10 weeks to go.

It has suddenly dawned on me that I have precious little time left at university; hardly any time left in this beautiful tiny city, and I haven't explored it all yet, haven't made the most. So with this in mind, with the clock ticking and the end looming, every week I will be posting about what activities I've been doing or places I've been visiting in those 7 days. 

I'll also be remembering the little things I'm most thankful for, the things I'll miss most, in this place.

I'm so tired of walking past places and saying 'oh, I really like the look of that', or 'I must try the food there sometime', etc. I have barely any time left here, so I need to start opening doors and sampling what's new.

It all started when my boyfriend and I went for lunch at Baguetti Junction, a bright little sandwich shop by the train station. For two years I'd been walking by and giggling at the name, but never actually gone in. The sandwiches were nice, nothing to write home about - but the point was, I went in and I tried something new, something I'd been meaning to.

This week I am appreciating the Terrace Bar in the sunshine; as soon as the temperature creeps up past 12 degrees, I swear every student has the same thought manifest in their minds, like the flicking of a switch or the lighting of a fuse, and the thought is this - pints, Terrace, now. Suddenly my beloved bar is flocked and flooded with sun-seeking students, most recently triumphant third years celebrating their freedom from the 10,000+ word monster that's been sucking out our souls for at least six months. It's a wonderful place to sit outside in the sunshine and get comfortably tipsy at 3pm on a Wednesday, or to get a quick coffee before a lecture at 8:57am on a Monday, or for pre-drinking at 7pm on a Friday... Also, the baristas are a pair of charming Northern besties, both of whom I've come to love (in very different ways). 

I've been frequenting Zizzi recently, the gorgeous Italian restaurant at the top of the high street. They do the best pizza - the Primavera on a Rustica base, extra long and thin and crispy; artichokes, sunblush tomatoes, pesto, goat cheese, olives, roasted peppers, rocket, spinach... It's effectively a salty veggie explosion, and a wet dream for a non meat-eater like me. Mmm mmmm mm. I've gone there with family, with the boyfriend, with big groups of friends and on girly catch-up dates with my hometown gal. I'll certainly miss it when I leave. 

I bought a dress the other day at Fab Vintage, after going in there constantly to browse and leaving empty-handed; I've seen some friends' weird and wonderful performances in the Discovery Centre; I've had lunch dates at Cafe Monde and tipped the super-smiley proprietor every time; I had dinner and cocktail pitchers at Spoons on one of the best double dates in the history of the world; I wandered around the local library and marveled at the silence within, and I sipped a particularly bland mocha in Caffe Nero.

I suppose I'm starting off slowly this week, hence the lack of new things and the focus on my personal favourites. 

Next week my aim is to visit Blues, the little canteen-ish place at the end of Southgate Street which always has a joke written on a chalkboard in the window. Way cute, and apparently very veggie-friendly. 

I also hope to check out Boudoir Blush, a pricey lingerie shop on Parchment Street not far from my favourite tattoo & piercing parlour, Asgard (another place I intend on making one last trip to before I leave, shh!).
Suddenly I have a lot to do, and very little time to do it in. Better start ASAP. Wish me luck!