Oxford Update

Well, I decided it is about time for a post about what things have been like here in Oxford... This might be kind of random, as it will just be covering a few events from the last week and a half.

First of all, the weather this week has been drastically different from the first week. I have been wearing my jacket every day, all the time because it is quite cool and windy here. Additionally, it is pretty much always overcast and rains about once a day (though not usually really hard or for very long at once.) It is nice having the cooler (and much more Oxford-typical) weather...it makes for much nicer sleeping conditions!!

Two Wednesdays ago we went to Sandown Park, which is one of the larger horseracing tracks in the UK. It was a lot of fun- there were 6 races that night, and we basically spent the time rushing between the paddock, betting stand, and the racetrack. (Don't worry- I just placed one bet- the smallest allowed- on each race and that was it!) I ended up breaking even for the night too, so I am quite pleased. Although, if one more horse had won, I would have made 30 pounds! psh :)

This past Wednesday we went to Stratford and saw The Tempest performed at a Shakespearean theatre. Patrick Stewart was Prospero in it...he's the guy in Star Trek and X-men, for those of you who care... :) Stratford is a really small town, and while it was really cute there's not a whole lot to do there other than wander around shops and see a play! One afternoon there is more than enough to see everything there. Oh yes, I also saw Shakespeare's birth house...

We've been going to a lot of Shakespearean plays in the evenings here. Most nights at least one of the 30 colleges in Oxford will be putting on one, so I've seen: The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, The Importance of Being Earnest (ok, not Shakespeare...whatever), and will be seeing Macbeth this next week. Mozart is also pretty popular here, and I've been to 2 different Mozart concerts- both of them were different (one with singing, one without) and really good!

Yesterday (Saturday) we went to Blenheim Palace in Woodstock. We toured the Palace and grounds, and it is beautiful. The grounds especially were lovely- there was a HUGE rose garden that smelled marvelous, and a lake, waterfall, and lots of statues. It was quite a fun afternoon!

After we got back, we went to mass (since we'll be gone all day today) and therefore missed dinner. So we ate at a bar on the way back called The Eagle and Child. It was really nice, and the neat thing about it is that it is where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein used to meet to discuss and read their books as they were writing them. Because of this, they have Lewis and Tolkein items up all around the place. They had an incredible chocolate dessert, too...!

Now I am headed to breakfast and then we are going to Thorpe Park, which is supposedly the largest amusement park in Europe... Now there's a great cultural event...! :)

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