Lovely Day

Today, Thursday, was just a lovely day.  Just lovely!  Started out feeling kind of rough (hence my glasses in the picture below) because of last night's partay, but the day quickly turned around.

After our evidence class ended at 3:50, we went on a nice little walk around town.  Our main mission was to buy laundry detergent, but that makes us sound lame.

Our pal Vu Ritchie went to Oxford last summer and kept telling us about this cookie place we just had to try.  Luckily and unfortunately, it is in a market right by Brasenose.  I ordered a double chocolate chip cookie, and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.  The inside of the cookie is like one giant melted chocolate chip- holy smokes!  I don't have a pic of the cookie, but I'm sure Ben and I are about to become very good friends, so there will be ample opportunity to post one...

Then, we walked all around Oxford because 1. it was a GORGEOUS day, finally! 2. we just ate cookies.

Here are some places around my school:

the archway sort of in the building on the left is the entrance to Brasenose

such a nice day!

After our walk, we decided that our entire campus smelled too fishy, so that halibut that we were scheduled to eat for dinner just wasn't gonna do the trick.  The UALR kids that went to Oxford last year told us to try a Thai restaurant called At Thai.  I give it a 6/10 on the cuisine scale (thanks for the recommendation, peeps, but Thai is just not my thing I guess!)

Thai beer (this was the best part!)

Tom Kum Pai. i made that name up, but it was something like that.  chicken and mushroom soup. my mouth was on FIYAH!

beef with green curry sauce and egg fried rice.  the presentation is terrible, i know, but that's because i spooned it on my plate myself.  it had a yummy coconut/cilantro taste. 

Bye bye, lovelies!

Barbara

P.S. brace yourself for some yummy food pics after my upcoming weekend in London!

P.P.S. HAPPY HARRY POTTER DAY!!!!!!!!!

Bond. James Bond.

Last night was a theme night.  And I thought my theme party days were over! Gotta love a reason to dress up and not feel silly for doing it.  The theme, if you couldn't tell by the title, was double oh seven night. Too bad the closest I have come to watching a James Bond movie is watching Austin Powers...

Regardless, after evidence class (which I really, really enjoy but I can tell it's gonna be a killer), I got all dolled up.  I went for a classy look, circa 1940s.  Black dress, up-do, and heels.  My feet are hating me this morning!  We went to dinner at 7:00 and had a "007"-themed dinner.  Our chicken was served with "Die Another Day" sauce.  Clever, eh?  There were some others that I can't recall.  But it was taaaaaasty! Especially the dessert... mmmmm pudding.  The pudding over here is more along the lines of a caky bread pudding.  Not creamy like J-E-L-L-O pudding.  Should've taken a pic, lo siento.

So then we headed to the pub underneath our classroom, Gertie's.  It was all decked out to look casino-ish. Very cute.  They offered 3 special drinks: Shaken Not Stirred Martini (surely there was no way they would have excluded that obvious drink name.. it was white wine + sprite... mediocre at best), a peach bellini, and a Quantum Solace (a screwdriver + grenadine).  Props to the party planners!

the Arkansas gals at Gertie's.. pardon my hair that wouldn't behave

Then, we headed to a small pub called Eagle and Child.  J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (what is with these initial names??) both used to hang out there.  It was neato-o... quotes from their books lined the walls.  

At the 007 party at Gertie's, we had been given wristbands for free admission to a bar called Camera. What a strange name.  So after Eagle and Child, we trekked on over to Camera.  But during our trek, I was accosted! Ahhh! I was just walking with our group, and this girl, who I just presumed was drunk, started stumbling toward me.  She got in my face and let out some sort of bark or something, as loudly as possible.  Then she started laughing hysterically.  Luckily, I had on my poker face (get it? gotta stick with the casino theme all night) and I didn't flinch.  My response was, "Uhhh why would you do that?"  Her boyfriend's response? "Because she's French." What-ev-er.  

Anyway, Camera was awesome. Super posh.  I felt like I needed to order a 600 pound (still working on finding the currency symbol) bottle of Grey Goose to sit there.  But drinks were way cheap! Yayyy... I even did some dancing, woop woop! Oh, and I got walked in on while I was using the bathroom.  In the bathroom that opens up to the entire bar.  Yay!

AND THENNNNN we headed to the Purple Turtle.  Too much fun. After a good ole time there and some late night McDonald's (I only had 2 fries, go me, go me!) we headed back to Brasenose.  It is mornings like these that make me wonder how I ever survived college.  I am such an old lady now! 

And on that note, I shall nap.  Gotta rest up for my LONDON WEEKEND THAT STARTS TOMORROW!

Signed,

Lagasse.  Barbara Lagasse.

Yesterday's Food

Ok, so I have already told y'all about the breakfast we are served.  Potatoes (like french fries in a circle shape), baked beans that taste like spaghetti o's, sausage links, yummy bacon, and scrambled eggs.  And a plethora of juice boxes, croissants, and toast.  I also have a choice to eat yogurt and fruit.  However, since they don't provide lunch, I have been swiping those and storing them in the mini fridge... sneaky, sneaky!

But let me tell you about dinner.  So far it has been surprisingly really, really good. First night we had a strip steak of some sort, the next night it was chicken with lentils. And to my surprise, there have been veggies! I was warned that once I got to Oxford, I wouldn't see anything green on my plate ever again.

Well last night, the first thing on my plate was green. GUACAMOLE! OLE OLE OLE! I was so excited! Alright, if your first course was tortilla chips, guac, and sour cream, you'd think "oh how great, it's gonna be Mexican night!!!!" right? You'd be wrong. Next course: lasagna and garlic bread (Italian?), corn-on-the-cob (Midwest?), and curly fries (Arby's?).  Dessert was brownies and ice cream.  Do you see a pattern here? I sure don't.

Turns out it was American night. The Brits did a great job with their cuisine. It was just a really, really eclectic mix.  They had the right idea, I guess they just don't realize that we don't eat all these things in the same meal? Oh well, no complaints, I ate every bite of course.  Compliments to the confused chef!

Toodles,

Barbara

My Temporary Home

Guess what, guess what!?!? We are finally in Oxford. After a day of many travel mishaps from Bath, we finally made it! We are staying at the beautiful Brasenose College.  And I mean beautiful. Don't you agree?  Please excuse the construction fence at the bottom.  I am not tall enough to get it out of my picture.

We checked in and then were shown to our rooms.  Luckily I had a guy carry my bag for me, because I am up pretty high.  Sidney and I are in the same "staircase" which is sort of like the Houses in Harry Potter. Elizabeth is in the one next door, Slytherin. J/K girlfriend.  I have a humongo room.  Much bigger than any other room I have ever had.  Yippee skippee! If I knew how to turn a cartwheel, I'd be doing plenty of them in my room.

the right side of my room. beautiful decor, no?

the far left corner. with the lamp from "brave little toaster"

the left side of my room. yay for the sink!

and we have come full circle. view from the back wall (my bed is to the left of the nightstand)

Bathroom... eh... I can barely wash my hair because my elbows hit both the walls of the shower. Oh well! And just two of us have to use this bathroom.  I share it with a dude.  His name is Andy, and he is my waiter for breakfast and dinner.  Could get interesting...

We got all dolled up and headed out to the courtyard for our orientation meeting.  Everyone is very, very nice.  Because we are doing this program through the University of Oklahoma, most of the students are from there.  Then, we headed to a reception.  Free libations for all! Cheers!  At this reception, we mingled with the professors and other students.  Oh, and we talked to a knight.  Sir David Something Or Another.  What a cute old man!  Next was my first dinner here.  It is in a beautiful great hall with long wooden tables and benches.  Not quite as big as in Harry Potter.  And yes, I am going to refer to him a lot because duhhhh the final movie is about to come out!!!! AHHHHHH! Anyway, dinner also provided wine for everyone. Ayiyiyi!

sidney, elizabeth, and me at the reception. pardon my sleepy look

After that, we heard that there was a lil party going on.  So we found it, and we went.  Basically a guy has a room here.  But he and his wife are staying in a flat.  So his room = party room.  Actually, I think the scientific name is the Oklahoma Party Room.  Good times, good times.  Then, we headed to the underground pub.  It is a pub underneath our building.  And it offers bottles of wine for 7 pounds (I don't know how to make the pound symbol).  This is dangerous, yet awesome, news!  

We probably stayed out til 11ish, and then I fell asleep on my notsocomfy bed. Hopefully I'll get used to that.  

Breakfast the next morning (Monday) was an English breakfast.  Potatotes, baked beans (it already sounds strange, doesn't it...), bacon, sausage, toast, eggs, and juice boxes. I'm thinkin' that's gonna get old reallll fast.  I had class at 9 am, which was Family Law.  We discussed incest and bigamy.  Then, I went into town (yay!) and got a phone (yay!)  My next class was Evidence.  I really like both of my teachers and my classes, for now.  

Wednesday night is a "theme night." Which means 007 Night. Which means Bond, James Bond.  Our invitation reads, "Dress Code: Suave." Well, I am a super suave person, so this should be no problemo...

Tata for now!

Barbara

Bathtime

After our Dublin Days, we boarded a plane to Bristol.  We flew Ryan Air, which should be called "We Are Going to Try to Sell You Things Throughout the Entire Flight" Air.  I'm talkin lotto tickets, magazines, candy, you name it.  The entire flight.  That flight was delayed, which meant our bus from Bristol to Bath had already left. So we took a taxi!  It was a delightful ride.  Pretty sure our cabbie, Gerard, is Santa's brother.  And David Copperfield once made him disappear! I couldn't get the secret out of him, no matter how much I begged.

We got to the University of Bath around midnight, hauled our way too heavy luggage up a flight of stairs, and then after roaming around like idiots, we found our rooms.  We were in individual dorm rooms, so some privacy was nice.

Once we woke up the next morning, we took the bus to the City Center.  We at at a place called Sally Lunn's, which is in a 15th century building.  I think the restaurant dates back to the 17th century.  And lemme tell ya, those Sally Lunn Buns are like no other. Yummmmy.  They are basically just a big ole bun of sweet goodness.  I ordered ratatouille, which I had never had before.  I will most definitely be getting it again... looove me some eggplant and zucchini!

Ratatouille on a Sally Lunn bun with carrots, peas, and potatoes

After eating at Sally Lunns, we headed over to the Abbey.  So pretty!

Then, it was time for a tour of the Roman Baths (hence the name Bath).  It was very, very impressive.  I thought I was going to be bored, because what is cool about a place where people used to bathe ages ago? Turns out a lot is cool about that.  This place put Hot Springs, AR to shame.  We even tasted the bath water.... mmmm hot sulfur water... blegh. 

water flowing from the hot springs... see the steam?

ewwww

After the Bath Houses, we went every girl's dream... THE FASHION MUSEUM AAHHHHHH! It was so great! And I am obsessed with "Say Yes to the Dress," and guess what the special exhibit was?? Wedding dresses!

so tempted to steal this and make it my own...

apparently this was "the look" of the best year ever, 1987

yes, we played dress-up in corsets and hoop skirts

Next, we went to the Jane Austen museum.  I don't know much about Jane Austen (I know, I know, it's classic literature) but I still enjoyed the museum.  We thought it was at her actual house when she lived in Bath, but that has since turned into a dentist office.... so it was in a similar house that looked like hers.  Good enough, I guess?  We stopped for a snack in the tearoom before our tour, and I had raspberry drizzle cake with a Victorian lemonade.  

Then, we had to get our people-watching time in.  And it was a grand ole time.  We sat on the grass in a place called The Crescent and just chatted and watched some interesting tourists do some interesting poses for pictures.  Jumping poses, senior prom poses, peace sign poses, and the list goes on.  Look how cute my friends are and what a beautiful day it was:

obligatory laughing picture!

it got chilly and windy... so i buttoned almost every button

We walked around the cute shops and decided we wanted a yummy dinner (duhhhh).  We picked a place called Gastone's (I think) and splurged.  It was so great!  I ordered a glass of vino, a summer salad, lamb, a potato cake, and fresh green beans. Mmm Mmm Good!

We had an early night that night because we knew the next day consisted of taking trains to get to OXFORD!  For breakfast the next morning, we ate at the Pump Room, which is a fancy restaurant connected to the Bath House and where you can taste the water from the spring.  I wanted something filling, so I went with a classic Eggs Benedict.  Couldn't have been better!

Eggs Benedict: one muffin with ham, the other with wilted spinach.  Popeye style.

Then we took 2 trains and we were in Oxford. Hold your horses, I'll get to that post tomorrow!

Bubye now.

Dublin Days

WARNING! WARNING! LONG POST AHEAD!  And sorry, I meant to post this a few days ago, but I have been having issues with the internet over here.

We finally made it to Dublin around noon Dublin time.  After taking an airport shuttle, we rolled our heavy, heavy suitcases to our hostel.  It is so cute!  It is called Abigails Hostel, and has served us just perfectly.  Here is a picture of our quaint little room that overlooks the Liffey River.  Pardon my roomies who are busy surfin' the net and making their beds..

So we went and ate at Oliver St. John Gogarty's.

