chilli squid and grilled pork bulgogi wraps. I had chicken and prawn Cha Han and Kelly had Yaki Udon. I also took them up on their free green tea.

The food was amazing as always and we even went on to pudding and I indulged myself with the passion fruit cheesecake and Kelly had the banana katsu. I also spotted (on the kids menu) a free frothy milk with chocolate powder on the top - a cococino, I hastily ordered this and was not disappointed - although I do wish it was a bit bigger!

To round of the evening we stopped off at Urban and got a round of cocktails. We took advantage of the 2-4-1 deal where you have to order two of the same cocktail but they make it in a tea pot and you get a glass to pour it in. I had a berry ice tea (cocktail, don't let it fool you) and Kelly had the Urban ice tea. We sat in a really cute cave-like alcove that was tucked away from the busy bar and chatted for a bit while we enjoyed our drinks.

Tuesday

We headed out mid morning to venture into Exeter centre for a bit of a shop. I, of course, spent much too much money and will write a haul post after this one. We wandered around and it really is a lovely city. For lunch we went to Tea on the Green just off the green of the Cathedral. I was parched and had to try not to gulp down my ice tea with passion fruit and mint (which was gorgeous) while I waited for my chicken, brie and chutney panini. Kelly also chose a panini, the sausage, cheddar and chutney one. We shared some chips with some persuasion from the waiter.

After a relaxing lunch Kelly left me for her 2-5pm lecture and I had full reign of the charity shops much to the pain of my bank account. I waddled back with my very full bags and managed to work out the way to her house on my own. When arriving back I enjoyed the bubble tea I purchased from an Asian supermarket and started writing the first half of this blog post.

She cooked dinner for the both of us, using a Mediterranean spice concoction that came on baking paper that you wrapped your chicken in, then pan fried. It was a new concept to me and it was really tasty - I'm looking forward to trying these out in the future!

We headed out to a friends' house for predrinks before we hit Cheesy Tuesday at Arena. I lost our game of Ring of Fire and had the pleasure of drinking the gross mixture of drinks in the middle.

Kelly persuaded me to wear a coat out on the way to Arena - something I had never done before (I always just grit my teeth and bare it, even at concerts) and we seemed to spend forever queuing for the cloak room.

Once we were inside and coatless we made a beeline for the bar where I had my first (and last) tequila shot, they had run out of lemon and salt which apparently makes it nicer?! We then spent the rest of the night dancing to some huge tunes including Mambo No 5, Breaking Free and Since You Been Gone. I had a great time, and it proved to me (as I was pretty sober) that the crowd you are with and the music that they play really do make the night - for me at least. I was more than happy just dancing with Kelly and screaming every word to every song. I much prefer dancing to songs I know and I am not a big fan of chart music nor the usual songs they play in clubs.

Wednesday

We headed out mid morning again and headed to Brody's for breakfast. I had unlimited English breakfast and pancakes. I am very much craving those pancakes now. I had never been out for breakfast before (I always wake up hungry and if I don't eat promptly I get bad stomach pains) but if I had a Brody's near me I fear I would be there a lot.

After eating our fill Kelly took me to the university campus and gave me a quick tour, including a walk up the dreaded cardiac hill. The campus really is gorgeous, with lots of really pretty buildings - and it of course features in the most recent series of Broadchurch, as pointed out by David Tennant enthusiast Kelly.

We stopped for a Costa before meeting a couple of her coursemates for presentation planning. It was quite nice to sit in and listen to them talking about their work and what they're learning about. 

The meeting was about an hour long and we headed back home to watch Monsters University, play some cards and have some snacks before I caught the train from St James' Park back home.

It was a really great trip away and I would definitely recommend Cheesy Tuesdays at Arena to everyone and anyone - I can't wait to go back again!