roma...

we are in rome, "borrowing" internet from a neighbor in trastevere. so many blogs to post. so little bandwidth.

fyi:

the best gelatto is in perugia.
the film location for 'under the tuscan sun' is as beautiful as it looks.
venice is still romantic, but get it while it lasts, folks!
may seems to be the perfect month to visit italy.
photos and more words to come.

our last day

It's our last day and I just can't bring myself to pack that carry-on and throw away our old tooth brushes. We have one last European adventure and then we're back in Baltimore.

last minute finds

Two nights ago Jason and I had dinner at a place called The Big Bang in Jericho, a neighborhood in Oxford. All they server is bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) in a dizzying variety of flavors. All their sausages are organic and local and the menu suggests both good beer and good mash pairings. Jericho seems to be the place to go for food. We had already found our favorite lebanese place, Al Shami, which is right around the corner, and last night at Jason's going away pub trip, several other places were suggested to us that are right around the other corner.

And for dessert-not to be missed on a trip to Oxford- G+D Cafe for ice cream. Not the best ice cream we had in the UK (see post about Wales) but incredible nonetheless. Thick and creamy. Jason had super &^*! chocolate and i had heath bar crunch (but it was called dime bar crunch). Mine was as vanilla as the most vanilla bean and his was really super &*^! chocolate.

Tonight we are off to the home of one of Jason's consultants but there is always Thursday, Friday, and next time.

our boxes are gone

Today Walker Freight came to take our boxes away and send them back to BWI.

We are off to Italy on Saturday and home on the 22nd. There are still a few posts to post and pictures to take.

It's gone by so fast...

May Day disappointment

We woke up at 5am today to got to the May Day singing of a medieval Eucharist Hymn from the top of the Magdalen College tower in Oxford. Unfortunately, the bridge on which people gather to view the spectacle was closed and we watch from the town side with all the drunken college kids from the other university (Oxford Brooks University).

Presumably, the bridge was closed to stop the annual leap from it into the River Cherwell where, in 2005, 18 people leapt to find the Cherwell had only 18" of water. One person was paralysed. Notwithstanding, this morning the news showed three very wet tuxedo-clad boys. Ah Darwin...

picnic in the beautiful weather

The nice thing about Jason working nights is that, after his nap, he's free for picnic lunch/linner/dunch in the park.

nationalised health care

Jason had to go to the dentist this week.

This is him in the waiting room.









This is the waiting room.

sending prayers towards home

A few days ago my granduncle passed away. We wish, more than ever, that we could be home now to hug and grieve with our family.

manly kleenex

So we were at the market and we saw this. I'm not sure if it's made it to the US.



It's Kleenex for men. I put the normal sized Kleenex on the side for comparison. The box is more than a foot long and a little more than half a foot wide. What is it, exactly, that men are wiping?

Jason said the box had to be so big so it could fit the whole shirt sleeve.

sunday at the oxford canal

After documenting the pub we took a walk along the Oxford Canal.

spring weekend at home

As taxes loomed and tummies got back to normal we decided to spend this past weekend at home. There is a pub in Old Marston called the Victoria Arms on the banks of the River Cherwell. We've been eyeing it from across the river, but have never had the chance to go. On Saturday, after wading through our extension forms and writing checks, we drove out to the "Vicky," it was called in a review. With apologies to Lauren, who has read some of this before..

I'm not sure if it is the pub culture or a history of living in villages that makes the free houses and pubs in this country so lively and inviting. Perhaps we have analogous natural phenomena in America, but I don't think the planned community or even the neighborhood is a proxy for the 'country' village and certainly most bars, while they may serve grub, are not pubs as we've come to experience them. Maybe it's the 1000 years of mostly homogeneous human development (Oxfordshire celebrates its thousanth birthday this year) and America will come around once it grows out of its awkward stage.

everyone was lying on the grass with their ciders. some had punted from oxford and moored at the lawn. kids were playing tag. a herd of cows waded into the river for a drink. a new daddy made faces at his daughter on his lap. spring has become fragrant and comfortable and as the sun set and the cherry blossoms floated to the ground it was spring at its pinnacle.







(we didn't have our camera with us on Saturday. These photos were taken on Sunday when we returned to document.)

just silliness

and this too...

Did you know there was a medical center in Terminal 2F at Charles De Gaul airport? Neither did we.




He's fine. Just a little viral gastritis.

Ah Paris...

This is way out of sequence as we went to Edinburgh before Paris, but I love this photo and had to post it before I got around to reflecting on the Scots Independence movement or the French.

a note on advocaat

The Choco-Late festival also had a number of other booths related to food and drink. There was a spice booth that smelled otherworldly and a booth selling dutch genever and advocaat. I mention this only because my opa was a gin and tonic man and my oma loved a small jewel-like crystal glass of advocaat. I missed them.

chocolate chocolate and chocolate

I just couldn't put all the photos of Brugge on one page. Outside the train station a large bunny handed us a flier announcing the chocolate festival going on that weekend. We think, however, that this is maybe where we picked up our little stomach bug.

beer chocolate and mussels

not necessarily in that order....

While Bunny and George went on a tour around the city and to Versailles, Jason and I went to Brugge. The small, quaint, slightly touristy city is a quick three hours away by speedy TGV train.





In this little church they have, what they say is, a few drops of Jesus' blood. If you are so inclined, you can touch the plexiglass sneeze-guard that covers the vial. After each person the priest wipes the cover and hands out a little pamphlet.

the rest of Edinburgh

Edinburgh (pronounced "edn-BURR-ah" see/listen Krulwich on Science) was vibrant and dirty and alive. We loved it.

The castle, and heart of the city, seemed to be chisled from the rock from which it reigned. Perhaps it was the weather, brisk and bright during the day and cold and clear at night, that made the city feel so alive. Perhaps it was the steep slopes, like an Escher drawing, with people in constant motion. or the deep gash of Princes Street Gardens, only just beginning to bloom but teeming with fribee players, readers, loungers, walkers.

Off the 'Royal Mile' are narrow passageways and small closes with interesting names and intruiging architecture. The pleasure of walking down the street doesn't come from windowshopping for yet another tam o'shanter with fake red hair, but from venturing down these alleys- sometimes down stairs sometimes into cavernous 16th century courtyards.

The View to Calton Hill from the castle was beautiful and the view from it towards the Forth of Firth was crystal clear.

For dinner we met Bunny and George in Leith. It felt a bit like a fledgling Harbor Place with an American-style mall and everything. The mall has, as one of its anchor attractions, the old royal yacht (cruise ship) Britannia. Jason and I were going to visit it, but we decided to save our money and, instead, had a little snack and some cake overlooking it in the cafe and a cruise around the gift shop. The souvenir book had lots of great pics and a handy map. Felt like you were there.

We had dinner at fisher's bistro. We sat in the bar, but it was still very good and came recommended by guide books and local alike. According to Bunny and George, also a great place to sit by the water and have a beer or a chardonay. There was also, what looked like, a good wine bar The Waterfront and its sister restaurant on the water. Maybe next time.

your father smelt of elderberries....

On our second day we went on a "West Highlands Castles and Lochs" tour with Rabbies. Not only was our tourguide, Tony, capable and funny, but he could do a dead-on Sean Connery. You may recognize this as the castle defended by the insulting Frenchmen in Monty Python's 'Holy Grail.' The lady at the gift shop has a basket of coconut shells for fan photos.

etymology note: Tony suggested, and I'm not sure if this is true, that it was at this location, on the banks of the River Teith (pronounced 'teeth') where the lairds of the castle used to require men to leave their swords and knives and from where we get the phrase "armed to the teeth."

Hello, Dolly!

We arrived in Edinburgh having flown from Birmingham Airport. Our train tickets from Oxford to Birmingham International on Virgin Rail were twice as expensive as our tickets to Edinburgh on BMI Baby. Not living close to London we have not had occasion to use RyanAir, but the phenomenon of cheap air travel in this country is amazing. Our tickets cost £10.99. Tickets at a slightly earlier time cost £7.99, but I thought it would be better to sleep in and not rush.



We had just enough time for a walk around the National Museum of Scotland before it closed. They are "two iconic buildings one great museum". On one side is the complete history of the country in seven stories- including the formation of the earth and the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. On the other is a Victorian light-filled nave of science and industry. On this side we found an exhibit of Art and Industry that spoke directly to my heart. It was a small exhibit, one large room, filled with objects that typify the height of design and industry of their age.

It is unclear whether or not this is the real Dolly of cloned fame. I believe it is. Jason disagrees. Either way...she is on a strange rotating plinth complete with a few pebbles of sheep poop (not pictured).

After the museum, but before the sun set and subzero temperatures set in, we had our usual walkabout. We split up from Bunny and George for a little while, walked up the many stairs to the castle and met for dinner, in its shadow, at The Lot. The food was comforting and the wine was better. I'm disappointed we didn't get to hear any music tat night. It is also a great venue, or so I've read, for jazz and traditional Scottish music.