London Calling - Day 2

Yeah, yeah, I'm behind.  You can't really expect me to spend all my time in Europe on the computer, though, can you?!  So where was I?  Oh yeah...

July 16th - First stop on our Saturday in London was the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.  In a torrential rainstorm.  Gross.  So not only was I soaked and freaking, I kept getting pushed around by annoying Russian tourists.  Oh well.  I passive-aggressively dripped my umbrella water on to them.  If you're going to block my view, you're going to get a wet neck.  I was too busy holding my umbrella to take photos, unfortunately.

Barbara was able to snap one, though.

In an attempt to dry off, we headed indoors to St. Paul's Cathedral.  Sidney had talked about how beautiful it was, but I was so unprepared.  I had a little moment where I was just overwhelmed.  It was that amazing.  Seriously, if you're in London, it's a must see.

Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take pictures of the inside, so I can't show you how incredible it was, but trust me.  in-CRED-ible.

As some of you may know, I have a paralyzing fear of heights.  Except, it's more a paralyzing fear of falling.  High up in a sky scraper behind a wall of glass?  Fine.  On top of a mountain, a solid twenty feet from the edge?  No problem.  But you get me near something I think might break out from under me or a railing I could accidentally topple over?  I turn into a quivering bowl of fear jelly.

So why the hell did I agree to climb to the top of St. Paul's Dome?!  Because, darlings, I'm in Europe and Europe is a time to push yourself into knew experiences!  And guess what - I'm so glad I did!  The first tier, the Whispering Gallery, was the scariest part, because the only thing that separated me from a splattered end was a piddly little metal fence.  Oh, and I was walking around on wood beams that are God knows how old.  Definitely my least favorite part of the climb.

The second tier, though, the Stone Gallery, was amazing.  Such beautiful views of London.  Sid shares my fear of heights, so she took a nap in the pews (shh, don't tell!) while Barbara and I climbed.

562 steps - yay me!

At one point, my sunglasses did fall down a few stairs and I wanted to think, "That could be me."  But I didn't.  Instead, I kept mumbling, "You're not going to fall, you're not going to fall."  And I didn't!  Whoo!

After that, we climbed down, found Sid, and moseyed across the street for some lunch.  The weather, which to that point, had been drippy, was starting to clear up a little, so I got a pretty outside shot of the Cathedral before we decided to try to get to the Tower of London.  The last ticket sales are 30 minutes before close, but the fibbers wouldn't sell us tickets.  So we snapped a few pics of the outside and went ahead and bought our souvenirs in the gift shop, deciding to see the inside the next day.  We are so efficient.

Check out those nasty clouds!

Here, kitty kitty!

London bridge is falling down!*

For those of you in the know, you might recall that a little old movie called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II came out the Friday we were in London.  So OF COURSE we had to see it the next night, Saturday.  Sidney's BFF Gwyneth recommended we go to Tacqueria in Notting Hill for some yummy Mexican.  After the gloomy weather all day, that sounded fantastic!  And it was!

Unfortunately, we were in a hurry and had to plow through our meal before running like mad elephants to the theatre (see what I did there, with the British spelling?) to get to the show on time.  And by show, I mean 35 minutes of previews.  Ridiculous.  We could have stayed for dessert if we'd know how many previews British theatres show.  Dumb.

After HP, we decided to hit the hay so we could rise and shine the next morning, cram in a few more sights, and head back to lovely old Oxford that night.  But more about that another time! 

*Yes, I know that's really the Tower Bridge.  Just go with it.

London Calling - Day 1

You knew that post title was coming at some point, didn't you?

We got up bright and early on Friday to take a chartered bus to London.  It dropped us off at the Holborn tube station and we set off on a walking tour of "Legal London."  We visited the four Inns of Court, which are sort of like mandatory, co-ed sororities for barristers.

Lincoln's Inn

Inner Temple (and Temple Church)

[Apparently I didn't take any photos of Middle Temple and Gray's Inn.  My b.]

Then we ended up at the Royal Courts of Justice.

We are so in England.

And just like that, in about two hours, our tour was over and our weekend began!  As has become our standard, Babs, Sid, and I hit the ground running.  We knew we wanted to drop our heavy backpacks off at our hostel, which turned out to be in Bayswater.

It's that little blue blob near Nottinghill, on the left.

