On Holiday: Oxford and London

Alright, time to catch up on the blog! Life has been incredibly busy lately, but I wanted to share some adventures and pictures from this summer- there's a lot of catching up to do!

Andrea (my former roommate and best friend from college) came over to Oxford to visit on August 4th. We hung around Oxford for a few days seeing the colleges, exploring the University, and planning our visits to Switzerland and Ireland. We managed to get everything packed and organized by 3:30am the morning before we left for London... that left a full four hours to sleep before catching the bus! We set off for a two week trip with our camping and climbing gear and two changes of clothes. A park in Oxford

Andrea and I in Magdalen College

We spent the 8th walking about 20 miles around London. We covered Hyde Park, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, London Tower and London Bridge and quite a bit more in between! London Castle

London Bridge, letting a boat through.

Houses of Parliament and the River Thames

Big Ben

The side of Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace (above), and Andrea and I in front of the gates (below)

We even stopped for the obligatory fish and chips. Andrea had never taken a 'metro' of sorts, so at the end of the day we happily decided that she needed to experience London's underground tube. We stayed in a hostel in central London (Andrea's first hostel experience), which remained noisy until 2 or 3am. After another night of little sleep, we set off for Basel, Switzerland!

Hyde Park

Snowdonia

I traveled to Snowdonia National Park a couple weekends ago with a couple guys from my lab and their wives. The park sits on the west coast of Wales, and contains Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales (3560feet). It is a gorgeous area, and very unlike other areas I've seen in England. If you removed the pine trees (and I believe the beetles are doing that for us), it looks vaguely like the Black Hills.
Hiking Snowdon is a popular activity, and there are many routes to the top. There's even a train going to the summit! We chose one of the harder, less-populated, but non-technical routes. We hiked along a knife-edge ridgeline, the beginning of which you can see in the center of the pictures below.The area had numerous lakes, and we lucked out with a gorgeous day (well, possibly minus the 60mph wind on the knife-edge that caused my compatriots to stay low to the ground...)

The scramble up to the ridgeline,And the line we walked for a couple hours. It wasn't difficult, but with the wind and the drop offs on both sides, it required a bit of caution. The summit of Snowdon in the background below,


And the view from the top. Such an enjoyable day!We stayed in a hut owned by the Oxford Mountaineering Club that night, which was basic, but charming. The next day, on the drive home, we stopped at the oldest Slate mine in Wales. We toured the mine via the old miner's tramway, built in 1846, and learned about the world of the Welsh slate miners during the reign of Queen Victoria. It sounds like a very random detour, which it was, but it was rather cool. The tour was done in English, though the Welsh accent was pretty difficult to decipher!

Balliol Garden Party

Balliol had it's last party of the academic year a couple weekends ago: our annual Garden Party. This year's theme was 'Arabian Nights,' and we lucked out with amazing weather. Finally, after all those winter nights of being jealous of the guys' jackets while I shivered in formal dresses, the summer evening suited the girls just fine!This party had been in the works for the last 3 months, and those who planned it did a marvelous job. It was complete with a champagne reception, an outdoor dinner, and a few speeches. Then the floor was cleared for dancing, and a couple bands played while we drank 'Arabian' cocktails and watched some belly dancing. After the bands were exhausted, a DJ took over and the dancing continued until around 2am.The graduate community, referred to as the MCR, is governed by students. I have been utterly impressed at what a great community the students serving on the MCR committee have created at Balliol. Thus, I decided to join this committee for the upcoming year. I designed a platform and ran for Secretary, which I won. At midnight on the night of the garden party, we had the official ceremony, which handed over responsibilities to the new committee members. Below is Michael, the former Secretary, placing an imaginary crown on my head.Now an official committee member, I got the opportunity to join in the clean up process of the garden party, which started around 2 and lasted until 6am! Afterward, I managed to catch a quick nap, then awoke to a lovely brunch in the garden :)

Parting with a friend

During my first term at Oxford, I became friends with Matt, who, originally from Ontario, was at Oxford for only one academic year, doing political philosophy. As the academic year has now ended, Matt has returned home to finish his studies. But, Chris and I got the opportunity to spend Matt's last day in Oxford with him, visiting our favorite places and enjoying the atmosphere. Our morning started at the Sheldonian Theatre, which has seen much traffic lately with numerous graduation ceremonies. (Chris left, Matt right) We then moved on the the Turf Tavern, which dates back to the 13th century, and is also where former President Clinton, "didn't inhale." Next, off for lunch and coffee, then punting. To imagine punting, think of Venice: flat bottomed boats, pushed along with long poles. It takes a bit to get the hang of it, but it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Well, except if I'm navigating... then it turns into a rather thorny and muddy experience...
Afterward, we ventured to the covered market to procure picnic supplies, then to Worcester College, where we found the perfect picnic spot in a tree over a lake!
After enjoying bread, cheese, wine, olives, and grapes in our tree, we retreated back to Holywell Manor, where we watched a movie, then spent the rest of the evening (and early morning) chatting.
It's always sad to separate from a friend with whom you've shared so many fun times. Matt, thank you for all the very wonderful adventures at Oxford, and for all the late night discussions, often full of talk about dragons!

Prince Charles

About a week ago I got the opportunity to go see Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, deliver a lecture on 'Islam and the Environment'. It was held in the Sheldonia Theatre, shown below, and I was seated in the top balcony.I think I echo the general feeling of the audience when I say that the Prince was captivating and compelling... well, maybe just interesting... or at least mildly engaging...
Well, ok, nevermind. I guess what I mean is that the Prince was... Royal. Yes, that's it.

Expedition Uzatagh Postponed

After much deliberation, our team has decided to officially postpone our expedition to Mt. Uzatagh. It won't happen this summer, and we'll wait and evaluate conditions, team members, and funding early next year. It's pretty disappointing to have spent so much time preparing for this expedition and acquiring all the sponsorships and grants, but this is the right decision at the moment. This process has taught me much about how to coordinate an expedition of this magnitude, and I hope that this will prove useful in the future. Thank you to everyone for their support, most especially my parents, who I'm sure were uneasy about the idea of their daughter venturing into the middle of nowhere in China. Just a few of the organizations and corporations that made this expedition imaginable:
Mount Everest Foundation -- Mountain Fellowship Award -- Andrew Croft Memorial Fund -- British Mountaineering Council --Edelwiess -- Nickwax Weatherproofing -- Anatom -- Boreal -- DMM -- Brasenose and Balliol Colleges -- Oxford University Exploration Club -- And a very special thanks to the generous support of the American Alpine Club.

Sulgrave Manor

The American Rhodes Scholars were invited to to a luncheon at Sulgrave Manor last weekend, the family home of the ancestors of George Washington, located about an hour from Oxford. Four generation of the Washington family lived there until 1657. In was established in 1539 by Lawrence Washington.. His great-great grandson, John, moved to Virginia in 1657. John's great grandson was that one guy on Mt. Rushmore. It was rescued by the British American Peace Committee in 1914 and set up to be "a centre from which sentiments of friendship and goodwill between the American and British peoples will forever radiate."
And although that American flag flying in front made me feel like I was back in the states, the posted signs soon reminded me that I was still in England: