Real Da Vinci and Raphael Prints at the Ashmolean!!

July 8, 2008

Today I walked into City Centre and went into a few shops to buy some souvenirs.  I made my way to Waterstone's (a bookstore) and bought a cold drink and found a place by the window to work.  Leslie came by after about 2 hours and we walked together to Ben's Cookies for a snack.  Then we joined some of our group at the Ashmolean Art Museum.  We got to look around for an hour and I really enjoyed the Pre-Raphealite exhibit.  We met back up with the group and they took us down to the print room.  We sat at a table and they brought out prints by Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Turner, Rosetti, and several others.  It was so neat to be up that close to them! I left the museum after that and walked back to Crick with Emily.  We had a family dinner of taco salad and then spent the rest of the night trying to work on our papers.

Working on papers and Movie Night!

July 7, 2008

Today I got up and headed to the Bodleian to work in the Radcliffe Camera with Chad, Emily, and Leslie.  I stayed and worked on my paper there for 2 hours and then walked down the street to Blackwells.  I got a coffee and found a seat to work for another hour and a half.  I walked to the local Sainsbury's and bought some more cereal, milk, and fruit and the headed home. We had a family meal of pancakes, fruit, and juice! Then a group of us decided to go to the University Parks and play a game of ultimate frisbee.  It lasted 2 and a half hours and then we walked back to the house for the night. Lindsey and I decided to have a movie night and we watched "Love Actually" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's"...

Rainy Days and Out on the Town...

July 6, 2008

We woke up this morning to rain and headed out with our umbrellas to church.  Lindsey, Emily, Sarah, and attended the morning service at University Church where C.S. Lewis preached his first sermon. I really enjoyed the liturgy and I'm becoming quite accustomed to the High Church.  After the service, we walked to Blackwells and had coffee. Then we headed back to the house and had a family lunch of tacos.  Lindsey, Howard, and I decided to play around on the guitar and sing together.  We all looked in the cupboards and decided to go "out on the [rainy] town!" A few of us got dressed up and walked to City Centre to eat at a place called Geno's.  It was a small Italian place and some of us split delicious pizza.  We had a great time talking and then decided to walk to "The Eagle and Child" pub.  I had a half pint of Old Rosie cider.  We walked back to the Crick house under our umbrellas...

Going to the Kilns (Lewis' House)

Most of us slept in late today, resting up from our big day and late night last night.  A few of us left Crick at 2:00pm and walked to the Bus Stop heading for The Kilns (which is the house of C.S. Lewis).  We arrived near Lewis Close and got to walk around the little cottage. Nicole, the SCIO director, told us about the inside while we sat in his garden.  She then showed us the pond where Lewis and Tolkein would go swimming.  We then walked to Holy Trinity Church where Lewis preached a few sermons and attended services.  He is buried in the graveyard beside the church.  We got to see the pew where he and his brother sat and there was a window beside it that had pictures of Narnia.  We walked back to the bus stop and headed back to Crick.  Some people went back out again so it was really quiet for a change.  I went downstairs and played guitar for a bit until the rest came back home and we used our new TV to watch "Casino Royal." Four people from our group left around midnight for Paris so we saw them off.  Tomorrow is our last Sunday service here and we are planning on going to University Church.  

Happy 4th of July in Jolly 'Ol England!!

July 4, 2008

We woke up for our last Friday field trip and met up at Wycliffe Hall.  We got on the bus and rode to Coventry.  We weren't too impressed with the looks of the city, but the Cathedral was really nice.  It had been bombed in WWII but the part that survived still remains.  They built a new modern Cathedral beside it that is almost all made of concrete but has beautiful modern stained glass windows.  Much of the architecture was very modern. There was a large mural in the front of the church and the stained glass had a very modern art look.  After our short tour of the Cathedral, a few of us chose to take Holy Communion at a small service.  Then we walked around Coventry to find something to eat.  We decided on Subway and took our sandwiches back to eat them on the lawn behind the Cathedral.  We visited the gift shop and then played in the fountains in front of the Cathedral.  We got back on the bus, damp from playing in the water and made our way home.  We all gathered in the kitchen to finish our dishes for the 4th celebration.  We walked with our potluck dishes all the way to the Vines.  When we arrived we were greeted by red, white, and blue decorations and more than one person wearing a flag shirt.  We put our meat on the grill and then Chris had us all take turns reading the "Declaration of Independence."  We prayed and then dug into all the delicious food.  It was looking overcast so we gathered around the TV and watched "The Royal Tenenbaums."  It started clearing up outside so we headed out for soccer and an egg toss.  Some of us decided to throw water balloons at the guys but it was short-lived when they started retaliating.  We ended the night with an intense game of Mafia.  I didn't play the second round so I got the guitar from the living room and played.  Then Katie came and listened and we talked until the others were finished playing. We didn't walk back to Crick until 3:00am.  It was a great 4th of July celebration in England!!

Scones, Tea, and the Bodleian Library...

July 3, 2008

Today I had my last Jane Austen class and our professor brought us scones and tea! We talked about "Persuasion" and "Emma."  After class, I walked to the Bodleian Library to look up sources for my papers.  I really enjoyed it because I got my books called up into the Radcliffe Camera. I climbed up on the ladders to get my books on the top shelves and found a seat near the window so I could view the inspiring spires of the city.  I lost myself in my work and stayed there for three hours! Then I walked back to the Crick House, taking a short cut through the University Parks so I could take off my shoes. I arrived in time for another family dinner of spaghetti & meatballs and salad.  It is so nice to come home and find everyone gathered around in the kitchen ready to share a meal together.  A couple of us stayed around the kitchen and talked about music for a little while.  I went up to take a nap and then Lindsey came to wake me up so we could go feed the horses down the road with Howard.  We took them carrots, apples, and oats.  Then we headed back to the house and Lindsey and I started carving the pineapple for our 4th of July dish!

Family Dinners

July 2, 2008

Today was our first rainy day in a while; we've had such beautiful weather.  I walked with Lindsey to Sainsbury's and we bought groceries for the family meal! I offered to do the dessert of ice cream cones and Oreos. We also bought fruit for our own dish for the Fourth of July.  We took a cab back to Crick because we had a lot of groceries.  It was so different from the first time we arrived by cab because we knew where we were going.  We unloaded our groceries and then read our selection of reading for class.  We then headed to our last Literature class. We talked about Joyce's "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man."  After class, we came back to Crick and started on the meal of chicken alfredo pasta and caesar salad.  I turned my laptop on to some jazzy tunes and everyone said it was like we were in a restaurant.  We all had our family meal together after Howard prayed of it and then dessert.  Then we gathered around the sinks to wash dishes together.  We hung out downstairs for a bit listening to music and then headed to our rooms to work.