Mom & dad's visit!

Mom and dad were here for a visit the past two weekends, and we had a great time showing them all around Oxford! They spent the two weekends here with us, and went to see the sights of London during the week. A lot to take in since it was their first time in England! Here are just a few of the many pictures we took:We spent the first weekend just walking around Oxford....seeing the streets and colleges....checking out the pubs (Kent's favorite).

The first Saturday they were here, I had the grand idea that we would go and see a Shakespeare play - something very English to do! A local company was putting on "The Twelfth Night" at Kent's business school. They have an amphitheatre on the roof, and we serving food and drinks outside as well. I thought it would be a fun night to take in the cool British summer weather.....little did I know.... They advertised it - as you can see on the web site - to be "100% weatherproof." We enjoyed a nice meal and glass of wine....then it started to mist....then sprinkle. Then it was time to go in to the play and it was getting a little chilly, and the rain was picking up. They still were seating people outside! No indication they were moving us inside. So we wrapped up in blankets, got out our umbrellas (we were in the top row) and sat through the first 30 min of the play miserable. We had already made up our minds to go home, when they finally stopped the show and the eccentric director said they were going to take a "break" WHAT?! He said we can't move inside because the actors aren't ready to perform on that stage. WTF? 100% weatherproof? He said we could come back at a later date for free - which we'll do sometime soon I suppose. So my grand plan for Shakespeare was ruined....or I guess mom and dad got a real British experience - cold rainy summer night! We left and went to a pub for a drink. :-)

The next day turned out to be a little nicer weather and we decided to make our pub trek up the Thames Path to The Perch and The Trout (same walk we take all of our visitors on!). IT was a gorgeous day and we took a stroll up the Thames through Port Meadow where we found various sizes of cows, calves, horses, colts, ponies, and pony-colts. Really amazing - they were all mingling together and didn't mind the people walking right through....they didn't care to take any grass from Kent:We made it to The Perch and sat out in the back garden for an hour or so...enjoying the sun and Dad had his first Pimm's cocktail. Then we moved on for a great afternoon lunch/dinner at the Trout. We were so stuffed we decided to make the most of the weather while it lasted and walk home too. Phew, we were all pooped by the end of the day! I took the following Monday off work to head in to London with mom and dad to sightsee a little bit (and I had a meeting for a prospective job). We hopped the train from Oxford to London and found their hotel right in the heart of the West End (theater district - perfect choice for them!). We walked around and had some lunch - here's us in Trafalgar Square. I went to my meeting while they kept sightseeing - and we all met up with Kent that evening for dinner (he's working in London this summer and commuting on the train). Kent and I headed home while mom and dad stayed the week in London and saw just about every tourist attraction there was to see - plus 2 shows!
Back in Oxford on Friday, we continued our tour of all things British - pubs, colleges, punting, and of course no trip to Oxford would be complete without a punting trip. Here are a few pics of Kent expertly pushing us up and down the Cherwell River, with dad's canoe skills coming in handy. The only thing missing is the champagne and Pimms (we needed a break from day drinking!).

Next we met up with one of Kent's friends and he took us on an amazing tour of The Queen's College - founded in 1341! He knew so much history about England and the college and was a fantastic tour guide! That evening we hit the Eagle and Child for fish & chips. I think mom and dad had their fill of pub food! The next day was mom and dad's last in England, so we ended their trip with a trip to Blenheim Palace to see one of England's biggest manor houses, and the family home of Winston Churchill. It was a nice tour, with off and on showers....hey that's the British summer I have learned! We waited out one of the showers by having tea and cake inside at the cafe....perfect!

Sun one minute....rain the next....

It was a great visit - so happy to show mom and dad where we've been living and all of the tourist sites!