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I took a luvly double-decker coach to Blenheim Palace today.  An added attraction was that we drove through a couple of villages enroute. At the edge of town the speed marker says, “Kill Your Speed.” The sign for yielding says to “Give Way.”  Even though they can’t speak it properly, these Brits have a flair for the written word.

The weather’s been unseasonably warm for them, but the women here are all wearing black tights.  Mind you, their bosoms are exposed, but their legs look uncomfortably hot.  And since I’m describing appearances, let me say that English women (men, too, for that matter) are white, large, and rather unlovely.  John summed it up by saying that all the attractive people here are speaking foreign languages. 

The Brits are really miffed at their soccer team, too.  Not disappointed, but mad!  They want them all fired.

Back to the sights.  The Palace was great.  Winston Churchill was born (quite by accident) and married there.  Although related to the Duke of Marlborough, Winston’s father was a black sheep.  They happened to be attending a party at the Palace when Winston arrived prematurely, in the ladies’ cloakroom.   The long walk into the Palace was lined with Linden trees beginning to bloom and smell, so I didn’t miss my tree at home too much.

I also visited the Bodlien Library in Oxford, which holds a copy of every book published in England–more than 7 million!

John spent today again listening to the  brains of the world (Gorbachev is apparently not one of them).  He’s really quite impressed with the people presenting and the things being presented.

That’s today’s report.  No graphics because my technician is otherwise engaged.

I’m giving my graphics guy a cut in pay.  You’ll have to take my word for it that there is a picture of him before Newton’s tree’s grandchild.

Cambridge and Oxford are less than 100 miles apart.  We traveled between them by returning to London King’s Cross train station, schlepping our bags through the Tube to Paddinton Station, then catching the train to Oxford.  We’re staying in a pretty famous hotel, The Randolph.  It apparently is featured in a whole series of detective novels by Colin Dexter, who is “internationally famous,” but I’ve somehow missed him in my literary travels. 

Today John is off to listen to Gorbachev (sp?), and I’m off to Church.  We’ll compare later to see who has the better plan for the world…

In Cambridge, we came across a tiny graveyard by the side of an old church in the middle of town.  The family buried there were named Hunnybun:   Matthew, Mary, Eliza, and John.  Wouldn’t you love to be named Eliza Hunnybun?

More about Oxford after we’ve been here awhile.  I’ve still got a sinus infection, and I’m not sleeping well, but having fun anyway.  Miss you all.  That’s great news about Riley’s homerun!

OK, the trip hs been upgraded to an 8, even though the hotel is still a 1-star. I’m feeling pretty decent today. After awaking at 5 a.m., retrieving my purse, and having a big English breakfast, we went back to sleep for a couple of hours, so I think we’re caught up now.

Today we punted on the River Cam past all the famous colleges. No, Ben, Dad let a professional do the “driving.” After watching some other tourists attempt it, we’re more impressed than ever that you took Chelsea punting in Oxford. What a stud!

We visited King’s College Chapel, the open-air market, the Round Church (active Christian church for over 600 years), and the Fitzwilliam Museum. We ate fish ‘n chips in a pub and watched processions of graduates march down King’s Parade Street to their official graduation ceremonies. Pretty cool–the leaders of the processions wore actual top hats!

Dad is out now, doing his grocery shopping. He’s in heaven–he’s found crisps (potato chips) that taste like steak, heavily salted butter, and milk that would put our cream to shame. Was Dr. Adkins British?

FYI: Sir Isaac Newton developed his theory of relativity in front of Trinity College (see picture of John in front of Newton’s tree’s descendant), and the concept of DNA was developed in a pub in Cambridge.

Ben, your little Emma’s adorable….she looks just like you!

On a scale of 1 to 10, yesterday was a minus 3. I got sick before we left with a sinus thing, and I’ve never felt so hammered by jetlag. Because it’s graduation weekend at Cambridge, all the hotels were booked, and we’re staying out of town at a truck stop! The roundtrip taxi fare into town is more expensive than the hotel room. Our handicapped-accessible bathroom is outfitted with only lukewarm water, and the air conditioning is broken. The crowning blow was that I left my purse in the “restaurant” last night and didn’t discover its absence until 5:30 this morning.

But here’s the good news: John just showed up with my purse, passport included. And the REALLY GOOD NEWS is that Ben and Chelsea are having a little daughter! So I’m going to put my game face on, count my blessings, and try to enjoy this place.

I blogged yesterday. When John added a great picture, the blog disappeared. Sorry you missed it.

Yesterday we toured the Capitol with our very own guide, Leslie Durham. She was good–knew answers to all the hard questions. Fun to see her in such a mature role.

Then Gage and I walked around the Tidal Basin to visit the Jefferson and the FDR Memorials. Beautiful day for a walk, although it went on a little too long when we had to detour for construction. We did find, however, one perfect tree of cherry blossoms in the midst of green cherry trees. I felt like it was just for me.

We didn’t have tickets, but we talked ourselves into a group going to the top of the Washngton Monument.

Gage is the perfect sightseeing companion–he ambles, so I’m not forced to jog everywhere we go. Of course, that could be because he has a cold and really doesn’t feel very well, but it works for me.

Dinner with Leslie at a restaurant specializing in crabcakes. Gage thought they sounded disgusting, so he ate a whole chicken.

Hi all,

We’re in DC, and the weather is perfect! John and I got here in time to participate in the street festival portion of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Lots of fun, food, and people–very few cherry blossoms. Still, it’s something I can check off my bucket list.

The big news so far is that John and I had our eyebrows threaded. Yes, John got an eyebrow makeover. His head must feel 2 lbs. lighter, and he looks so young and handsome.

John will be spending the day with us today. If we ever get Gage out of bed, we’re probably in for a full museum day, ending at the Viet Nam Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial after dark.

 

Micah’s baptism was very nice. Thanks to everyone for their support. She said she was lucky to get so many gifts, but her favorite was a lot of love from everyone who came today.