The Hallowed Halls of Oxford, Or Should I Say Hogwarts

It was once said by William Butler Yeats, "I wonder anybody does anything at Oxford but dream and remember, the place is so beautiful.  One almost expects the people to sing instead of speaking.  It is all like an opera."  After my day trip to this famous university, I couldn't agree more.  The city filled with academics and gorgeous architecture topped with spires has such an inspiring air about it.

Prior to reaching the city of Oxford, we stopped in the little town of Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds.  This area of western England is known for its gentle hillsides, or wolds, and spectacular rivers and countryside, woven together like a patchwork quilt.  The bus ride into this town was absolutely breathtaking.  The countryside was covered by a light haze due to the elevation of the city of Bourton-on-the-Water.  Our guide for the day, Penny, described that the historic towns in this area all were filled with beautiful honey colored limestone buildings.  She also said that the area was once well-known for sheep-farming.  The woolen trade and farmers brought in much of the wealth that is still visible today in the churches and manor houses.

When we arrived in the town, I headed for the town center with my friends Katherine and Angela.  Bourton-on-the-Water was very quaint and adorable.  A gentle river runs straight through the city center and many foot bridges cross the shallow water.  With blooming trees and ducks swimming in the creek, it was a picture perfect spring setting.  After stopping at a small cafe to grab some fish and chips that were suggested by Penny, we strolled along the trickling water and cobblestone streets.  We stopped in to a local craft fair and sweet shop and had a photo shoot along the river.

View of the river in Bourton-on-the-Water

Beautiful blooming trees

Next, we came across some sheep in a pasture and being that this area is known for its sheep farming we couldn't help but snap a few pictures.

Our final stop in the city was the Dragonfly Maze which was designed by Kit Williams.  It is a maze filled with clues that you need to uncode and piece together to discover the golden dragonfly within the circular house located at the center of the hedge maze.  We had lots of fun running through the maze discovering the clues.  In the end, we didn't find all of the pieces of the puzzle but we were able to find the golden dragonfly. Of course, I can't tell you how as I don't want to ruin the surprise for those of you who may visit someday.

Katherine was ready to go

We found the building!

Cracking the code

Following our adventure in the maze we made our way back to the bus to travel onwards to Oxford.

The city of Oxford is found in the region of Oxfordshire in western England.  Oxford University, which was founded in 1249, is made up of 38 different colleges, each with unique character and traditions.  It received royal approval so that potential student rebellions over academic and religious matters would take place far away from London.  Cambridge was also granted approval at this time for the same reason.

We began our visit in Oxford with a walking tour led by Penny.  First, she showed us the Martyr's Monument which was created in remembrance of the bishops Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer, who were burned at the stake for their religious beliefs and teachings.  Around the corner from the memorial, an X on the ground marks the location where they were killed.

Martyr's Memorial

Continuing on, Penny pointed out the old examination hall, where students would take their semester exams in Latin, and the graduation hall, which was Sir Christopher Wren's first public exhibition of architecture.

Examination Hall

Sir Christopher Wren's first building

Following Penny's tour we moved on to see Christ Church College which is famous for its Dining Hall, Cathedral, and especially for its connections to Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter! 

Exterior of Christ Church College

Christ Church Quad

Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) was a tutor at Christ Church who befriended the daughters of the Dean of the school, Henry Liddell.  He was especially fond of Liddell's daughter Alice who became the basis for the main character of his novel. The Dining Hall features portraits on the windows of Carroll's characters and it is known that the White Rabbit in the book was based on Alice's father the Dean, who left dinner every night down a narrow spiral stair -- hence the rabbit hole.

My attachment to this place was of course based on its connections to Harry Potter.  Being somewhat of a Potter fanatic, it was beyond exciting to get to see the Dining Hall on which the Great Hall in the movies is modeled after. Nearly every college tour that I went on in the States claimed that it had some part of campus that resembled this room, but this was the real thing!  When they were creating the set for the movies they came here and took very detailed notes of the style and layout of the room and then created a set based on its exact design.  I couldn't help but imagine all of the Hogwarts houses sitting at their respective tables with the professors overlooking from the head elevated table.  Besides this connection, it was still a beautiful room which featured many gorgeous portraits, exquisite glass windows, and a stunning wooden ceiling. 

