June 20 – Quick jaunt to Oxford

This morning we all woke early and made our way out to Paddington Station where we met Aunt Joanne and Uncle Dick, Jess and Joey (their youngest children) for a day trip to Oxford. Since they had bought 1st class rail passes to travel around the UK for the next few weeks, they thought it would not be very gezellig (Dutch for something like cozy or comfortable) if they were in first class and we way back in second. So, they bought us first class tickets! I have to say, there is a reason that people choose first class if they can. The seats are big and comfortable and spacious and someone comes around to serve you coffee or tea. We very much enjoyed the train ride, chatting away with family and watching the countryside go by as we chugged along.

Oxford is only about an hour train ride from London so really it is quite an easy trip. Once we stepped off the train, Richard became our guide since he is the only one who had been to Oxford before. (You may recall, Richard took a research trip about 4 years ago to study in the library there). Oxford is such a wonderful little city. It’s pretty busy, with cafes and pubs and tourist shops everywhere. Not to mention all the cute boutiques. One little clothing store in particular caught our attention (well only Aunt Joanne and I–I dare say the rest were not as enthusiastic). This little shop had some really lovely things and of course I found something I liked (well I found many things that I liked actually, though most were way out of my price range, even if I did my trick of pretending the price was in dollars!)… and alas a supple little leather jacket that I found calling like a siren to me was on sale for 400 pounds…. So, siren or no, it was not meant to be. In the end, I much prefer the soft sweet eyes of my husband who says, “You have good taste my love, I’m sure it would have been lovely on you” to crashing into the stony and bewildered eyes that say “You spent what!?” Yup. Jackets are not so nice when you are they only one happy about them ;).

Our (very handsome) tour guide took us through some cute little markets and narrow passageways leading us around until we stopped at Christ Church College, which is stunning. It is the only college in the world that is also a cathedral. It was built in the Romanesque style in the 1500’s by Thomas Wolsey (King Henry VIII’s main man, until Wolsey fell out of grace for not helping him marry Anne Boleyn). The buildings are so distinctive and lovely that they have been copied by other academic institutions (for example the University of Chicago has a reproduction of Christ Church’s dining hall) and have been the set for many films and books. You can see why too: its buildings are enchanting, intricate and dominating. See what I mean?

By the time we finished walking through the church it was past lunch time and we were starting to get quite hungry. So Richard led us back in search of food. As we approached the busyness of the downtown Richard led us past all the wonderful smelling cafés and pubs and bakeries along the main strip, making me wonder whether he understood that we were all expecting to eat now. But our guide did not fail us. A short way down, just passed the Ashmolean Museum is a very famous little hole-in-the-wall pub. Yes, Richard led us to The Eagle and Child! What a charming little place! The whole restaurant is a long narrow passageway, perhaps 10 feet wide. It feels a whole block long. The light is dim as you walk in, since there are few windows. Tables and bars line the walls on either side of as you walk deeper and deeper inside to find a seat. We sat about half way between the bar where you order your food and drinks and the back (that was full) where there is a sky lit room that looks a bit like a green house. As we sat down we were given menus and pointed to the bar to order. The food is actually decently priced and the helpings generous and very good. I had a steak and Richard had fish and chips. We would recommend either! As a result, Sydney decided that she loves fish and she wanted fish and chips. So we thought we would just share with her. Well she got fairly obsessed and as we were waiting for our food, stopped the waiter and asked him if she could have some! He thought she was pretty cute and assured her that we had already ordered and food was coming. When the food did come she gobbled it down. I am pleased to say that I have won the battle — Sydney now loves fish. Yay…. or not… now she will eat all my sushi! ….oh well. If you ever find yourself hungry in Oxford go eat at the Eagle and Child. Even if just for the opportunity to sit where C.S. Lewis and the Inklings sat so long ago. You will not be disappointed by the atmosphere or the food.

After lunch we were on the move again. Richard showed us (from the street) where his room was when he stayed here in 2008 and then led us across to the Bodleian. At each entrance, as you enter, is a sign that says “Silence please”, because even though the quad is full of tourists milling about taking pictures, students and researchers are still working away in the libraries surrounding the courtyard. We didn’t get a chance to go in. For one, we didn’t have access to the special libraries, but also because we just didn’t have the time to do so, because we kept having to find the girls a bathroom! I would have loved to just go inside one of the buildings to peek into the library, but it wasn’t meant to be…. at least not this time. I at least got a picture of Richard in front of a couple of the doors.

