Party Rockers In The House Tonight...

Here are some things I have been doing around Oxford the past 2 weeks...


After Family Law class ended (10:50), Elizabeth, Sidney, and I decided that it was about time that we saw the sights of Oxford (I mean, we have been here a month already). So we took a double-decker bus tour! It was a lot of fun, even though it was really hot.  I know, I know, Little Rock is in the triple digits, but it got up to 80 here the other day, and to me, that was smokin'! No central air here, people!

the tour bus company.. i recommend this! only took like an hour

a beautiful Oxford building. couldn't tell you what though

soldiers used to have to run up this mound while having "excrement" dumped on them. ewww

clever street name

this is where Alice bought her sweets in "Alice in Wonderland." such a cute little shoppe 

After classes, we had dinner in the Hall at school and headed downstairs.

Zabeth, me, Sid, Lauren, and Stephanie at Gertie's

Patrick and Sam at Gertie's

 Sorry, no pictures will be posted from where we went next, Copa and Purple Turtle. My classmates would kill me.  But Purple Turtle time consisted of a dance party with about 15 or 20 of us bringing back moves from the 90s and beyond.  Sidney and I even did the Cher and Tai dance from Clueless.  It was great.  Just use your imagination.

Last Tuesday, about 8 of us met down in Gertie's after classes to hang out with Professor Black-Branch and listen to his crazy stories about traveling the world.  Then, we headed out to a 3 hour Indian dinner.  It took FOR-EV-ER (Squints from the Sandlot), but it was so tasty!

Doug (cool pose), Imran, Nashwa, Amanda, and Valerie 

lamb korma (Mom, Taj Mahal's lamb korma was better.. we are going when I get home!)

After that, we went to the King's Arms for just a little bit, then headed back to get some decent shuteye. 

Wednesday night was.. brace yourself... HARRY POTTER NIGHT! I swear, this is like college all over again.  We stay in dorms and have themed parties. Love it.

i got sorted into gryffindor (duhhh)

We all went dancing at Wahoo! after this.  No pictures from that, either.  But while we are on the subject of Harry Potter, I did some touristy stuff the other day. Liiiiike went to Hogwarts! Not really, I went into Christ Church, which is where the main staircase and the Great Hall are filmed.

look familiar?

sorry for the awful photo quality. the house elves clearly need to work on the lighting issues in there

oh hey, john wesley

Last night (Tuesday) was our farewell dinner (tear!) It started with a reception with plenty of libations.  I spent most of the time trying not to sink in the ground (I was wearing heels) and running away from all of the bees.  There are so many bees here! I guess because of the beautiful landscaping? Anyway, dinner was at 7:00, and it was grrrrrreat!  We had the same dinner we had a few weeks ago: salmon, fillet, and 3 different chocolate desserts.  And unlimited vino.  Dinner was followed by many toasts.  I even got brave enough to give one on behalf of the Arkansas girls.  Go me, go me. But apparently I just said "thank y'all" over and over.  Oops! I tried.

b-e-a-utiful zabeth and cindy at our farewell dinner. such a pretty picture!

i mean really, could i be any more sophisticated??

sam giving another one of his great speeches, patrick picking his nails (these boys are all over this blog post for some reason)

oh, just hanging in the pub with my professors.  professor richter (evidence) and professor spector (family law).  they were wonderful!

elizabeth, sidney, nashwa, and me in gertie's

sam (gosh i must just love taking pictures of him) and justin. both sweaty from bustin' a move at the purple turtle

amanda, me, zabeth, and nashwa at the PT

What a night it was.  Our professors bought us shots and went out dancing with us (well, not Professor Spector, even though I would have paid $$ to see that!)  It was a great night to wrap up the program.  I have had the time of my life.  But now.... it's EXAM TIME. BARF! So, this will probably be my last post.  Maybe not though, who knows.  Either way, thanks for reading! Pray for safe travels.  I'll be back to Little Rock on the 16th and can't wait to see everybody!

XoXo,

Barbara

Amsterdam!!!

Ok, so this post is going to start off with me complaining here and there.  But no worries, it will get better.  It just adds to the story of my weekend.  Get ready, folks, some weird stuff happened.

