There is Life Out There!

Aww...Saturday...

After my morning routine (shower, change, go grocery shopping, enjoy a chicken bake pastie from Baker's Oven...) I met up with Jen and we made our way to Leicester (pronounced "lester"). The train ride is about 20-30 minutes from Kettering, and I've been hearing about this place for some time - so I really wanted to check it out.

We stepped out of the train station and into what reminded me a lot of Watford (close to London). As we walked towards the city centre, we could see apartment buildings similar to what you would find in a "stereotypical city", though not as high. There were many shops along the way, a long with a lot of people (therefore having the feel of hustle and bustle). We took a side street that advertised the Leicester market - where you could buy fresh produce as well as some other items (reminding me a lot of the Byward market in Ottawa).

We then came upon "the mall"...and believe me, it DID feel like a mall. When you walk in, there were (gasp!) escalators! It had a grand ceiling (similar to the Eaton centre) and shops "galore" (remember that the mall in Kettering has one level and has an odd shape, with many similar stores throughout). One of the stores, Debenhams (the equivalent of Sears or The Bay), even had escalators leading up 4 floors! (The last time I saw that was at Harrods!) On top of this, there were PEOPLE everywhere!

We were looking for some "smart" clothes for work as well as some shoes. At some point, I we were both very hungry, so made our way to find food - but we had one thing on our mind...SUSHI!!! Jen found out from someone that there was a sushi place close to the mall and had heard great things about it. Within minutes, we found the restaurant called Yo! Sushi. I don't know if they have the chain at all in North America, but it is really neat (but deadly for me). There is a conveyor belt (like a mini-luggage conveyor at the airport) that had dishes of sushi, sashimi, edemame, and desserts that continue to make their way around. If you want something, you take it. The colour of the bowl determines the price of the food that you are taking. In front of you, there is a water dispenser that comes with either fizzy water or still - but either way is easily accessible. It was an fun experience (even if in the end it cost me 30BP).

We made our way back inside the mall (as it was still open past 6 - which we later found out that it is open until 7pm on Saturdays, and 8pm during the week!!!). I found a pair of shoes similar to the ones I had to return back home, and we both got at least one article of clothing. (It was funny that the mall itself did feel dead around 6:30 - but hey, it was still open.) We will definitely have to return some other weekend...maybe go the the cinema that is also close by...how metropolitan!

Interesting story/fact:

Actually, I will begin with the fact: they do have subways in England - but by "subway" they mean an underground/under the street walking path for pedestrians to get to the other side...oh that is beginning to sound like a corny joke. When you think about it, calling an underground path a "subway" makes a lot of sense.

As for the story, I had a student who I was sitting beside for lunch ask me if I knew a student by the name of Skye. I said that I hadn't and if she knew what year he was in. She said she didn't know, and that he was her brother. And I then asked her, "well...what does he look like, maybe I'd know him to see him." Her response, she didn't know (which of course confused me). Apparently, she just found out that she had a brother at the school but didn't know anything else about him. I told her that it must be exciting having a brother you didn't know you had...but I was think how sad it would be NOT to know who he was.