Salzburg

So it’s time to start the Spring Break posts. I still have a few trips to catch up on, but I’d rather do Spring Break while it’s fresh in my 

mind. Once I extract some photos from my little brother, I’ll post about London and Oxford while Michael and Mom were visiting.

But for now, let’s start with my trip to Salzburg.

Salzburg was so great, I loved it a lot. From the first moment on the train and we crested a hill and I could see the Alps clearly, to the last morning when I left Salzburg with a little longing. 

When I first arrived around 12:30, the afternoon was clear, bright, and hot. I found my hostel quickly, checked in and got settled in and went to explore the city, map in hand. The first place I ended up were the gardens they used in the filming of the Sound of Music. They’re right across the River Spree from the historic center, and they’re absolutely gorgeous. I easily spent an hour just wandering around and soaking in the amazing beauty. 

It was in these gardens that I saw my favorite sight of perhaps my entire trip, because of how perfect it was.

Bruce, you’re with me everywhere I go. 

After a wee bit more wandering in the gardens I headed across the river Spree to see the historic side of town. The historic part of Salzburg is almost all pedestrian streets, and everything is very “clean” and “neat”. So therefore it ends up having a very safe and closed in feeling, but not in a bad way. It was a really easy city to walk, I’m not sure why tourists think they need to use the tram and bus systems, it’s seems entirely needless to me, unless they’re taking one of those “Sound of Music” tours I guess. I skipped. 

After walking around and getting my bearings in the historical end of town, I decided a lunch break was necessary, and what better spot than on the steps of the fountain in front of the Dom Cathedral (also used in the movie, but way cooler than the movie, and I like Julie Andrews). 

When I exited the cathedral after walking around and oohing and ahhing, there was a guy sitting there playing the didgeridoo... now how many times is that going to happen in my life. The guy in the red shirt is dancing, which is kinda funny, and he sorta looked completely crazy, which isn’t so funny. 

I spent the rest of the day just walking around and soaking up the culture of the place. After awhile I got tired, ran by a grocery store and headed back to the hostel. The other girls in my hostel dorm were super nice, two American students from Paris, and one girl from NZ, who lives in Qatar teaching on a two year project. 

The next day, I got started early by hiking up the hill(mountain) to the fortress. The views were amazing, even if the fortress was a little pricey. I got some of the best pictures of the trip from that fortress. 

After the fortress I went back down and hung out in the Mozart Residenz and Birthplace museums. The birthplace was a ripoff, but the Residenz didn’t do too badly overall. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour through it. 

I was glad I did a combo ticket though and not just the birthplace. :P

After that I went and walked around the newer districts, more shopping oriented (found the 1 euro store Mom!) and just enjoyed the people. After a break at the hostel for dinner, Anne Maree (from NZ) and I went for a walk to see the city at night. I have some amazing nighttime photos, that do NOT do the city justice, it was more beautiful than it shows in these photos.

I also went and posed on the bridge that in the movie they cycle over and across to the banks of the River Spree. 

All in all, the visit was really wonderful, and I enjoyed myself and awful lot during my two days there. 

Full photos from the two days can be seen here!

A Reflection on Traveling Alone vs Traveling with Someone

When I first announced to my friends in Oxford (both Americans and English) that I was going to travel alone, most looked at me like I was crazy. Some even voiced that opinion.

"You mean, you're not even going to meet up with someone along the way?"
"Do you think you'll be safe?"
"Aren't you worried?"

Well I wasn't before, but maybe I was then after those opinions.
I continued to research and pray, but I really felt that I trip alone would be a really good way to grow in my trust of God, and a good way to figure out just what I really am capable of doing on my own.

I've taken trips with other people before, which can be really interesting, it's nice to have someone who's there to experience things, help take photos, and someone to talk about it with after you come home. I had a friend tell me that:
"If I traveled alone, I would be afraid none of it had really happened, because I would be the only one there."