We left Oxford Thursday after class to take a train to London.  We got on our train just fine, but it was a nasty train.  Not only was there trash all over the floor and gummy bears smeared on the windows... A DOG POOPED EVERYWHERE. Poor dog, it was obviously sick.  Its owner was so embarrassed, but it was just awful.  So that is train story #1.  Then, we got to London, where we were staying for the night, and headed to see The Lion King! I had been looking forward to it for... welllll... years. I cried. Laaaame, I know, but if y'all know me, then you know how much I just love musicals.  Mom, we are going one day, it was so great!  Sorry for the lack of pictures, I didn't want to break the rules (unlike the lady who sat next to me and "discreetly" took pictures throughout the play).  After the musical, we got a late dinner at yet another one of Sidney's BFF Gwyneth's recommendations: J Sheekey. This was one fancy pants place. So fancy, that they didn't allow pictures! Sorry guys. Just trust me that I went to London, because I have no documented proof.  Anyway, I ordered the chopped salad with Atlantic prawns, avocado, and bacon.  Very refreshing.  For my main course, I had the fillet of monkfish (a first for me) with braised coco beans, pork belly, and salsa verde.  Scrum-diddly-umptious!

Well, we slept through our first train due to some time zone confusion.  Ooops. So when we finally got to the train station around 6 am, we had to wait on another train. Oh but before that, I got the full body pat down AND my backpack searched.  And the lady moved at the pace of a tortoise.  Apparently my bracelet and my combination lock were suspicious. Blah, whatever, lady.  This train was headed to Brussels, and then once in Brussels, we could take whichever train we wanted to go to Amsterdam.  Eurostar had not failed us, YET.  Thank goodness w were all exhausted and slept through hellish train story #2.  THE ELECTRICITY WENT OUT.  So we chugged along in the dark and the heat at what seemed to be 40 mph.  Once we got to Brussels, we couldn't get out! The doors are automatic, so someone had to pry them open to let us out.  To make amends, Eurostar offered us each a tiny bottle of water. THANKS, EUROSTAR! :)  On our next train, it was a fiery furnace.  Luckily, I was exhausted and slept through the loud, smelly, obnoxious Italian teenagers that could not sit still.  But whatever, we finally arrived in Amsterdam and we were all very well rested.  So that's that.

Amsterdam:  We dropped our stuff off at our hostel and headed to the Anne Frank House.  Everyone needs to go there if they have the chance.  It was so moving.  The house, besides the museum part, is still pretty much exactly how it was, just no furniture (per Otto Frank's request).  The walls in her room were still in tact... the magazine cutouts she had glue to the wall were still there! It was just so neat, yet heartbreaking. Such a brave family.  No pics were allowed in the house, but here are some of the outside.

Next, we went to eat dinner at a place that came recommended to us from some of our classmates.  It was called Pancake Bakery.  Basically, you can order whatever, and it comes in or on (or both!) a giant pancake.  Too cool.  I got the Mexican pancake.  It was decent, but I should have known better... the Europeans aren't the greatest at Mexican food.  Oh well.

The next day, we headed to the Heinken Experience.  Yummm, definitely in my top 3 favorite beers.  Except the night before, I ordered a Heinken Light, and my waitress looked at me like I was an alien... they don't have it in Europe! Weird. Anyway, the Heineken Experience was hilarious.  It was sort of like our Mini Europe experience in Brussels, except you got to go on a beer simulator ride and feel what it is like to "be the beer."  It was fun, I definitely recommend it.  Plus you get to drink 3 beers with your ticket purchase.. suh-weet!

just drinkin some brewski's with my wifey

they hired me for the day

ceiling made out of heineken bottles

After that, we just grabbed a sandwich and headed to... y'all need to brace yourselves...  (and if you are young or close-minded, you may wanna stop reading here)

THE AMSTERDAM GAY PRIDE PARADE!!!!! Oh. My. Goodness. It was one of the coolest experiences.  Amsterdam legalized gay marriage back in 2001 (come on USA, let's pick up the pace!) and this was the celebration of the 10 year anniversary.  Amsterdam is a city with canals everywhere, so the parade consisted of boats going down the canals.  It was like nothing I have ever seen.  I just perched myself on a parked bike and was mesmerized. Take a look for yourself.  And I put up the best pics, so if you are offended by them, close your eyes :)

my perch during the parade

AMSTERDAM GAY PRIDE

ALL TOGETHER NOW

arghhhh!

i agree!

