Oxford (lots of pictures!)

We got out of London for our first day trip to Oxford on Saturday! Although early it was nice to make a plan and use the entire day for sight seeing, as we usually don’t get out of the flat till the afternoon. We got to take our first ride on the top deck of a Double Decker bus!! It was very exciting for me, and the other girls laughed at my reaction, which I assume was warranted as I was a bit tired and my coffee hadn’t kicked in yet…

It was a bit cold out, so we didn’t quite see everything in Oxford that we wanted to. We did however take a guided walking tour of the city, which we all enjoyed very much. Our tour guide was what we picture to be the quintessential British man. He knew so much about Oxford, it was very impressive. The city and the university are extremely historical and absolutely gorgeous. Did you know that Dr. Seuss got his postgraduate at Oxford?

Our tour guide in a dining hall at Oxford

We we so lucky to have a beautiful sunny day! 

The weather being sunny but frigid, made us quite chilled after the tour so we decided to enjoy Afternoon Tea for the first time at the oldest coffee shop in Britain called The Grand Café. The tea included light and fluffy delicious scones with clotted cream and jam. We decided to order three different types of teas, Lady Grey, Assam, and Darjeeling. My favorite was Lady Grey which had a sweet aroma and wonderful taste. It was just what we needed to warm up and sit for a while. We did end up sitting at the coffee shop for a couple of hours so it was already pretty dark when we left.

The tea cups say "The site of the first coffee house in England"

The bus we had reservations for was not for another three or four hours but there was not much else we could see. We went in a couple of stores including one called Fat Face that I believe I remember my cousin Christine suggesting I go to. I didn't buy anything but liked the store very much.

The bus ride home flew by because we were able to sit at a table and Grace and I taught Liz and Megan how to play Euchre (yes, I had to look up the spelling). I was very excited to find out that Grace also loves the game as usually no one has heard of it. Liz and Megan caught on quickly and like it which is awesome because you need exactly four people to play and most of the time there are four of us! All and all a good trip which I hope we make again.

Have a wonderfully marvelous day, cheers! ~Laura  

Tea and Crumpets

I had a lovely late night snack of tea and crumpets. To feel more British I had my tea the way the Brits do, with milk and sugar. My mates and I had taken a Jack the Ripper walking tour in the bitter cold so the hot peppermint tea helped to thaw my hands. It was just what I needed. For a mere 53p (pence) the grocery store will sell you eight crumpets. They tend to expire quickly so they are great for sharing. We don't have a toaster so the stove gets fired up to toast them. Our stove is quite slow at heating up so it's quite the process to cook anything, but so worth a warm delicious crumpet. We then butter both sides of the crumpets, place them on the stove, and wait.

When they are slightly brown on both sides, the crumpets are ready! They are too hot to hold or take a bite, but this is immediately done. Slightly crunchy on the outside, but fluffy and a little sweet in the middle, a crumpet is a scrumptious, perfect snack. They remind us a bit of popovers. I only hope I am able to find them in the states, as they have become a staple here and I don't want to have to miss it. You all should start on a search for these so we can eat them together when I get back! 

Have a wonderfully marvelous day, cheers! ~Laura 

Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace

The birds here are not afraid of people. When running through a group of them the ones you get closest to nonchalantly take a few steps out of the way. The rest just stand there watching and hoping you have food. I find this kind of cool and scary at the same time. I hear that geese can be aggressive and mean but I still couldn’t resist getting as close as I could to them and the swans, this distance being about a foot. I had never seen a swan in person, let alone gotten close enough to touch one, until Megan and I went to Hyde Park on Friday. The swans were my favorite of the many birds flying around. I couldn’t believe how much snow accumulated as I heard it hardly ever snows. So we decided that Hyde Park would be beautiful covered in snow, and it was. It was a bit cold, but totally worth it.

This bird had so much attitude! 

This is my favorite picture of a swan that I took

We went to a café by the lake in the park called Serpentine Bar and Kitchen. We both bought a chocolate croissant and hot chocolate, which were a bit pricy but ended up tasting delicious. The warmth of the café was also totally worth it.

After warming up we made our way to Buckingham Palace. Can you imagine 1. Living in a castle (which is my dream by the way) and 2. Having your home guarded by men who are not allowed to smile? I certainly can’t. The Palace was huge and the architecture gorgeous. The gate was adorned with golden lions and other beautiful details. The lawn was covered with a perfect sheet of snow. We asked a man to take a picture of the two of us standing in front of the gate. I simply couldn’t believe the grandeur of the site. Unfortunately we couldn’t get close to the guards because Megan had some jokes at the ready.

We will definitely be going back when it is warmer out to see it again.

Have a wonderfully marvelous day, cheers! ~Laura 

The Weather

I had heard that British people love to talk about the weather. I have found this to be true. Apparently agreeing with whatever they say is one's best bet. If they say "It's rather cold out today!" Just agree. Even if, like me, you have left two feet of snow and below freezing temperatures behind at home. Contrary to what is said about constant rain, we have had a few sunny days; Although, it is cloudy and grey most of the time here. It is even snowing right now which doesn't happen all that often, or so I'm told. It is supposed to snow 4 out of the next 5 days. But I'm sure nothing will stick, and whatever does will melt quite quickly.

My favorite quote about the weather to date happened Monday in my 9:00 class. I had walked 10-15 minutes to get there and it had snowed in the early morning but then stopped. There was no snow accumulation on the ground but some on the cars. Upon the start of class my tutor said this, "We'll wait a few minutes to start, because many people are not here. I'm sure it's weather related." I chuckled to myself as in Vermont we get many inches of snow at a time yet have had maybe one or two snow days in the past 10 years which have all fallen during break. But people here are not used to the snow; It's like the first snow fall back home. People forget how to drive in it and it seems to cause more accidents than the rest of the winter.

The other thing about the weather is I don't think anyone really knows when it's going to rain. One day last week it was supposed to rain, and it hadn't yet since I'd arrived. The weather people predicted rain starting around 1:00. It didn't rain then so they pushed it back to around 3:00. This kept happening until all evening and it didn't rain until that night when I was already asleep. Alas you never know what the weather is going to be like around here so it is always a good idea to have an umbrella! Which of course I don't have with me today...

Have a wonderfully marvelous day, cheers! ~Laura