HOME!!!

On our last night in Oxford we went out for dinner at yet another pub and we made friends with this big guy. What a sweetie! He was very polite and moved slowly about the pub and greeted guests as they arrived.










He sat behind us for a time and then moved on.












I'm hoping the Association for the Protection and Care of Paddington Bears doesn't find out what Hans and I did with one of their charges!

We were in London's Heathrow Airport when I suddenly spotted this little fellow. Now I'm not a big fan of souvenirs and I hate buying something for the sake of buying but as soon as I read the 'Please look after this bear, thank you' tag hanging around his little neck, I was hooked.
Since Paddy was very well behaved and slept in his bunk (overhead storage) for the whole 7 hour trip home we felt he should be rewarded.

Paddy, enjoying a beer.

And here is Paddy with a double bourbon and gingerale.

And finally, here he is passed out on Hans' shoulder as we wait to board that last one hour plane trip (that feels like 7 hours because we are now totally sick of flying) to the Big City.

Don't worry, Paddy will be going to live with Vet Tech Girl for a much needed drying out!

It was a crazy two weeks and I was only along for the ride. This was just one of hundreds of trips Hans has made over the years and one of the first for his co-worker who came along. At the end of it the co-worker admitted that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be and that perhaps others in the office needed to go on one of them and see for themselves just how exhausting it really is. From planes to taxis, to buses and subways (and knowing which ones to take and which to avoid) to getting past language barriers, getting to appointments on time and putting out fires back home (because just like children; employees can't wait to tattle on each other and why not text Hans about it right now!), it is a job!

Hans just makes it look easy!

Still in Oxford

Surprise! Hans got back from his meeting today at 2 PM which is a lot better than the 4 PM that was promised and the 6 PM that I was expecting.

Since Mother nature gave us a nice surprise and made the rain go away (for a while), we took a stroll into town.

It would appear that Oxford has more action than Cambridge (if you're from either place please don't take offense, it's just my observation!) There are a lot more shops, stores, pubs etc...

We were smart enough to take an umbrella on our stroll because it started to rain, and then we were lucky enough to find ourselves in an indoor market which is where we ended up spending most of our time.

Here are some offerings from a butcher shop.

If you look closely you can see poor old Peter Cottontail (right about in the middle) hanging by his heels, between the pheasants.

This is what I found inside a bathroom stall.

I never realized how loud my camera is when I take pictures. And wouldn't you know it, I forgot to turn off the flash so in addition to a very loud CLICK I'm sure everyone wondered why there was a sudden blast of light coming out of my stall!

A close up of the message on the bottom of the canister.

This was a first for me.

Just some ducks hanging around the butcher shop.

Now this is my idea of a purse!

It's a cake.

Just imagine how handy this would be if you had a PMS attack and forgot to pack some chocolate.

All that walking around makes a person hungry so we stopped in a shop for some coffee, apple pie (Hans), and carrot cake (Laura).

We couldn't make the huge 20 minute trek back to our hotel without fortifying ourselves at yet another pub.

I believe I could live on steak pies and I wish someone would explain to me why my pants are so tight these days.

Oxford, England

Yesterday (Wednesday) we were up at 5 AM in order to catch a 6 AM taxi to the airport. We left Italy, landed in London, and arrived in Oxford around 11:30 AM.

The men went straight out on business calls (I don't know how they do it!) and after lunch which consisted of a huge sandwich and a pint of beer, this is where I chose to spend some quality time.







We were supposed to go out to eat at around 5:00 PM but of course we got the inevitable call from the men; traffic was horrible and they probably wouldn't get back until around 7:00, which in reality became 7:30. Luckily our room, unlike the ones in Paris and Italy, had a coffee pot and I don't know when I've drank so much coffee and tea in my life.

This is the Pub we went to first.

Of course it wasn't until our taxi's had left that we found out they weren't serving food that night! Adam, our English connection for the night was very embarrassed and after gulping down our beer and wine (the corked bottle with our remaining wine was shoved into one of Hans' coat pockets!) we zipped of to a different pub.

Up on the wall at the second pub are pictures of Prince Charles and the Queen. Apparently they dined and/or drank here once. It's a little blurry but you can see Charles 'pulling' a pint at the bar and the Queen (minus a glove on her drinking hand) is ever so properly sipping her beer.













Hans had mentioned that the cheddar cheese in England is wonderful and he asked Adam if that's what we should order as an appetizer. Adam said that we could, but that in England cheese is served as dessert and it might cause confusion if we ordered it first.

So after inhaling my steak pie and fries, out came this; two platters of cheddar (white, not yellow like in the states), big wedges of brie, thick slices of bread, and butter!

Adam was footing the bill for the evening and we were horrified! In the states this would have been pretty expensive and we knew we couldn't eat one tenth of it (and don't think I didn't try!). Adam just laughed and said it was only going to cost about 3 pounds and not to worry. We still couldn't stand the waste so we asked if we could take with us. The servers were highly amused and brought us a piece of tin foil, so sitting in our mini fridge is a lot of cheese and bread.

It will not go to waste!




Hans got the steak pie too, and here he is working on it.

So far this has been the prettiest and most comfortable room we've stayed at during these 2 weeks.

This is the view from our room.

And here's where I am as I write this. It's a little sitting room on our floor. I'm waiting for our room to be cleaned and I thought it would be nice to sit here. It's raining and very cold outside so I don't think we'll do a lot of sight seeing this afternoon. Maybe since the men are to arrive back around 4:00 or so we will go out and see some sights with them. And since they are right here in Oxford I don't think they can use traffic as an excuse to be late this time!