It might look really out of the way, but our hostel, Astor Quest on Queensborough, was really well located, just two blocks away from both the Bayswater and Queensway tube stations.  We checked in, dropped our bags, and took to the tube.  When we emerged at Westminster, this was the first thing we saw:

"Hey, guys?  Is that...BIG BEN!!!"

Probably one of my favorite moments of the weekend.  Sidney had asked earlier if we had had that moment of, "Oh, my gosh, I'm in England!" yet and I had said not really.  

This was that moment.

Hey, Parliament, what's up?

What a blustery day!

We were all a little worn out from getting up, sitting on a bus, and then walking around with our heavy backpacks, so we decided a doubledecker bus tour was in order.  It was so relaxing to be driven around and have stuff pointed out so I could snap a photo and move on.  The weather was gorgeous, as you can see from above but really windy!

Parliament

The London Eye

Can you tell how in love with ole Benny boy I was?

Westminster Abbey

Cool sculpture!

Putting on the Ritz!

After whirling about London, we got dropped off near the London Eye and decided to climb aboard to get a bird's eye view of the city.

It looks like a backdrop, doesn't it?!

The sun was going down and it was getting chilly, so we decided to head back to the hostel to change for dinner.  We ate at Bocca di Lupo in Piccadilly, and it was WONDERFUL.  Sidney has been getting fantastic restaurant recommendations from Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP newsletter and they've all been homeruns.  After that, we went out in Piccadilly, met up with one of our new pals, and ended up back home in the wee hours of the morning.

Top night, ladies and gents, top night!

Coming Up Next: I climb to the top of St. Paul's without falling to my death!  Stay tuned!

I Live Here.

Just the view from my front door.  Seriously.

Wait, I'm Here for School?

Just kidding, Mom!  

I've had a full week of classes by now.  I'm taking two bar courses - Evidence and Family Law, both of which are awesome.  They're not easy, but I can see how they would be much more difficult during the semester.

Evidence has excluded many of the cases that we would have to read to tease the rule out and instead focuses on introducing us to the Federal Rules of Evidence, using examples and problems to help us apply them and make the admissibility calls.

I'm actually taking Oklahoma Family Law, but luckily, Oklahoma's statutes are really similar to my state's.  The professor who teaches the course is also the director of the program and is really awesome.  He tends to assume we're all hungover everyday, though.

He's probably right.

If you're in law school and thinking about studying abroad...  

DO IT. 

Seriously.  It's awesome.  I spent the weekend in London and I'm going to Paris in two days.  NBD.*  Will post pics from Londontown soon.

*feel free to blow the bs horn at any time.

Last Wednesday Night!

Why do I love this face?

First Night in Oxford

The next morning, July 10th, we got up early to store our bags with the Accommodation Services office at the University of Bath before heading back to town.  Sidney wanted to try to find a shipping carton for a poster she liked at the Fashion Museum, and on our way, we stopped in for breakfast at the Pump Room.  I had some sort of bun thing with what tasted like rehydrated raisins.  It sounds gross, but it was really tasty.

After breakfast, there wasn't much else to take photos of.  Sidney did find a poster tube, so we went back to the Fashion Museum so she could pick it up.  Then it was time to navigate the trains!  We walked to the train station to print our tickets and then took the bus back to collect our belongings.  We were on a super tight schedule.  Unfortunately, the first bus driver who came was immediately going on break, so we had to catch the next bus, along with an Italian family of five who held up the process the entire way.

We made it to the city center and were just one stop from the trainstation with maybe three minutes to spare.  Since the doors don't close on the train until 30 seconds before departure (thank you, British pal Vikki for that tidbit!), there was still a chance we could make it.

Until the Italian family decided to chat with the bus driver for two minutes to decide if they were going to get off or not.  Ugh.  One minute is just not enough time to make it up the stairs with 45 lb bags, especially when there are about a zillion Asian tourists all trying to get out of the station as you're trying to get in.

Sidney's bag "Herbie" (because he's so small) was the lightest and she was up those stairs lickety split.  I wasn't far behind, but with my stupid mangled suitcase "Mangus", it took longer.  Poor Barbara nearly fell down the stairs wrestling with "Big Carla" and eventually had to have some nice gents help her out.

Needless to say, we did not make the train.  I was lucky enough to rip one of the wheels of Mangus on those stairs, so now he is good and truly mangled.

