HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAHAHAHAHA!!

And for my birthday I got the last 2 books of No. 1 Detective Agency books, an awesome pig fountain pen and a new journal!  YES!  Plus a super, super cool birthday card that had 1977 events (my birth year of course) and a 1977 cd of songs that were popular that year! 

Awesome!  Thanks mom, dad, j, and mike.

Something even better is that we just got back from the Oxford train station and booked a 6 and 1/2 hour train to Edinburgh, Scotland!   Booya!  It was 90 pounds = 175 bucks!  EACH! WHOA AND OH MY!

But so worth it and I am so grateful to mom and dad!  Thank you!  I only wish dad could be with us.  He starts his seminar Sunday officially, so he is tied up from here on out. 

Good news though---we'll be looping back down to Oxford here (for Scotland is north, you see), for one more night before flying home July 30th.  Then I shall say goodbye to mom dad till Thanksgiving.

Some thoughts I've gathered thus far at this midpoint in the trip:

1.  London = super busy
2.  Oxford = mini-busy
3.  The English people are so "matter of fact", little emotion business like - adults at least in my opinion.
4.  I can barely understand most of them---too fast, to accented.
5.  When we open our mouths people are immediately concentrating on understanding our American talk - and sort of like, "hm..American..hmm" (no emotion, yet you read their face)

I can't remember what I wrote on the other blog, but my impression of London was HISTORIC, OLD, NEAT, IMPRESSIVE, smaller than I thought, easy to get around, lots of shopping and too many tourists.  The cool part was going to Picadilly Circus where the 60s had all those famous models and like Austin Powers feeling and picturing there.  Big signs and teleprompters like New York.

Oxford is a huge Ann Arbor with much older and more beautiful architecture.  Such a college town and trendy feel, yet the underlying intellectual vibe that no doubt goes with such a hugely famous and ivy league prestige of OXFORD UNIVERSITY!

It's very touristy busy right now too, I'll bet it's way more relaxed and enjoyable during the school year.  Lots of pubs, lots of neat stores, and we saw the Eagle and Child which apparently is where Tolkien and Lewis hung out.  Oh, and we looked briefly at Lewis house. So weird to sit in chairs he sat in --mom and dad are staying there too!

Well, tonight we dine for my bday, restaurant to be determined later and I want a pie or cake to celebrate :)  It's amazing how good (healthy) we're eating, and me in general in my mind all this summer --you know give or take several milkshakes from around the country! YES!

Then tomorrow 8 a.m. eat the b&b morning food--toast (is a favorite here for morning it seems), eggs, juice, and fruit.  Quality---and we're off on the train!  Hint: never get bacon here, gross huge, greasy and CANADIEN BACON totally looking and taste.

I can't wait to sit on the train all day looking at the interior of Great Britain!  They say it's beautifully scenic.

Before I sign off, I'd like to nerdily and hilariously list purchases thus far :)

England soccer team sweatshirt and soccer shorts, postcards a plenty (some to frame, some to send, some to scrapbook), cheap cheapy Oxford Univ. red tshirt (just a generic cool one I got from "The Varsity Shop" est. 1846 OH MY!), Wimbledon keychain and stickers,....

OH I WENT TO WIMBLEDON PEOPLE!  Truly amazing and fun to tour.  Well I went to the museum, saw the number 1 court, saw some more grass courts, and it was fun!  Any tennis lover should truly attempt to come here one day - well it may not be absolutely necessary :)

Only a few mins left inthis Virgin Records internet cafe!  I hope to blog again from Scotland!  Hope all are well!