I guess that could be true, but I think if you don't travel alone occasionally you'll never know yourself entirely. I have such a better understanding of myself now. I've been lost and had to figure it out by myself.  I've had to make friends with strangers (a strength I don't usually possess). I've had to stand up for myself in a country where I don't speak the language (someone tried to cheat me out of 5 euros worth of change. I got cranky). I've had to make every decision, from food to sights, to sleep, to trains. There's a serious thrill in being that independent. In just hopping trains and wandering cities, and hoping you find your way, but not really caring about getting lost along the way, because you're the only one it affects.

During my week all alone in Germany (and Salzburg) and then my week of wandering around Vienna and spending the evenings with Denise, I've learned a lot about myself. Like the fact that I tend to keep a running commentary going in my head, or that I really enjoy talking to people in hostels. I've made two good acquaintances, that I hope will turn into real friends, because both of them were lovely. I've been adventurous, I've been scared, and I was even homesick. But the real thing is, I made the decision to be those things, I didn't let someone else influence me, exhaust me, or make the decisions for me.

Like I said at first, I don't have anything against traveling with someone (hello, I traveled with Rebekah all through Michaelmas!) but I think it's important to experiment and try things on your own. I wouldn't recommend 3 years of this, but I would recommend a few weeks. It's envigorating to get lost... to look around and realize you've seen the buildings around you six times, but you have no idea where those buildings are on the map you're looking at.

That's all. Just a brief recommendation to figure yourself out.

Marooned, stranded, stuck, however you put it, it's not pleasant

Once again I'm sitting in the computer lab at Denise's school. What a gracious friend. Her graciousness is almost as wonderful as her friendship, humor, and kindness. As I have struggled through the weekend and continue to muddle through this week post volcano-explosion (as Eric put it: Dr. Harris must be so excited, this is the first time Iceland's been in the news in forever!) she has been there for me every step of the way, making sure I eat, talk, fuss, and occasionally sigh in frustration.

Frankly, being here hasn't been too bad overall. But let's back up. Originally I was going to take a daytrip on Friday last week. My plans changed slightly and I decided to go on Thursday instead, since Denise was free most of Friday (noon onward!) and I wanted to spend my *last* night with her, not in Eisenstadt. So Thursday morning, off I went to Eisenstadt, the town the Esterhazy family lived in. Terribly cool, I got to see Haydn's house. But the second I walked into her apartment that evening, full of crazy stories, Denise says "look at RyanAir. A volcano errupted, and flights are shutting down."
Sure enough, Friday evening I was notified my flight had been canceled. What followed from there was a frantic rush to get myself back in time for Monday lectures.
Or my Wednesday meeting.
Or just ever.

I first booked a Eurostar train for Monday evening, since that was the next available time I could go. I then Saturday went and stood in line, twice, trying to get a train out of Vienna and over to Paris. That was a no-go, since that was what everyone wanted to do. I spent a total of 4 hours and 30 minutes at Westbahnhof waiting in line. On Saturday. After a little conferencing with my family that night, I went back to Westbahnhof on Sunday and spent almost 3 hours trying to sort my life. Again. And then... here's the kicker, I couldn't get a train until Wednesday. So I booked it, thinking I could get ahold of Eurostar and change my booking with them.
I couldn't. So then I was going to be stuck in Paris, unable to get a hostel, unable to get a train. I panicked. I called my sister and she and I spent almost three hours on Sunday total trying to sort my life. Eventually we found a flight that was going to leave on Tuesday. I was so excited!
And then Monday night they canceled it.
I moved to this coming Monday.
I'll have missed an entire week, but hey, at least I'll get back, right?
Maybe wrong. The volcano errupted again yesterday, I may just have to move into Denise's apartment permanently.

On the plus side, I met her landlady today, she's absolutely a precious person, and is refusing to let me pay the extra rent to stay there since it's "such a pity! you being stuck here!". She gets flowers. And maybe chocolate.
Plus, Denise's roommates are SO cool. So wonderfully chill, and just absolutely lovely about the fact that they have an extra person in the house taking up space, shower time... etc. They've all been really sympathetic, and just incredibly gracious and kind. Such a relief to at least be stuck/stranded/marooned with friends. I've discovered so many new happy things about being glutenfree too! More on that at some point (and just how I managed to survive... although barely... I lost 5 pounds and about two inches on my waist in the last three weeks).

