Back in Oxford

*find a smattering of our pictures from this first part of our trip below this post*

So! To start off, Shelley (Russell's sister) commented on my 'toad in a hole' post and suggested I search for what it was. So I did. Amelia (a friend) also commented and threw out that it might be similar to eggs in a basket (fried egg in a piece of toast) I was thinking that same thing. Turns out it is sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding batter...hmm...usually served with onion gravy. Rich rich rich. Here is a picture.



It's Monday night in Oxford. Maria and I just finished another game of Boggle with her Aunt Diana, the British prevailed again, but I placed a solid second only two points behind. We are incredibly thankful to be welcomed back so kindly into their home for a few more days while we recover from our adventures in the Lake Land District. If you look at our recent picture update to the blog, you'll see how incredible some of the terrain was that we traversed. After hiking a whole quarter of the trail (that's 50 miles), we made the tough decision to call off the rest of the walk (even with a wonderful offer for the gift of a pack horse service -that's where someone else transports your bags from place to place), as my hip feels better, but isn't quite up to the shape it should be in for 15 and 20 mile walks a day. Instead, Maria's cousin Antony and his girlfriend Karen were our chauffers yesterday and took us all across the western ends of Oxfordshire County. We saw some beautiful countryside. If you notice the picture from our recently added photo album of the small boy, this is an image from a town called Bourton-on-the-Water. It's a famous tourist trap, and people lay lazily by the town's water while the kids play in the creeks. As we were driving from town to town, we came to find out that Antony went to school with, and knows well the members of Radiohead. This was a fascinating discovery as I have been following this band for nearly 15 years. He said it very casually, but I couldn't help being a little surprised. Immediately, I started thinking to what stars I might know/met throughout the years, but the only thing that came to me was, "Have you guys ever seen Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" Both Antony and Karen responded with "Yes!" Then I informed them, "I know the village idiot from that movie." And truthfully I do. Ed Snodderly from the Down Home in Johnson City played this character and is credited as "The Village Idiot" in the credits at the end of the movie. They weren't quite as impressed as I was :)

Note from Maria:
Anyone reading this know anyone famous? Have you met anyone that made you into a starstruck, blubbering, speechless fan? We'd love to hear about it. Comment and tell us about the impressive, the funny, the just plain weird stories about meeting the stars. We need the entertainment (just kidding...but really, we like stories)
Here is a star we met in NYC. Do you know who this is? BONUS Do you know WHERE this was taken?



Also. a few things in England that I love.

Top of the list, A-number one, Cadillac of a thing in England that I love-(well...besides Russell and my family, that is) is extra thick, double cream. This is a bit of heaven right here in the milk section of the grocery store. It is one of the most fabulous things I have ever put in my mouth. And here's the catch. You cannot find it in the good ol US of A. Sure we have cream. Sure we have thick (ish) cream. Sure we have whipped cream. But with this, I could eat strawberries and (real) cream every day for the rest of my life. You think I'm kidding. ... I'm not.

Second on the list, pretty darn good, Oldsmobile of a thing in England that I love-
Old things. Sounds funny, right? No. I mean REALLY old things. Schools, churches, artifacts, streets, people...okay...well the people aren't much older than they are anywhere else, but just as loveable. Anyway. Old buildings in the States are 150 and 200 years old. Old buildings here are 500, 600, 1000 years old. This goes for the whole of Europe, actually. I remember a monument in a square in Rome that was nearly 3000 years old. Wow.

Some other things I love-
Fish and Chips (and the fact that the places that serve Fish and Chips are called 'Chippies'

Hearing Brits say "cheers" for all sorts of things. As in "cheers, thanks" or "cheers, bye" or just "cheers" or "cheers, where's the loo?"...well, I don't know about that one.

Calling the bathroom 'the loo'. Love that. Always have.

Little children that speak in English accents (I know, I know, it isn't an accent for them...but it is super cute anyway)

Eyebrow windows. If you don'tknow what they are, look them up. Also super cute.


So until next time, cheers! And if you are looking for something to do online late at night, check out some cool things to do in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Write about them and tell us, we're headed there next and looking for awesome sights to see (bonus if they're free). There is an incredible bridge there, by the way, called the Millenium Bridge. Look that up too.