We then headed to the Van Gogh museum.  Okay, one of my goals for my Europe trip was to learn to appreciate art more.  I'm sorry, I just can't.  Performance art and literature, sure.  Something you stare at that doesn't move?  Nah.  I really, really, really did try, though!  Oh well.  But yeah, sure, the museum was great... moving on...

To the Red Light District! How very interesting.  I don't think my jaw ever shut while I was walking around. That place was crazy! I mean, you would be walking around, all of a sudden turn to your right because you see something in your peripheral vision, and it's a girl in a window, on display.  Mom, they were not holding their tummies in either- you would have been appalled!    So many unattractive, fat geezers were approaching them, "negotiating a deal," I guess? It was fascinating, I will say that.  And we went early evening, which we were told was the best time to go.  You can still see the red lights, but it isn't sketchy yet.  Well, I guess it is always sketchy, but it wasn't a testosterone overload yet.  No pictures are allowed there, for obvious reasons.

Once we found our way back to the main street, we went to a tasty restaurant called Humphrey's.  It hit the spot. I ordered beef carpaccio as an appetizer, which was a first for me.  I will definitely be getting this again. My entree was Chinese noodles with chicken.  I tried to look up a more accurate description on the internet, but the menu is in Dutch.  Dessert was strawberries and 'nilla ice cream mmm mmm mmm!

beef carpaccio with parmesan and pine nuts

chinese noodle dish with onions, tomatoes, and cashews

duhhhh

And that was our weekend! We traveled all Sunday to get home.  It was a short but sweet trip.  Definitely wanna return.

Next stop: Dublin, part II (after exams though... pray for me!)  Oh and in all seriousness, please pray for everyone affected by the riots.  We just found out that they have spread to Oxford so we are all but being barricaded inside our college.  EEK!

barbara

Eatin' Mussels in Brussels

Isn't it cool that that rhyme works out?  Let's get real, there aren't that many words that rhyme with "Brussels."  Well, unless you are a dummy, I'm sure you have gathered from the title that I spent last weekend in Brussels, Belgium.  I did not know much about Belgium before I left except that it was famous for waffles, chocolate, fries, and beer.  And Elizabeth had told me about this statue of a peeing boy. I'll get to that one.  Anyway, see below what I learned/did/ate in Brussels... enjoy!

We got there at about 10:30 Thursday night.  We took a train from London, and I slept the ENTIRE way. I was a sleepy girl.  So once we got a cab and our cab driver almost ran over two (2) people, we got to our hostel.  Our hostel was really nice- it was called Sleep Well Brussels, for anyone maybe planning a trip.  And we sure did sleep well.  We woke up the next morning around 10:30 and headed to get brunch.  We spotted a curbside cafe, just perfect for people watching. And oooh baby, look at what I got:

hands down, best hot chocolate. piping hot milk with a do-it-yourself twist! gonna have to recreate it this winter

a panini with parma ham and mozarella; side salad

After that, we wandered around to the Grand Plais.  On our way, we saw the beautiful stock exchange building.  

stock exchange

pics around the grand plais

the museum of brussels is in here (we went on sunday)

very ornate. apologies for the weird coloring

a typical belgian building. very cute

Next, we went to the statue of the little boy peeing (Mannekin Pis). I was expecting something HUGE because of all the many souvenirs available of this guy. He was just a little old thang!

tinkle tinkle

After that, we wandered around many shops... apparently Belgium is known for their lace, so I picked up some beautiful lacework.  And anyone with a brain knows that Belgium is known for its chocolates, so I bought plenty of those, too.

an old favorite

this store made is have Willy Wonka songs in our head all day

where we did a grab-bag of chocolates

We then headed to the Atomium. What is the Atomium, you ask? Well, it is an iron atom that is magnified 165 billion times. NERD ALERT! Just you wait, it gets better.