Dining Hall/Great Hall

Many scenes from the first two Harry Potter movies were filmed in other locations around the school.  The steps leading up to the Dining Hall were the steps leading up to the Great Hall in Hogwarts where Professor McGonagall meets the first year students and the arched windows along the cloisters were used for many hallway scenes.

All ready to be sorted

Halls of Hogwarts

After seeing these locations, we saw the Cathedral which is one of the smallest Anglican cathedrals in all of England.  It also is the only church in the world to be both a cathedral and a college chapel. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful stained glass and decorative altar.

Inside Christ Church Cathedral

After leaving Christ Church, we stopped at Pieminster in the Covered Market to find a snack before heading back into London.

Overall, I had an awesome day!  It was great to see both the Cotswolds and Oxford.  Both filled with spectacular, inspiring beauty, it is easy to see why these locations are such a draw for visitors to England. All in all, I had my fix of sheep, cute villages, and the hallowed halls of Oxford, or should I say Hogwarts. Mischief Managed!

Here Comes The Sun

On this sunny Friday afternoon I headed to the wonderful Hyde Park accompanied by a soundtrack of relaxing music and a camera. During my trip I saw a side of London that I was unused to seeing.  Instead of the usual hustle and bustle of the city, the park was filled with individuals taking their time to enjoy the sunshine and beautiful weather.  Many people sat on blankets hanging out with friends, reading books, sleeping, and playing guitars.  There were also groups of people actively taking advantage of the weather, playing rugby, soccer, or frisbee. For me, it was great to see the park come alive.  I enjoyed strolling along the paths taking in the green grass, flowers just starting to bloom, and birds galore swimming in the Serpentine Pond. 

Albert Memorial in Spring

Serpentine Pond

Peter Pan Statue

Kilts and Bagpipes Galore

This past weekend I had the pleasure of jetting up north to Edinburgh, Scotland with my friends Brittanee and Catherine.  We were all very excited to take in the rugged Scottish landscape and of course kilts, bagpipes, shortbread, and plaid a plenty.  We departed the Crofton on Friday evening and after a pit stop at Snog for a delicious frozen yogurt we headed to the Victoria Coach Station to catch our night bus.

After sleeping throughout the 9 hour bus ride, we finally made it to the city gleaming with early morning sunlight.  Our first order of business was to drop off our bags at our hostel so that we could start experiencing all that the city has to offer.  We next headed to a cute cafe up the street to grab a hearty breakfast.  Along the way, we saw the famous Blackfriar's Kirk Dog statue.  I couldn't help but give it a pet.

Blackfriar's Kirk Statue

At the cafe, we all appreciated the strong coffee and freshly made breakfast favorites.  I had the eggs and toast and got a scone to go to enjoy later in the morning.  As Catherine and Brittanee often quote, "Travel Rule Number 2: Never travel without snacks."

Next, we headed up to the main street of the Old Town called the Royal Mile.  It is filled with cute shops that sell all of your favorite Scottish goods including thousands of cashmere sweaters and scarves, custom-made kilts, and tons of bagpipes.  We had fun window shopping and looking at all of the touristy stores. Continuing on, we made our way towards Hollyroodhouse Palace which is the official residence of the royal family when they are visiting Edinburgh.

Hollyroodhouse Palace

After taking a few pictures, we began our epic journey into Hollyrood Park to climb a huge hill to what is known as Arthur's Seat. Myth has it that this is one of the possible locations of Camelot, hence the name refering to King Arthur.

Beginning the climb

We took our own path weaving back and forth up the steep hill.  I am happy that we decided to take our own way because it allowed us to go at our own pace and take in the breathtaking views free of the other people also making the hike.  The sun was shining and the green grass and fresh air made for an extremely enjoyable hike. 

