Okay, I
am hoping that I can remember enough about the trip to blog about it here. Bear
with me....
Also, please take a look at a post-dated blog that is below the one telling you
all that I made it home - I had started that one while I was in England but
couldn't finish it until I got home.
The last update post was Friday. Friday night, we got home and had dinner with
friends. I had curry for the first time. Now, I will admit to being slightly
out-of-touch with this (though I don't think I'm along in the States), but I
thought that curry was a sauce that was put on chicken, etc. Nope - curry is a
whole grouping of food, and in this case specifically refers to Indian
influenced food, usually in the form of a rice bowl or something along those
lines. It was delicious - I can't remember the exact name of the dish I had
(I'm sure Tom, who told me about a hundred time what I ate, will help me out here),
but it was a chicken dish with a tomato based sauce, very light and delicious.
And not spicy at all, which was what I thought curry was. So, another learning
experience for me!
Saturday, we slept in. This was a good thing, b/c I was SO TIRED! Once we all
woke up, had breakfast and tea, we headed off to meet the friends for some
punting. Well, first, as we were walking through the center (or, my version of
the center) of the city, there was apparently a dancing festival occurring. It
was definitely a sight - there were troups of people, dressed in these amazing
outfits (think lots of color, lots of pieces of fabric, and clogs with bells on
them), dancing. We finally learned that these are (again, I think...) Morris
dancers, which are a traditional English dance group. They played things like
the accordion, clarinet, etc. and the group of people danced to the music,
usually brandishing some props. Very fun! Anyways, we saw this while heading to
the river (yes, the Thames, a.k.a the Isis in Oxford) to punt.
So, in the most basic form, punting is boating in a long, thin boat using a
pole. Someone stands at the back of the boat (I am not a nautical expert, so
I'm sure there are technical terms to be used here....), and uses the pole to
push the boat along the river. Kind of like a gondola, but not the same thing
at all. We had hit the grocery store and picked up hummus, pita bread, cheese,
chips, and munchies, along with some lemonade to mix with the Pimm's (a
delicious alcoholic beverage that I HIGHLY recommend if you can ever get your
hands on it). We, meaning Rhi, me, Tom and Jim, went in one boat, and friends
Jamie, Ed, Andy and Becca went in the other boat. We were on the river for
almost an hour and a half, and it was wonderful! So relaxing - the river was
pretty busy, and there were a few direct-hits with other boats, but it was all
taken in good fun. I actually got to punt for a while, and in spite of crashing
into the bank of the river three times (once was intentional, as someone had to
relieve themselves), everyone said I did well.
After we were done punting, we headed back to the flat for a little rest before
the big game - rugby. So, I have seen bits and pieces of rugby, and having gone
to a college (SUNY Oswego) that had a rugby team, you hear little bits about
it. But, I had never seen a game. Well, that's changed. I am now a big rugby
fan. We went to a great pub, met up with Rhi's sister, and watched the game. It
was Ireland versus Wales, and Ireland was so far unbeaten in this particular
tournament. Wales, where Rhi and Dell are from, wanted desperately to beat
Ireland. We met some of Rhi's friends at the pub, including Patrick, who is
from Ireland. Needless to say, it got pretty loud and rowdy in the pub. It was
a great game. Everyone told me it was a particularly violent game, but I loved
it. I had a blast listening to everyone root for their team (we rooted for
Wales), and all of the conversations around me were very interesting. Wales, in
the end, lost, but not by much. One thing that was SO nice to see was that, in
spite of the obvious team spirit, people were very gracious with the other
team's supporters, and all was friendly in the end. I had a British beer and a
cider drink (yum!), and probably the best time I have had in a while.
To top off my most British day, we went to yet another pub and ordered dinner.
Tom and Becca had dinner by themselves (they went to university in the States
together and wanted to spend time together since Becca was headed back to
America the next day), and Rhi, Dell, Jim and I had dinner in another room. I
had a Shepard's pie with chicken - very yummy. Then, we headed back to Jamie's
and Ed's, and a VERY intellectual conversation ensued about post-humanism.
