UIOWA.

I was so intrigued to visit Hannah's 'college', the University of Iowa in Iowa City - I mostly wanted to see how it compared to my very own SF State!

After a much-needed lie-in, Hannah took me on a little tour of Iowa City.

We walked from her accommodation through the streets to the university - it definitely has a small-town feel!

 

 

One of the most striking things was the prominence of the upcoming Presidential elections. San Francisco is guaranteed to remain Democratic, even if California is a bit more split. As Iowa is a swing state, both sides are battling it out heavily - Hannah was lucky enough to see President Obama speak in person at her university a few weeks ago (and I've never been more jealous!).

 

People had placards in their front lawns, which is something you'd never see in England - these two were right next door to each other!

 

 

One of the other things which is really noticeable is just how much school spirit everyone has - particularly surrounding the college football (American football, of course) team, the Iowa Hawkeyes. It's all anyone can talk about, and every other person you see wears an 'Iowa' shirt. SF State doesn't even have a football team!

 

 

I know - wow.

 

After a lovely brunch of Eggs Florentine...

 

 

 

 

 

...we wandered through the streets in downtown - so strange to see a proper downtown! The main downtown area is located around College Street, a pedestrian-friendly area, which has all of these cool painted benches.

 

 

They also have pianos out in the street for people to play! This kid was pretty good actually.

 

We also saw the Capitol Building - Iowa City is the state capital of Iowa!

 

 

Hannah showed me around some of the university campus, which is very quaint. Another difference is that they actually have fraternity and sorority houses! At SF State, these don't exist as it's more of a commuter school.

 

 

After all that walking, we took a little break and had a cupcake from Molly's Cupcakes outside the Capitol Building - Han had Cookie Monster, and I had to try the Peanut Butter Nutella (two dietary staples of America, funnily enough).

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent most of the late afternoon at Hannah's apartment before heading out for dinner at Basta, a lovely Italian restaurant downtown, with her friend from Hull, Sarah.

 

 

 

Squash Ravioli - very festive!
 

I really didn't want to make the very long journey home - but this trip made me excited for my future travel plans.

 

It was truly a perfect weekend, filled with food, fun and friends!