A Picture-Perfect day in Oxford

And hello again! Yep, this one is appearing not long after the last. I have some making up to do.

With the Potter shenanigans out of the way, Thursday held new adventures. First on the agenda was a trip to Oxford to catch up with some of Kate’s family. So off we went to Paddington Station, where we ran into this fella…

Hey, it’s that bear! You know the one, the one from Paddington!

Now what was this bear’s name?!

It was then on a train with Kate’s folks to Oxford, we we were greeted by Kate’s uncle and aunty. It was fantastic to be greeted so warmly on the opposite side of the world… meeting up with others when travelling is really one of my favourite things in the world.

On the agenda was lots of catching up, with some walking thrown in. So after a coffee to get started, we headed out on a walking tour around Oxford. I really love this place. It feels like it looks… old and reverent, but also young and vibrant due to the students. If I was to live in England, it would most likely be here.

You meet the craziest folks here in Oxford

More postcard shots

GO PIES!!!!

Hanging out on campus

The weather was a bit variable, but we had moments of postcard perfect skies. Our guide showed us around some of the more famous colleges, including some visits inside some. It really is amazing going in buildings 100’s of years old.

As we were walking and talking about Rhodes Scholars, an American couple mentioned about Bill Clinton being one. Then one of those amazingly coincidental moments happened. Who should happen to be walking on the other side of the road flanked by sunglasses and suited burly dudes? BILL CLINTON! Ha! And what do you think was the first thing to go through my head? I need to chase him and ask him about Icelandic Hot Dogs! But alas it didn’t happen. I would love to see what he really thought about those Reykjavik treats.

After our excitement and walk we settled in for some High Tea at Randolphs. It was a very civilised way to wind down our day in Oxford. Mmmmm.

Mmmmmmmmmm

With our day gone too fast, we bid adieu to Kate’s aunty and uncle and boarded the train back to Oxford, where Kate and I left her folks for our next destination… Iceland! Well, not really, but a taste of Iceland. We were off to see our band of the trip Of Monsters and Men again, this time here in old Blighty. Twice in the space of a week, in two different countries! Oh yeah.

Rockin out Icelandic style (again)

We have listened to the album non-stop over the past week, and were really geared up for the show. The show was at the Scala at Kings Cross which I hadn’t been to before, so that was cool too. A 1000 person venue, it was actually quite cool, with lots of levels and vantage points.

Sooooo much fun

And the band… they were great fun again. This show was even better as we were singing the words to all the songs. It was a strange one as their album is not yet out in the UK, but the audience was in the palm of their hand. Me thinks they are destined for some good things. Alas though, as I type this tickets are sold out for their Melbourne show in a week or two, and I don’t have one. Boo. Was hoping for 3 shows in 2 weeks in 3 countries. We’ll see what I can wrangle.

With that it was a quick tube ride home. Not often you’re the only one in the carriage…

Hello!

Until tomorrow!