Ancient Roman Baths

We took a day trip to the historic city of Bath, 1.5 hours by train. What a gorgeous city with Georgian architecture carved from the limestone of the surrounding hills. The highlight was the Roman Baths - one of the most beautiful and intact thermal bath houses built in the Roman period. Built atop hot springs, these Roman baths continue to be supplied by hot, fresh water. Since the rooftops have been lost, the algae has taken over and bathing is no longer possible. You can, however, buy a glass of the spring water straight from the falling spring for 60 pence - while it tastes horrible, it's said to have healing powers?
Bath is also home to one of the most elegant curved line of townhouses called the Royal Crescent (named so for one of the first residents was a Prince). These houses are a landmark of Bath and go for about 4 million pounds (that's $8 million Canadian) each. Nicholas Cage recently bought one in the middle (#7). He took the number off the front door (maybe in the hopes of his house not being spotted between 6 & 8?).
Home to many famous characters, Jane Austen stands out as a prominent Bath resident. Though she prefered the countryside, she spend many summers, then 7 years staying in various spots around Bath to write her manuscripts.
Finally, we found Bath a city of roadway anomalies - as our bus tour guide said, "Cheap Street is expensive, Broad Street is narrow, and North Street is a one way going south". Bath is truly a spectacular place.

Dinosaur Bones and a Stuffed Dodo Bird

Last Sunday afternoon we headed to the Oxford University Natural History Museum and were in for quite a treat. Not only the collection was fine, but the building's architecture (like much of Oxford) was impressive and the space inside better still. The room housing the collection of fossils and specimens was large and stately with lots of wood beams and mosaic tiling. A perfect backdrop to the enormous dinosaur, elephant, and giraffe skeleton displays. Laura enjoyed it thoroughly.

Blenheim Palace - Sir Winston Churchill's Birthplace

Who knew Sir Winston Churchill was the 10th Duke of Marlborough? Not us, until visiting Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, UK, 30 minutes drive from Oxford. The Palace was a gift from Queen Anne to the 1st Duke, John Churchill, for defeating the French at Blenheim, Germany in 1705. The 2100 acres of pristine grounds, water terraces, and Italian, Rose and Secret Gardens were stunning. The interior of the palace was grand and elegant with a great audiovisual tour given by a "ghost" relating the 300 year history of its occupants. Spookishly entertaining.

Laura's First Day of School

She was quiet for the first 45 minutes, then she spoke up and I could leave. Her teachers were fooled into thinking she was going to be a shy, quiet one, now she won't leave them alone. So began Laura's first week of school. From Day One she loved it. It's a small school with tons of green yard and play structures, gardens (gardening is one of their courses!), and super nice staff. She's off to a great start. Oh, and as a tribute to her missed teacher of last year, check out the photo...

Our Flat in Oxford

Our apartment loaned to us by Ian's sabbatical group is tiny, but nice. We're trying to get used to living with only a mini-fridge, no clothes dryer, little space, 6 TV channels (3 are the same) and no car! Welcome to Europe!

On the plus side, our area of Jericho is very charming and exciting full of restaurants, shops, pubs, and colorful architecture. Downtown is a 15 min walk away. Laura's school looks amazing and we've heard great things about it. She's totally thrilled to start on Sept. 3rd and meet new friends. She adores her bedroom as you can see in the photo above.