it's a jolly holiday with donald

our plan for this trip was to travel slow, so after a short layover in iceland we landed in london with just a few must do items on our list and only a general idea of how we would spend our days. between the time change, extra pregnancy sleep, and donald's internal clock being set to the night shift, we weren't super successful in overcoming our jet lag. this resulted in an overabundance of nap time, but we still had a jolly good time exploring the city and enjoying our week with the british.

the first morning we popped into an ole & steen bakery and donald fell in love with their cinnamon social. he had one for breakfast every day, while i ran into the sainsbury's across the street for two croissants and a pint of skim milk. with the rest of our days we explored some charming old streets on our way to eat handmade pasta, got caught in a rainstorm at the tower bridge and warmed up with bangers and mash at a cozy pub, attended evensong at westminster abbey, ate wafflemeister waffels whenever we got the chance, waved to the queen at the palace, tried a scotched egg, spent sunday evening in a neighborhood pub with nfl redzone, and one of us thoroughly enjoyed our frequent underground rides.

while i found london to be as delightful as ever, our two favorite activities happened to be the ones that took us outside the city. the last time i was in england visiting some friends i talked myself out of a side trip to a miniature village i knew i'd love because i was too cheap, so this time we took the train to beaconsfield to visit the bekonscot model village and it was by far my favorite day. the village itself is tucked away in the midst of a quiet residential area, and our stroll there from the train station was delightfully charming. the miniatures were just as magical as i'd hoped and i was so glad we went on that little adventure.

unsurprisingly, donald's favorite activity [aside from nfl redzone] was the very thing that enticed him to agree to the trip in the first place. our main event was a visit to the making of harry potter at warner brothers studio, where we saw first hand the magical ways the movies brought the world of harry potter to life. we wandered the great hall, saw tons of sets, props, and costumes, and learned some fun trivia about the filming, like how the color of voldemort's robe faded each time a horcrux was destroyed. this was also the same day we happened upon an english chap on the train wearing an iconic kc heart t-shirt, and that was a delightful surprise.

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farewell fair oxford

this trip to oxford has been pretty laid back, which i've really enjoyed. since i've been here before, i didn't have to go full force the whole time trying to visit all the "must see" sites. i still saw some fun things, but it was great to rider bikes to the store, make dinner, go to church, and just feel a bit like a local.

i was on my own for awhile yesterday and today while jackie had some meetings, and i had some interesting adventures. both days i went bike riding on some paths and ended up with some serious mud issues. i wish someone had been following me with a video camera...it would have made for some laughs. other than that, i just enjoyed the city and the countryside and treated myself to a lunch of bangers and mach [sausages on a pile of mashed potatoes, my favorite english dish]. and on a non-english note, i learned to make homemade onion rings as well. tonight was our turn to cook for food group at the house and we made a good ol' american meal...cheeseburgers, onion rings, and cokes. it was delish.

the grave of c.s. lewis

me and the spires of oxford

punts for hire on the river cherwell


beautiful port meadow
[my bike ride here today just may have been the trip highlight]


the jackie and shelly farewell photo

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yep, that's snow

we woke up this morning to a delightful sight...lots and lots of snow! it was a very pretty and some of the students in the house were up bright and early to enjoy every minute of it, especially the ones from california.

the backyard

being the devoted church-goers that we are, jackie and i biked through the snow to church and then shopped around oxford a bit. we had lunch at the lamb & flag pub, and are now back at the vines [which is the name of the house they live in] to enjoy a relaxing afternoon. clint is off in lincoln doing some pioneer research and finding out things no one else in the world knows. you know, typical stuff. this is what makes him the most educated person i know.

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our day in london

jackie and i took the train to london yesterday [i love being able to say that] for a little sight seeing. the weather was beautiful, especially for england.

one of our first stops was the british library. now, i'm not usually very fond of museum-type attractions, but this was really cool. there is a room filled with old books and writings on different subjects, all kept under glass. they have some of jane austen's writings [these are originals mind you] and the codex sinaitcius, which is the world's oldest complete christian bible. i feel like i should say that was my favorite, but my true favorite was in the music section. they had one area dedicated to the beatles, with papers where they had scribbled down lyrics for songs. and my very, very favorite...handel's messiah. in the flesh. i think i teared up a bit when i first saw it. they also had headphones on the wall so you could listen to the pieces you were looking at, so i had a grand time listening to the hallelujah chorus as i looked at the music.

next i made a quick detour to hogwarts...unfortunately there was no photography allowed and i was sworn to secrecy, so i can't tell you what it was like. you'll have to read the books. but i was able to take a photo on my way in.

platform 9 3/4 @ kings cross

in the evening we ended up at westminster abbey just in time for the evensong [which you can attend for free]. the service was centered around martin luther king jr. and his message of hope, since it was the 40th anniversary of his assassination. we didn't get a chance to see william wilberforce's grave, but i liked the experience of attending a service there.

our last surprise find of the day came at the train station. we headed back to paddington to grab some dinner and wait for our train back to oxford, and all of a sudden a live band started playing! not just a few random musicians, a full 20-ish piece band playing some good tunes. it was mostly older folks, but it was great entertainment as we were waiting.

and that was our day in london.

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