When in Europe, GALLIVANT

JUST FINISHED MY LAST TUTORIAL! It is bitter sweet indeed. That makes 13 total papers written and turned in while I've been in Oxford. Roughly 26,000 words.

I can tell that my days in the last few weeks have gotten extremely busy because I haven't had time to sit down and write a blog post about all the gallivanting I've been doing (cause that's what you do in Europe, gallivant). Now I have such a feeling of relief knowing that I can sit here without a paper looming in the back of my mind and can fill in Emily Estes about my daily life.

A day by day catch up is in order:

Moo Moos Milkshakes

Wednesday: I was scheduled to have my Tolkien tutorial with Barry. Since there has been flooding, he was unable to make it into town on time by the train so had to reschedule for Thursday. I didn't get this message until I was at Penelope's. So I spent the next hour just talking in the basement with her.

Tower view

Then I walked with Britney and Adrie to get some lunch. Since we've been here we've walked past a pizza place almost everyday and drooled looking through windows. Finally on Wednesday we decided to actually eat there (and lunch is cheaper, so it worked well). Then afterwards we went to the Covered Market and got Moo Moos (yes, real name) milkshakes. Tasty!
After spending time back at the flat working on my next tutorial, I headed back out with Adrie and other Olivia to evensong at St. Michael's church (Penelope and Francis are members there and we met them both). After the service, Penelope took us up the bell tower and we were able to see a view of Oxford from above. It was nighttime, but the shadows of the spires, and the Christmas lights below were truly amazing to look at.

NARNIA!

Thursday: I met Barry at Penelope's for our final tutorial. I read my essay, Barry said, "Excellent!" and then we left along with Britney for a cab. The three of us got in a taxi and made a loop around Oxford so that Barry could show us some Tolkien and Lewis (Britney is studying CS Lewis) places. We started at Lewis' house. Then Barry showed us the pond behind the house. Guess what this was? NARNIA! (well it's where Lewis wrote and was inspired to write Narnia). We didn't enter through a wardrobe, just an iron gate. Then we stopped by both Tolkien and Lewis' grave sites before heading back.

HARRY POTTER STEPS!

The taxi dropped Britney and me off outside of Christ Church where we then met Adrie. We have been wanting to visit Christ Church ever since week one, but it wasn't until yesterday that we were able to squeeze in time. Finally I was able to walk the same staircase as Harry Potter and see the Great Hall.
Instead of grabbing dinner, we headed over to Penelope and Francis' house for a "Farewell Tea Party" in our honor. Penelope outdid herself making cakes, scones, brownies, sandwiches, and of course tea. The five of us students presented the Warners with a gift: a framed picture of all of us at Blenheim. In return Francis gave us another one of his books. It has seriously been an absolute pleasure having the Warners as guides and hosts this semester, our English mum and dad!

Friday (TODAY): I had my last tutorial on the Anglican Church. I woke up early this morning to finish the essay, then I went to the library to use the printer. I had about an hour to kill, so I went to Primark and made my first purchase after months of just browsing: legwarmers! (The temperature highs have recently been in the 30s.) Next I went to Tesco to get a few things for next week: bread and peanut butter. Finally I had my tutorial, turned in my last paper, and then went out to eat with the rest of the group.

I've now got both suitcases out of my closet and am slowly starting to fill them. One will go with me to Scotland on Sunday. This is so very weird, especially taking down pictures and letters from my walls. My roommate left early this morning for Paris, and the other Olivia leaves tomorrow for Amsterdam. Cam and Adrie leave for the States on Sunday...so last night and tonight have been all about saying goodbyes.

Tomorrow is my last full day in Oxford. WHAAAAT?