Life continues to be an adventure. In so many ways ...

Austria!!!

As of this moment, I am currently sitting in my hostel in Salzburg, whiling away a little time because the museums are closed, and I don't feel up to just wandering about today.

So on Monday I flew into Bratislava, which for those of you who are not away, is in Slovakia. While I knew this before leaving, for some reason it never dawned on me to brush up on my Slovakian. Hence the following story.

Everything was fine until I was about 50 feet out of Immigration. I reached for my passport, which I thought I had stuck in my back pocket, I was going to transfer it back to my purse while I tried desperately to figure out what "train station" was in Slovakian. As I reached back, I realiyed (dramatic music cue...) it wasn't there. Uh-oh. Where did it go.
I sat down and searched through my bags, not there. Not in any of my pockets. I retraced my steps up to that point, not there either. Uh-oh.
Next, I pursued a search for the info desk, and managed to walk right by it four or five times. Smooth. If it hadn't been for the English guys from my flight who I had befriended before takeoff, I might have stayed wandering for a bit. Of course almost none of the signs are in English, so I'm dreadfully confused the entire time. After finally locating someone who speaks English at the info desk, I am directed to the Lost&Found desk... where my passport lies waiting.
*phew*

I would lose my head if it wasn't screwed on, I'm pretty sure.

The new plan

So as my previous post stated, there have been a few complications as far as the traveling goes.
As soon as I get a chance I will try to post some photos from when Mom and Michael visited. I don't actually have the photos, Michael took all of them except for one or two.

So for now I'm lonely in Oxford. I may try texting a few people and seeing if they want to do dinner. Up to this point I haven't felt well enough to get out of bed. I'm not entirely sure I'm up to getting out of bed just yet anyways. :D

My new plan is to leave Monday morning, decently early from Oxford, get to Bratislava mid-afternoon, and Vienna a little later than that. I'll spend Monday and Tuesday nights with Denise, friend extraordinaire (who's also going to feed me! yay!).
On Wednesday I'll leave for Salzburg, spend Wednesday and Thursday nights in Salzburg, Friday night in Munich, Saturday and Sunday nights in Berlin, and Monday night in Leipzig. I'll go back to Vienna from Leipzig and spend the rest of my time just hanging out in Vienna, taking day trips, seeing Vienna, and just hanging with my other half. This trip, should it actually happen, should be great!

Just pray that public transit works for once....

*sigh*

Complications of a World Traveler

The title for today's post is a play off of my friend's newspaper article, which she entitled "Confessions of a World Traveler". It's Complicated, because of my yesterday. I learned some important lessons, and was shown both the frustrations and kindnesses of different strangers in life.

Let me back up.

For the past week my Mom and my younger brother Michael (note the word younger... I can no longer say "little", he only has an inch to go before he's my height) have been visiting me here in Oxford. We had tons of crazy adventures, and I even found out Mom can have the smoothies at Moo Moo's, the best milkshake place this side of the Atlantic. It was a really exciting moment for all involved.
Being able to show Oxford to them was really great, and I enjoyed almost every moment.
I say almost, because halfway through the week I developed a sinus infection. I'm semi-famous for having bad sinuses, and for having some of the worst infections known to man. But this one kicked every other infection I've had in the face. It's inflamed the nerves on the right side of my face, and I've been swollen and tender to the touch there for close to a week as of now. Yay for Oxford's perpetual damp.

The pain was so bad one night I couldn't function, was entirely miserable, and almost hysterical from the pain, despite having taken prescription strength ibuprofen, some tylenol, and two benedryl. My Mom was so worried she kept threatening to take me to the JR, the hospital here. Fortunately for me, Megan (who was staying with us for the week) told Mom how far away the JR is, and how much trouble it would be. They finally gave me some really strong prescription meds that I use when the arthritis pain is bad and put me to bed. Finally.