And I ate a beef sandwich and chips. Nom nom nom totally hit the spot.

Then, we walked around and saw a ton of little Madeline's!  Be still my heart!  No Ms. Clavel though.

look closely... they are wearing cute hats and skipping merrily along

For all my Mount girls out there, look who I met? Hey Sister Catherine McAuley! I sang the Suscipe with her.

Headed to the famine statues, walked along the river, and then we went and freshened up for dinner.

Dinner was a splurge.  So, so, so yummy.  We ate at a restaurant called Fallon and Byrne.  I had salmon with delicious leeks and a potato cake.  For dessert, I had a Knickerbocker.  What is a Knickerbocker, you ask?  It is like a parfait with whip cream, 'nilla ice cream, pureed strawberries, and crushed meringue.  That is a recipe for deliciousness right there.

Then, we went back to Gogarty's Pub and I tried a Kilkenny beer.  I'll give that a 7/10 on the beer taste scale.

Ok, so I am trying to get some beauty rest, when I wake up to a ton of F-bombs being dropped on the street below our window.  Then someone was being beaten with a bottle.  DRAMA, DRAMA! Then they saw me spying from my 3rd story window and offered to "shag me." No thanks. I'll pass.  It was interesting, to say the least.  So that was entertaining in a bad way for a good 3 hours.

Next morning: woke up early, went and toured Dublin Castle.  So neat!  Then, had a traditional Irish Breakfast.  Again, nom nom nom.  It was so much food, whenever I ate something, I felt like the other foods were feeling left out. Weird, I know, but I was sure to finish it all.  Topped that off with a chocolate eclair and I was good for the rest of the day.

Portabella, poached egg, tomato, 2 types of pudding, 2 pieces of toast, bacon, sausage, Irish relish, and something else scrumptious hiding under the toast that I don't know the name of

Then, we went to the Molly Malone statue.  It is good luck to rub her bosom; I did not strike this pose just because I thought it'd be cool.

After that, we headed to Christ Church Cathedral.  Beautiful, but like I said, I am still trying to learn to appreciate old cathedrals.

However, I did appreciate what we did next. VIKING MUSEUMMM! I was on the lookout for Eric Northman's relatives the whole time.  True Blood reference.  But at the museum I realized that I don't like wax figures as much as I used to.  They creep me out a lot.  Except this guy, who was there to emphasize that Vikings used to use moss for toilet paper.  He was on a makeshift toilet, and whenever someone came by, a recording would go off making... ahem... flatulence noises and asking for more moss.  I hung out there for awhile and just laughed... I needed an immature moment.

After that, we did a lot of people watching. A whole lot. And it was marvelous. We are now getting ready to board our plane to Bath.  We will spend tonight (the 8th) and tomorrow night there before we head to Oxford.  Hip hip, hoooooray!

Pray for safe travels!

Barbara

WE'RE HERRRRRRE!

GOTCHA! We aren't in Ireland.  We are here. And by here, I mean the Philadelphia airport.  We rushed through our Philly cheesesteak sandwiches to get rushed to wait for... 3 hours. 3 hours! Apparently as we got to our gate, thinking we'd be boarding in 15 or so minutes, our flight hadn't even left Orlando to be here. Oy vez.

Oh well, we are spending the time going through Elizabeth's fantastic guidebooks and deciding where to feast once we finally do arrive.  And what cathedrals, museums, yadda yadda yadda, to see.  I'm not really one for museums and cathedrals... I figure once you've seen one, you've seen them all.  But I am trying to adjust that attitude.  Bring on the old churches!

Before this delay, we had 2 successful plane flights.  Except for when I weighed my suitcase at the airport and it was 9 pounds over.  Oops!  I was able to remove about 6 pounds of clothes (including some I would have rather not had the airport staff and its patrons seeing...) and just gave up.  Mom filled a grocery sack up with clothes I had to remove and took that stuff home.  I'll pay the fee for the small extra amount. I need my shoes!  Here's a picture a cute army dude took of us before we left the LR airport.  Note: he told me to smile big. And I listened.  I had to obey him- he was wearing army fatigues! And I am excited duhhhhhh

We have all made quite the dent in our books.. I think Elizabeth already finished hers actually.  In a few hours, it's time for a sleeping pill and hopefully a good night's rest so we can wake up refreshed to Carpe the Dublin tomorrow afternoon.  Unfortunately we might not be hearing people say "top o' the morning to ya" because of our delay.

I'll write more once I finally have something exciting to write!