Saying Bye to Oxford and London

Patrick arrived in Oxford Thursday afternoon in time for dinner and packing by me. Friday we went to London to spend some time with Patrick's cousins before leaving very early on Sunday! Here's a run down with photos.

Friday: I took Patrick on a tour of Oxford in the morning before we left for London at 3. He got some cookies from the best cookie maker in the world, Ben's Cookies, and a milkshake from Moo Moo's. However, he chose a really gross flavor for his shake so it did not work out well. In the afternoon Patrick and I went to the Pitt-Rivers Archaeology Museum in Oxford to see to some shrunken heads. It is a great museum! Then around 3 we went to London to meet up with Dara and Aida, Patrick's cousin and wife. They were so friendly. They took us out for a wonderful dinner. After dinner we met up with Anthony and his girl friend before coming back to the house and passing out.

Saturday: After eating breakfast with Dara and Aida we said bye to them. They were heading to their country house for construction duties. Patrick and I then headed out to London and met up with Rachel (from the UGA at Oxford trip) at Leicester Square. We bought tickets for Avenue Q and grabbed some lunch at Pizza Hut (free refills!) so we could watch the entertainment in the square. Apparently almost every show in London came to preform a few songs. Thus, I've seen several shows now. ;) After the show (hilarious) Rachel, Patrick and I went to the Tate Modern before saying bye to Rachel (again) and heading back to the apartment. We ate a quick dinner and got ready for bed.

Sunday: I woke up at 5 so I could be out the door by 6 to get to the tube station. When we got to the tube station at 6:20 (blame Patrick for being slow) it was closed. That station doesn't open that early on Sundays. We then hailed a cab because we had to get to Victoria Station to catch the Express train to Gatwick. We caught the 6:30 train and made to Gatwick by 7 am. After checking our bags (Patrick's bag was too heavy so I had to put some of his stuff in my suitcase) we headed to the gate, grabbed some breakfast and waited to take-off. We landed in Athens at 3:15 local time (Athens is 7 hours ahead of Atlanta) and started making our way after getting our luggage to the metro to ride to our hotel. After wandering around Omonia (our Athens neighborhood) we finally caught a taxi to the airport because we were getting hopelessly lost. After showering we went out to a lovely rooftop dinner that overlooked the Acropolis. We had the best olive oil with bread ever and the best balsamic vingear on our traditional kebabs (the tzazaki sauce is so good here) We then headed back to our hotel to get ready for the Acropolis on Monday!

Robe

I'm Harry Potter (and really tired in this picture)!

Twelfth Week

Well it's done. Twelve whole weeks are done. 23 papers/presentations completed.

Am I dead exhausted?
Yes :|

Was it worth it?
Yes! :)

Am I sad to leave?
Yes :(

Am I ready to come home to America?
Maybe after I tour Europe a little ;)

This week I only had one tutorial-my last Roman Britain Archaeology tutorial. I had a double tutorial because she missed the first week. It lasted 1&1/2 hours. It was really well (even if it was long and I was sleepy). I gave a presentation on art and style. My teacher said it was one of the best presentations on art and style she has seen.

Nothing very exciting happened this week. It was a very busy week finishing up work and getting ready for traveling. Plus, everyone is leaving so we're all sappy and sentimental.

Now I just have to wash clothes and pack. And wait for Patrick to arrive.

Goooo USA!

Some of us decided to go out to an English pub on Saturday for the full football experience. It was great fun watching the people sing along to their National Anthem and yell at their goalie (yay USA!). I ended up leaving at half-time because I needed to get back to the house, but some of my friends stayed until the very end. Team USA did tie England, so that was great!

We painted stars on our faces:

It was really hot in the pub!

Eleventh Week

I'm almost done! These three months have blown by so quickly. This week I had two tutorials, and worked in the archaeology lab again.

My Roman archaeology tutorial went by with no fuss. I worked in her lab again this week on Tuesday. I hoping my free labor inspires her to give me a good grade! My tutor doesn't actually give me grades on anything I do, so this extra work should help my overall grade.

I had my last Celtic Archaeology tutorial this week and received my final paper grade, an 'A++'! I was so excited because that paper was a pain to write. I had to hunt for the books I needed for my research. It feels so good to end on such a high note.

This weekend I just have to start packing for my Grand European Adventure with Patrick. He arrives next Thursday-less than a week!

In case you forgot what I look like...

...Paddington Bear reminds y'all that I am still as pale as when I left home (I am the only one of my friends that ended up looking like this. I don't know why).

This picture makes me laugh and helps me avoid my Archaeology reading. Who wants to read about Roman age plows (or ploughs) anyways... certaintly not someone taking a class in it. ;)

Punting

Well I finally got to go punting in Oxford this Saturday. I went punting on my Pilgrimage, the summer after ninth grade, and had fun, but it was really hard. Punting might have been slightly easier this time, but was still pretty difficult at times. I made us run into the bank several times, but I eventually got the hang of it. I am definitely not a natural punter. Rachel, Ali, Andrea, Sarah Smith and Sarah Conkin joined me on this adventure on the Thames.

Posted below are some pictures of our ride: