Of Scholars and Priates

You can't wander more than 5 feet in England without smacking into something historical, something cultural, or simply something weird. Imagine how excited Kim was to stumble across the following little plaque whilst strolling through Oxford University (this one goes out to all former and present science geeks from HHCDS - I miss you all!!!):

We wrapped our evening in Oxford up with a fantastic concert of the Philharmonia, but not before grabbing a quick bite to eat at:

So what's so famous about this particular pub? Only that it was the local haunt of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien (they have GREAT fish and chips, too!). It seems that they met here on a regular basis to discuss literature (including their most renowned works, Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia), politics, and of course, beer!

Here we are (below) in the "Rabbit Room" at the Eagle and Child - the room frequented by Tolkien and Lewis. Note the photos in the background. Yes... we are literature geeks...


And you never know what you'll stumble into when living in England... On a weekend shopping quest for shoes and groceries we were lucky enough to find the Banbury "Pirate Festival" . Although we didn't get any great shots of the pirates (sorry Matney and the rest of the BBSR '07 crew!) we did see lots of festive British longboats:


An ideal way to tour the British country side, we're already planning to rent a long boat next fall and try our hand at "canal life" for a while!

We also have plenty of adventures on the home front too! Jesse is doing his best to fit in with British Cuisine by preparing such traditional dishes as "Bangers and Mash":

Jesse also has his new favorite breakfast - crumpets and tea!