By this time it was getting late so we started back to the train station. On our way we stopped for a cup of coffee at one of the cafés and sat outside to enjoy the end of the lovely day, taking in the charm of Oxford, the sun and the company. It was such a lovely day. Our train ride back home was smooth and uneventful. We parted ways with the hope that we would all get back together on their way back through London for home. Thanks again for such a fun trip, Uncle Dick and Aunt Joanne! It was wonderful to see you again and tour around with you!

When it rains it pours

Well, this is the beginning of a busy couple of weeks. Lots of friends and family are coming to visit us, so we have much sightseeing to do and much relaxing in good company!

Richard’s cousins, Morgan and Caleb, flew into London last Tuesday morning. They are touring around London and then heading out to Scotland. But before they moved on from London, we arranged to get together to check out the Tower of London and walk around London a bit. We have been to the Tower before as you know, but there is much more to see and it’s just plain nice to walk around. I had not met Morgan or Caleb before. They were quite young when Richard and I got married, and only his older cousins made it out to our wedding. We have been hoping to make a trip out to visit his family in Alberta so that I can meet finally meet the bulk of Richard’s family, but every year just keeps getting harder to make it out. One of these days we will just do it! Anyway, it is always nice to meet more of Richard’s family. They are both very nice fellows and we enjoyed spending time with them very much.

Right now. Steve F. is in the UK for a conference in Cambridge, but decided to stay a couple of extra days on either side to visit and see a bit of London. Tomorrow a new flood of people will be coming through. David, Sylas, Caden and Lydia (friends from church) will be arriving tomorrow to stay for a couple of days. At the same time some more of Richard’s family will be flying in: his parents, two brothers, and an aunt and uncle! I will try to keep you all posted on what’s going on, but may not have too much time!

Lunch at Hyde Park

[From two Saturdays ago] A friend from Paris, contacted us saying that she would be in London visiting friends and would love to meet up. You may recall that we met her in Paris a while back. She and another friend (both from Richard’s French class at the Sorbonne) came to visit for dinner at our place in the 12th arrondissement, now almost 2 years ago. Today we set out to meet her for a picnic lunch at Hyde Park! It is a beautiful sunny, warm day today and the park is so lovely to walk through. We found a nice spot on the grass, set up our blanket and played while we waited for Jia. Shortly after we sat down Jia sent us a message saying that she was going to be late to meet us, so we decided to pick up our stuff and check out the park while we waited (cell phones are a great invention). Half an hour was enough time to get a good look around and realize that we need to spend more time here. We saw signs pointing to playgrounds and fountains, gardens, entertainment spots, etc. Not to mention Kensington Palace Gardens which are essentially one with Hyde Park. It used to be one property, but was divided in the 18th century for Queen Caroline. (When I found that out, I decided I should look up Queen Caroline. She turns out to be an interesting woman who was quite intelligent (the most intelligent consort in British history, say the sources!) and adored by those around her, especially her husband who refused to marry after her death.

Anyway, when Jia finally showed up we had a great time chatting and catching up. Jia is now working full time in Paris at the job she was interning for while taking the French class with Richard. Hearing her talk of Paris made me miss being there. Richard and I look forward to going back just the two of us. Especially now that we know the city, we can enjoy it all the more. Apparently there’s a great (and cheap) little hostel by Sacre Coeur that’s clean and has an excellent view of the Basilica itself. Friends of ours stayed there a while back. It’s definitely on our list. There’s also a super fun area in the 4th arrondisement (the Latin Quarter) that would be just awesome… I could go on. Maybe planing would be more difficult than I thought, I would want to stay everywhere! … well know where was I? …. now I should get back onto the topic of lunch, but I suppose we’re now at the end of the day. Jia had to catch a train to make it for dinner outside of London. So we walked together out of the park and split ways. It was great to see you Jia!

I hope the weather gets better so we can enjoy more days like this one. We had some fantastic weather for a while, but it’s come and gone back to grey rainy days since then. I suppose that’s London for you.

