Oh, the places we will go!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A Walk on the Wild Side

On Saturday, we decided to get out and

explore another world-famous market area in London,

Camden Town.

Camden is the center of artsy, funky, creative, alternative lifestyles in London.

It has a completely different feel from Portobello Market.

It's very loud and exciting.

Camden was the home of the late Amy Winehouse and is known for it's live music venues.

In the 1820's a canal was built in the area with a double-lock system that is still in operation.

There was a stable and horse hospital along the canal for the horses that pulled the boats up the canal.

In the1970's, the area was developed into markets and the tourists began flocking to the markets and shops.

There are several different markets and you will find just about anything you can imagine.

I just walked around with the camera in a state of over-stimulation. There was so much to see. Several stall owners gave me a hard time for taking pictures of their stalls, but I couldn't resist.

There are several Hookah Bars where you can have a drink and a smoke.

There are tons of original items to purchase, not the same old tourist stuff you see everywhere.

The food booths are plentiful and varied. The food was so good!

I loved the motorcycle seating in this area.

Hmm. Wonder what these are for?

We were walking along and found a huge spiral staircase. It was covered in these wood carvings. It looked like it was all hand done and it was amazing.

We walked a little bit farther and found an obscure black glass door.

My G&T radar went off so I suggested we enter.

It was just an escalator down and Matt wasn't too sure, but I twisted his arm.

I'm so glad we did!

We found a restaurant called Shaka Zhulu!

It is a 27,000 sq. ft., two-story South African restaurant, bar and club in the middle of Camden Market.

It is spectacular and would give most Vegas venues a run for their money.

These 20 ft. high warriors greet you.

The menu contains exotic meats likes zebra, ostrich, buffalo, crocodile and springbok.

This is at the top of our list of fun places to take out of town visitors.

London continues to surprise and amaze me. You just never know what you will find.

xoxo

Selena

Monday, March 19, 2012

Day Trip to Oxford

Here are some more pictures from Oxford as promised. They were taken with the Nikon D90.

In other news, I started the Couch to 5K program today and had my first run. I'm pretty chuffed! (I'm lovin' the lingo here.) My goal is to run a 5K this summer. I'll keep you posted. (I thought putting it out there, might keep it from being a Couch to More Couch program for me.)

xoxo

Selena

Oxford, England


Gargoyle & Water Spout

High Street is to UK as Main Street is to US.


Gargoyle!

Radcliffe Camera

Hertford Bridge aka Bridge of Sighs

Look past the Bridge of Sighs for this alleyway.

Follow along the alleys...

and you will find Turf Tavern, a well-hidden 13th century ale house.

Oxford Covered Market

Me: "But the meat isn't refrigrated!" Him: "You're so American." Me: "Lucky me."

Nummy!

I love shoes.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Educating Selena

You know how when you learn something new and you are embarrassed because you probably should have known that already? I hate when that happens. And the frequency of that occurrence has increased since the move. I've even started covering up my lack of knowledge. As we are exploring, the Englishman will often lean over to point something out to me. I'll roll my eyes and mumble "I know. Duh." Later, I'll google it for clarification. (Don't tell him.)

We decided to go to Oxford last weekend, so I hit up Tripadvisor to get some ideas on what to see. Obviously, close to the top of the list is Oxford University. Of course, I know about Oxford. It's the Uni that Hugh Grant attended. I bet he looked cute in those black robes they wear. Anyway.

In the top 50 attractions there were also 15 other colleges listed. I thought... "Uhm, I wonder why there are so many other colleges in Oxford. They must be like the community or business colleges that are springing up all over the U.S." I quickly removed them from the list of things to see in Oxford. Who wants to go visit a business college?

You see, in the US, colleges and universities are pretty much the same thing. It's a school you attend to get your degree once you graduate from High School (they don't do that here) or like me, when you are 40 and having a mid-life ~~crisis~~ restructuring (I'm sure they do that here). As we explored Oxford, I quickly realized that I had the wrong idea.

The University of Oxford has been around for over 1,000 years. Can you imagine? It is one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Throughout its distinguished history, countless world leaders, artists, scientists and religious leaders have studied at Oxford. What I didn't know was that, in addition to the University, there are over 40 separate "colleges" or "halls" that are a part of the Oxford University system.

The colleges are actually home base for the students. So, if you attend Oxford, you are the student of both the University and a college. They are similar to dorms or a sorority house, but on a larger scale. They are self-governing and each have their own identity. They each have their own residence halls, dining hall, chapel and libraries and are the center of student social life.

Lectures are held centrally at a "faculty" (which is a location not a group of people) such as the School of Maths (they say "maths" here, not "math"). Students from all of the colleges will attend the lectures. Smaller group studies or "tutorials" supporting the lectures are conducted at the college level.

The day we visited was the last day of term, so most of the colleges were closed to visitors, but we were able to tour the grounds of Trinity College. What a gorgeous setting to gain an education? I can just imagine living in one of these historical buildings with 100 or so other students. We were both wishing we were young again and had it all to do all over. What a privilege it must be to attend this school.

You will see from the pictures below, the dining hall we visited was very Harry Potter-esque. A note on the bulletin board listed the meals for the week. It also reminded the students that they had to wear their formal academic gowns to dinner and grace would be said in Latin. In fact, some of the scenes in Harry Potter were filmed at Christ Church College Oxford.

Here are a few more interesting notes about Oxford. The academic year lasts from October to June and is made up of three 8-week terms. At Oxford, they are called the Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity Terms. It takes three academic years to get a Bachelors Degree with Honors. And did you know that seven years later, at your request and with a fee, the University of Oxford will upgrade that degree to a Masters with no additional study?

My understanding is obviously elementary. And to those of you who know this system well, I apologize for my oversimplification and any errors. Oxford was a beautiful city to explore on a Saturday afternoon. And I received an education along the way.

xoxo

Selena

Per usual, I took several hundred pictures, but I've narrowed it down. Here are some from the colleges. I will post more pictures of the city in a separate post. These pics were taken with the Nikon D90.