Day 3- From Killer Sharks to King's College Evensong

Here's a quick update for an incredible day at Cambridge.
We had one last wonderful breakfast at Keble College right at 8 bells so we could get on the road to Cambridge with the Lemcios. Glad Gene is feeling better.
As we headed out of town, Gene wanted us to see the killer shark in Headington.

Now isn't that a juxtaposition to all the grandeur we've been experiencing!
Gene took us on a speed walking tour to see the various colleges in Cambridge including, Trinity, Clare and Kings. Loved seeing the "punting on the River Cam." Cambridge is much smaller then Oxford-- but truly worth exploring.

Since Gene did his doctoral studies at Clare and Trinity Colleges, he had a 'Camcard' that got us into all the colleges for free, including a place at the beginning of the queue (or line, for you uncivilized Americans....) for King's College Evensong, a heavenly service where we sat in the honored "member seats" (wood-carved centuries ago) directly behind the choir boys. Photos were not aloud but of course Jan snapped some from her purse! The windows, the ceilings, the carvings-- this place is so glorious and experiencing a service was truly divine (Jan cried). We also found the "RA"  Henry the XIII (!) had carved into the choir screen to honor "Regina Anna" (his wife, Anne Boleyn) which was completed just before he had her beheaded! (Thanks Rick Steves' guidebook for that tidbit!) I wish we could describe every photo, but we'd need Gene here to do it and we need to get to sleep! :) Please enjoy our photos below!

This evening we are at the Tyndale House- ("...Doorway to Biblical Studies.") http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/

It's the cutest cottage with spiral staircases to connect the 3 floors: kitchen and bath, living area and upstairs bed (loft, really!). It's perfect and we are so grateful Lemcios could set it up for us! We enjoyed dinner with them this evening at a wonderfully quaint pub called The Green Man. http://www.thegreenmangrantchester.co.uk/

We're sorry we have to part ways with Lemcios tomorrow-- but further adventures await, like Ken driving on the left (a la WRONG) side... it's a trip, for sure!
We really can't imagine a better start to this amazing "holiday"-- we are so grateful! Looking forward to Ely Cathedral and two nights ahead in York before Durham!

Day Two- More Oxford, special invitation from Lord of the Manor

What a wonderful day 2 of visiting Oxford. We started with breakfast in fantastic Keble Hall-- much like the Harry Potter dining room. We met new friends Andrea and John who were there for a Keble College reunion. They were quite amused we had stayed there, of all places. Andrea was a grad of the engineering school. They lived a couple hours away in a town called Redding and even John was amazed at the hall and overall atmosphere and vibe of the college. He wanted us to know most of England is NOT like Oxford! When we explained our itinerary to him he said we'll be seeing more of England than he has, and he was born here.

Anyway, Diane met us after breakfast. Gene isn't feeling well so he stayed home to rest for our trip to Cambridge tomorrow. We missed him today but Diane was a great tour guide. We started at the Covered Market which is quaint and fascinating. We saw goodies and meats and trinkets, oh my!

 Then we were off to the tower at University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. (I wonder if they call it UCSMV!?) We climbed the tower which gave us a bird's eye view of Oxford at every angle-- breathtaking! (I only had a tiny reaction to the sun-- I'm pretty well-covered in my touristy-looking sun-protective wear!) Here's Ken's "selfie" with his big ol' finger pointing at the deck right above the clock where you can walk  around if you pay $4 to climb the tower.

Then we went to New College, where Gene and Diane lived years back. We loved the lush garden and "The Mound" and spent some time in the amazing chapel (had to sneak pictures) and the Cloisters (like a memorial courtyard). Very Harry Potter-esque.

