A Very London Birthday

Yesterday (Monday, July 26) was my 28th birthday!  How did I celebrate?  By enjoying the city of London!  Jared and I got an early morning start, had breakfast at our hotel, and then visited a few museums.  First, we went to the British Museum, which is not like you might expect -- there's actually nothing British about it.  It houses artifacts from around the world.  Here are a few pics:

Jared in front of the British Museum

Inside the British Museum

Rosetta Stone, inside the British Museum

After that, we grabbed lunch at a pizza cafe and then made our way to the Museum of London.  I loved this museum!  (Jared will tell you that I fell asleep in one of the film segments, but this is no indication of my feelings toward the museum -- traveling is exhausting!)  The museum gave a comprehensive, interactive overview of the history of the city of London (or Londinium, as it was first called by the Romans).

Then, we made our way to the London Eye (the big ferris wheel along the Thames River).  Admission includes one trip around the ferris wheel, and a 4D "experience" video.  It takes about 30 minutes for the wheel to make one revolution, giving you plenty of time to take breathtaking aerial photos of London.  Each capsule holds as many as 30 people. Here are a few pics from our London Eye flight:

After the London Eye, we came back to our hotel to rest up and freshen up. Then Jared treated me to a birthday dinner at Nando's, which is just down the street from our hotel.  Delicious!  After that, we went to Piccadilly Circus (London's poor attempt at mimicking Times Square) to meet up with Amanda (from my Oxford program) and her boyfriend David.  We went to a nearby pub and had a few beers to celebrate my birthday and catch up on our London travel stories.  Amanda and David headed back to their hotel, and Jared and I decided to walk around the city a bit.  London is so nice in the evenings!  It stays light out late and has a crisp coolness, like autumn in Virginia.  We sat in Trafalgar Square and did some ever-so-entertaining people-watching.

All-in-all, it was the perfect first day of year 28!

London!

I'm in London!  I met Jared at Heathrow Airport earlier today, and we've been bouncing around the city ever since.  Jared, as most of you already know, was one of my AmeriCorps teammates in 2004/2005, and we lived together in Northern Virginia after that for over three years.  It's so good to see a familiar face... and thank goodness he was there to assist with my luggage!  Have you heard that rule about not packing more than you can carry?  Well, I broke it.  LOL  Some of the Tube (Metro/Subway) stations don't have elevators or escalators, only stairs.  Jared and I had to switch suitcases because I can't lift mine up the stairs.  Ridiculous!  

Our first stop was our hotel, which is the Caswell Hotel in the Westminster neighborhood of London.  Here are a few pics:

View from our room

Teeny tiny bathroom

(size of a cruise ship bathroom)

Jared's body spans the width of our tiny room!

After getting settled in the hotel, we decided to walk around town to check things out.  Luckily, our hotel is in a really great location.  We're about a 10-15 minute walk from Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.  Here are a few pictures from our random walk around town:

Westminster Abbey

Houses of Parliament

Jared and I at Parliament

Thames River (HA!)

Big Ben

Thames side of Parliament... and giant Jared

Jared and I at the London Eye

Trafalgar Square, at night

Streets of London at night

For dinner, we had fish 'n' chips.  Delicious!  Tomorrow, we're doing a city sightseeing hop-on, hop-off bus to see different parts of the city.  Brilliant!

Cheers!

It's been a brilliant last day in Oxford!  (I'm making final attempts at integrating my new found British slang into normal vocabulary.)  I roamed about town for a few hours in the afternoon.  Amanda, Brad, and I visited the Museum of Oxford, which gives history about the town of Oxford, as well as the University.  Then, I ventured off on my own to explore a side of town that I hadn't yet visited.  I made a long hike down High Street to Cowley Road, where there are a lot of small, international clothing and jewelry shops.  Along the way, I passed by University College and Magdalen College, the Botanic Gardens, and lots of small shops.

