Awesome Oxford Authors

Our trip to Oxford this past weekend was a tour of the city, hunting down historical authors from our childhoods. J.R.R. Tolkien (Hobbit and Lord of the Rings), C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia), and Lewis Carroll A.K.A. Charles Dodgson (Alice in Wonderland). All were Oxford graduates and professors. We were exploring how they spent their lives.

First, we went to the pub where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis got together with other writers on a weekly basis. They would talk about their writing over a pint or two. They referred to themselves as the Inklings. This went on for almost 20 years, ending in 1949. In our visit to the Eagle and Child, we discovered it is the place to be if you are American.

We walked around Christ's Church College (below), where Lewis Carroll created Alice's Adventures in Wonderland when telling stories to Alice Liddell and her sisters in the gardens. The stories were also told when rowing down the River Thames near the college. We sat along the river for quite a while to absorb the sun, while watching the competing rowers. Alice's father was the Dean of Christ's Church at the time.

Christ's Church College is also where the dining hall for Harry Potter was filmed and based off.  

 This is the shop  where Alice would go and get sweets back in the 1860s. The shop was in Through the Looking Glass as The Old Sheep Shop.

Below is a picture Magdalen College. It was closed to visitors, but I snuck in to take a peek. Magdelen (pronounced something like Maudlen) was where C.S. Lewis was a member and fellow (so was Oscar Wilde, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Seamus Heaney). Didn't see much cause I was worried about getting caught. Kirby took his turn to sneak into Exeter College where J.R.R.Tolkien went to college. Kirby and I both walked into Merton College where Tolkien (and T.S. Eliot) taught. In order to "sneak in" at these colleges, you have to act as though you know where you are going, have an "air of confidence" like a student would, and walk right on past the Porter's Lodge. The Porter is similar to an information desk.

We had lunch twice at the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. It was really neat inside and we loved the french food! Perfect for escaping the cold.

It's nice knowing that we can travel with the baby. We have to be careful and take it slow at times, but that can be nice. Our next big plans are for Amsterdam. I hope I have the energy- when we got home from Oxford I didn't want to anything the next day! It was nice doing some "tourist" stuff because I don't do a lot of that living in, but not "visiting," Cambridge. I think Juniper will be jealous that she got to do a lot of travelling but have no recollection of it. She will probably want to study abroad in 20 years!

It Speaks for Itself

The English dress well by day but this is the English by night. . .

An early Christmas present from Kirby.

What does "family friendly" mean anyway?

