My first American visitor

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I am so excited! On Friday I got an email from my friend Jenny (who I've known for 10 years!!!) saying that she was in London. She has a cousin who lives in Central London and she was over here visiting him. They went to Paris and just came back. I'd sent her a postcard letting her know my new info and that I was actually moving. Didn't have a lot of notice, but equally, didn't have any plans for the weekend so it worked out well. I went into the City and we all ended up going to Oxford for the afternoon. When we left, the skies were clear (well, as clear as they ever really are) and the weather was warm enough that I didn't really need a coat. (I'm sure you can already sense what's coming....) We set out in the car, which is odd in and of itself since I haven't really been in one for an entire month. We get to Oxford and it starts to sprinkle just as we park the car. Saw that one coming, did you?

We decided to just go since we were there. If the weather is allowed to dictate plans in England, then no one would ever do anything. We went to visit the Christ Church Cathedral. (Could I start more sentences with "we"?) Not only is this the largest college in Oxford University and the largest cathedral in Oxford, it is also the place that inspired Lewis Carroll to write "Alice in Wonderland." He wrote it whilst (I just had to throw in that very British word!) he was a student at the college and later became a teacher there as well. Portions of the dining hall, staircase, and cloisters were also used in the filming of the Harry Potter movies.

We finally had enough of being cold, wet, and generally miserable and decided to head home. Jenny's cousin invited me to stay for dinner and we had a little dinner party. A couple other friends were there as well. I've not eaten so well in donkey's ears! (Donkey's ears is cockney rhyming slang for years.) We had salad, roast, real mashed potatoes that were gorgeous, carmelized endive, and carrots. Then, came the bread and cheese followed by vanilla ice cream with a redcurrent coulis. Ah, beautiful. Just remembering it makes me salivate.

I ended up staying in London because by the time we ate and visited and had an all-around good time, it was late and I would have had to take a night bus back to my place. Not only would this have taken about 2 hours, but night buses are notoriously shady. If you've seen the Harry Potter movies that showcase the Knight Bus, then you have a pretty good idea what the night buses here are like. At least that's what I've been told. So far, I haven't had the need to ride it.

We had a great time and we're now in the process of trying to convince Jenny to move over here and work. Time will tell if we've succeeded....

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Photos

Look kids! Big Ben, Parliament...and us!
While dinner was being prepared, Jenny and I went down to Big Ben for a photo op.

Tom Tower
Looking west from the Cathedral, across Tom Quad, stands Tom Tower.

View of the Gardens
Isn't it pretty?

The Cathedral
Ok, so the cathedral was officially closed for a funeral, but as soon as the funeral attendees exited, we sort of snuck in.

Comments

[Carolyn Kanoy]

London AND a friend....must not get better than that!