Eng vs NZ: Today sees England face off against New Zealand in Match 10 of the Champions Trophy cricket tournament. Hopefully today will have a better outcome than yesterday's aborted Ind vs Aus match . . . more
This is one of a series of entries from my travel journal chronicling my recent trip to Europe. You can click here for the archived entries.
Day 14 | Day 15
England photo gallery here.
14 Alma Place, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK 19/06/08
I got a little bit distracted yesterday evening as my bus pulled into the last stop in Oxford, Gloucester Green, to be greeted by Jeff. We headed out with his friends and colleagues to O'Neill's and Far from the Maddening Crowd (Thomas Hardy, for you non-literary types. Admittedly I didn't know this myself until one of the girls mentioned it, but it was a bit of a coincidence because a few hours earlier I had walked upon Hardy's flagstone at Westminster Abbey.)
Back to recapping yesterday in London. In addition to the memorials on the ground floor of the Abbey - intricate, mammoth structures of marble, gilt, wood, etc., both Nelson and Wellington had huge ornate memorial chambers in the crypt below. The crypt was fascinating - actually felt very modern and well-maintained (as it should be for £10 a pop admission fees). Unfortunately we couldn't enter Wellington's crypt because they were doing restoration work, but you could look in and see an enormous pink marble sarcophagus in a large chamber. The goal of the restoration was to make the Duke's chamber as glorious as the admittedly superior Nelson's chamber. Among other important figures buried in the crypt were Sir Christopher Wren and Sir Henry Wellcome, an American industrialist and pharmaceutical maker, who established the eponymous trust which funds medical research of various types, including Jeff's field of bioinformatics. Understandably, one of Jeff's favorite spots to point out his customized tour of St. Paul's. There was a great deal to be made of Britain's military heroes, with memorials to those who died in specific conflicts (the Great War, WWII, the Falkland Islands) as well as countless individual graves of distinguished officers. The crypt also had a display of the history of the royalty at St. Paul's as well as the somewhat morbid-sounding Crypt Café (didn't eat there).
After St. Paul's we walked across the Millenial Bridge to the south side of the Thames. We walked past the Tate Modern art museum, the reconstructed Globe Theatre, past London Bridge (which boasted of the new "London Bridge Experience. It's bloody scary!" Some kind of horror show with flashing lights and a myriad of ghouls. Perhaps they take lunch at the Crypt Café?) We came up to the Tower Bridge and crossed that, having passed the impressive HMS Belfast moored in the middle of the Thames, decked out in WWII-era ocean camouflage. We passed by the Tower of London - actually rather a squat fortress with four towers, although Jeff observed that when it was first built it quite literally must have towered over the rest of the town; now dwarfed by modern office buildings. We had limited time because I definitely wanted to spend some time in Westminster Abbey and I had made plans to meet up with relatives living in London for dinner, so I couldn't go inside the Tower. We hopped on the tube (the London subway, or Underground) and headed to the Embankment stop. This allowed us to walk through Trafalgar Square and see Lord Nelson's column - an impressive tribute to the martial glory of the old British Empire. The square itself was very busy with people and traffic, bordered on one side by the National Gallery and by several nations' embassies - flags were flying from Canada, Zimbabwe (outside of which there had been recent protests, my uncle later mentioned), South Africa, and many more. We walked over to see Buckingham Palace, which was in an impressive plaza with many a Union Jack flying, gated entrances, statues on columns, beautiful rows of flower beds, brilliant green lanws, gilded wrought iron, and all the trappings of an anachronistic constitutional monarchy. I was a bit surprised that the literal facade of the palace was unadorned with any finery or ostentation, however. It looked like a standard government building or museum rather than a palace. But I suppose it works for the ridiculous display that constitutes the British monarchy.
We walked down the Princess Diana Memorial Walk toward Westminster and its eponymous abbey, passing by a bunch of giant white marble and granite government buildings as we did so. Here Jeff and I parted ways - he had work to do in Oxford and I wanted to see the Abbey and meet up with my relatives later on.
As impressed as I was with St. Paul's I was equally or perhaps moreso with Westminster (Abbey, not to be confused with Westminster itself where Parliament sits. This is the building to which Big Ben is attached, and of course I had to get the obligatory pic of me standing in front of it before Jeff left). It's simply a huge monument paying tribute to the royalty, nobility, majesty, and achievement of Great Britain since it was built in the 10th century. Here lie all the kings and queens, lords and ladies of the Realm. In one sense it feels very crowded - the place is packed with statues on top of one another. Evidently there was some confusion as to whether the remains are in the appropriate places, because when Oliver Cromwell instituted the Commonwealth he dug up the remains of all the royalty. With the Restoration these were returned to their rightful spots but there the inevitable mix-up when you're dealing with hundreds of musty old skeletons. I noticed a small flagstone in one of the chapels commemorating Cromwell, which I found a bit surprising. Is he actually buried there? Would seem rather a forgiving act on the part of the Brits.
