I finally felt like I got in a routine with classes and everything this week. Maybe even too much of a routine. Midterms are coming up and I have some pretty serious paper-writing to do, so I’ve spent a lot of time reading and working on that. I still did a lot of walking around and a little museum-going.

We went to see Henry IV at the Globe on Wednesday afternoon, and it was really fun. Kind of cheesy, but pretty interesting that it’s so true to the original.

Lilla, Jenny, and I went to London for the day on Friday. We didn’t get to do everything we wanted to do, but we walked a TON and kind of got our bearings. It’s a pretty easy bus ride from Oxford, so we know we can make time to go back again.

The London Eye

Ascending the London Eye

Best view in town??

Oxford, 7/8-7/9/2010:

Someone was feeling a little “home-conscious.”

Sunbathing Beauty

Christ Church College

Bath, 7/10/11:

The most uninformative museum of all time. Apparently has much less clout than Hampshire’s Jane Austen Museum.

Lilla

Roman Baths

Stonehenge, 7/10/2010:

Blenheim Palace, 7/11/2010:

Jenny

Birthplace of Winston Churchill

Exterior of my dorm

Still continuing to get settled in Oxford. Lilla, Jenny, and I have been laughing lots. We went out to dinner and had a drink last night, which was great. Today after class we went on a little field trip to a Roman villa about an hour away. The ride there was kind of nauseating, but we saw a lot of sheep, which delighted me. Our destination itself was probably not the most exciting thing we’ll see on this trip, but it was a fun adventure.


Jenny, dressed to match the local flora

99% sure this tail was lifted in an attempt to mark Lilla as his mate. He really took a shine to her.

 St. John’s College, Oxford

So, we’ve checked into our program at St. John’s and so far it’s been a lot of orientation-type events. We have about 60 other fellow students and they’re all from small schools in the south, not dissimilar from Birmingham-Southern. I have to admit that I opted out of one of the three events planned for us today. I mean…walking tour of Oxford? I’ll be in Oxford for six weeks. I can walk; I can tour. Not really a lot to report. There seems to be a lot to do in and around Oxford, although everything closes at 11. Luckily, we’re done with class every day at 12:30, so there will be plenty of time to see and experience before then. And hopefully be able to go to bed at a reasonable hour in order to wake up at 8 every day!

Our dorms are castle-y and pretty on the outside and have long, winding staircases and high ceilings and big windows, but are decorated like a 1970s airport. My room is bigger than my room in my apartment in Birmingham. Wish I had something, anything, to put in it!

See what I mean with those weird connected chairs? Total airport vibe.

The orange and brown curtains really set it off. 

All kidding aside, it’s perfectly comfortable and I have my friends, Lilla and Jenny, right next door. I’m glad to be here and looking forward to having a bit of a routine with the start of classes tomorrow. 

. 

High Street, Oxford

• Had a leisurely morning. Ate breakfast at the hotel around 10:00. Very satisfying.
• Went on a very cheesy, but very fun tour of Oxford Castle. Tour guide in character as a Victorian-era prisoner and everything.

Oxford Castle

• Did a little shopping, but again, mostly walking.
• Walked to St. John’s, where we’ll be staying for six weeks starting tomorrow.
• Yet another nap…we’ll be here for six weeks, why not?
• Um, yeah, we went to see Twilight also. That’s all I’ll say about it.
• Went home and concluded that we both really like Oxford. Very small and easy to navigate. Also, the English, in addition to speaking our native language, are very friendly and very helpful. Seeing really old, beautiful buildings everywhere you go doesn’t hurt either. Also, we ate a complimentary confection in our room called “Oaty Flapjack Cubes.” I first thought that they need to edit that description, but then we ate them and they just tasted like horse food. In cubes. The “flapjack” part still doesn’t really fit.
• Not that I’ve eaten horsefood before.
• I’m really going to miss the oaty flapjack cubes. 

• Woke up not long after 6 to finish packing and get organized.
• Made it to the train station with an abundance of time. We felt a little bit too confident about that.

Gare du Nord, Paris

• When it was time to go through customs, the British official was pretty sassy and we had to do a lot of unpacking and repacking and getting flustered. Our suitcases are not the easiest to move around a crowded hallway with.
• Got on the train, disheveled already, but had a really nice ride to London. Going through the Chunnel made me a bit uneasy and kind of hurt my ears, but seeing both pastoral France and England was quite nice. Very idyllic.
•  Took a cab from St. Pancras in London to Paddington Station.
• This train was a little less pleasant. Crowded and dirty. Still a good opportunity to look out the window.
• Checked into our hotel in Oxford and loved it. Shower, nap.
• For some reason the English don’t use sheets? I read a message board about it and one person said sheets were only in “hotels and posh places like that.” Guess our hotel isn’t posh enough.
• Ate a quick dinner and fell asleep in a sheetless bed early to an episode of Twin Peaks.

• Got a later start this morning…awake and full of croissants by 11:30.

Lilla, again. Millesime Hotel, Paris.

• Walked to Musee d’Orsay, only had to turn around once.
• Didn’t see the whole museum, but really enjoyed what we did see. Great place to overhear other Americans showing off that Art History 101 knowledge! 
• Bought a great deal more postcards.
• Stumbled upon some museum that we called the “National Museum of Baubles” that was full of medals and capes and sceptors and things. We loved that!
• Skipped lunch, due to our late breakfast.
• Entered the subway station and had a bit of a struggle figuring out which train to get on to get to Versailles. Luckily, we met some people—Ray and Barbara— even more clueless than us and we all figured it out together.

Ray and Barbara

These two were mainly interested in staying out until 3 in the morning and getting drunk, not visiting palaces. We lost sight of them when we arrived, and I think there’s a good chance they turned around and went back to take a nap.

• Versailles was blazing hot, but still a good trip. The 30-minute ride there was pleasant as well.
• Called it a night in preparation for our long journey to Oxford the next morning!

• Most amazing night’s sleep ever. Woke up around 9:30.
• Went shopping, but mainly just walking, in the morning.
• Ate lunch, hindered by language barrier.
• The tiniest little nap around 2.
• Visited a really old bakery and saw the ovens, built circa American Revolution.
• Overheard a very disgruntled man carrying too many suitcases say “FUCK THE FRENCH” as he walked down the stairs at the train station.
• Spent and hour or two in the Pompidou Center. Modern art and great views of the city.
• Walked around the Jewish Quarter and ate falafel for dinner.
• Very brief trip to the Louvre. Closes at 9:30 on Wednesdays. Hit the high points.
• Planned on an early night, but ended up staying up kind of late in the room with Lilla.
• Wrote over a dozen postcards, prompting a tinge of homesickness.

Great day, boring photos.

Paris, Day 1 (June 29, 2010)

• Arrived at 7:30 a.m. Pushed through the jet-lag, no napping!!
• Farmer’s Market near our hotel in the Latin Quarter. Feeling summery and ate a bunch of cherries, spitting the pits on the street. Littering is a-okay here.
• Walked and walked, took a bus to the Eiffel Tower. Had to.
• Ate a grilled cheese, of sorts, with tomatoes for lunch. Tons of cheese and bread and butter.
• Brief walk down Champs de Elysse.
• Groggy walk through Notre Dame.
• Shower at the hotel, walked to Monoprix (Target of France) and bought a croissant and M&Ms for dinner.
• Asleep by 7:30…for fourteen hours.