Okay, so-- where to begin? Forgive any brevity, or grammar mistakes, or typos-- I won't have time to edit. Dinner's in forty minutes (It's 6:20 here, whatever the timestamp may say) and I'm borrowing Kathleen's Ethernet cable until I can get my own tomorrow.
I got my converter and adapter plugs working properly (an unexpected occurrence that was both nice and convenient). When I went to sleep, I was confident that my alarm (plugged in and operating without any sparks or other such drama) would go off at 7 like it was set to.
Instead, the minutes are off. A minute on my alarm clock is not an accurate minute. To explain that confusing observation: after an hour, my insidiously evil alarm clock was a couple minutes off. After an entire night, it was an hour and a half off. I wondered why the sun was shining full force in my face-- it woke me up-- I glanced at the clock, which said 4, and then went back to sleep with a groggy shrug.
I only made it to breakfast, served promptly at 8:30 on the weekends, because Kathleen knocked on my door ten minutes til.
The almost entirely male, young, and British waitstaff served coffee, and I took a hot shower afterwards, so all's well that ends well. But I knew I needed an alarm, Amy from the next landing up needed an adapter plug, and a couple of us were interested in Oxford sweatshirts-- all of us were, of course, spoiling to explore our new town.
By "all" I mean a couple of us from Staircase no. 12.
We went in search of adventure round 10am-- about 4 for you. I took some pictures, as you can see. This is a random steeple; again, more accurate information coming whenever I learn it myself. There are many of these beautiful buildings towering over pedestrian heads, apparently at random, scattered around Oxfordshire. I want to bring them all home with me. Both Austin and Sugar Land have been missing something, and that something is this.
(On a side note: So... I still haven't figured out how to upload these pictures chronologically. Bear with me-- I'll get it right in the end.)We found this huge mound in the middle of our hour and a half morning trot around town-- it's supposedly a defense built in ancient times by the Anglo Saxons. And it was definitely a photo op-- Me, Alisa, Kathleen and Amy.
For a big mound of dirt, it's really very pretty--akin to a grassy knoll. I'm not sure how a gigantic hill operated as a defensive function; Austin is full of such defenses, in the event I can figure that particular mystery out. I guess whoever is on top of the hill has the power? Unless they're surrounded and sieged, in which case being Mr. Anglo-Saxon king of the mountain would backfire.
For a big mound of dirt, it's really very pretty--akin to a grassy knoll. I'm not sure how a gigantic hill operated as a defensive function; Austin is full of such defenses, in the event I can figure that particular mystery out. I guess whoever is on top of the hill has the power? Unless they're surrounded and sieged, in which case being Mr. Anglo-Saxon king of the mountain would backfire.Alisa, Kathleen, Amy and Liz
This is information about the castle in the next photo. Click to enlarge.
This castle was even more exciting to me than the sheep I first spotted on our bus ride. Magnificent, isn't it? I was rather disappointed to learn that it's a reproduction and houses the Oxford City Council.
This is information about the castle in the next photo. Click to enlarge.
This castle was even more exciting to me than the sheep I first spotted on our bus ride. Magnificent, isn't it? I was rather disappointed to learn that it's a reproduction and houses the Oxford City Council.All castles should have streetlamps, though, I've decided.
After our morning walk and a casual lunch, we adjourned for about half an hour before a long, guided walk the whole program was invited to take-- it was a six mile walk, all told, across a trail known as Port Meadow to a pub called The Trout Inn (I think). It was quite scenic.
The weather was mild, but a little warmer than yesterday. I was in jeans, and regretted that a little. Some people wore flats, and regretted that a lot. It was a long walk, through many cow patties. Many, many. I know now why Swift has Gulliver unsuccessfully attempt to jump over one in Gulliver's Travels-- that wasn't as random a scene as I used to think.
The troop, walking. This was an optional event, but I'm pretty sure everyone came.
I literally live in a stair case. This is stair case no.12, also one of the older parts of the building. We ventured in staircase no. 17 yesterday evening to fetch someone, and it was a confection of glass and wooden logs, very open and airy. Their bathroom, I noticed, was modern and normal looking.
After our morning walk and a casual lunch, we adjourned for about half an hour before a long, guided walk the whole program was invited to take-- it was a six mile walk, all told, across a trail known as Port Meadow to a pub called The Trout Inn (I think). It was quite scenic.
The weather was mild, but a little warmer than yesterday. I was in jeans, and regretted that a little. Some people wore flats, and regretted that a lot. It was a long walk, through many cow patties. Many, many. I know now why Swift has Gulliver unsuccessfully attempt to jump over one in Gulliver's Travels-- that wasn't as random a scene as I used to think.
The troop, walking. This was an optional event, but I'm pretty sure everyone came.
I literally live in a stair case. This is stair case no.12, also one of the older parts of the building. We ventured in staircase no. 17 yesterday evening to fetch someone, and it was a confection of glass and wooden logs, very open and airy. Their bathroom, I noticed, was modern and normal looking.But that situation is working out better than I'd thought, so all's well in the end.
Ah, yes, I warned you-- out of order completely. This is from the beginning of our morning walk, just the couple of us from staircase no. 12.
And this would be a ruin we passed towards the midpoint of the midafternoon Port Meadow walk: it used to be an Abbey. I wish there was a legitimate ruin in Town Lake, off of Auditorium Shores-- that's what this amounts to. There were sunbathers and joggers, lots of bikers, families with dogs and kids and picnic baskets spread over the meadow and trail.
Along with the cows, there were legions of ducks-- an entire duck army-- and a few swans. Ethereal, mysterious, and completely surrounded by their common duck cousins.
Our professors had hoped to take us to an inn called The Perch, but it doesn't open until later in the summer.
Ah, yes, I warned you-- out of order completely. This is from the beginning of our morning walk, just the couple of us from staircase no. 12.
And this would be a ruin we passed towards the midpoint of the midafternoon Port Meadow walk: it used to be an Abbey. I wish there was a legitimate ruin in Town Lake, off of Auditorium Shores-- that's what this amounts to. There were sunbathers and joggers, lots of bikers, families with dogs and kids and picnic baskets spread over the meadow and trail.
Along with the cows, there were legions of ducks-- an entire duck army-- and a few swans. Ethereal, mysterious, and completely surrounded by their common duck cousins.
Our professors had hoped to take us to an inn called The Perch, but it doesn't open until later in the summer.So we continued on another half mile to the Trout.
The Meadow. A vista like this makes me think rather enviously of the free-roaming cows-- of course, they had flies completely engulfing their noses, so maybe not.
The Meadow. A vista like this makes me think rather enviously of the free-roaming cows-- of course, they had flies completely engulfing their noses, so maybe not.That's another thing about this place-- lack of bugs. Or lack of big bugs. There are many little spiders and little ants, but none of the big ugly ones that infest Texas. These bugs are almost cute-- they belong in a Disney movie.
How come the clouds don't behave this way in Austin? It's either raining or nearly cloudless in an oppressive heat-- it felt like our spring, which unfortunately only lasts a week or so. "This is their summer?" I repeated with envy everytime a new vista opened before us, or another cool breeze sighed along my skin-- and then Kathleen pointed out the misery of an English winter, and I would not want to deal with that.
How come the clouds don't behave this way in Austin? It's either raining or nearly cloudless in an oppressive heat-- it felt like our spring, which unfortunately only lasts a week or so. "This is their summer?" I repeated with envy everytime a new vista opened before us, or another cool breeze sighed along my skin-- and then Kathleen pointed out the misery of an English winter, and I would not want to deal with that.I'll enjoy this while I can though-- it's beautiful.