 Mangled Mangus, the most ridiculous suitcase ever.

  

He took his anger out on me by cutting my ankle with the dangling remains of his wheel at some point Sunday.  Rude.

Anyway, since we missed our first train, we caught the next one an hour later to Didcot Parkway.  We had reserved seats on the first one, but naturally on this one, we did not.  We also had giant suitcases, so we rode from Bath to Didcot standing near the luggage rack.  At Didcot, we got off and had to change trains, but again, since we missed our first train, we missed our second.  The next train that went directly to Oxford was in an hour - definitely would have cut down on our preparation for our nice reception.

Luckily, thanks to Barbara's sharp hearing, about 15 minutes after arriving, we caught a different train that was stopping in Oxford!  Snaps to Babs!

Upon arrival in Oxford, we caught a cab to Brasenose, checked in, and got dressed for our orientation, reception with libations, and dinner.

This photo reminded me how incredibly badly I need a haircut.  Perhaps that will be one of my Oxford adventures!  We were so glad to have made it in (mostly) one piece.  Too bad Mangus wasn't as lucky.

Hot Springs: British Style

On July 9th, after rising and shining following our hellacious evening, the gals and I took the bus into town for breakfast and sightseeing.  I was really excited about Bath, because I'm such a Jane Austen fan.  Jane (we're on a first name basis) lived in Bath from 1800 to 1805 and set two of her novels there - Northanger Abbey (my favorite) and Persuasion (another favorite).

After missing the first bus stop at the city centre, we got off on the second at the train station and walked back.  This was lucky, as it caused us to pass Sally Lunn's, which I remember from one of my guidebooks.

I really enjoyed my Sally Lunn Bun, which had gammon ham, mature cheddar cheese, and mayonnaise on half of a Sally Lunn Bun.  Yum, yum!  If you're ever in Bath, I highly recommend it!

After breakfast, we walked to the Tourism Office to buy our museum tickets.  All together, admission to the Roman Baths, the Fashion Museum, Assembly Rooms, Pump Rooms, and Jane Austen Centre cost less than £20.  A real bargain that will keep you busy all day!

After that, we walked literally 20 yards to Bath Abbey.  It was huge and gorgeous.  I'm such a church freak, though.  I love these old cathedrals, basilicas, and abbeys!

Apparently I'm not the only one who loves churches - the place was JAM PACKED!  After we escaped the throngs of people, we went to stand in line for the Roman Baths, somewhat unnecessarily.  Word to the wise - if you buy your tickets ahead of time at the Tourism Office, you can jump in front of the line!

The Roman Baths were neat but also crowded.  I got bored with listening to the audio tour long before the tour was over.

After the tour of the baths were over, we stopped in to the Pump Room for some of that curative spring water.  I'd heard how terrible it tasted, so I was really nervous.  Honestly, it just tasted like hot well water, and as someone who spent a fair portion of her childhood drinking well water at her grandparents', it tasted fine to me.

After the Pump Room, we headed to the Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms.  Unfortunately for me, the Assembly Rooms were closed for a wedding (we even got to see the bride and tell her best wishes!), but the Fashion Museum was open.  It was really awesome, especially the wedding dress special exhibit!  On the way there, I saw my first British phonebox!

The oldest dress in the collection - from the 1600s!

A 1760s court dress

You know we look good. 

Shoes!

Hey, J Lo!

Once we wrapped up our tour of the Fashion Museum, it was time for the lady herself, Jane Austen!

Honestly, the Jane Austen Centre was a little bit of a let down.  The exhibits were so-so and the mini biography they gave us was nothing I didn't know before.  At least I did learn Jane's real address: 25 Gay Street.  It's now a dentist's, which probably comes in handy for all those toothaches people get from the delicious cake they serve in the third floor tea room at the JA Centre!

Raspberry drizzle!

Come out and play, Jane!

After the Jane Austen Centre, we were all a little tired and ready to relax a little.  I wanted to see the Royal Crescent, so we headed over to the park for a spell.  It was nice to feel the sun and watch the Asian tourists strike funny poses.  My favorite was the man who stuck his arms straight out in the air and did a little hop.  Nothing else, just a hop.

When the sun went behind the clouds and we got chilled, it was time for dinner at Gascoyne House.  The food was savory and filling - I had mushroom risotto balls.  A perfect way to say goodbye to Bath before we left for Oxford the next day!