Sheffield, England - Scott's New City!

I haven't written in my blog for quite some time. This is mostly because I haven't been up to anything particularly interesting, until now. Scott and I are studying in England.He is attending the University of Sheffield for his Master's in Mechanical Engineering and I am attending Newcastle University for my Master's in Media and Public Relations.

It was a very long and budget flight, but we made it!

As a side note, if you are planning a transatlantic flight you should be aware that Thomas Cook does not provide good entertainment, food or comfort. They get you to where you need to go, but it is uncomfortable.

We flew into Manchester and took the bus to Sheffield. When we arrived we were exhausted and quickly went to our hotel, the Harley. 

 After a 14 hour sleep (5pm-7am) we were starving! Luckily, breakfast was included with our stay and it was a very large breakfast. Scott ordered the traditional English breakfast. It included lots of meat, grease and a dollop of beans. I had the vegetarian breakfast which consisted of over-cooked tomatoes and deep friend veggie dumplings. It was delicious! We were so full we didn't eat again until dinner.

After breakfast we walked around Sheffield and got acquainted with the city and Scott's campus. Here we are in downtown Sheffield.

Then we walked to the University of Sheffield to get Scott's dorm key. On our way there we passed a botanical garden and decided to check it out. It was very British. 

Then we got down to business. Scott's dorm is quite large for a dorm room and it has an ensuite bathroom and double bed. Here he is outside his building. His room is on the top floor (4th).

Overall the dorm is fine, but we had a few complaints: the mattress was really uncomfortable (luckily this was easily solved by buying a mattress topper), and the room was dirty. It clearly has not been repainted recently and the bathroom needs recaulking. We cleaned it as best we could. But if I find my dorm in a similar condition (which I suspect I might), Newcastle University accommodation can expect a strongly worded letter. At international student rates, I expect nothing less than sparkling.

After some tidying up and a quick makeover, Scott's dorm was looking much nicer. Here are the before and after shots:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

The change wasn't too dramatic. But given our time and budget, I'd say it looks much nicer and Scott will be nice and cozy. I'm looking forward to decorating my dorm tomorrow!

And a few more pictures. Here is the view from Scott's room.

Overall, for a large, industrial city, Sheffield is quite nice. There are lots of trees and parks. However, its industrial heritage is also evident and it still has a strong 'blue-collar' feel. Never the less it has lots of cute, brick buildings and I even managed to find a Starbucks!