View along the way up

After about 45 minutes we made it up to the peak and one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. Standing up on top of the hill it literally felt like you were on top of the world.  We felt very accomplished for having hiked up and had a small photo shoot to document our victory.

We made it!

Gorgeous view

On top of the world

On the way back down, we stopped to just sit and soak in the view for a little while longer.  I enjoyed my scone that I had taken to go from the restaurant.

Enjoying my scone

After we returned to the base of the hill, we decided to head back up the Royal Mile to find some place to sit and get tea.  We chose a cute little cafe called Clarinda's which was complete with lace table cloths, a side table overflowing with baked goodies, and a local crowd. 

We all ordered traditional tea and a pastry from the display. Everything was delicious! Our next stop was the Edinburgh Castle.  Walking back up the Royal Mile Brittanee and I purchased plaid cashmere scarves and Catherine bought a Barbour jacket.  We also saw our first official bagpiper of the trip!

Do you know "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang?

After our quick shopping spree, we finally made it up to the castle.  Perched on top of the volcanic Castle Rock and surrounded by battlements, the castle is a very intimidating structure. 

Edinburgh Castle

The castle has lived through a very tumultuous past and today stands as a living testament to Scotland.  Inside the castle walls, we had the chance to see the Scottish crown jewels, examples of Scottish armor and regalia, and the Prisoners of War exhibit.  This castle reminded me a lot of the Tower of London because of the similar feel to the structures and history.

Finishing up at the castle, we decided to return to our hostel to get settled in and relax before going out for dinner.  Our room was nice, but the consensus was that the hostel was not your typical hostel because it did not have many people our age who were just visiting for the weekend at it.  For dinner we went to a restaurant called 54 Bar Kohl for burgers.  Then, we went to an Irish pub to watch some Six Nations Tournament Rugby.  After about an hour watching we finally started to get a feel for the game and decided that it would be a fun sport to follow in the future. Exhausted we returned to the hostel and went straight to bed.

Our second day in Edinburgh began with a trip to the famous Elephant House for breakfast! 

In this cafe, J.K. Rowling sat in the back room near a window overlooking the Edinburgh Castle to write Harry Potter.  Her thoughts of Harry, Dumbledore, and Hogwarts were originally jotted down on napkins. Being a huge Harry Potter fan, I was very excited to get to sit and enjoy a meal here.

Writing my novel just like J.K. Rowling

It is easy to see how J.K. Rowling was so inspired by this place.  So dramatic and robust rising out of the mountainous cliff, the view of the castle was spectacular.  It reminded me of Hogwarts in a heartbeat.

Edinburgh Castle from the back room of the Elephant House

After breakfast, we began to make our way down to the Edinburgh Harbor to see the Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia. This is the second royal yacht to bear the name Britannia.  Before being permanently retired to Edinburgh Harbor, this ship sailed over 1,000,000 nautical miles around the world.  Queen Elizabeth II and many members of the royal family have lived on this boat for extended periods of time during journeys.  Prince Charles and Princess Diana even spent their honeymoon on the boat.  The Queen said that she felt the Britannia was more of her home than any other palace and is known to have shed a tear during her final disembarkment from the vessel.

On the ship, we took a guided audio tour through all of the main cabins and decks.  I really enjoyed getting to see all of the bedrooms and living quarters and learning more about the royal family.  The rooms displayed many family photos throughout the years along with the furniture and decorative treasures.

Queen Elizabeth II talking with the crew

William and Harry...too precious to handle

Royal dining room

Drawing room where the royal family spent their evenings

Throughout the tour I learned that the ship was manned by a crew of 250 individuals.  While on board they were addressed by first name by the royal family.  Additionally, the crew had to use flag and hand signals while on duty because they were forbidden to yell commands.

Ship's flag

While on Britannia, we got to see the royal racing yacht Bloodhound and the ship's bell.

Us with Britannia's bell

Me with the Royal Racing Yacht

Loving every moment on board, we chose to have lunch in the Royal Tea Room. Flooded with natural light and featuring views of the water, it was such a relaxing environment. I had an amazing chicken, bacon, and brie sandwich and split a piece of chocolate fudge cake with Catherine.