That was Sunday night. Monday I mostly stayed on the couch, and took pain medicine frequently. Monday night the pain amped up again, not as badly, but to the point where I was miserable again. I took a lot of pain medicine and went to bed around 12 with the idea of getting up at 6:30 am so everyone could catch their respective coaches to go to their airports and catch flights.
7:15am I finally roll over and realize we've all overslept. A mild hurry descends on the house as we try to get out the door by 8 am. We're really unsuccessful, but I had wanted to run Mom and Michael early for their coach so I could catch the 9:05am coach to Luton. Around 8:50am we finally get to the coach station in Oxford and I put them on their coach and rush off to the National Express office to buy a ticket. Now the fact that you have to buy the tickets from a centralized office instead of a kiosk or on the bus like EVERY OTHER BUS COMPANY IN ENGLAND really frustrates me. Clearly.

The following is the rest of my day, post dropping off Mom and Michael at their coach. They told me later they made it in plenty of time.

8:52am - Enter NatEx office, two people in front of me. A man in his 30's who doesn't speak very good English and is incredibly confused about where he's going, and then a woman who's about 25/26 who DOES speak English, but is incredibly confused about what she needs, and even though the slightly incompetent girl behind the counter is explaining it, the customer continues to argue about what she needs. Even I knew she was wrong, and I'm not originally from here. Go figure.

9am - I finally make it to the counter, but am informed that the coach is leaving in just a moment. Having checked the schedule before I left I know this is incorrect, and tell them I should have five minutes. The man behind the counter refuses to sell me a ticket, saying everyone else is on the coach and it's leaving. I'm really frustrated, but what can I do at this point? Not much.
I explain that my flight is at 13:40 and I need to be at Luton before that. He tells me to hop the next OxfordTube coach to London and grab a coach from Victoria station to Luton. I'm doubtful, but he's rude, and I'd like to get away from him, so I agree. The guy who sells me the Tube ticket (because of course I don't have my multiticket on me...) tells me he thinks I'm making a mistake and proceeds to argue with the NatEx guy. I'm confused, and can't understand, because the guy from the OxTube is from Northern Scotland, and that's an almost impossible accent to understand. I finally give up and go get on the OxTube coach and ride into London.

It's 11:45 am now, the coach from Oxford ran late, and I'm really worried I'm not going to get to Luton in time.

I'm right. Again.
The Greenline Arriva bus from London to Luton pulls in at 1:20pm. I dash through the airport making a complete idiot out of myself, and almost injuring myself in the process. I get up to the security checkpoint and am told the paper I printed at home (or at Penelope's, rather) is NOT my boarding pass at all and I need to run downstairs and check-in.
1:25 pm - I dash downstairs to find the check-in desk for my flight is entirely closed.
1:30 pm I finally make it to the front of a different line and am directed to a ticket window across the room. It'd be nice if it had had a sign. I would have gone there in the first place.
1:35 pm - Am told I basically missed my flight as of five past one. In a culmination of too much strong medicine, frustration, and a complete lack of sleep, and the amount of pain I'm in, I burst into tears. The girl behind the desk tells me to come back in two minutes, she'll let me use the phone and I can call the states so I can talk to my Dad.
1:45 pm - Try repeatedly to use the desk phone to call Dad. Doesn't work. Call Charles on my mobile instead. Cry a little again because I'm so frustrated. He promises to call the States and have Dad call my mobile number.
1:50 pm - Denise, the friend I was going to meet in Bratislava/Vienna calls my mobile, concerned because got a text from me saying I had missed my flight. She tells me to calm down, and that my not coming isn't a huge deal, we'll just get refunds on things.
1:55 pm - Dad calls. We talk through my missed flight and the fact that getting on the next day flight will be 100 GBP. He reminds me the experience far outweighs the cost (something I have to repeat fairly frequently when I freak out about money, or lack thereof) and the only concern should be my health, which has been pretty cruddy.
2:05 pm - Denise and I talk again. We agree I'll just go home and sleep for two or three days and try the trip again soon.
3:30 pm - catch the coach back to Oxford (all that wasted money on coach tickets... blech).
6:00 pm - walk in the door and collapse. Realize I have no groceries.
Then remember Mom left stuff in the freezer. What a great Mom.

