So, one of the perks of being over here in Europe and my work schedule (I got LUCKY) is that I can travel on weekends--pocketbook permitting. This weekend, I had booked tickets on the Eurostar (far enough in advance to be affordable) to bullet train over to England for a couple of days to see Ken & Lynn Wilson; who are, best explained, like my "other" parents Honestly, being in there home feels like being back in Oregon a bit, and even knowing that I would get to see them two weeks after coming back to the continent made it a lot easier leaving my own.
Ken is midway through a theological doctoral program there at Oxford, University. I arrived Friday afternoon and we promptly went to check out The Eagle & the Child, a well-known pub in Oxford. I’ve wanted to visit this pub for a long time because it is the place where the “Inklings” met every Tuesday evening for some 20 years. The “Inklings” were a group of well known men and literary minds of Oxford ca. 1930-40s, most notable JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. I had my first British ale there. :)
The next day, we got in the car and drove to Stratford-upon-Avon. I was giddy about this because I have studied a lot Shakespeare’s work in the past as well as his life and even the “authorship debate” surrounding his existence. I have wanted to visit this town for over 10 years. Which is a lot of my life, actually.... First we visited the church where he was baptised, married and buried, and snuck around the back of it as well to peek at the Avon river itself:
Then, we visited his birthplace and childhood home.
Outside this home, were some actors in the courtyard, eager to entertain and offered us an outdoor impromptu rendition of the Gravedigger’s scene of Hamlet. It was, to put it in British terms, lovely.
After downing lunch and another wonderful British ale (the French have nothing on the beer to be found across the Channel....) at the oldest pub in Stratford, welcoming its visitor with the sign:
We then took off to catch a glimpse at Warwick (pronounced “Warrick”) Castle, the best preserved castle in England. We took a tour and poked around until after sunset. The most fascinating part was that each level of the castle was dedicated to a different time period, and so each era of the castle’s existence is well represented. I particularly loved the armour....
The next day, we set off for the windy locale of Stonehenge. I have to laugh because I have wanted to see this also for a very long time, ever since the days of “GeoSafari” in my childhood. There was a card for the GeoSafari for the Wonders of the World (and other monuments too) and Stonehenge was on it. As a child I vowed to visit all of the places and I have been checking them off as I travel. It’s awesome.
Stonehenge was amazing. We listened to a highly speculative tour on the matter and I took a billion pictures. Which, is not highly characteristic of me, but I’m trying to get better at it.
That afternoon, I had the idea to go see the newest of the Narnia films. I’d been wanting to see it and cannot find it shown in English in Paris. Also, Narnia was born there in Oxford....it was in utterly American terms this time “way cool” to see it there. (I was particularly impressed by the sea serpent in the film, wow!) Then, we went to an evening service at an Anglican church where the Bishop of Oxford cameo-ed in scripture reading, and a boy’s choir sang. It was beautiful! The next morning, as I had to leave around Noon, we walked around Oxford a bit and climbed the infamous tower, where Bloody Mary’s Christian prisoner’s where kept before martyrdom and looked out on the city....
We stood before the oldest tower in Oxford,
Walked by the church where John Wesley preached,
And I got to buy a book in English at Blackwell’s well-known bookstore. :)
And by that time, I’m sure the Wilson’s were tired from showing me around so well! I came back to Paris the way that I went and returned "chez moi" physically tired but in all other ways refreshed. I got to see some wonderful things, but most importantly had a really, really wonderful weekend with Ken and Lynn. I didn’t know it, but I needed it. Thank you!!
Ken is midway through a theological doctoral program there at Oxford, University. I arrived Friday afternoon and we promptly went to check out The Eagle & the Child, a well-known pub in Oxford. I’ve wanted to visit this pub for a long time because it is the place where the “Inklings” met every Tuesday evening for some 20 years. The “Inklings” were a group of well known men and literary minds of Oxford ca. 1930-40s, most notable JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. I had my first British ale there. :)
The next day, we got in the car and drove to Stratford-upon-Avon. I was giddy about this because I have studied a lot Shakespeare’s work in the past as well as his life and even the “authorship debate” surrounding his existence. I have wanted to visit this town for over 10 years. Which is a lot of my life, actually.... First we visited the church where he was baptised, married and buried, and snuck around the back of it as well to peek at the Avon river itself:
Then, we visited his birthplace and childhood home.
Outside this home, were some actors in the courtyard, eager to entertain and offered us an outdoor impromptu rendition of the Gravedigger’s scene of Hamlet. It was, to put it in British terms, lovely.
After downing lunch and another wonderful British ale (the French have nothing on the beer to be found across the Channel....) at the oldest pub in Stratford, welcoming its visitor with the sign:
We then took off to catch a glimpse at Warwick (pronounced “Warrick”) Castle, the best preserved castle in England. We took a tour and poked around until after sunset. The most fascinating part was that each level of the castle was dedicated to a different time period, and so each era of the castle’s existence is well represented. I particularly loved the armour....
The next day, we set off for the windy locale of Stonehenge. I have to laugh because I have wanted to see this also for a very long time, ever since the days of “GeoSafari” in my childhood. There was a card for the GeoSafari for the Wonders of the World (and other monuments too) and Stonehenge was on it. As a child I vowed to visit all of the places and I have been checking them off as I travel. It’s awesome.
Stonehenge was amazing. We listened to a highly speculative tour on the matter and I took a billion pictures. Which, is not highly characteristic of me, but I’m trying to get better at it.
That afternoon, I had the idea to go see the newest of the Narnia films. I’d been wanting to see it and cannot find it shown in English in Paris. Also, Narnia was born there in Oxford....it was in utterly American terms this time “way cool” to see it there. (I was particularly impressed by the sea serpent in the film, wow!) Then, we went to an evening service at an Anglican church where the Bishop of Oxford cameo-ed in scripture reading, and a boy’s choir sang. It was beautiful! The next morning, as I had to leave around Noon, we walked around Oxford a bit and climbed the infamous tower, where Bloody Mary’s Christian prisoner’s where kept before martyrdom and looked out on the city....
We stood before the oldest tower in Oxford,
Walked by the church where John Wesley preached,
And I got to buy a book in English at Blackwell’s well-known bookstore. :)
And by that time, I’m sure the Wilson’s were tired from showing me around so well! I came back to Paris the way that I went and returned "chez moi" physically tired but in all other ways refreshed. I got to see some wonderful things, but most importantly had a really, really wonderful weekend with Ken and Lynn. I didn’t know it, but I needed it. Thank you!!
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