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Published: January 4th 2007
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Thatched Roof
England has more than anyone else in Europe. They can last 45-50 years. ;) Started the day by heading out from Cambridge towards Oxford. There is not a single main road between the two, and even if there was it wouldn't have mattered since my mom wanted to see the countryside. So we stopped at a petrol station along the way and bought a more detailed map that would show us how to navigate through the small towns and country roads.
In the morning the weather was partly cloudy, however, it got darker throughout the day and rain slowly moved in.
Driving through the countryside was a great experience. Many of the buildings still have thatched roofs, albeit slightly more modernized thatched roofs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thatched_roof). Interestingly, thatched roofs can last 45-50 years and there are over 100,000 homes in England with them. Also, the UK has more thatched roofs that any other country in Europe.
The roads were often very narrow and on a few occasions narrowed down to one lane. In the small towns, people would park their cars almost indiscriminately along the road blocking almost all of one of the lanes. We also went through dozens of roundabouts, especially as we passed through the larger towns. By this time, though, I
Duckie, Paddington, and Avis
Taking in the English countryside and fresh air. had mostly gotten the hang of it... still kind of felt like I was learning to drive all over again.
Along the way, there were green rolling hills, sheep, and few road names as most signs only said which way to go to one town or another. We also stopped at two pubs to eat, but one wasn't serving food on Saturday and the other one just didn't have a good atmosphere... so we waited until getting to Oxford to eat.
After finding the hotel near Kassam Stadium in Oxford and getting settled in, we walked in the rain to the nearest bus stop with a route going to the city center. We spent about 15-20 minutes in the rain in total (no umbrella) and were pretty wet as we boarded the bus. I paused briefly as I stepped onto the bus, not sure how much to pay or what to do, and the bus driver said something sarcastic to me (I forget what exactly). But we got it all ironed out and we were on our way.
Once we reached the city center, we walked to the Oxford Story (http://www.oxfordstory.co.uk/) and purchased tickets for the next
Moving Along
Notice the parked cars on the road. This was, um, normal on our adventure around the countryside between Cambridge and Oxford. ride. After grabbing a bite to eat nearby we saw the introduction video and took the 25 minute indoor ride that details Oxford University's (http://www.ox.ac.uk/) 900 year history.
It, like Cambridge, has an amazing history. From village riots to royalty disputes to a long list of significant people that went to Oxford (including C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Britain's last six prime ministers... and even a U.S. president in Bill Clinton... yeah, the one that grew up in Hot Springs, AR - http://www.ox.ac.uk/aboutoxford/famous.shtml). Oxford and Cambridge combined (aka "Oxbridge") have greatly impacted universities everywhere, including those in the U.S. Even Harvard named the little town in which it is located "Cambridge".
At any rate, after the ride we walked to The Eagle and Child pub. This is a pub that I have wanted to go to for quite awhile. It was first opened (probably) around 1650. However, my greatest interest in the pub was that this is one of the main places where the Inklings, which included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, met from 1939 to 1962. They met there to drink and talk.
The pub itself was long and narrow with multiple rooms and the bar on
Meeting Quinn
My beautiful new niece. Now I have two wonderful nieces and two Bam-Bam nephews (well, Luke is a little young, but he seems in a rush to get there). the right side. We ordered food at the bar, along with a few glasses of local ale, and had a pretty good meal while taking in the atmosphere. It made me long to have a little pub of my own, but, alas, if that is to be I don't think it will be any time soon. Too many other things to do than sit around and run a bar. Maybe one day when I'm older.
One of the things that was so wonderful about it is that it would be a great place to sit and talk for hours (and obviously the Inklings though so, too). There are places like it in the States (more towards the coffeehouses than pubs/bars), but they are kind of a rarity and sometimes too much on the fringe. This place was somewhere where young and old from different backgrounds could sit down for a meal, get something to drink, and talk into the night. -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eagle_and_Child
From there we made our way back through the city center to the bus stops. Along the way my mom and I got into a little row about a bus we nearly missed... but we have
Holy Sheep!
A lot of them have a big green spot painted on them. Just one of the odd mysteries I guess I'll have to live with (that I don't have enough motivation or interest to research more). :) had quite a few good laughs about it since. 😊 Long story and I don't want to detail it out.
We rode the bus back to the hotel -- finding the stop with the help of a very nice English lady. Some of the Christmas lights were also still on display, and that was interesting... especially seeing two house that the lady said were competing with each other... they were both covered top to bottom and out into the yard with all sorts of Christmas light fixtures.
We then settled in for the evening.
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Again, I woke up the next morning around 2 AM. After failing to get back to sleep, I decided to go to the lobby and study Spanish. This time Sky News was cycling through the actual Saddam execution and showing video footage. After awhile the manager wandered over and he started discussing Revelation (and how it correlates to current events), the impending collapse of global currencies, and the overwhelming debt of the U.S. and Britain. Sadly, he is probably not far of the mark though a little bit sensationalist about it. With Revelation, though, I think it is a continuing cycle
One Lane Road
"Pardon me, but is this a golf cart path?" Roads like this are usually reserved for winding through tight mountain passes. Nevertheless, it was loads of fun. :) throughout the generations... really, since when has there not been serious problems in the Middle East? For the global economy, it is unlikely to be possible for governments to avert a serious "correction", if you will, sometime in the near future. Mountains of debt, increasing populations, and loosening financial regulations among many other problems will likely not be without negative consequences. So, anyway, it was interesting fare around 4 AM.
After my parents got up and we got ready, we headed out around 6 AM while it was still dark out. Since it was a Sunday morning, there was little traffic. My mom wanted to drive on the roads and so she drove us a good ways before I took over to drive us into the airport. She got the hang of it pretty well and did a good job.
Well, driving into Heathrow, which is the third busiest airport in the world (and the busiest based on international passengers), we saw that there were several terminals and no signs as to which ones for which airlines. Since we were running a little bit behind, we picked terminal three to drop my dad off (who was heading to
We Will Find Our Way
Hard to notice, but the sign ahead doesn't have any road name... only distances to towns in each way like some sort of medieval fork in the road. Dublin for the day). We found out later that this was the right terminal for American Airlines. 😊 My mom and I then went to drop off the rental car before going to check-in for our flight to Bahrain.
The check-in went well and after mulling around the terminal for an hour or so, we boarded the plane and headed to Bahrain. The flight went well and we arrived around 8 PM. Shawn and Augusta were there with Quinn and Kai to greet us. My mom mostly focused on the grandchildren... she was very happy to see them. I rode with Shawn back to their house and my mom road with Augusta, Kai, and Quinn.
We then spent the evening catching up.
Interestingly, my dad's trip to Dublin went well, but there were heavy rains and 80 mph crosswinds (which made for a bumpy ride and an interesting day in Dublin). He took a bus from the airport to the hotel, but had to walk a few blocks in the rain. His main goal, which is something he has wanted to do for years, was to have a pint of beer in Dublin at a pub. So,
The Phoenix
This place looked very interesting so we stopped for lunch. he found a nearby pub and had dinner and a pint of Guinness. 😊 After that, I think he mainly sat in his room and watched passers-by struggle with the weather... apparently the wind was so strong that umbrellas were of little help and were getting pushed around by the wind.
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Quinnthefinn
Teresia Quinn
Green dots
Hi there, I'm sure you'll be interested to know that the green dot is most probably a mark made by the ram after he's mounted the ewe, having done 'his business'. The ram carries a small harness with a paint pot under his belly and this leaves a mark after mounting. Thought you'd like to know!!