England, Tuesday Apr 20 (day 14 of our trip)

Wow, this 10-day trip is getting long! We awoke to several emails from various sources. Marti showed us the status for several flights in the next few days. They were all marked red, showing the likelihood of a stand-by passenger getting on the plain (green is best). I felt better knowing we had tickets now. Next, I created a "chip in" account online so I could beg my friends and family for money (the US embassy TOLD us to!). Although we're trying to be frugal day by day, staying in Britain is getting pricey, and the $1500 tickets were definitely an unexpected expense. While I checked online for tickets, Ben read Harry Potter. I was extremely pleased to see him reading, and captured it below for posterity:

To get out of the house, we headed towards town for lunch. We did what turned out to be window shopping, because no one carries anything that will fit Ben (shopping for him is cheap!), stopped by a travel agency to ask if there were any boats going to America (she said check the internet), stopped at a coffee shop with free wifi to try and buy a kindle book for iphone (couldn't get it working), and checked the movie theater to see if they sold matinee movie tickets on the cheap (they don't). All in all, we managed to accomplish…some exercise from all the walking.

I formed a theory while we walked that Oxford only has 3 streets, because I realized that it didn’t matter where we went, even the skating rink seemed to fit onto this little area of town! So I made this map, eventually settling on 7 official streets:

When we got back to the house, we read that British Air actually had planes leave this morning from far-off destinations headed towards Britian, in the hopes that British airspace opens later tonight, allowing them to land (yes, they do have backup plans). This daring is appealing to us, as it implies they could get their planes coming and going and clear out some of the mess before our flight is scheduled to leave. We also learned that the volcanic ash will be good for Scottish asparagus! Such excellent news.

I tried working a bit more, but had significantly less billable hours to log since I had caught up on email the day before. ‘Enjoy this time’ everyone keeps telling us. This is easier said than done when we’re stressed and poor...but yet the lazy days really have been enjoyable in themselves.

Cole invited me out to try mooing for a pint of ice cream. I said I would go, bringing Harry Potter along. When it was time to moo, Cole did an awesome impression, getting the whole warbly voice going. I almost chickened out, but then decided to do a musical version. I mooed up the octive one note at a time, and laughed at the mental picture of myself with arms outstretched and eyes closed. Cole totally one, but I’d like to think I pushed the judge in his direction by being awful!

I finished Harry Potter, then continued to the Tesco for some frozen pizza. I didn’t have a key since I had left with Cole, so I called up to Ben to get him to let me in. You don’t hear many people shouting in Britian, so I felt quite conspicuous. I tried the old ‘throw a pebble at the window’ trick, but it hit the window below ours (I have a terrible throwing arm), so I hid under the awning in case the Asain guy (only guy in the building we, and by that I mean Cole, isn’t friends with) peeked out. Luckily, a neighbour happened to look outside at that moment and let me in to the connecting building.

While eating, Ben and I read a very exciting article: the airport had opened! We decided to go for a celebratory pint, and told our news to Brook, Emily, and Cole. What a weight off our shoulders! We came home and started packing just in case we were able to get on a standby flight the next day. If the flight was un-cancelled, we would have to wake up at 3am to leave for the airport.

England, Thursday Apr 15 (day 9 of our trip)

The morning came way too soon for both of us. Well, the morning had come a few hours earlier for Ben, who woke up at 4am to watch the first game of the playoffs for the Avalanche. We went to the train station and met up with Emily and Tamara. Tamara met Cole before they went to Oxford, because she just happened to live in Loveland as well, and they actually shared a plane ride here when the semester started. So we ended up talking about Loveland an embarrassing (but enjoyable) amount throughout the day. However, Ben and I didn't nap on the train like we'd planned due to all the talking, so we were pretty tired in London.

On our connecting train heading towards the Indian side of town, we heard an announcement over the loud speakers that a volcano had erupted in Iceland, and the airport was closed! This was big news since we were supposed to catch a plane home the very next day. We got off the train, then traveled down the street towards the restaurant that Cole had read about in his guide book. A few restaurant owners that we passed started harassing us to eat there—offering free bundhi and other deals. We decided that was really a turn-off more than anything, and ended up Aladdin, that boasted it had been spoken well of by prince Charles. After ordering, Ben and I decided to still walk over to the internet cafe and check in for our flight, to try and get at the top of the list of standby passengers. We didn't have our little papers with us though, so we called the US to get the code we needed. Turned out it was 6am and we'd woken her up, and later we would find out that all flights were cancelled for Friday anyway. Woops! But we returned in time for a delicious meal of Indian food. After eating, we went a little further down the street and stopped at an Indian bakery. The people we were with picked up various treats that seemed to swim in sugar. I decided all he walking around must be what keeps the people of Oxford so slim, since they loved to eat just as much as we did.

Next, we headed towards Big Ben, and the more touristy part of London. We stopped at the building that leads to Buckingham palace, guarded by traditional English guards. We felt bad for their high leg guards and low helmets that must be hard to see out of! Then we went to a nearby park for a few minutes to pass time until the traditional inspection of the guard. Ben and I instantly closed our eyes in the park—we were both so tired that day! Then we walked over to watch the inspection, which was an amusing combination of extreme formality, and smiles here and there. I think the guards realized how on-display they were, and were sort of laughing at the little play they were putting on for the tourists.

We headed a little further down the street, to Trafalgar square. It was guarded by lions on 4 corners, and a huge statue commemorating admiral Nelson from the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, in the middle. Behind it was the English museum. Ben and I marveled at these buildings that had been built by the state, and wondered if any government still had the money or power to create such intricate, huge architectural wonders anymore.

Our next stop was a beautiful covered market (I'll have to look up these names later!). It was beautiful, with 2 open-air levels, beautiful architecture, and live performances. We stopped at a cupcake place that Alice had recommended (she's actually the Brit who gave us the loan of her room). Nearby, a street performer appeared to be getting nude in front of a wide audience. We watched for a bit, but got tired as he drew out the ending, so we never found out how far he stripped. What a strange show to put on! Then we decided to stop for a drink somewhere, and ended up outside a restaurant in a large patio area they were serving on. The days we've been here have been exceedingly warm and nice, and it was a lovely place to take a break. Behind us, a musician crooned and played the guitar, and an older lady danced interpretively behind him. We were pretty sure he didn't know she was there. I had a glass of wine and Ben had a cup of Espresso (which believe me, didn't help—by this time he was dead to the world). Then we meandered towards the train station to go home to Oxford.

On the train, we chit-chatted about all sorts of things. We talked about Cole's upcoming trip to Nigeria where he would study the film industry known as "Nollywood." Emily told us about the research work she would do over the summer in South America. Something to do with non-profits in the area. We talked about research ethics and methodology, and then I fell asleep because it was mostly over my head.

We arrived home and walked over to the Mission, a local big-burrito place that seemed to be a direct ripoff of Chipotle. Of course, it wasn't quite the same, but still very enjoyable. We watched a Community—a tv show online, then blessedly, went to bed.