Jen & Matt's whirlwind visit!

I don't even know where the time goes! It's been a week now since Jen and Matt flew home to Raleigh, and I am just now getting a chance to organize the pics and write up a blog! Anyway, J&M were here in England from Friday May 29 through Monday June 1. We/they packed so much in to the vacation, I'm sure that they were more tired when they got home than when they started!! It was great to have them visit and show them around our new temporary "hometown." We took tons of pictures, here are only a few! Here's a quick recap of their whirlwind visit:
FRIDAY Jen and Matt took American's direct overnight flight from RDU to Heathrow and arrived the morning of Friday May 29. I worked a half day that day and they found our house all on their own...after a quick nap we met up with Kent for lunch at the Jam Factory on our way to pick up our rental car. Yep, we stuck Jen and Matt right back in the car for a road trip up to Scotland for the weekend. As this was a "Bank Holiday Weekend" (aka Memorial Day) everyone else in country was also on the "motorway." We crawled north on the highway, giving us plenty of time to talk, read, listen to the radio (something Kent and I miss by not having a car) and of course time for Jen to take a nap (see below).
Our chariot for the weekend, the Nissan NOTE	First night in the Lakes District, Moresby Hall
Friday night, we finally made it to the beautiful Lakes District, only to not be able to see any of the lakes cause it was almost dark. We stopped for dinner in Windermere and almost the only place we found still open at 10PM was a tapas restaurant. We had a nice dinner and were back in the car for about an hour drive to our country house hotel. We arrived really late to Moresby Hall, where we crashed into our 4 poster beds. Little did we know...the next morning...
Jen's typical position in the car. :-)	In the Lakes District
SATURDAY ...the next morning we awoke to see that the house/hotel is high up on a hill overlooking the sea. We could almost see Ireland! (well not really). There was an old church surrounded by herds of sheep and a cute little town of Whitehaven nestled in the hillside. After a walk around Whitehaven, we were off in the car again - destination Glasgow. No traffic this time, and the GPS took us through some beautiful countryside. We crossed in to Scotland...and the weather started to get a bit colder. We found our cool VRBO apartment in a posh area of Glasgow and settled in for the evening. A friend of mine from Dell who lives there (but happened to be out of town) recommended a really nice restaurant. We booked it for a late dinner, and went in search of some true Scotch whisky (whisky spelled with no "e" is from Scotland, we learned) to taste. Of course Matt and Kent enjoyed that part of the evening better than Jen and I did, but I did learn that I don't like "peat-y" smoky whisky. Think I'll stick to wine tasting.... On to dinner....we all ordered a nice steak and I even had ostrich! It was good - like a lean filet. Stuffed full, we were off to do some dancing! We headed down to the niteclub area and met up with our old friend Rob Sylvester and his girlfriend. They live in London and just happened to make the same trip we did to Glasgow and Edinburgh for the weekend. What a coincidence! Jen hadn't seen Rob in maybe 15+ years! Overall, Glasgow was a fun town...a little industrial and "big city" but we had a great time.
SUNDAY Sunday morning, we cooked brunch at our cool apt (which is about twice the size of our place in Oxford, and has a working GAS stovetop!) and made the short hop to Edinburgh. Lots more tourist action here in the capital of Scotland. We headed straight for the Endinburgh castle and did the tour there. Awesome views over the city and out to the sea. After seeing all of the pieces of the Edinburgh castle, including the Crown Jewels, we strolled down the Royal Mile in search of a light lunch and a pint! We strolled around the city for the rest of the afternoon and found a hip little Italian restaurant for dinner and enjoyed our last night in Scotland!
At the Edinburgh Castle
Back to Oxford... Monday morning we left Scotland bright and early, trying to make it back in time for Kent's afternoon class. We did indeed, thanks to Kent's commendable chauffeur skills and zero traffic that early. Kent was able to return the car and make it to class on time, while I showed Jen and Matt one of my running routes around Christ Church meadows. Then the three of us were off again to be tourists to a food and summer arts festival at Blenheim Palace. We made it (on the bus) just in the nick of time to sample some local cheese, chocolate, jams, etc. Then we did a speed tour (Jen's favorite kind) of the family home of Winston Churchill. Back to Oxford for a nice, home-cooked dinner and relaxing evening. Did I mention the weather was warm and sunny all day! During the week, Kent and I were back to work while Jen and Matt headed off to tour Bath and then in to London to see some friends. I happened to have a work event in London that Thursday, so I was able to meet up with them - as well as Rob and Anna again - on Weds to watch Barcelona win the European Football Club championship. It was a fun evening watching the match in a bar filled with people from Barcelona (chanting their fight songs in Catalan) and then we all went for a really yummy, late dinner at a Moroccan restaurant.
Gorgeous weekend in Oxford! The wonderful weather was still holding out come Friday...I think Jen and Matt brought it with them!! I was able to take off from work early and meet them for lunch and a little walking tour around town. We met Kent at the business school happy hour and all went for a traditional pub meal. Saturday morning Jen and I hit the pool, and then met up with Matt at the Oxford gym to watch Kent play in a couple of rugby and basketball games. This was the heated rivalry of Oxford vs. Cambridge MBAs! The had already faced off at the MBATs in Paris, and now Oxford met them on their home turf. It ended up being a draw across all of the sports, with the unfair tug-of-war as the tie-breaker (Cambridge won, unfortunately). But, Kent had a great time playing rugby and they won both basketball games! Matt, Jen, and I toured the Covered Market and picked up some fresh, local ingredients for dinner at home. Matt whipped together a stuffed roast and we dined in style at 23 Trinity St. :-) Out for the evening to a local niteclub with the rest of the MBAs....but for once Kent was the one who was tired before me from a whole day of sport! We called it a night relatively early.Sunday, Jen and Matt's last day in England, turned out to be THE BEST weather we have had all year. We were set to give punting a go with some of the other MBAs. After a fantastic home-cooked brunch, we were powered up for a day of lounging in the sun in University Parks and punting along the River Cherwell (a branch of the Thames). We picked up some champagne and cakes, and a friend of ours brought the PIMMs and we had a very English afternoon soaking up the limited amount of sunshine this country gets. :-)
Kent testing his boating skills on a punt (with no motor). He was actually very good for a first timer!!	Jen and Matt at the Parks
Thanks Jen and Matt for a wonderful visit! Looking forward to Mom and Dad's next!! Karen