This Blessed Plot, This Earth, This Realm 2: May 2013

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Back in Ox! Then to Whistable! And then St. Albans!

Well, I was GOING to post these individually with their pictures but then my computer froze up on me and that plan was kiboshed. Is kiboshed a verbed? Well, I just made it one.

So, on Saturday, we got up at what we thought was a good time to get us to Paddington but the train was delayed and I was starting to get antsy. I raced to grab the tickets and we made it with a few minutes to spare but i was still freaking out a bit. But it didn't matter because we were IN OXFORD! Oh Ox, I've missed you! We started out with a morning at the Ashmoleon. Niki would be back there later to work but wanted to see the exhibit so we got some coffee on Broad Street, sat in front of the Sheldonian to eat our pastries and then headed back to the Ash. Niki spent her time at the ancient section and I went upstairs to see the paintings and then did a sweep of everywhere else. I hadn't been to the Ash in awhile so it was great to see some of those old artifacts and refresh my memory.

From there, we went to the Eagle and Child and to the Oxfam bookstore, and then decided to walk down to Magdalene. On our way, we stopped at the Museum. Oh, the sadness. It's been reduced to two rooms inside the Town Hall- and not even good rooms. I was able to peep into the old Museum and everything's still there. Such a travesty that the Council doesn't want to spend the money. I love that museum so much.

We walked down the high, stopping in some antique stores and the Ballroom, along with a few more bookstores, before coming back up the other side and going into St. Mary's before lunch at the Covered Market. Lunch and Ben's Cookies, of course! Next, we were off to the Pitt Rivers but kind of took the long way- on te plus side, it took us through the beautiful University Parks, which were just stunning on such a sunny day. I always love Uncle Pitt's House of Weird and I think Niki enjoyed it as well.

We met up with Marsaili and Leo outside Costa and after I ordered my coffee, I asked for some ice water for Niki. THe lady had no idea what I was asking. She gave me a soup mug (it was a soup mug because it had two handles) with some ice and maybe an inch of water. I asked for some more and got more confused looks. So bizarre. Later, at Nando's, this girl slammed a Peri-Peri bottle (or jsut placed down SOOOOO forcefully....) onto the table and it broke all over the place. So awkward. What was it about weird experiences that evening? It was so wonderful to see Mars and Leo though and just talk about everything underneath the sun, even on our train ride back out to London.

The next morning, we were back up on teh early side again to take the train out to Whistable. It was another sunny, gorgeous day and so perfect for the beach. We went to the castle first, which was tiny (not as tiny as Yarmouth- lame castle that it is....) but really pretty made of brick, which is unusual. It reminded me of Kilkenny Castle, one that was clearly built for pleasure instead of protection. There was an antiques show going on inside and outside the castle so while the grounds were beautiful, it was hard to see what the rooms were all about and what they were used for. Next time. The grounds were gorgeous, though.

We made out way back down to the beach and just slowly walked up and down the sea-path and the beach. There were definitely some quirky parts and there was that lingering fishy smell that was actually quite nice, not too overwhelming. There were a few more markets and we picked up some cherries and strawberries and sat on the beach snacking. For lunch, we obviously picked up some fish 'n chips adn wandered around to the town center and through the residential areas. Whitstable is such a beautiful little town and I loved lying on the beach reading for a bit. It's definitely going to come highly recommended- although I'm sure a lot of it had to do with how great the beautiful weather was.

MOnday was a Bank Holiday so we took it a little easy. It was another spectacular morning and because I wanted to investigate where the supermarkets were, I went out on a run around Hendon Park. After picking up some groceries at Tescos, Niki and I walked down to the train station in Hendon Central and rode the short trip up to St. Albans, known for its Roman ruins and for its Abbey. After getting a bit turned around, we walked up to City Center and went first to the St. Alban's museum. It was really well done, going through the history of the city from it's Roman beginnings to its transition to Medieval pilgrim town to when Henry VIII dissolved all the monastaries. It was fasciating to read about its relatioship with London- how it was a small haven just north of the big city where people could live simply but go down to the bustling city whenever they wanted.

We popped into St. Peter's, right next to the museum, which was a great, but simple church. We walked along the High Street, popping into different stores, (Niki bought a few pairs of comfy shoes), before walking down to the Abbey. The Abbey was fascinating,. First of all, it just kept going and going and going. There were also some modern art installations inside which was a little off-putting but not too jarring (it reminded me a bit of Liverpool Cathedral). Also, it wasn't made of stone like most cathedrals are but instead made of bricks. It took a long time to figure out why it looked so different but I finally figured it out. It was very unique though and I liked it.

Intent on seeing some of the Roman stuff, we went down to the large park and just walked around enjoying the weather and then sitting on the bank of the river to read and nap a bit. The best thing I saw that afternoon was a father and his two kids starting to play frisbee. "Hugo, be careful to not aim it towards the water!" Dad said. Hugo's first throw sent the frisbee straight into the water. Oh Hugo. Well done. We walked back past the Roman wall on our way back to the train station. It definitely reminded me of parts of Winchester and Salisbury. And the park was so much like Hyde Park.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I've been holed up in the British Library but more on that later...