Completely over my head, and when my input was asked for, I couldn't give it
because, quite frankly, I didn't have anything to add. It was so far over my
head, it was in space. But, when I mentioned that I was completely outclassed
intellectually and felt dumb, Becca reminded me that what I do for cancer awareness
and advocacy was more important than their conversation. I felt much better
about myself - for a while, I was feeling pretty dumb.
Sunday, we took the bus into London. I was so sad to leave Oxford - it's such
an intriguing town. There is just so much history - but, I digress. The bus
took us into London, which was just like I expected it to look. We got off the
bus and headed literally around the corner to Amelia's flat. It's a gorgeous 2
br, 1 ba flat in an apparently posh neighborhood of London. From there, we
headed to the tourist locations that I visited. We hit a cornish pasty shop
(interesting mix of flavors, etc. - not sure if I need to try another one....).
I don't remember the exact order, but we hit Buckingham Palace first. We
actually came out on Buckingham Palace Road - very swank. When they told me we
were there, I was disappointed. We hit the back end of the palace first, and to
say I was underwhelmed is an understatement. We hit the gift shop, and then
continued down the B.P. Road. And, hit the front of the palace. Oh. My. God.
So, opulent doesn't seem to really capture the extravagance, the over-the-top
decorations, the sheer beauty of this place. In front of the palace were the
guards. In front of them were these high wrought iron fences, topped with
gold-foiled/painted decorations. In front of the fences were these throngs of
people. In front of them was a fountain that was huge and unbelievable. The
gates were unreal - just like you'd expect from the house of a queen. Tall,
ornate with scrolls and the crest of the family, all painted gold and red and
blue and white. The entire square that we were in just oozed royalty. Well,
except for the people snapping pictures, running around talking in many
languages, etc. :-)
From there, we headed towards Parliament. To get there, we had to walk through
St. James' park, which is this lovely green area. One of the things that I
liked about England in the spring was the abundance of the daffodils - in spite
of the just-awakening trees and grass, these bright green daffodils burst forth
from the ground like a riotous celebration of the upcoming spring. It was
wonderful. Those flowers, mixed with the scattered blooming flowering trees
(gorgeous pinks, bright whites), made for a postcard picture. Along the way, as
I was gazing at everything, trying to take in the beauty and remember it all,
we noticed this gentleman that seemed to have the gift of talking with the squirrels. And, gift he had - or, you could call them nuts. Apparently, this
man spent most of his days in the park, with a bag full of pecans, walnuts and
peanuts, entertaining the tourists by calling the squirrels, who come running
at his whistle and either climb his pants to get the nuts or stand on the fence
and eat the nuts out of his hand. It's not just the squirrels, either. The
pigeons also know who he is and what he offers. It was so funny - we spent
probably 20 minutes talking with this gentlemen, who entertained us with
stories about how the animals don't like French tourists! LOL! And, Jimmy got
pictures of the squirrel trying to get food out of my and Tom's hands. I grew
up around squirrels - they abound in the Northeast. I never thought they were
cute, or adorable, or sweet, and the very thought of having one climb up and
try to eat something out of my hands was downright wrong. Until this man. They
were very cute, obviously used to people, and just looking for snackers.
From there, we went to Parliament. We walked through the this financial
district to get there, and it was a very gorgeous view of these magnificent
buildings. Then, I turn a corner, and there's Parliament, and Big Ben.
Now, let me say that the one thing I wanted to see in London was Big Ben. I
don't know why, but there you go. Words absolutely cannot begin to describe the
beauty of these buildings. Stunning. See, somehow that doesn't quite capture
it. Awe-inspiring. Breathtaking. More gorgeous than anything I have ever seen.
Enormous.
Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the clock tower at Parliament.
I had no idea until Tom told me. We had the opportunity to hear the chimes
twice, too, once at 1:15 and again at 1:30. Chills ran up my spine both times.
There is quite a story about Parliament that you can read about here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster. From that link, you can
head to the story about Big Ben. There are also pictures there. They
don't...can't do the buildings justice.