When I came back to campus, I met with my "Changing Face of Britain" tutor to review my paper.  I got a 71.  Don't fret, though -- that's good by Oxford standards (a 70 or above is considered an A, and that's on a 100 point scale... they don't joke around).  She said it was one of the highest grades in the class.  Woop!  Then, after meeting with her, I meandered over to the summer school office where my "Human Rights in Perspective" paper was awaiting me.  On that one, I got a 66, which is considered a B/B+ by Oxford standards, which will most likely translate to an A- at GMU.  Overall, I'm pretty happy with my grades -- looks like I'll continue my straight A streak in grad school after all!  We can contest any grades that we don't agree with to our GMU liaison, and I plan to argue against one of the critiques of my Human Rights paper.  His primary criticism (as far as I can tell from his notes) was that I quoted things from the lecture, which he felt weakened my argument.  I would think that using information from the lecture would be a good thing!  Anyway, I shouldn't complain -- it feels good to receive good grades from Oxford professors!  

Tonight was our closing reception and dinner.  Here are a few pictures from the reception (which was in the Fellows Garden) and dinner (in Hall):

Me and Dr. Amanda Palmer, my "Changing Face of Britain" 

tutor, at the reception in the Fellows Garden:

Our dinner menu:

Amanda, Brad, and I at dinner:

Standing processional for the tutors:

After dinner (which was rubbish, at best), Amanda, David (Amanda's boyfriend who arrived in town today), Brad, and I went to the pub called "Turf Tavern."  It's one of the more popular pubs in Oxford, and is supposedly where Bill Clinton "smoked but did not inhale" marijuana.  LOL  Here's a pic:

And now it is nearly 1:00 am and I have not packed at all!  Tomorrow morning, I'm off to meet Jared in London!  Bed time for me.  Cheers!

Souvenirs and Certificates

Yesterday afternoon, in the dreary rain, Amanda and I hopped around the Oxford souvenir shops and I completed the last of my souvenir purchases, including a few things for myself.  I bought a necklace from a street vendor and a local artist's painting of Oxford.  Here's the picture:

I really like this one because it shows the streets of Oxford, as well as Oxford scholars (on bicycles, no less!).

In the evening after dinner (which was salmon with potatoes, and a banana tart for dessert), the program hosted a quiz night in the Exeter pub (called the Undercroft.... which reminds me of Mary Washington's pub, the Underground).  It was fun -- there were several rounds and most of the questions dealt with Oxford and the University.  After the quiz night, there was a talent show, which Amanda and I watched briefly.  There were poetry readings, piano solos, dances, and more.

This morning was our last plenary lecture!  It was about the last five British Prime Ministers.  I was rather bored, to be honest.  Some of these lecturers just get up and speak from memorization or from reading from a paper -- no visual aids or anything, which makes it difficult for me to want to pay attention.  I find it rather pompous when someone thinks what they're saying is so interesting that they don't need any bells or whistles.  Anyway, after the lecture, we received our certificate for completing the program!  Here's mine:

We also received a copy of the group photo that we took on our first day in the program.  Here it is:

(That's me in the far upper right corner.)

And, alas, it is my final day in Oxford.  I'm off now to see a museum or two, and eat one last Ben's Cookie!!  Tonight is our closing reception and formal dinner.... and before that, I get my grades back!  Let's hope they don't need to revoke my lovely certificate.  ;)

Papers = DONE!

It was a long few days, my friends, but I finally finished both of my papers for summer school yesterday!  This means that the remainder of my time here in Oxford can be used to see and do what I want to do around town (well, not entirely - I do still have lecture and class each day). 

Last night after dinner (which was spaghetti and garlic rolls, and cheesecake for dessert - my favorite meal yet!), I ventured back to the movie theater to see Inception, but it was sold out.  :(  So instead, I got cozy on my bed and watched Valentine's Day.  It wasn't very good, but it was nice to get a bit of alone/relax time.

