oxford: day 2

After spending an entire day in and around Oxford, we decided to venture out a bit for day 2 of my trip and headed down towards Bath. I did have lots of avenues to choose from but Bath sounded the best since I knew Jane Austen once lived there and if I ever were to return with the husband, I was unsure Bath would be his first choice. Plus I knew so little about the history and wanted to learn more. I knew the Romans had conquered this area way back when but I didn't realize the extent of their power.

Our first stop was the actual Roman Baths. The museum was well worth our time. It was set up very well and educational to boot. When we were there, a lot of work was being done to expand the tour and maximize one's experience there. It was a self-guided tour with a phone looking device to dial in a number, shown to you around the different exhibits, and then you place it up to your ear for the information. The Romans were advanced in their use of waterways and architecture. So I'm sure you can imagine how fascinating it was to see it all up close.


This museum was built around a giant natural water source which the Romans worshipped because they thought there were healing powers in the waters and would even bring offerings to this place. The Romans built a giant bathhouse around this water source, which the original wall was discovered in the 1980's and has been excavated since. The Romans would spend hours here, bathing and enjoying other activities provided at this place.






After the tour, I couldn't help but think how much time they wasted worshipping that water source. The time and effort they put into building this bathhouse, or essentially, a temple around this watering hole. It just boggles the mind. We have most certainly come a long way.
After the Roman baths museum, we walked around the city and even stopped to eat some excellent Thai food for lunch. We also stopped in at a Jane Austen museum to see what they had to offer. To be honest, after spending a whole day at Chawton house, this other museum seemed very weak in comparison. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time there. The city is just beautiful and we spent quite a bit of time just walking around, enjoying the sites.


Another must-see on my list was a castle. I honestly didn't mind if it was a large one or not, I just really wanted to visit a castle. A quick search online led us to Nunney Castle, just outside of Bath. For me it was perfect because 1) it was free, 2) off the beaten path and 3) there was a mote.









My friend's little boys were more than overjoyed to be at a castle where they could run around and let their imaginations take over. So it came as no surprise when I was instructed to take on the role of the "enemy" and "storm the castle". I was caught a few times and put in "jail" but managed to escape a couple of times while my captors were "sleeping".
Here I am standing on the "mighty drawbridge", gearing up to "storm the castle":

Here I come. Storming. Raging. Ready for battle. Can you sense my rage?? ;)



I was very taken with the town of Nunney. Sorry for the lack of descriptive words but it was very old and British. It was just awesome. We noticed a very old church across from the castle and had to check it out.

A warning when traveling to Bath: there is one road in and one road out. So if you don't leave until close to the rush hour, you will be stuck. As were we. It wasn't a huge problem but it did take us quite a while before we even got out of the city and on our way. There were even Jane Austen movie sites in the area that we didn't get a chance to see because of the inclement traffic. But in all, it was such a perfect day, capped off by playing a quick game of, "Guess That Jane Austen movie tune" so beautifully played by my friend's wife. She is just awesome. You really must meet her.
The next day takes me back to London and the worst traffic I have ever been caught in. Get ready!!

a must see

As you know I am a fan of Jamie Oliver. He is one of my favorite people, even though we have never officially met. :) He has a new show on called "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution". It is on every Friday night, ABC, at 8pm. You must check it out. If you missed the first two episodes, like I did, hop on to hulu.com and you can watch the full episodes. It is absolutely unreal the kinds of foods people are eating! Whatever happened to home-cooked meals?? I am as shocked as he is at what he is seeing here in America. Please, please check it out and support his food revolution!!

nell-o jigglers

With the weather finally warming up, I am back to hitting the pavement early in the mornings. I have always loved running outside. A treadmill bores me to tears: the scenery does not change, the stinkiest, sweatiest runner always seems to choose the treadmill next to mine and/or the guy next to me likes to use me as a pace setter. Urgh. I do struggle with a lack of consistency when it comes to running. But I am determined to stay motivated and run 5-6 times per week. I am also committed to doing the Tracy Anderson Mat Workout video 5-6 times per week. Who is Tracy Anderson? She is one who needs her own post but in the meantime, check out her site: http://www.tracyandersonmethod.com/
In keeping with my committment to run, I commissioned my brother to make me a running mix. He is a DJ and seems to have a handle on every type of music ever created. Therefore I cannot take credit for this next playlist.
Note: it is more on the techno-electronic spectrum of music. I am finding I don't focus so much on the running when I'm listening to this type of music because there is so much going on in my earphones.

       Nell-O Jigglers: Playlist Deux

"Steppin' Out" by Kaskade

"Throw It On Me" (feat. The Hives) by Timbaland

"Boombox" (DJ Rokk and Felix 82) by Kylie Minogue

"Switch On" (feat. Ryan Tedder) by Oakenfold

"Cities in Dust" by Junkie XL

"Are You Ready" by Freddie Corsten

"Booming Right At You" by Junkie XL

"Bodyrock" (Olav Basoski's Da Hot Funk) by Moby

"Megalomaniac" by KMFDM

"Got Love To Kill" (Juliette Lewis and the Licks) by MSTRKRFT

"Hung Up" by Madonna

"Hot Ride" by Prodigy

not a mundane monday

Fact: Keane is one of my favorite bands. Fact: their new album will drop May 11th.
Can I possibly wait that long?? I will try to bear it but to wet my appetite, a new video of their single Stop For A Minute was released today. Of course I have to share it because I want Keane to be one of your top favorites as well. :p ENJOY!!