So for now I'm surviving on the leftovers Mom left in the freezer, and trying to sort my life again. Next time in this sort of a situation I will not try to leave the same day my company does, but I will try to leave the following day. I will not assume people are going to be nice, but I will remember to accept kindness when it is offered, like the bus driver who joked around with me, or the girl at the WH Smith who gave me a discount on my drinks and crisps because she overheard me talking to Denise on my mobile and felt sorry for me missing my flight.

Oh, and I think I'm leaving now on Monday, April 5th.
At least I'll have a nice quiet weekend to recover from the infection.

Still busy...

Maybe y'all didn't believe me when I said I wasn't sure when I was going to schedule breathing, but it's turned out to be so very very true.

I kept thinking last week that I'd slow down and have a chance to breathe, but anytime I should have academically, my social life caught up to me.
We took a wee excursion to Brighton last week for three days (by we, I mean myself and my housemate Chrissy). More on that later (I'm trying a new program to write the post... but I'm not terribly motivated at the moment).

I can't believe that in less than a week I'll be busy with break stuff, and traveling. I finally got my plans all figured out for now, with a little looseness to be had in certain ways.

Sunday 14 March - After church at St. Ebbe's take the OxfordTube to my brother's house in northern London where I'll be until either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning (depending on the next set of plans). I'll spend most of that time sightseeing in London with my Mom and brother Michael who are coming over from the States.

Thursday 18 March - Leave with groups from Focus for Ledbury, five days of awesomeness up near the border of Wales. We're just going on a retreat together, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Monday 22 March - Arrive  back in Oxford (most likely exhausted), clean the house hurriedly with my dear friend Megan, and then welcome Mom and Michael to my house! Megan is staying with us for the week too, so I can save her some money, but she's fairly independent and will most likely do her own thing I imagine. But still, I have a week in which to show my Mom and brother around my city. That's going to be super super exciting.

Tuesday 30 March - Mom and Michael leave Oxford to go back to the States, I leave Oxford for Vienna, well Bratislava really, because it was far cheaper, but I will take a train into Vienna that evening to meet up with Denise.

Wednesday 31 March - take a bus to Prague with Denise where we will be for 2 nights. We're super excited!

Friday 2 April - in the evening take a night train to Oswiecem, the town that Auschwitz is located in.
Saturday 3 April - tour Auschwitz. That evening take a night train back to Vienna.

Sunday 4 April - after arriving in Vienna spend two glorious days hanging out with Denise and touring her lovely lovely city while she's still on break. When she goes back to school on Tuesday, continue to wander around and do music-y things.

Wednesday 7 April - Leave for Salzburg. Spend two nights there touring the city.

After this, it gets a little sketchy as to what goes on when, but I think the basic idea is going to be:

Munich, Berlin, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Bratislava, Oxford.

I have no hostels booked yet, but I did get a global Interrail pass so, I should be good to go all through Western Europe. Yay.

Eeek. Almost here!

Canterbury and beyond! Or maybe just Canterbury!

Weekend of November 21/22

Hey, I’m getting closer! Very soon it will be time to write about our big Ireland trip. 

Then I really haven’t done anything interesting during this term. 

I’ll probably do this next term too, write about the craziness that will be my spring break.

But more on that later.

CaNtErBuRy! 

We really enjoyed this weekend, and it was fun for Rebekah and me to have someone new to travel with. Namely my housemate (and classmate from Jewell!) Lora! She was really great, and Canterbury was a big deal for her, so she did lots of the research for places to stay. It was a first for her, and a first for my sister to NOT be involved in the planning. Rebekah let us handle everything (mwah ha ha ha). Evil laughter aside, good weekend all around. 

Well, except for how it started. Lora started our morning at a few minutes after six, by sliding down the last few stairs on our staircase. We finally decided it was just a mild sprain, and she was determined to keep the trips plans since we’d been looking forward to it for so long. So she and I finished packing our belongings and some sandwiches for the day and ran to catch the 7:15 bus right around the corner from us. Well, I thought it was the 7:15, turned out to be the 7:23. And everyone knows how I like to run early for everything, buses especially. So we stood there for ... awhile. Sorry Lora! 

After a very bumpy ride (pretty sure that bus was THE oldest in the fleet) we made it to Reading and practically ran to Rebekah’s apartment since we were cold and damp. After a little repacking (and a little using the facilities) we were on our way! 

We arrived in Canterbury about 11 am and went straight to St Martin’s church, the oldest church to still be in everyday use for worship. The church was really neat, especially realizing it was old enough to be there for Queen Bertha to have worshipped in! From there we unsuccessfully tried to find the Westgate Towers on the SatNav. Emphasis on “unsuccessfully”. This SatNav thing is kind of a hit or miss situation. It’s either fantastic, or lacking a little. 

So we gave up and went in search of the Tourist Info Center, a much more easily located building. After locating it and obtaining a free map of the city, we went to the Roman museum, munching the lunches I had packed along the way. 

The Roman Museum was definitely neat, there was a reconstructed marketplace exhibition and a lot of excavation (looked a lot like our trip to Bath!) After a little “reconnoitering” (I stuck that word in just for you Dad!) we headed again for the Westgate Towers. 

On the way we became distracted by the Thomas Beckett hospital, which was a place for pilgrims to stay when coming to the shrine for Thomas Beckett. The place still houses elderly men and women who don’t have the means to take care of themselves monetarily. After that we finally located the Westgate Towers, the original entrance to Canterbury. While we were there we managed to snag a double red phone booh photo together. It will go well in my themed scrapbook (which has turned into phone booths around Europe, check back for details as it develops). 

From there we headed to the cathedral so we would have time to look around before Evensong started. When we arrived, someone had just had a heart attack and they had the entire entrance to the Nave shut down because of ambulances. Eek. 

They were however letting people in through an entrance by the choir, so we wandered around and snapped photos, visited Thomas Beckett’s shrine (or the site of the former shrine) and then grabbed front row seats for Evensong. A truly lovely service, and we even convinced one of the wardens to take a photo of all three of us right before things got started. 

After that our parking had almost expired so we grabbed the car and headed out to the B&B. Again, the SatNav made a fail, but after a couple of phone cals we made it. After even more navigational problems trying to find a particular pub for dinner we finally gave up and went back to the hotel restaurant. There was a little confusion as I desperately tried to find something that was gluten-free, but disaster was averted when I finally managed to get through our waitress’ head what my problem was. The joys of eating in a limited restaurant with an allergy/intolerance.

After that we all collapsed, it had been a busy day. 

After breakfast on Sunday we headed to St. Augustine’s Abbey. 

The day was very clear and pretty, just a little nippy. Rebekah and I had complimentary admission because we’re English Heritage members (a fact I plan to abuse royally during my summer trip up to and through Scotland), but obviously Lora should have needed to pay an entrance fee. The guy manning the till ended up letting her in free when he realized she was with Rebekah and me, because we were members. So nice! There was also a free audio guide included. Woo! 

Highly informative. 

I may know more than I wanted to. 

Towards the end of the touring it began to grow more and more overcast and cold, so Rebekah and I wimped out for the last little pathway and went inside to try some Mead. 

After a quick run by the ruins of the old Norman Castle we headed home because it was pouring rain (welcome to England!). Once we were in Reading we split up and Lora and I headed back to Oxford, leaving Rebekah at her apartment.

What a great weekend. Pictures are available here! 

Busy!

This last weekend two friends came to visit, which has kept me plenty busy, and the next two and a half days I'm off to London to keep my brother and sister-in-law's kids for them. Life is definitely rolling along, but here are a couple of musings for the week:

1. The London Eye is a handy way to show you the entire city of London... in a half an hour.

2. Staying up until 4 am repeatedly is not considered an all-nighter if you spend it talking with your friends because you can't handle wasting any time while they're visiting.

3. Occasionally crazy people give you commentary on your life. Your job is to take that into account, and laugh later with friends. (There's a story for that).

4. Teatime is every time.

5. Toast with Nutella at 3 am are calories that don't count because you're not actually awake.

6. Crocheting is not an adequate replacement for practicing the piano 2 hours every day. I'm about to go crazy over here.

7. The train into London is cheaper than the bus after you've purchased the 16-25 railcard. Round trip at off-peak times with a PLUS-BUS pass for Oxford on the day of my return costs a little less than a round trip on the LondonTube. And there's less travel time. And I won't get bus-sick. How Fan-Tas-Tic is that?

8. Tacking 63 photos onto your wall takes a lot of time.

9. I now own more sweaters than all other items in my wardrobe combined. This is what a study-year in England will do to you.

10. The Spice Counter at the Farmers Market has the coolest things. Including a gluten-free cereal I was really really missing from the States. Hello Enviro Kids Cocoa puffs!!!

11. I really miss my sister. :(

Stonehenge and Bath

The weekend of October 31/November 1 Rebekah and I visited Stonehenge and the city of Bath, both major highlights for me for probably my life, but especially for this year. 

We drove straight to Stonehenge on Saturday, and actually went in and walked around (it’s rather expensive normally, but we’re English Heritage members, and that’s one of the free perks to being a member). There was also a free audio guide for the site (like all good EH sites) that was mostly informative, although just a wee bit on the cheesy side. I have about a million photos of Stonehenge... i.e. a bunch of photos about rocks. 

After we left Stonehenge we drove into Bath, where apparently there was a big rugby match going on... hence no parking. In the entire city. We finally found a spot and headed into the City Centre. After a little debate and more than a little confusion, we found the Jane Austen Center, which was a blast. Jane Austen is one of my heroes in life (not heroin no... sounds too druggy...) so the center was absolutely fascinating for us. They talked not only about her specific life but also about what Bath would have been like during the Georgian era. Absolutely fascinating. 

We were going to stop and have a bite to eat there at the JA Center’s cafe, since they had a gluten-free sign on the cafe window, but oh my goodness it was crowded. So we decided to eat our packed lunch while walking to the Assembly Rooms. Now this is where the joke/dream/running gag of my Regency Era wedding started. I do however have my entire wedding mapped out now. 

All I need is a willing male participant now.

After the Assembly Rooms we headed down towards the Pump Room/Royal Baths/Bath Abbey area. There was a wedding in Bath Abbey and we realized we were still a little hungry, so grabbed a snack (yay for hot chocolate!) at Costa Coffee. When we did go to Bath Abbey they offered us one of two guides... the adult which had boring info, or the children’s activity sheet. Guess which was we went? Oh yeah... the children’s activity sheet! 

After that we did a little bookstore shopping on our way to the car since it was beginning to get dark. When we started out we pulled out the Sat Nav to figure out where Grosvenor Lodge, our B&B for the night, was located. Unfortunately the Sat Nav decided to spazz out on us, so after a long time of trying to decide what to do, we ended up driving around in the dark with me using the Blackberry’s built in Sat Nav, constantly refreshing the Maps application. Now we laugh, but then we definitely did not. Upon finally arriving at the B&B we found Colin, who runs the place, and has Celiac’s Disease. In our opinion this place deserves a 5 ****** rating... it’s rare for me to go somewhere and feel entirely confident that they aren’t going to screw up my breakfast and secretly kill me. I’ve had more meals remade because it’s come with toast on the side and I’ve had to give them the evil eye. Colin however, having the same disease understood all the issues, and even had some amazing toast and sausages (special treats for me!) in the morning. It was absolutely wonderful. If you go to Bath and you have CD, I really do suggest you stay with Colin, it’s well worth the visit. 

On Sunday we went to the #1 Royal Crescent House Museum, which was completely furnished the way it would have been in the Georgian era when Bath was at the height of it’s popularity. After that we went to the Roman Baths and did a little time travel back 2000 years, from there we ran through the Pump Room to try our free glass of sulphur water (oh so gross) before heading back to Reading. A full and busy weekend by any standards! 

Photos of us being crazy can be viewed here!

Preludes

So I’ve been a bit remiss in the updating realm. I promise it hasn’t been purposeful, I have plenty of excuses involving being ill, not having working internet, and Word eating my documents. I’m now switching to the Mac Word Processing program – Pages. Obviously far superior. :-P

But this is an actual update, not just a post to antagonize PC users out there. 

