Bicester, England

The next two and a bit weeks, almost til the end of August, were even more relaxing, staying in a great, big house with a beautiful garden, in a small town just out of Oxford. We spent lots of time reading, and I organised lots of stuff for France. We went into Oxford a few times, to see Wendy, a Melburnian studying theology at Wycliffe Hall. We had lunch with her at The Eagle and Child – where The Inklings, including CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien used to hang out weekly, and where I had the best Pimms ever. Still trying to work out what the guy put in it. She took us around some of the colleges and parts of the University and into churches, including the places used as the Great Hall and infirmery in Harry Potter! We went for drives through the nearby Cotswolds, and went to numerous pubs, including some that were used in the Morse TV show. We saw Blenheim Palace, the home of the Dukes of Marlborough, and went shopping at the Bicester Village outlet (a top and pair of jeans for £10/$20 each!). We started watching season one of West Wing, and now understand why everyone is hooked on it! I signed up to the local library and read the third Twilight book, borrowed some of The Kooks, a Brit band, and a Brit teenage movie called Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging – appropriate since we were in England, I thought. Good times all round!