Bank Holiday Bonanza

After our ill-fated attempt to visit Bath at Easter, we braved the motorway again on the May Day long ('bank holiday') weekend - this time the car made it. The trip was certainly worthwhile. The entire city has been named a World Heritage Site and although we didn't visit the Roman baths we enjoyed wandering around the self-proclaimed "chic city", taking in the sites and admiring the architecture (Pics 1 - 3). Noah's highlight was being invited to join the Morris Men, traditional English folk dancers - some of them older than Bath itself! (pic 4).

We returned to Blenheim Palace to watch a jousting tournament which was great fun and took another opportunity to explore the stunning gardens and grounds (pics 5, 6)- this time with we "packed" a picnic lunch courtesy of M&S Food (Meaghan is really gonna miss that place when we get home).

Yet another 'bank holiday' long weekend last weekend - this time we had some stunning weather - low 20s and light until around 9:30pm - a heatwave!. It started with another black-tie banquet at Pembroke College for Mark and Jules (Meaghan had to stay home as babysitter came down with "suspected Swine flu" the day before......). We then headed into London for the day and managed to get lost in Hyde Park again (pic 7). Meaghan fullfilled a lifelong dream by visiting the disappointingly underwhelming Princess Diana memorial (pic 8). We visited the Science Museum and Natural History Museum which were both fantastic but needed a lot more time and 2 less kids to make it worthwhile. Ethan loved the hands on stuff and we couldn't get him away from the water station (pic 9).

Jules was kind enough to take us on a tour of several of the university colleges which were all incredibly impressive, most dating back centuries (pic 10). It's amazing how huge the grounds are and how pristine they are kept. Magdalen college has its own deer park! The tour was made even more "authentic" by the students walking around dressed in their "exam garb" - for guys this is a black suit, white shirt, white bow tie and academic gown with a white carnation and for the girls, a less impressive black mini skirt, white shirt and strange black tie thing around their necks - more cocktail waitress than academic heiress. Jules explained that this dress is compulsory during exams - sure is different from stained tracky dacks and t-shirts that we are used to. The academic work load is so huge that even if students found the time to work, the University forbids them to undertake any type of employment during the academic year! Here are some pics of the kids on the college lawns (pic 11) and Noah contemplating his future at Magdalen College (pic 12).

On the home/social front, Noah is counting sleeps 'til his first school excursion this week at a farm, Ethan has a beautiful French/Indian girlfriend, Namita with whom he has chaperoned visits twice a week and Meaghan and Mark are busy hosting and being hosted at dinner parties. Some recent photos of the boys (pics 13, 14).

Meanwhile we are all counting sleeps until we leave for Paris on 7 June! Au Revoir 'til then.

Spring Blues

The last month has seen Meaghan and Noah celebrate their birthdays. Noah had been counting the sleeps until his birthday and was absolutely thrilled about all his presents from Australia. He's been scooting around Oxford on his new scooter (now fits in with all the other Oxford kids) and loves showing it to every other kid and parent in the park. Mark took Noah to the 'Lazy Town' concert for his b'day while Meaghan showed him a night on the town with dinner at Jamie Oliver's restaurant and then the 'Horrid Henry' production at the Playhouse. Speaking of nights out, we had a great night out with Jules and Anna, as well as Mike, one of Mark's old Melbourne High mates who has been living in London for the past few years. It was a real school reunion for Mark, Jules and Mike - the first time they've caught up in about 7 years - who would have thought then that they would have next met in a pub in Oxford?

Pesach has come and gone and we were invited to a Seder at some friends of Mark's parents in London. It was a lovely evening and we had a great time.
The Easter long weekend has also come and gone and although the weather has been great either side of the long weekend, the Easter weather was typically bleak and wet. Friday was rained out and we were stuck indoors. On Saturday we went to Stratford Upon Avon and visited the house where Shakespeare was born as well as the cottage were Ann Hathaway (his wife) grew up.































We had plans to visit Bath on Sunday but disaster struck when our car broke down on the motorway about 30km out of Oxford. Ended up getting towed back to the garage and then stranded at home for the rest of the Easter break. Of course the sun came out on Monday so we took a long walk through the fields of Port Meadow, much to the annoyance of Noah who described it as the 'worst day of his life'. That was until we found a pub with a huge beer garden and jumping castle which kept Noah and Ethan entertained for ages while we drowned our sorrows in a few ales.













With the car back on the road, we drove to the Cotswolds today and visited some quaint, picturesque little villages with great names such as Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold and Lower Slaughter.



















The kids are really growing up. Noah's a real chatterbox and a little charmer, talking the ears off anyone who'll listen. Ethan has a real personality - cheeky as ever and hilarious. He's finally pulling himself up now so he might actually decide to walk some day soon (he's getting way too heavy to carry).






