I think we then headed to Westminster Abbey. We couldn't go inside because it
was Sunday, but just being there was completely unreal. I am not a particularly
religious person - I don't go to church, but I have my own personal views on
religion. However, you would have to be a cold, hard, awful person not to be in
awe of the sheer beauty of the buildings at Westminster Abbey. The
architecture, the details in the building, the sheer massiveness of the
structures - if you have a chance, I highly recommend visiting. Oh - while we
were there, a bride walked past us in her gown. So cool.
While we were in that general area, we also saw the Eye of London, which is
this ferris wheel built at the turn of the century and still very much in use
today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_london It's this amazing wheel with
these compartments (kind of shaped like buses) that rotate on the slow wheel.
It's awesome, and I imagine quite fascinating to be on. We didn't do that,
though.
We spent a bit of time walking through the West End, which is the theatre
district. Wicked, Phantom and others were playing. I honestly didn't even
realize that we were in the West End until I had been there for a while - when
we were there, it was pretty unassuming.
Oh - I got to go on the Tube. London has this huge, elaborate subway system,
and we rode on it quite a bit. Unique experience, to be sure. England, matter
of fact, has a very wonderful public transportation system consisting of buses,
the tube, and trains. I wish we had more of this in the States - I think it's a
great way to cut down on using personal vehicles, and would be a huge asset to
us here.
Backing up a bit, on Friday, we learned that Syracuse University (GO ORANGE!)
won their first game in the NCAA March Madness tourney, and would be playing,
of all teams, Arizona State University. I was in England, and missing out on an
opportunity to harass my fellow Arizonans and especially ASU fans. However,
Jim and Tom (both alumni of SU) found a pub that would be playing the game. HA!
So, dutifully at 3pm, we headed to the restaurant portion of the pub to get
some eats, then at 3:45, headed to the room featuring the game. And, surrounded
by fellow SU fans (and the one stray group of ASU fans), we watched Syracuse
cleanly beat ASU, allowing them to make it to the Sweet 16.
After that, we were all exhausted, so we headed back to the flat and relaxed a
little, had dinner, then went to bed.
Monday, sadly, I had to leave. We grabbed breakfast (eggs, mushrooms, roasted
tomato, bacon, toast and hashbrowns - no, I didn't special order the mushrooms
or tomato - apparently, these are standard b'fast fare there), then headed to
the tube to take the hour-long ride to Heathrow. We got me checked in, had a
cup of tea, and then I had to leave. I was so sad to leave the guys, ad yet I
was happy to be heading home to my babies. I hadn't had much of a chance to get
to know Tom previously, and I really enjoyed this experience, getting to know
someone who I consider a brother-in-law. I had so much fun with Jim, getting to
make these memories with him and experiencing these thing with him. I will post
my more personal thoughts about the trip soon, but overall this was a
life-changing opportunity that allowed me to see a part of the world that I
feel very close to now. I met amazing people and feel like I now have friends
all over the world. This trip was just so wonderful, and such an awesome way to
celebrate the end of chemo and the beginning of this next phase in my life.
OH! I almost forgot - on the flight home, they had us on a path that took us
northeast out of London, up over Ireland, into the Arctic circle, over
Greenland and Iceland, then down into Canada into San Francisco. Oh my
goodness. Iceland - very brown and green. Greenland - very white and
cold-looking. We were at about 35,000 feet and 1500+ miles from London when I
thought to look out the window - and saw snow-covered land as far as the eye
could see. It was this expanse of white, reflecting the sunshine. There were
mountainous areas that looked like stacked rocks covered in white blankets. We
flew over spots of the oceans and bays where the surface of the ocean was
covered by these huge, expansive ice sheets. Some were whole. Some were broken
up. Overall, it was by far the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire
lifetime. It was the perfect end to a glorious trip. Here is this landmass that
I never, ever would have had the opportunity to see otherwise, laid out before
me like a bed of blue-white crystals, completely unblemished by humans.
Again, words can't begin to describe it. That is probably the best way to
describe this trip. Truly, a life-altering experience to celebrate a
life-changing illness, the fight for my life, and my kicking of cancer's ass.
Comments:
It
all sounds so beautiful and so much fun. I'm glad you got to experience it and
me through your posts.
March
26, 2009 at 3:44 PM
