London, the Alternate Universe

After a 24 hour marathon of last minute preparation, we found ourselves buckled in for flight on British Air, at last. The flight was dreamy - very smooth, quiet, with a tasty vegetarian dinner of Indian curry. We had a number of choices for movies to watch on individual video screens, and this was a real treat, after several weeks of being too busy to watch anything. One channel offered a map of the landforms we were currently flying over; how surreal to be breathing comfortably, watching movies, while soaring through space and time and a long night, into the next day and a country that is familiar yet quite unique. We become Peter Pan, but are we heading for window's window or Never-neverland?

Once we touched down smoothly, Heathrow was a breeze to pass through. The Colquhouns, our friendly hosts in London, had sent their employee Jordan with a large car to "collect us", sparing us the effort of hauling our heavy luggage through the maze of public transportation. The Tubes (London Underground) and trains are impressive to us, since our own public transportation is still primitive in Seattle by comparison, but there is still quite a learning curve to maneuvering through the maze of turnstiles and stations. What a relief to not have to deal with it in our sleep deprived condition.

The rest of Tuesday was spent converting money to pounds (the rate is a little better than two for one), getting reorganized, and then taking Georgina out for pizza. Georgina is a 12 and incredibly capable; she could serve as anybody's host in London, having traveled extensively with her family and being quite comfortable in the worlds of both adults and children.

Wednesday was a traveling day, with a train ride to Oxford University to visit Mark's friend Eliza. She had been a caretaker at the Good Shepherd Center in Seattle before applying for the Geomorphology program, and now lives in student housing. On this bitingly cold day, we took a taxi to nearby Brookes campus so Linus and Mark could do some bouldering at the climbing gym. I passed on this, feeling exhausted; instead, I took a walk in the bright sunshine and then a nap in the student lounge. On my walk, I noticed signs stating things like, "Dismount please - bicycles must use care" - which I think in America would say "No Bicycle Riding Here." This is what I mean by "Alternate Universe" - things seem familiar yet strangely different from home.

For example, they drive on the other side of the road. Since we're not driving here, the main adjustment is in crossing streets - you have to look right-left-right, not the other way around. Manners are very important in England, yet pedestrians have to yield to cars here; Seattle might be a genuine anomaly in that regard.

Back at the main campus, Eliza escorted us through the charming streets, lined with small shops and gorgeous architecture. The earliest colleges resemble castles, complete with spires and courtyard walls. Women did not attend Oxford until the 1920's. By the time we sat down for our delicious dinner of Indian fare, Linus was falling asleep in his lamb curry. We all crashed on the Express train back to London.

Thursday was Jet Lag payday - we all slept until 14:00, or two in the afternoon! Spent the afternoon shopping for chocolate cheesecake ingredients, and the evening visiting with the Colquhouns. Sleep was off again, given the long night Wednesday.
And today, Friday, we have a full day of sightseeing and celebrating Mark's 47th birthday!

Hasta la vista, Pearl