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Catching up

The last few weeks were FILLED with papers to write, footnotes to format, presentations to grade, grades to post, bags to pack and houses to close up. The last weekend in town was actually super relaxing. I spent Thursday night out in Boise, hung out with Abbey's kids in the afternoon, but then spent the weekend relaxing, watching movies (watched the Hobbit and LOVED IT!), enjoying the warm weather and getting things prepared for the drive out.

Monday morning, I packed up the car, all my traveling things, shoes, books, food, my plants, waited for Niki to swing by and we headed down to Reno. We were originally supposed to leave much later but because Niki got out of work early, we were able to have dinner with Mark and Ginny. It was absolutely delicious and the conversation we had was even better. I owe them so much because if they hadn't suggested I check out College of Idaho, where the heck would I be? Who knows? God is good.

The two days of driving were long, as usual, and stressful because I hate having to pass on one-lane highways. We had to do a slight detour because of construction on the 395 and ended up driving through Barstowe and hitting some traffic but I was so glad to get home and have home-made grilled dinners and see mom and abba and Andrea for dinner.

And on Wednesday I got to visit Megan and Kasey and meet Mr. Karter! Love him already.

On Wednesday, I repacked my bag and we had no issues with our flight out to London. The seats felt SO cramped though and I've never felt that claustrophobic before. And I was so nauseous as we were landing, which screwed up how I felt the rest of the end- hungry but not hungry and just kind of misterable. It didn't help that the weather was dour. Niki and I made the best of it though, popping into the Wellcome Center for a bit and going to get some food at a place that apparently was the site of filming for Sherlock. We also stopped by the British Library and I was able to get registered and get things settled for when I started working on Tuesday, so that was great.

We found the hostel later that night with no problems and it was SO great to just crash into bed.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

PTX

Way back in February, I found out that Pentatonix was coming to Boise on tour. I didn't know which of my friends in Boise were fans so I asked Tessa, my concert buddy, if she was interested. She said she'd check them out and then I find of forgot about it for a bit. Then, in April, she was over for dinner and randomly asked "Hey, do you still want to go see Pentatonix?" Within ten minutes, we had purchased our tickets.

Fast forward to several weeks later, and we had grabbed our drinks and were edging our way into the main area of the Knitting Factory. Tessa is the QUEEN of getting closer to the stage so I stuck close to her. The opening band was actually a few bands from a music school (very School of Rock) and the kids were adorable. But we just were eager for the main event. And bored in between so we took a lot of pictures. I swear we hadn't had anything to drink yet. We were just SUPER hot.

But finally they arrived on stage! They opened with the song that was my favorite from their "Sing-Off" days- and although I took some videos on my phone, they are IMPOSSIBLE to upload properly so I just resorted to you-tube. There you have it. Their stage energy was just magnificent and their sound is really just so cool and so unique.

The group was formed by Kristie, Mitch and Scott, at their university and although they had been planning on auditioning for "The Sing-Off" alone, they were advised to get a rhythm section and a bass singer. Enter Avi (who can sing two notes at once and, lets be real, I'd probably swoon hearing him sing the dwarf song from the Hobbit....) and Kevin who is my favorite because he can beat-box and play the cello at the same time. New life goal realized. Now who can teach me how to beat-box?

I haven't listened to them a ton a you-tube and somehow missed getting their EP from whatever sister has it, so the concert was about discovering how utterly talented they truly were and discovering new songs of theirs. This is my favorite cover that they did all night. Also, they went back to their choir roots and guided the audience in three part singing. I wish I had a video of that because it was "freakin' awesome...."

And despite the fact that I utterly despite Nicki Minaj, this was wonderful.

They closed the show with "We Are Young"which was poignant for me because the next concert I'm going to see is fun. This was such a wonderful night- thanks to my concert buddy Tessa and the wonderful quintet that is Pentatonix!

SOTM

I have two this week... and they could not be more different.

Last night I watched "The Hobbit" and loved it. Oh man, Peter Jackson, every time. Martin Freeman could not have been a better pick for Bilbo, and I cannot wait for Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug. Gollum was creepy as always and the dwarfs... well, some of them were quite lovely to behold. I'm excited for the next two installments. But this less than two minute clip was my favorite. So haunting and beautiful.

My favorite thing about my other SOTM is that it sounds the same recorded and live. That just goes to show you how talented these two performers are. I love Fun. and I also really like P!ink and her music- she's so real and she's got some pipes on her! I wish they would sing this at the Fun. concert this summer but I know that's unlikely...

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Flashback Friday

I figured that for this Flashback Friday, it would only be fitting to go back and look at some pictures from my very first solo England trip (not counting those 12-hours alone after my senior year of HS). Oh the adventure! Oh the memories!