Last night, Kirby and I decided we wanted to take advantage of our opportunities at Cambridge. Every Tuesday there is an informational session (and tea of course!) on various topics about England and Cambridge for visiting scholars and newcomers to the university. I have gone a couple times. They also set up tables with brochures on activities around the city. By the way, there is an amazing amount to things going on in this city- it's overwhelming really. The newcomers group also has events such as tours and talks in off-the-beaten-path places here in the city- our kinda thing!
So we got tickets to go to the secretive Master's Lodge (the accommodations for the head of the college) at Emmanuel College for wine and a talk on Antarctica. All these kind of events are supposed to be family friendly unless noted otherwise. I had the baby when I got the tickets, so no surprise about who was coming with me. So we got dressed up and headed out on a windy evening across town. We knew we were testing new waters. When we got there, people were friendly to us and the baby. We got our wine and mingled a bit. The speaker (didn't know at the time) entertained Juniper a few moments. Not bad, although it did seem that most of the people were older than us- maybe visiting scholars (professors) and not so much students. Ya know what, I wonder what they mean by newcomers, this isn't the sort of thing for undergrads. I'm not even sure about the graduate students? It was probably fine but I am suspicious.
When it was time for the talk, the organizer had us sit in the front row, next to the door to the entryway. It was where the stroller was and made a convenient escape. This made sense to me at the time- an "out" if we needed it.  Being the slow to think of things person that I am, it wasn't till later during the talk that I realized how nice it would have been to sit close to the living room which was attached to the room the talk was in. It would have been comfortable in the living room and Juniper would not have been a problem. She is not one to all-of-a-sudden start screaming. So she was entertained for 25 minutes sitting on my lap, looking at the speaker and slides, while chewing on my stylish baby toy necklace (thanks Aimee, it sure has come in handy!). When she started to get fussy a little, I gave her the boob. I had hoped before going that this would happen and then she would fall asleep for the rest of the talk, but she slept on the way over instead. (Hmmm, now I see how I could have planned a little differently- oh the manipulation of baby life!). Off to the entryway Juniper and I went!
That's when I realized I was pretty much trapped in a closet. I couldn't go outside because I would be locked out and I couldn't go back in and interrupt. I was trapped until the presentation was over. Twenty minutes and a diaper change later, we went back in. Everyone later commented on how good Juniper was.
On the walk home, Kirby and I both realized we were a little more stressed than we thought we were. It wasn't a bad time. It was a good in between venue to test out- not too formal, but more than informal. Part of the problem is that I can't seem to tell if it was a case of them acting like it was okay to have Juniper there but it wasn't really okay. Were they really thinking "what were they thinking bringing a baby," or is it really okay? We weren't ignored, but it was still too awkward. I can't tell if it is me worrying and making things up or if it is intuition speaking. I have such a hard time reading English people, well because I don't know the culture enough. I really don't talk to any on a regular basis, all my new friends are not English. Overall, it was too awkward and not worth it. There are plenty of other things to do here. Gotta stick to other events with other families. We just got to get used to busy days with kids and quiet evenings at home. If we want to go to these special formal opportunities together it will have to wait till we are ready for a babysitter (mom why can't you be here too?).  If I go to the session on Tuesday and they are all like "oh that was great you brought the baby, we are trying to get more families to come," I don't know what will I do. Try to keep leading the way? Blindly maybe. The talk on Antarctica was relevant to Juniper's life ahead, she needs to stand up for her generation, right?

Juniper's Gone Bananas



Three weeks ago, we started Juniper on food. A few days of rice cereal and then on to bananas. She has really enjoyed the bananas. She is good eater! We started carrots a few days ago but she is not as keen on them. She has since stopped helping feed herself, like in the pictures below. We will probably do the Brits' favorite vegetable next. Peas. (Although maybe potatos are really their favorite? But who feeds a baby potatos?)
I didn't realize that human food would make breast feeding seem so easy. But I enjoy our time spent feeding her with the spoon. So does her daddy. We feed her in the same yellow bowl. She is trained already. She shows excitement when the yellow bowl is in sight. She still likes momma milk best though!

Runt on a Punt

We finally got around to punting- four days before the season ends and they take the boats out of the water. A punt is a type of boat and a famous past-time in Cambridge. You use a pole to move the punt forward. It's a good way to see the colleges from the river Cam.
Kirby had one lesson before his term started. Off we went with that single experience. It was a windy day but a decent temperature, until Kirby fell in. Just kidding, although I have met people who fell in because the pole got stuck in the mud and they didn't let go. I lost the pole in the mud when I took my turn at it. Don't worry, I didn't fall in either. Luckily, we had a paddle with us. 

The colleges in Cambridge are very old. The university is 800 years old. I don't know all the dates on these buildings but they are older than our country. 

This is the most strenuous thing I have done since having the baby! It really wasn't that bad. Good for my muscles. Kirby was a real gentleman and let me take my turn upstream and against the wind. Some of tour guides had about 15 people on a punt. We overheard the tour guide talking about this strange duck and its weird wings. Maybe an escapee from the Cambridge biology labs? Have you ever seen one like this?

 We rented the punt from Kirby's college. It is one of the only colleges with its own punts. Each college has its own perks. This picture is of Darwin's library. Poor Kirby has to study there.

Juniper seemed to enjoy herself. She usually does when she has mommy's lap and a toy. She enjoyed watching Kirby. She took a nice snack and nap along the way. Part of the fun of punting is to take along wine and snacks. It's very romantic. Maybe next time we will take some wine.