An overnight trip to Oxford

I can't believe how quickly the first week has gone! The hours of each day fly by, since we have been very busy with orientation, sightseeing, going to the pubs, and visiting friends. On Monday, I went for an almost 4 hour run. I decided I had been in London too long without seeing all the city sights. It was perfect weather for a run, about 68 degrees and sunny, so I left my flat and headed toward the Thames, hoping to find some famous sights. After a little while of running directly south, I found the Thames. I crossed the river to run on the South Bank toward the Tower Bridges. I saw the Millennium Bridge, the Tate Museum, the Shakespeare Globe Theater, and then ran along the Queen's Walk to London Bridge (it's really ugly, just a concrete blob) and finally to the Towers Bridge. When it was time to head back to my flat, I ran across the London Bridge and along the North Bank of the Thames. After being gone for almost 4 hours, I arrived back at my flat with a much better perception of the city's layout!

Yesterday, I headed to Oxford, England to visit Aurora. I found very cheap train tickets, and ventured into the country. I arrived, slightly surprised, to much cooler, more overcast weather. The town was beautiful and extremely old. I wandered through the town for a few hours before meeting up with Aurora (since she was in class). I toured the Broxbourne Library and found some free exhibits as well as the Museum of the History of Science (also free!!). After spending over an hour in the museum, I ventured back outside to find the place where Aurora and I were meeting for afternoon tea. We had a lovely tea, and then she took me on a tour of Oxford. We walked around for nearly 2 hours (including an amazing walk around the Deer Park) while she showed me some incredbile colleges and churches. After attending mass at a beautiful church, we decided to find Indian food for dinner (both of our favorites!). We had a delicious meal, and then set out on an "Aurora and Whit" styled pub crawl, which included dessert at one pub and us wandering in an out of many without ever stopping! We had a really fun night, and ended it with a cab ride back to her house.

In the morning, Aurora made me crepes, and then I set off for the railway station via taxi. I arrived back in London just in time to attend some orientation sessions at UCL