Oxford

This weekend, Siv and I went to Oxford. We visited some of the colleges (beautiful!); got a drink at the pub where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to hang out (nerdy!); went to Evensong at Christ Church cathedral; visited the Bodleian Library and Ashmolean Museum; took lots of long walks by the river; met up with Siv's friend Ginger, who is a Rhodes Scholar; and stayed in a hostel run by some crazy Australians. It was loads of fun.

Bath

Well, not much new to report, I've just been working on my essay. Last weekend Siv and I went to a Bath rugby game, which was tons of fun - I've included a picture. We also went to church at the Abbey (beautiful!) and had tea at the Pump Rooms afterwards - we felt like Ladies Who Lunch. The weather has been beautiful except for one or two rainy days, and I have enjoyed walking around the town and walking up and down to school every day. I hope it lasts a little while longer, anyway.

Meanwhile, I am so disturbed by the news from home - Bush vetoing the SCHIP bill (and the subsequent child-smearing campaign)?! Susan Orr's appointment?! Bush threatening World War III?! What is going on, America?!

I am off to Oxford this weekend whether my paper is done or not, and I'm really looking forward to it. I've never been there before, but I've been wanting to go for some time. I promise to post pictures afterwards!

Torquay

Sorry for the long hiatus! I have been scrambling around moving, and getting back into the habit of studying, and meeting lots of new people, and just settling in. I spent a couple of weekends at Kyla's, doing wedding planning and just puttering around, which was lots of fun. It's great to be so close by. And this weekend, I went on a little trip to Torquay, which is on the south coast of England (you might know it as the setting of Fawlty Towers - although we stayed in a bohemian backpackers hostel - and the hometown of Agatha Christie), with Siv, another girl from Seattle. The weather was beautiful, and we had a wonderful time walking along the coast, watching England beat Australia at rugby in a pub, and being thoroughly charmed by just about everything.

I'll try to be more diligent about updates! Life just isn't so exciting when there's homework involved. But I'm not complaining, Bath is great and life is good!

Bath

Well, I'm getting settled in here in Bath! I have limited internet access right now, but I will write more once I have my internet set up at home.

Budapest

Well, our trip is coming to an end! Just one full day left in Budapest. We've really enjoyed it, though. Our hostel is adorable, and we've been having a good time seeing all the sights. Yesterday, we went to the Synagogue, which is the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world, after the one in New York. The woman, Aggie, who did our tour was amazing, and told us all about the history of the Jewish community in Budapest right up through the Holocaust and into the present. We were shocked to learn about how late the Hungarian Holocaust started, and how quickly it was achieved. We visited the Jewish Museum and the memorial garden, with a beautiful sculpture donated by Tony Curtis, of all people! Then, we went for lunch at a place nearby that was recommended by Olga, who runs our hostel, and walked by the Basilica and Opera House on the way to the Terror Museum, which chronicles the history of the secret police in Hungary. When we came out, it had begun to rain, but we still trekked up to Heroes' Square before dinner.

Today, we visited the National Museum, which has a temporary exhibition on the Mongolian invasion, and then ventured across the Danube to Buda. We wandered around a little bit, but were kind of tired of sightseeing, so we spent the afternoon at the thermal baths and got massages. It was amazing.

Tomorrow, I think we're going to take a day trip. Maybe go wine-tasting in Eger. Sorry this wasn't a very energetic post, but I am so relaxed right now after my massage. Mmmm.