By then we were ready for a stop at Blackwell's Bookshop for coffee and treats. YUM. Then we returned to our room to change for the reception to which Gene and Diane had been invited-- sorry for Gene to miss it. It was our ticket into Magdalen College-- which has, like other schools, an incredible chapel, cloisters, and a magnificent lawn/courtyard where the party was (we never saw the person who was being celebrated!). There we met Robert Spencer Bernard, Lord of the Manor at Nether Winchendon House. He is the present owner of Nether Winchendon House, a Medieval and Tudor manor house that has passed by family descent for over 450 years and remains a family home to this day. Gene met Mr. Bernard on one of his walks and struck up a conversation over the 1662 matins (morning services) and evensong services at the local church. Gene and Diane were invited to the reception along with their "American guests" (us!). We had strawberries and cream out on the lawn with a refreshing beverage amongst the elite and well-educated Dukes and Duchessess (Duchi? perhaps...). I think we saw Lord and Lady Grantham...(actually when we told Sir Robert that we tried to get into 'Downton Abbey' (Highclere Castle) he said, "If I had known I could have arranged something with the Lord of the Manor there...he comes down quite often to Buckinghamshire to visit...indeed!) Jan's parting words to him were, "We anxiously await an invitation to your home!" That was even before we saw how prestigious it really is after we looked online (quite a few movie credits!) I (Jan now) enjoyed Lord Robert immensely and said to Diane as we walked out, "I feel like I just chatted with Prince Charles."

After Diane left us to head back to Gene, we taxi'd back to our room and changed back into touring clothes. We walked a LOT, doing the shops on Cornmarket Street-- mainly modern shops (I bought a UK hair dryer!)-- and we are still on the hunt for a cheap watch for Ken since that filthy robber took his drugstore Casio which he loved. (Stay tuned as that exciting adventure is sure to unfold!)
On our way back out we poked our head into the Keble College Chapel. What beautiful mosaics with the afternoon sun streaming into this silent and holy place. I loved the Noah's ark one.

We were quite ready for a meal and found a nice supper at Wig and Pen. Ken had a Yorkshire pudding wrap and I enjoyed a delicious chicken breast with bacon, BBQ sauce and cheese. It was a nice yet affordable find.

Our friends Marvin and Linda will be amused to know we did laundry AGAIN-- but only because last night we found a token for a free wash in the laundry room, so why not start again tomorrow with all clean clothes? (Ok, I admit it-- I have laundry OCD!) Why not do a batch (again, free!) while reading the Rick Steve's Guidebook for tomorrow's visit to Cambridge? (He completely blows off Oxford-- tsk tsk!) Can't wait for another exciting day and can't wait to lay my head down to sleep!

Day One- London to Oxford

Flew into London and caught the bus to Oxford-- but had to get British pounds first. We laughed because they actually would have accepted US$, and we had no cash! (Truth is we weren't laughing because we were pretty tired-- didn't sleep much on the plane, and missed the first bus to Oxford because of that little snafu.)
The 1.5 hrs bus ride was uneventful until we actually got into Oxford proper. Wow-- everything you'd imagine of a quaint English town-- homes and stores in rows (next to each other) and narrow streets-- and super old churches and amazing architecture.

Diane and Gene met us at Gloucester Green Station as we arrived on the bus-- we were happy to see them and they are helping us make a smooth transition to the Mother Country! We hopped in a taxi for a quick ride to Keble College, where we're staying for 2 nights. It's amazing-- fantastic courtyard and a choir rehearsing in the chapel as we checked in.

Our room is in the "modern" part-- and by modern we mean the 60's. It's fine-- I knew we might get placed in there, especially since I asked for quiet. It's kinda Ikea-like, but we don't care much because we just want to sleep.

But first, Gene and Diane took us for a sight-seeing walk on the main shopping avenue and major thoroughfares... what a cool place. Ken got us sim cards for our phones, I actually went into a shoe store (Clarks--ha!), and we got a taste of what we will do more of tomorrow-- old and new.
We stopped by Bodleian Libraray-- wowser-- got in free because of Gene's library card. And then lovely Christ Church Meadow and the grounds-- tomorrow we go into Christ Church. Can't wait.

We ended the evening with dinner at the Eagle and Child Pub (or Bird and Babe, as Lewis and Tolkein called it). It's where they used to hang out-- what a quaint place! Ken had the fish and chips and I was an American loser and had a burger-- but it had been a long time since we'd eaten and I was ready for a protein hit!

Great conversation with Gene and Diane and it's so nice to start our trip with them!
We have some reception with some "lord of the manor" (I'm hoping it's Lord Grantham) with Gene and Diane tomorrow, so we did some laundry tonight (believe it or not) since we were wearing the clothes we need for this social occasion! But now we're ready to crash after showers and touching base with both boys-- weird it's just 1:30 pm our time but definitely feels like 9:30 here (or later) since we basically missed a night's sleep. Looking forward to a great day tomorrow, starting with English breakfast in Keble Hall!