After leaving KC I spent about 5 1/2 days with my brother in Chicago. We discovered that he has become old and boring, which suited me just fine, because I was born old and boring.  We mostly stuck to quiet pursuits, but we did have about 2 or 3 adventures.

First, the Sunday I was there, my brother had the cute idea to drive to Wisconsin to surprise his wife, who was staying there with her parents while they took care of a few things. This required us getting up at 5:30 am. He’s charming, non? 

Our other fun day came on Monday. Matt (brother) and I decided to head down to The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. This photo basically sums up that trip:

Yeah, I know. 

Tuesday evening was spent wandering downtown in Chicago while I waited for Matt to get out of his class. He’s working on degree number three. Clearly this need for school runs in the family. 

Wednesday kicked into high gear getting ready for the flight, which left at 6 pm that day. 

Oh yes, that flight. Here’s the ups and downs:

1. Virgin Atlantic in flight service rocks. 
2. One of few airlines that knows how to cater to the Celiac (or Coeliac) community. 

3. Heavy turbulence for five hours of flight = not a lot of fun. It was kinda like being on a roller coaster for part of the time. For those in doubt, I’m not the roller coaster type. 

4. Tea served two hours before landing is a great plan. Just saying.

5. Nasty customer service people who tell you despite your obvious injuries (I mean, I’m wearing a whiplash collar around my neck), you’ll have to manage your own luggage because she has no record of you calling to request help. Doesn’t matter that a call was made, if she doesn’t have a record of it, you’re still on your own. Fail Virgin Atlantic. Fail in large ways. 

Despite these ups and downs (literally in the case of the turbulence) I made it through Immigration and Customs without any issues. Leading up to coming over here, various folks made it sound like Immigration would be a nightmare. The following is my conversation with the Border Patrol Official:

Border Patrol: Where are you studying?

Me: Oxford

Border Patrol: What are you studying?

Me: Music.

Border Patrol: Great. Have a good time. *stamps passport*

Not really a big deal at all? 

However, I was greeted very enthusiastically on the other side of Customs by my older sister Rebekah. I felt fairly special. She then drove me to the other brother and sister-in-law’s place, on the outskirts of London. They live in between the last couple of stops on the Picadilly line. The other end from Heathrow. 

That was Thursday. I proceeded to nap and enjoy a fairly quiet evening.

Friday morning I babysat my nephews for a couple of hours, and then once they were down for their naps and my brother back at their house, I decided a bit of exploring was in order. I may be the only person to ever get lost in between their house and ASDA, but at least I have distinction. After finally locating ASDA (the English Walmart) I also located the gluten-free section and bought some of the most reasonably priced, and tastiest items I’ve had in awhile that are gluten-free.

Dear America, could you please catch up with England? Thanks, Karen. 

Saturday Rebekah drove over and she and I went sight-seeing in London. We decided to hit the Charles Dickens museum (long time obsession) and then the Buckingham Palace State Rooms. Obviously, you can’t take photos inside, but here’s the outside of the Palace, as well as a picture of me trying to get the Palace in the background. You can tell I wasn’t terribly successful. 

After the Palace we walked to Hyde Park (famed in storybooks everywhere) and took a few photos. This is where we learned, Karen really isn’t great at getting much beyond the people in the photo in the photo. I can’t get a monument or building in the background to save my life. 

Saturday night Rebekah spent the night at our brother’s place so we could get up Sunday and hear him speak at their church. He’s definitely the intellectual one. I’ll settle for being the artistic one in the family. :-)

If you think about it, keep a few folks from my program in your thoughts and prayers, they’re having trouble with the British Consulate. And that’s NO fun. 

Sunday evening we came back to Rebekah’s place, so I could catch a train to Oxford. Unfortunately, I picked up a flu bug and have spent more of the last 24 hours in bed than not. We’re going to drive up to Oxford tomorrow and see about getting me into the flat so I can go back to bed for portions of tomorrow. Another post is soon to come, with pictures of the flat, and hopefully of housemates. 

Stay tuned...