My favorite part of the Abbey was the Poets' Corner, where tribute is paid to Britain's famous writers, including a giant memorial to Shakespeare, as well as a nice bust of Longfellow, "From British admirers of the American poet." The floor in this section was covered with the flagstones of famous writers - the aforementioned Hardy, D.H. Lawrence, Henry James, George Eliot, et al. Also impressive at one end of the Abbey is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and a tribute to FDR.
After Westminster Abbey I met up with my relatives for dinner at Gourmet Burger Kitchen, where I had a mammoth avocado and bacon burger, great chips and a delicious sweet hard cider from South Africa. From there I hopped on the Oxford Tube and returned to Oxford to hit the pubs for the going-away do for one of Jeff's colleagues. All in all a great day. But there is so much to see in London - I may return on Friday (only £15 round trip!) to spend the day while Jeff defends his thesis.
This is one of a series of entries from my travel journal chronicling my recent trip to Europe. You can click here for the archived entries.
Day 13 | Day 14
England photo gallery here.
Oxford Tube, en route from London-Oxford 18/06/08
Great day today exploring London. We took the bus from Oxford into the city and arrived around noontime. After a quick lunch at Pret a Manger we headed to St. Paul's Cathedral. Words fail me to adequately describe the sheer size, beauty, and history of the place. It was built by Christopher Wren in the 18th century; actually it was a new version of the "Old Cathedral," which had burned down in the Great Fire of 1666. One can walk through the still-functioning church (no photos allowed, which I understand but still found annoying. No flash is understandable but no pics at all? So I had to keep my camera holstered.), explore the crypt below, and even climb to one of three observation areas - the first is at the top of the inside section of the big dome, a gallery overlooking the central altar below. A great view. Then there is an outdoor observation area in the tower above the dome. It provides a nice but obstructed view of the city. The real kicker was the final Golden Observatory, a tiny outdoor observation post - a few meters of railing around a square platform - with an unbelievable view of the city. Truly remarkable - one could see the Thames River, the various bridges including the Tower Bridge off in the distance, and the London Eye, a gargantuan Ferris wheel. Inside the Cathedral itself were impressive memorials to the military heroes of Great Britain, such as Lord Nelson and Sir Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington.
This is one of a series of entries from my travel journal chronicling my recent trip to Europe. You can click here for the archived entries.
Day 12 | Day 13
England photo gallery here.
14 Alma Place, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK 18/06/08
Sitting here at the breakfast table in Jeff's flat, waiting for the coffee to drip through (as well as for the slug-a-bed to arise). Today we plan on taking the bus into London and touring around.
Yesterday was a fun day spent in Oxford. Our tourism was fairly low-intensity compared to my time in Hungary and Ireland. After breakfast yesterday Jeff took me around town and showed me his college, Brasenose, and a couple others. Oxford Universtiy is comprised of some 40 colleges, all previously independent, and each still maintaining a large degree of self-administration while under the umbrella of the University. Because of this there is no campus as such, but rather colleges scattered throughout town, each with its own quad, chapel, dining halls, and surrounding grounds, which can be quite extensive and impressive for some of the larger colleges. Everything is hundreds of years old, and looks it. Coincidentally the freshmen undergraduates ("freshers") were finishing up final exams, so we saw loads of young students walking around in sub fusc (black tie formal dress complete with colored carnation according to one's year) and later at the pubs celebrating with their friends over a pint or a glass of champers.
A sidenote - this Continental blend coffee from Cardew & Co. in the Oxford Market is fantastic!
So it worked out well for me to be touring Oxford this week because I get to see the University in full effect, as it were. We climbed the tower of St. Mary's (a spiral staircase that proved difficult for a couple of the larger American tourists). The top of the chapel affords an excellent view of the town, with towers from various college chapels punching up out of the otherwise low skyline. A remarkable view - I certainly felt transported back to the "olden days" moreso than at any other point on the trip thus far.
We stopped in for some refreshment at the Turf Tavern, a great spot located down an alley which turns into a nice patio. The Turf seemed to cater to tourists and students alike. I tried a Ridgeway, which I think was my first cask-conditioned ale to date. Apparently all the ale in England is cask-conditioned, meaning that they pour the brewed beer into casks to let it ferment and carbonate itself naturally. The bartender has to hand pump it out of the cask instead of simply opening a tap powered by CO2. This results in a pint that is far less bubbly than I am used to (I would characterize it as flat) and also significantly warmer than all other draft beers I've had. (Finally I can confirm the long-standing stereotype about English beer being warmer, which frankly I figured was just American-centric nonsense.) Cask-conditioned ales definitely take some getting used to - I prefer my beer ice-cold with a good head. But the flavor of the ales I've had thus far have been good, so I will make the sacrifice in the name of international beer research and continue to sample them while I'm here.
We needed some lunch after this and went to a sandwich shop on High Street that Jeff had been raving about (with good reason, I found). After a lunch of fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomato sandwiches, we headed back to Jeff's place to meet up with Jules. Italy and France were playing in the Euro Cup football tournament and we wanted to find a suitable venue to take in the game and get some dinner. We started off at the Angel & Greyhound, a nice establishment if not particularly lively at the time. I played my first game of bar billiards, the English variant of pool. It's a fun game although it takes some adjustment from the pool I'm used to. Players alternate shooting the cue ball from one end of a small table to the other. Several holes on the playing surface represent different point values. If you sink a ball you can continue shooting and build up a big score, but in order to record the score you must "bank" it by shooting the cue ball so that it touches a ball without fouling out by missing or hitting one of three penalty pins placed in key spots on the table. It's also timed for about 15-20 minutes so it's a fast-paced game. I was pretty awful for my first go-round.
We left the Angel & Greyhound and after some deliberating on Jeff and Jules' part we headed over to the Oxford Blue, which had a great menu, good selection of beers, and a big screen playing the football match. The game itself was a bit disappointing - rather unexciting for the most part. Italy scored off a penalty kick 26' in and then scored again off an indirect kick in the 2nd half. France never really seemed competitive. I had bangers & mash for dinner - pork & leek sausage over mashed potatoes and assorted veggies, swimming in rich gravy. I also tried a bite of steak & Guinness pie. Excellent food. We were joined by one of Jeff's friends and his girlfriend - good people. It was fun watching the match with a table full of Italians next to us screaming and a few glum Frenchmen in the pub. It actually reminded me quite a bit of watching the World Cup back in 2006, the final game of which I also watched with Jeff and Jules in Cambridge, MA, and which also featured a victorious Italy over France (remember the headbutting by Zidane?) A good taste of English pub atmosphere with some international flavor thrown in. Most of the Europeans seemed older - probably grad students or post docs. From my limited exposure and Jeff's input it seems that Oxford undergrad is still very white and British, although not the posh man's school that it used to be.
After the game, heavy food, and several pints we were once again absolutely knackered, and decided to try to get some sleep in anticipation of a full day of sightseeing in London to see the Queen in her dang undies.
In June of 2008 I took a trip to Ireland, Hungary, and England. Experiencing different food is one of my favorite parts about traveling abroad, so I decided to dedicate a tabblo to a few of the meals I had in my travels. You can read about my entire journey on my blog. ... See my Tabblo>
This is one of a series of entries from my travel journal chronicling my recent trip to Europe. You can click here for the archived entries.
Day 11 | Day 12
England photo gallery here.
14 Alma Place, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK 17/06/08
Jeff and I arrived at the place he splits with Josh in Oxford (although he now spends most of his time in Cambridge) around midnight last night. It took us about an hour and a half to drive our rented Ford Fiesta out here from Luton Airport. We were bushed last night and crashed immediately.
This morning we went to the Tick Tock Café down the street a ways. It was fairly standard greasy spoon fare. I had a typical heart attack breakfast with the curious English addition of fried bread. If deep-fried white bread sounds like an oil-drenched, bland, unpleasant, and entirely unnecessary experience to you, then you're right on the money. On the walk back from breakfast we heard a bell ringing and lo and behold, there was our friend Jules on his bike (yet another American ex-pat in Oxford. It's all the rage these days. Jules knew Jeff from Cambridge, MA). I guess Oxford's a small place, being that I ran into the only other person I knew here from the States within an hour of waking up this morning. Unfortunately Josh is in the States now, ironically enough, so I won't get to see him here. But it does mean I have his bed to sleep in rather than this grim couch I'm currently sitting on, so that's nice.
Tickets are purchased and I have my renewed passport in hand.
I'm traveling to Ireland, Hungary, and England from June 6-22 (wow that looks really cool to type!) This has been in the works for some time. An aunt, uncle, and cousin are staying in a house in Baltimore, West Cork. It's a small village on the tip of one of the southwestern peninsulas. This is actually the same place to which another aunt took me and another cousin way back in 1991 to take sailing lessons. Baltimore is a quaint, quintessentially "Irish" experience and I very much look forward to going back. I'm able to go thanks to my very generous aunt, who is treating me to airfare and room/board. My Mom decided to go as well, so I am flying over with her.
Once over there we will be staying in the same house for the first week (6/7-13). Baltimore will be our base of operations and we will explore from there. Day car trips but nothing more - better to see "more of less" with limited time. And frankly I think there's no better way to experience a foreign country than simply hanging out with the locals.
With Porkins in Cambridge, England right now I decided to extend my trip for a week and go over to visit him since taking the extra time was no problem and it's just a puddle jump to England. As I was planning the trip, Rigs mentioned that one of his friends from Oxford is getting married in Budapest, Hungary on Saturday, 6/14. Jek asked me if I wanted to accompany him as his platonic date and I said, "Sure, when will I next have the opportunity to visit Budapest?" (Which I hear is fantastic.) So I'm flying from Dublin-Budapest on Friday 6/13. Jeff and I will likely do an extra day or two in Buda to check it out, then it's Budapest-London and I will spend the remainder of that week exploring JCB's haunts (Cambridge, Oxford, London). Foonyor also has his thesis defense at the end of the week so I plan on heckling him during that. [For those of you confused by this, Porkins, Rigs, JCB, Jek, Jeff and Foonyor are all the same person. And yes, I did that on purpose.]
I'm extremely psyched for this trip. I can't believe it's next week! I haven't been out of the country in years.
The Old Country awaits.