view from the top

For the next part of our Dorky Day, we went to Mini Europe. Mini Europe could be the coolest put-put course ever, but it's not.  It's basically a walk around model of all the big cities in Europe.  It has models on a 1:25 scale.  I told you, we are nerds. Just look:

look at me! I got buff

i thought this was weird. i think this was part of a scene from belgium. why?

you can't make me smile

ok, this pic and the one underneath it need an explanation.   behind me is a model of the circus in bath, where we went about 4 weeks ago. while we were there, we saw an asian do a really cool pose, so i was imitating it. step 1: stick your arms straight out

step 2: JUMP! 

look! i went to paris two weekends in a row... gotcha!

me standing on a vibrating platform that is supposed to be like the rumble of mt. vesuvius

gotta hold that tower up!

a real piece of the Berlin wall

look! i am a grape squisher with a really small head

Well after being globetrotters, we were famished.  Dinner time! 

pumpkin soup. perfect for that chilly evening

rabbit leg! a first for me. so tender and delicious

fries, of course

waffffffles with vanilla ice cream, chocolate, whip cream, cherry, and a fake leaf

We called it a night after that.  The next morning, we treated ourself to a nice breakfast in a really nice hotel.  I had hot chocolate and quiche Lorraine. Yummmm

fancy, eh??

Then, we shopped til we dropped! I hadn't done much shopping since I had been in Europe, and Brussels was having some major sales. But sheesh, I think all of Brussels was out that day... everything was jam packed and looked like a tornado had just hit the stores (think Black Friday style). Needless to say, that was exhausting.  We got ourselves a yummy waffle as a snack to soothe us.  Those things just cure everything!

Then it was nappy time. After that, we felt like new women! So we headed out to a scrumptious dinner.  We found this older part of the city that is where the butchers and fisherman used to prepare their meat. Now, it is an area with tons of restaurants. Well, it was interesting.  Picture this: me, walking through narrow streets, being hassled by restaurant hosts to come into their restaurants like they were nightclubs on Bourbon Street.  I received a lot of compliments that night, I will say that!  I was told, "oh wow, so beautiful, please come to my restaurant," "you color my world" <--- that was my favorite; and I even had someone just offer me his arm, assuming that I would take it and go into the restaurant with him.  Goodness gracious!  We finally settled on a restaurant that didn't have people outside begging you to eat there.  It was a lovely restaurant on the street corner.  I ordered mussels, and ate all of mine (white wine) and half of Zabeth's (garlic).  I was a hungry girl!

Sidney and I indulged in some wine, so we decided the 3 of us needed to check out the social scene of Brussels.  I mean really, when else am I going to have the opportunity to go to a club in Brussels?  Our waiter directed us to one called The Sphinx.  It was loud and tacky, so we left after 2 drinks.  When we got outside, we were told about this club that played "endless R&B." Sweet! No... apparently R&B means Lady Gaga and Katy Perry techno-type stuff? What? Oh well, we went anyway, and it was hilarious!  There was a raised platform in the middle with a man dancing.  Sidney compared this man to her Uncle Rodney.  He had some great do-si-do moves.  After admiring the aquariums and the very expensive drinks, we decided to stick around for a few songs and then call it a night.

fancy drink at The Sphinx... it had a sparkler woohoo!!!!

look closely, you can see uncle rodney and the aquariums

we forgot our clubbin' clothes... can't party too hard in a cardi

The next day, we packed up and headed to the Museum of Brussels.  It was okay.  It did have all of the costumes that the people have put on the Mannekin Pis, so that was interesting.  Then, we got a kebab! Yay! None of us have given in and eaten a late-night kebab in Oxford yet, so we had to treat ourselves. Mmmm Mmmm Good!  Then, we wandered around, went to a really cool antique flea market, relaxed in a park, and headed back to the train station.  Brussels, you were a nice, relaxing city, and I wouldn't mind seeing you again!

pretty park where we hung out

Next stop: London for a night, then Amsterdam!

-Barbara