One of the Queen's guard just checked me out!

Please excuse the lack of posts. I have been quite busy the past week writing over 10,000 words worth of papers about the Old Testament....its been a cRaZy week. not. You guys probably thought that I finally got caught up in the whirlwind atmosphere of Europe and was never be heard from again, when in reality, I just really wasn't in the mood to write, or to read, or to think even.

Well, besides the paper writing and intermitent whining about the paper writing, I have had some excitng English experiences. Last friday, I stayed in Oxford and went to the Ashmolean museam. After that rivitng experience, me and some friend had a leisurely lunch at the Turf Tavern.....the same place that former President Clinton used to frequent during his days at Oxford U. It is also one of the oldest pubs in town.

On Saturday, we ventured into London for the day. We had the most amazing luck because the agonizingly slow bus we took arrived in the city just in time for us to walk up and see the changing of the guards. Through the throngs of tourists with fanny packs and video cameras, we managed to get a pretty good view. We even got down to the sideline to get some really good pictures. Even though they couldn't really show it, the guards totally liked us. You could just tell. After that we saw the Parliment Buildings, and Westminster Abbey, and heard Big Ben strike one. We then made our way to the Tate Modern art museum (to see some pretty strange exhibitions...modern art, I just don't get it really) , which just happens to be right next to the Globe theatre. From there, we crossed over the Millenium Bridge to reach St. Paul's Cathedral. This church was by far my favorite sight of the whole day. We toured the entire inside of the church and even hiked up the hundreds of stairs to the Whispering Gallery in the inside of the dome, the stone gallery outside the dome, and the Golden Gallery on the very tip top. It is interesting to note that in the Whispering Gallery, one person can stand at one side and whisper something into the wall and a person on the opposite side can hear it comepletely clearly. So cool!Unfortunately for us, photography was prohibited but the entire inside was absolutely awe-inspiring. The ornate domes and chapels with gold inlay and old tombs were completely amzaing in every single way. It sure beat the hell out of Notre Dame. After the Cathedral, we made our way across the Tower Bridge (this bridge is usually mistaken for the London Bridge, which is really not all that cool) to see the eery Tower of London. For the rest of the late afternoon and early evening, we drank pints and people-watched along the Thames.

Monday was again the wonderful High Table dinner. The food was fabulous, the wine was better, and the company was the best. There is no more to say than that.

As I said earlier, I have been busy writing papers all week preparing for my final tutorial. This last interrogation session could not be held in the garden this week for some reason, so we met in the Provost's house.....yes. Their digs could be explained with just this: I had class in a room with a painting that was insured for 6 million sterling. Thats 12 Million dollars!!!!!!! I don't know what I am going to do with myself when I have to go back to having class in regular classrooms!