London City (Free) Presbyterian Church

A while back, Richard’s dad emailed us with a suggestion to check out the Free Church here in London. We have attended there for three weeks now and really like it. It’s a small church, meeting in a large and old, but very beautiful building. It’s filled with lovely murals, high ornate ceilings and stained glass windows. The people are welcoming and there are other children for the girls to play with. And children are welcome in the service! I think that although we want to experience some different churches in the area (for example we are looking forward to sitting in a service at St Paul’s!) this will be our home church while in London… even if they practice exclusive Psalmody. It’s probably good for us anyway 😉

St. Helen’s was nice, the people we talked to were kind and excited to see us there, but we didn’t really feel welcome. Mostly because kids are not welcome in the service. All the kids head off to Sunday school (which is very strongly recommended!) and are not really welcome back until they are 10 years old. So weird. But I suppose we are the weird ones to expect that our children be a part of the congregation and learn along side everyone else. Anyway, they will make exceptions if you insist and if your children stay very quiet, but when I feel watched it’s distracting and makes me anxious about every little sound the girls make, which does not make it enjoyable for anyone. In the end, we would have continued to attend there anyway, had we not found this little Free Church. Maybe too, our time at Michiana has made us realize that we like small congregations. Yes, there are more things going on in a large church, especially for your particular age group, but I think there is a greater sense of family in a small church, because well… you know everyone. Just in case you don’t know, we think of all of you, our dear friends, and we miss you.

After the service we chatted with a few people there. We spoke to a lady, who believe it or not, is from Campden, Ontario (Vineland is right there). You know, the tiny little town Richard grew up in! She and her family moved from the area a long time ago, but still it was neat meeting someone so far away from home, from home! It always amazes me how small the world is. So far, no matter where we go, we meet someone we know, or someone who knows someone we know. Anyway, we also met a church planter from Sioux City, IA. Who was just passing through with his Father while on a tour of Europe. He knows many of the people in our circles. Funny. Anyway, there were many wonderful people who came to talk to us.  The church is also very easy to get to. And very close to St Paul’s Cathedral and the Museum of London, so there are lots of places to walk around and see once we are downtown too.

Richard and I were very tired this weekend (must be fighting something) so after church we walked over to St. Paul’s Cathedral, had some lunch on the grass, admired the building a bit and decided to hop back on the bus for home. Turns out the girls were tired too. Norah fell asleep looking out the window on our way home. Sydney very nearly did too. We ate a simple dinner and watched Charlotte’s Web together before bed. (The girls and I have been reading Charlotte’s Web together during the week, so I thought they might enjoy the treat….they did). But now I can’t seem to get the “I can talk” song out of my head…. time to put some music on I think.

Love to you all, Elora

Andrew and the Natural History Museum

This afternoon Andrew flew in to visit for the Diamond Jubilee weekend. He didn’t come for the Jubilee weekend on purpose but never the less he is here.

For our first tour we decided to hit the Natural History Museum. Man, it is a great museum. I have to say, just because London’s museums are free does not mean that they don’t take care of them.  They are nicer than a lot of museums that you have to pay for! And they are kid friendly too. Even from the outside the building is spectacular. The Natural History Museum It looks like a Castle. We spent a couple of hours wandering around and still only ended up seeing less than half of it. We will definitely go again.

Today we took a tour through the Dinosaur exhibit and the part of the Mammal exhibit. Both were really interesting. The dinosaur exhibit had a mechanical T-Rex that just mesmorized Norah and scared little boys as they walked past. One little boy walked as far around the T-Rex as possible while his father was trying to convince him that it wasn’t real. The little boy ended up hiding behind me as he watching father pooh pooh the simulation as best he could. The little boy was very wary and only half believed his father. Too cute. His mother ended up coming to get him from behind me.

I think Sydney’s favourite part was the room with the life-sized blue whale! Did you know that blue whales weigh about 100,000 kg? Orca (killer) whales are only the size of half the blue whale’s tail fin. I remember reading about whales in elemetary school. I remember a lot of these same facts, but until you see it, it’s hard to imagine. Can you imagine an animal that large on land? Just amazing.

Under and around the life-sized blue whale are all kinds of other mammal. A really presentation, because you can see all the animals in proportion to the others, giving you a real sense of what the animals are like. This is especially good for Sydney and Norah who have only really seen them in books. There were even stations where you could listen to the sound that the animal makes through little phones. Thank goodness they had an elephant sound station because I cannot for the life of me make that sound. Sydney is constantly asking me “What do elephants sound like mommy?”. And my response: “Well…. (attempt at mimicking elephant trumpeting sound = confused daughter)….. ask your dad when he gets home”

After that we made our way out. Andrew was meeting an old college friend for dinner. So we picked up some Chinese food on the way home and had a quite evening. We have been watching Simon Shama’s series History of Britain. I would definitely recommend it. He has an eye for the telling detail, and a plush vocabulary.