Finally, the Blues are providing great satisfaction (that's Chelsea, not Carlton) . Having adopted Guus Hiddink's team, we've watched them progress to the FA cup final and Champions League semi-final - and with the Premier League coming to the end of the season, should be an interesting month or two ahead. Never thought I'd get into the 'football' over here but it draws you in. Who needs Fevola when you can watch Didier Drogba (although we do miss Juddy!)

Out and About

We've been playing tourist again. The weather has been magnificent (who says the sun doesn't shine in England?) although we're told that these 14 degree sunny days are the best it gets as even though summer is slightly warmer, it is usually grey and wet. Last Saturday we took a drive to the Cotswolds and visited the wildlife park. It was great for the kids. Noah loved the penguins, Ethan loved the lions, Mark loved the lemurs and Meaghan loved the ice-cream.












On Sunday we went to Warwick Castle with some friends (an Aussie/Kiwi doctor couple working at the same hospital as Mark). This is an awesome medieval castle originally built by William the Conquerer in the 11th century. We visited the dungeons, walked the ramparts and climbed the 500 step spiral staircase to the top of the tower - incredible views. Unfortunately the jousting and firing of the enormous trebuchet (catapult) only occur in summer but we did see the falconer with his impressive eagles and hawks.

































Yesterday we took the train in to London for the day. Meaghan fulfilled her childhood dream of visiting Buckingham Palace but we were a bit insulted to learn that our invitation was not exclusive and the Queen had invited tens of thousands of other tourists. While we did catch a glimpse of the guards and the band marching along the Mall to the Palace, we couldn't seen any of the Changing of the Guard (we were warned but couldn't be bothered getting there an hour and half early to get a prime position). We then walked down to the Riverside and did the London Eye. Great views over London but the glaring afternoon sun actually made it difficult to see (never thought we'd be complaining about too much sun in England). Noah, who had been looking forward to the London Eye ever since we stepped off the plane, struck up a conversation with a woman in our capsule and spent the entire 30 minute 'flight' talking at her and never once looked out at the views below. From there we negotiated the hundreds of buskers (some quite innovative) and headed to the Tate Modern (not a great idea with exhausted kids but at least Noah can say he's seen a few Picassos). We ended up having a picnic in the gardens before tackling the London underground with stroller (this country is so stroller, sorry buggy, unfriendly). After hours and hours of walking yesterday, we spent today (mother's day or 'mothering sunday' in England) recovering.






























As for day to day life in Oxford, we've well and truly settled in and are throroughly enjoying it. Noah loves kinder, has made lots of friends, is learning French and bakes biscuits on Fridays! Ethan is thriving but is a cheeky little monkey. He grunts and points to demand things and shakes his head and waves his hands to say "no". Mark is enjoying work but is enjoying weekends more (when not on call). Meaghan is getting to know some other mums and has regular Friday morning coffees with a group of friends at the local pub. Can't believe it's already been almost 3 months........

Pigs and Palaces

A few more outings around Oxford these past couple of weeks. We had a great day at Blenheim Palace, an early 18th century palace built as a gift to the First Duke of Marlborough who led the Allied Forces to victory over the French during the Wars of the Spanish Succession. It is the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill and current home to the 11th Duke of Marlborough. The palace is set in 2100 acres of beautiful parkland with landscaped gardens and a magnificent Lake. A miniature train links the palace to the 'Pleasure Gardens' which contain a butterfly house, the world's second largest hedge maze (quite a challenge to get out of), an adventure playground and more. Much of the new period movie 'The Young Victoria' (just released in UK - not sure about Aus) was filmed there.

At the other end of the spectrum, we visited Didcot Railway Centre, home to some old Great Western steam engines and visited by Thomas the Tank Engine on rare occasions (ie. last weekend). Not sure if it was the chilling wind, heavy rain or being surrounded by millions of snot-faced tantrum-throwing kids but this place just didn't do it for us. Not sure from the photo if Noah felt the same way or if he was just upset that part of his monkey balloon that we had just queued for hours for burst.













We dropped by Millet's farm, a bit like Collingwood Children's farm but with fewer animals and less to do. Highlights were the enormous pigs, especially the blonde, woolly Austrian ones that looked like a cross between pig and sheep (not the one in the photo).

For something a bit more cultural, we joined Jules and Anna for dinner before attending a classical music recital at Pembroke College. Can't fault the musical talent of these students but must admit it wasn't the most mind-blowing evening.

Monday was Purim and Meaghan took the boys to a party at the shule, Noah dressed as an English Bobby and Ethan wore his Ali G velour tracksuit (shame Meaghan forgot the camera as they both wore stick on moustaches - hilarious!).

Last night we went out to a place called the Nut Tree Inn for a wedding anniversary dinner (without kids). This charming restaurant in an old farmhouse was about 20 minutes drive from Oxford and accessed via a number of narrow windy dark roads with no lights or signs. Thank goodness for our sat nav. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star this year and the food was great although not sure if Meaghan's diarrhoea-filled day today had anything to do with their rich sauces.

And finally (for now), a happy birthday to Bobba Val for the 14th and happy 60th birthday to Mum/Booba/Sally for the 16th.