play time with Hannah!

Hannah and I in a proper Brittish pub
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I'm still out of order with these travel logs.  I'll get things sorted for the next stint of my tour though.  Hopefully you've found this entry.

Alright, so last time I wrote I was in Oxford with Betsy and her boyfriend Mark (very nice chap).  We had lunch in the main dining hall for their college and then explored their campus all afternoon.  The gardens were beautiful and the buildings were pretty neat too.  Mark took us into a different college so that I could compare the two.  I'll post pictures shortly, I forgot to bring my camera cord with me just now.  We then went off to visit a park where the varisty rowers were practicing - I got some good shots.  Anyhow, that night Betsy, Mark and I went to a wine bar where we sampled a few before settling on a glass.  I'm determined to get wine bars going in Canada now.  Later on we went to an engagement party/bbq.  There was the UK version of American Idol on and they are quite into it here.  - And I thought all kids at Oxford were trapped in the library 24/7...not true!

Hannah eating Prawn Cocktail crisps (shrimp flavoured) at Covent Gardens with the Opera singer
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The next morning I jumped on the train and went to meet Hannah.  We recognized each other right away!  It was like no time had passed.  We chatted all the way back to her place and then I had dinner with her family.  A true English roast complete with apple struddle and a cream sauce - who's name is escaping me at the moment.  Starts with a c.... anyone?  Later that night we went to a little brittish pub and had some not so little brittsh beers with a couple of her friends.  It was lovely.

sideways pick of me popping out from behind a giant tree in St. James' Park
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The next day Hannah took me into London and we seriously covered the whole city!  We also managed to find our way to Buckingham palace just in time to watch a parade of the guards complete with a marching band.  Really fun.  And.... in the morning we had picked up half price tickets to Mary Poppins!  I didn't even know it had been turned into a musical!  I was so thrilled.  Hannah took me to covent gardens for lunch were we listened to a live opera singer and a string quartet (I know - crazy) and then we went off to another market camden (i think) where we did some exploring and some shopping.

traitor's gate at the Tower of London
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Hannah and I then had dinner a nice restaurant before heading to Mary Poppins.  The show was soooo good!  If anyone has the chance to go they should.  Highly recommended.  Hannah was afriad I was going to jump right up on stage with them.  Luckily I restrained myself.

Today Hannah's mom took me back into London and we explored the Tower of London - complete with all the gory stories that go along with it.  I don't think too many people received a fair trial in those days.   The entire day was a history lesson!  The tour guide was quite funny and had a lot to say about the american tourists....  ah well, I'm Canadian so I seem to be safe from most of the jokes.

Tower of London
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Tonight I met up with my new tour group and I have my roommate sorted out already.  Her name is Lauren and she's from Austrailia.  She's turning 24 this Thursday - while we're in Paris, so we should have a good night!  I'm just really glad that part is sorted, I was a little worried that I'd get paired with a weirdo.

That's all for now.  More pictures soon I promise.  Keep the e-mails coming!

Cheers,

Laura