Today's lecture was somewhat interesting.  It was on international development and climate change.  After lunch, Brad and I investigated all the souvenir shops in a half mile radius of Exeter.  We got some goodies!  The rest of today will consist of class, dinner, and perhaps a trip to a pub.  It feels so good to have the burden of those papers off my shoulders.  Let's hope my grades are good!

Bath

Today was our excursion to Bath, England!  Bath is in southwest England and is such a beautiful city!  I liked it better than Canterbury.  It was a two hour coach bus ride from Oxford, and in true Heather fashion, I slept the entire way there.  :)  Here is a picture I took of the town of Bath as we were arriving:

Our first stop in Bath was the Roman Baths.  The facility was constructed between 60-70 AD over a natural hot spring and served as a bathing and spa-type facility for the Romans.  They would come from all over to experience the baths.  Here are some of my best pics from the site:

Great Bath

(For my fellow Lost fans -- this looks very similar to the Temple

in the final season, no?  I bet those scenes were inspired by this location!)

Another view of Great Bath, with the Bath Abbey in the background

On the upper level overlooking the Great Bath

Brad, Amanda, and I at the Great Bath

One of the smaller baths adjacent to the Great Bath.  People

would throw "curses" in the bath, which were complaints addressed to the

goddess, in which they requested that someone be 

punished for wrongdoing, usually for theft.

(Another Lost scene look-alike!)

After the Roman Baths, we visited Bath Abbey.  Britain loves their abbeys!  Here are some pics of the Abbey:

Inside Bath Abbey

After a quick stop at Bath Abbey, we went on a free guided walking tour of Bath.  Our tour guide was great!  Very knowledgeable about the city's history.  Here are some of the sites we saw on the tour:

Pulteney Bridge

River near Pulteney Bridge

Royal Crescent (used to be homes for the elite,

now used as a hotel and spa)

I wish we had more time to explore the city.  We were only in Bath for about five hours.  If you're ever in England, I definitely recommend a stop in Bath!

Oxford Castle & HP Sauce

It is my final weekend in Oxford.  No time to be sad, though... too much left to see and do!  I woke up this morning and went for a run.  Of course, I was awoken twice before that because of a fire alarm, and then housekeeping.  It is *impossible* to sleep in late here.  There's always something that wakes me up before my alarm:  loud people in the courtyard, intrusive maids, false fire alarms, garbage trucks, etc.  So loud!  Alas, my run was really great.  I had to weave my way through large tourist groups on my way to the park, but I made it into a challenge - an obstacle course of sorts (dodge the school group, then the hundreds of Asians, then the people hopping on and off the buses).

Brad, Amanda, and I grabbed lunch at a place that I've read about in all the travel books for Oxford.  It's called "The Mission Mexican Grill."  It was almost exactly like Chipotle!  YUM!  After lunch, we went to tour the Oxford Castle.  It is one of the oldest buildings in Oxford and was used most recently as a prison until 1996.  (And any of you who know me know that I'm always game for a prison tour!  This makes the 7th prison that I've toured.... such a strange obsession that I have!)  Here are a few pics that I took on the tour:

Oxford Castle

101 narrow stairs up St. George's Tower

View of Oxford from St. George's Tower

Amanda and I at the top of St. George's Tower

Looking through a keyhole of one of the prison cells

Far too happy to be in prison...

Just one of the boys...

After touring Oxford Castle, we came back to campus to do some homework and eat dinner.  Dinner tonight was a smoked chicken salad with baked potato, and cheesecake for dessert.  The food is getting better!  :)  

After dinner, we decided to visit the most famous pub in Oxford, "The Eagle and Child."  This pub is famous because it's the meeting place of the "Inklings," a literary group including JRR Tolkein, CS Lewis, and other famous writers.  They met here to discuss their writings, and made the first public readings of The Chronicles of Narnia and Alice in Wonderland.  But the most exciting thing about this visit was what I found sitting on the table:

HP Sauce!

I'm so popular in Britain!