Stop For A Minute

Keane | MySpace Music Videos

oxford: day 1

I realize I am lucky in the fact that I got to leave London, leave the city-scape behind, and see more of the countryside of England. My good friend lives in Oxford with his wife and two boys. His wife is currently finishing her Ph.D. at Oxford (beautiful AND a smartie-pants to boot) and so I got a private tour of the campus. I did not know you had to be a student to even set foot on the grounds. Some places I had to sneak into with her, while my friend and his kids waited outside for us. So not only do I have some of the coolest friends on earth, but I am doubly lucky for even being able to see what I saw. There are 40 different colleges within Oxford. The next few pictures are of the Christ's Church college:







A lot of movies have been filmed at Oxford. If you remember, in the Harry Potter movies, the food court where they eat their meals, it is the food court at Christ's Church college. This was one of the places I had to be snuck in to. Quick thinking on the part of my friend's wife is in need of applause because many stories were made up this day just so I could sneak a peek at some of these sights. The security here was tight and exclusive. Another fun fact I learned was that Lewis Carroll's real name is Thomas Dogdson. He was a math professor at Oxford. The dean of his college had a daughter named Alice. When the weather was nice, she liked to play in this garden that was behind a stone wall. The only entrance was a little door. My friend's wife asked specifically if we could have a view of this. We were told it is something they don't usually show visitors but, did you guess?? I got to see it.


These next few photos are more of the campus, one of the libraries and also my friend's wife's college (I don't like to use names on my blog so I apologize for having to refer to her this way).







Do you remember the movie The Saint? It happens to be a favorite of the husband and I. Why? We had our first kiss while watching this movie. We were at a friend's house with a bunch of people, hanging out in their clubhouse (yes, they were seriously cool). Not the most romantic movie to have your first kiss to but who cares!??! We most certainly didn't. All we cared about was being together and all that mushy stuff. ;)
Anywho. Parts of the movie were also filmed at Oxford. There is one specific part where Elizabeth Shue's character sits down in front of the Shelley statue and Val Kilmer's character is behind her, sketching the statue. Do you know this scene? I got to see this statue. The Shelley. I had no idea it was even there. Such a pleasant surprise to an already awesome day. AND we had to be sneaky again to see it. I followed her lead and marched right past security, into one of the halls and there it was:


With the movie having so much meaning to me and the husband, I wished he was with me at that moment. That he could teleport somehow, I could be in his arms and we could share a moment in front of The Shelley. Okay. Enough with the gag reflex. As I was saying...
After a two hour exclusive tour, we left my friend's wife to work and grabbed some lunch. Then, after walking around Oxford some more and seeing the pub where J.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis liked to hang out, we hopped in the car and headed for Blenheim Palace. Unfortunately, everything closes early in England. Plus it closes at odd times; like 4:50pm instead of 5:00pm. So we missed our opportunity to tour the inside but walking the grounds was just as breathtaking.








I am at a loss for words when trying to describe my excitement at being there. To FINALLY be in England, survey the landscape with my own two eyes, be with my friends. A culminating moment. I remember it hitting me once we walked on the grounds of Blenheim Palace. It had all been a surreal dream in the days leading up to this. I never wanted to wake up and I am re-living that moment as I'm writing this. I never want to forget what I felt. It was a perfect day and a treasure I will always cherish. We finished off the day at a pub after picking up friend's wife back on campus. My dinner that night is not memorable but my company is.

One thing I failed to mention was how nervous I was the morning I left. I wasn't exactly sure why I was so uptight because I had been fine on my previous lone outings and riding the public transport. I was to walk to the tube station, ride it to the Oxford Tube (a double-decker bus) stop and hopefully catch it right on time. Well, there were two seperate exits, at the tube station, out to the street. I could either get out across the road or on the same side where the tube was. I was given information from two different sources and even had a map of where the bus stop was. For some reason, I got totally turned around and walked an extra 20 minutes, when it was absolutely unnecessary. Did I also mention it was pouring rain and I was carrying a very heavy shoulder bag? AND one of the shoulder straps broke while I was walking aimlessly in the pouring rain. To rub salt in the wound, two Oxford buses passed me while I was walking. I'm sure you can imagine my frustration at this point. Not only was I soaked from the rain but I was sweating profusely and I'm sure my face was beet red from the anger rising in my chest. I finally decided to start back at the tube station and the killer is the Oxford bus stop was right there. I felt about two inches tall and cussed myself for being so uncharacteristically out of sorts.

Oxford: day 2 up next.