To end our time in Edinburgh we walked back to Old Town and picked up our things at our hostel.  We had dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant named Jimmy Chung’s and took in a stunning sunset as we hopped on the Airlink bus to head to the airport.

Edinburgh skyline with the sunset

From the amazing hike up to Arthur's Seat to exploring the Royal Yacht, Edinburgh is one trip that I will always remember.

Legally London

This week has been a busy one at work.  Daily press clippings took quite a while towards the beginning of the week because there were so many movies and events that the clients were involved in over the weekend.  It was very interesting to help out with last minute details for the First Light Awards which took place on Tuesday at the Odeon in Leicester Square, as well as with other big projects that others in the office have been working on.

On Monday evening I ran back from work to meet my friend Brittanee to go to buy half price theatre tickets for a musical.  We made it to Leicester Square and stopped at one of the many ticket booths around.  After searching for tickets for a few shows, we decided to see Legally Blonde!  In a little over twenty minutes, we found ourselves in our seats ready to see the show.  I was really excited that this was the show we selected, because neither of us had seen it before.  Additionally, I have been dying to see it for a few years now.  The show was great!  It was one of those shows that you just can't stop smiling during because it is so ridiculously funny and entertaining.  I loved dancing along to some of my favorite songs including "What You Want" and "So Much Better"and just seeing the show performed live.  After the show we headed to McDonalds for a quick late night snack before stopping in Trafalgar Square to see the brand new Olympic Countdown clock which was just revealed that day.

Today during class we got to attend the Ideal Home Show at the Earl's Court Convention Center.  The expo reminded me so much of the sales displays at the Minnesota State Fair in the Grandstand except on a much larger scale.  The show features just about everything that you would like for your home.  My first stop in the expo was the food area which had many free samples and food demonstrations.  I stopped for a few minutes to watch one of the celebrity chefs prepare a dish.  Next, I saw the "Ideal Woman" section which had many little jewelry, accessories, and clothing stands, free hair and makeup displays, and a fashion show with choreographed dancers.  I got a free manicure in one section of the exhibition.  In the center of the convention center there was a huge pond with boats and a restaurant to have tea which was surrounded by waterfalls.  The ground floor featured hundreds of booths with home improvement goods and outdoor goods.  There even were two model homes contained within the building!  Overall walking around at this huge event and taking in all of the action made for a very relaxing Friday morning.

Life Is Too Short Not To Be Irish!

As the Irish saying states "Life is too short not to be Irish," and today I did just as this saying suggests by experiencing the Irish life.  This morning I headed to Trafalgar Square with my roommate Catherine and friend Mandi to experience the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival.  When we first arrived we headed to the center of the Plaza to listen to couple of Irish bands: Xander and the Peace Pirates and The Davitt Showband. 

Fountain in Trafalgar Square

Next, we headed to the edge of the plaza to watch the parade pass by.  It was lots of fun to see all of the bands playing traditional Irish music, enthusiastic crowd members decked out from head to toe in green, white, and orange, and the cool parade floats. 

After the parade, we met up with our friends Katherine and Heidi and headed back to the stage to watch some Irish step dancers from the Delaney School of Irish Dancing.  They were so talented!  It was fun to cheer them on during their performance.

Irish step dancers on stage

In between performances Katherine and Heidi ordered a traditional Guinness from one of the vendors who was walking around with a cooler backpack decked out with a tall flag proclaiming "I sell Guinness." 

Mandi and I enjoyed singing along to the Beatles' hits that were blasting from the speakers while we decided where to go for lunch.  In the end, we decided upon a British pub to warm up and have a delicious meal.

Mandi, Catherine, and I enjoying the live music

Before long we headed back to the crowded square to see a few more performers.

View of the festival

My favorite band of the day was Beoga, a traditional Irish folk band.  They played a lot of great jig music and kept the crowd very excited.  Every time they would start an energetic chorus the crowd would erupt into cheers and begin jumping up and down to the beat.  It was the perfect end to the very Irish experience!