One Year Ago Today

...We touched down in a plane at London Heathrow. (This is usually the point in the blog where we apologize for it having been so long since we last wrote, but who are we kidding anymore? So I'll just get on with it). We then got on another plane to Aberdeen, Scotland. We then took a train to Elgin. Then we took a taxi to our cottage just outside Buckie. Riding around on various forms of transportation in rapid succession seems to be one of our most consistent past times, and is a pretty succinct picture of us as a couple. We pretty much do it all the time. So in recognition of that and to commemorate our one year anniversary as a couple, two days ago, we walked to the underground station, took a tube to London Paddington, took a train to Oxford, walked across the city of Oxford, and got on a boat. More on that later.

A week before that, we took a tube to another tube, walked between stations, and got on a bus to Cheltenham for my birthday. Cheltenham is in the Cotswolds, which is pretty much the quintessential quaint English village and countryside region. The bus ride itself was really nice, and we saw a lot of really pretty countryside on the way up. The Cotswolds have been on our to-do list since we were first in Oxford 3 years ago, so it was really fun to finally see the area.

It was a really nice city, and we walked around a bit just enjoying its gushing amount of Englishness. Then we took a short walk to the south through a village called Leckhampton, and walked up to the top of Leckhampton hill. It was a really fun walk, despite the rain on the way up. There were lots of really nice houses and gardens, and then once we got onto the hill it was just nice to be in nature and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. There were some really great views of the Cotswolds from the top of the hill.

And, the main attraction of our journey:

The Devil's Chimney.

A really weird rock formation that's basically a column of limestone standing free on the side of the hill. It's pretty strange, and there's all kinds of theories as to how it came to be there, from geological musings and deals with the devil to, my favorite, that the limestone miners quarried around it in the 18th century and left it there as a joke.

Also, before that, we did have a quick trip back to the States in June to visit family. It also worked out that we got to go to our friends Whitney and Justin's wedding, which was really nice. It was a great wedding with delicious food and lot's of dancing; we really enjoyed that.

Although we were really busy visiting all our family while we were back, we were able to set aside a day for adventure with Chelsea's parents, and toursit-ed it up in Atlanta. If there's one thing you learn from travelling all over, it's how little locals appreciate their own touristy things. So we decided we would enjoy Atlanta's tourism and visited the new World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium. Neither of us had ever been to those (though I did visit the old World of Coke) so we thought it would be a good new experience. Since most of you all probably know the basics with those, I'll keep the explanations brief and leave you with some pictures.

I must say one thing though: The advertising bombardment you experience in the World of Coke really works. I found myself really craving a Coke while we were in there, and all the nasty flavors they let you sample from around the world do not do the trick (I know; I tasted every one). Have to go with the original. And, afterwards, we both found ourselves to be even more of Coke snobs (Chelsea used to say there was no difference from Pepsi; I used to say Pepsi was pretty good simply because it almost tasted like Coke; now, we're kinda picky about it). But John Rice wasn't phased, and remained loyal to his Cracker Barrel to-go cup throughout the adventure:

Jumping forward again to July 4th (in case you haven't figured it out, there will be absolutely no chronological order to this post), we had a wonderful BBQ (what the Brits call anything cooked outdoors on a grill) with some friends from church, including 1 fellow American. Our British friends were good sports about losing their colonies.

And jumping forward again to two days ago, I'll pick up where I left off at the beginning. We're on a boat in Oxford. Not just any boat. A punt. No, not what you do to an inflated leather ball. Not even the other strange British usage of "punter," which as far as I can tell, means something similar to "customer" or "paying guest." No, this is the third British usage of the word. A sort of cross between a canoe and a gondola, and more squarish. And one person has to stand balancing on the back of the thing and push it around the canal system using a big heavy pole (guess whose job that was?) It's a pretty famous Oxfordian past time, and they even get into arguments with Cambridge about the best way to do it. Anyway, we've wanted to do it for a really long time, and it seemed like returning to the place we first met was the perfect way to celebrate our one year anniversary.

Other than that, we mostly just walked around Oxford and enjoyed remembering how pretty it is. We walked through Christ Church Meadows, along some more canals, and even spied on Trinity College a little bit where we used to stay.

We tried to go see the Ashmolean Museum as well, since Chelsea had never been there. Sadly, she still hasn't, as the Museum closes every Monday (who closes on a Monday?)

So to make up for it, we got an awesome Nutella and Reese's milkshake from Shakespeare's Milkshakes, which is pretty much one of the most awesome combinations ever (both our choice of flavors, as well as the marriage of the Bard with delicious frozen dairy products).

And then we wound down the day cozying up on a sofa in a back room of the King's Arms, our favorite pub in Oxford. I had a Double Chocolate Stout, and Chelsea had a Banana Bread Beer; essentially two of the greatest drinks ever created.

Then, the moment of triumph: the Van! We had been fantasizing about getting van food for dinner ever since we decided to visit Oxford again, but we were unsure if we'd ever get the chance. Van food was, and is, one of the greatest culinary achievements of all times. It takes ordinary doner and chips, multiplies it by awesome, and raises it to the power of cheap and convenient. Sadly, however, when we were studying in Oxford three years ago, Hussan, our favorite van food purveyor, mysteriously disappeared for the last week that we were there. We were very worried about him and didn't even know if he was alright. What if he got deported, or worse? Why wasn't he peddling his savory wares on Broad Street every night? Where was he?

So, as we left the King's Arms and rounded the corner, the van's "spot" came into view, and we strained our eyes to find that white paneled vehicle that would mean victory. Our hearts sank as we saw nothing. But then! As we drew closer, we saw something, something else. A large, silvery metallic colored vehicle. Like a van, but larger. More industrial. Could it be? Could there be a new van? It is! Has someone taken over Hussan's old stomping grounds? Could they ever live up, ever fill his shoes?

But wait! The last lines of the van's large red lettering confirmed our wildest hopes. It was Hussan! Back and with a new and improved van, bigger and shinier, better than ever!

Then we calmly walked up to the van, ordered one doner and chips and cheese, burger sauce, no salad, and one chicken and chips, burger sauce, lettuce only, paid our meager homage of 7 pounds, and went and sat on the steps of some awesome/old/important building to enjoy this fine delicacy. It was a perfect conclusion to our day.

Then, jump forward yet again to yesterday, (well maybe just take a small step, it's only one day, after all), when Chelsea started her internship at the British Library! She's doing it nearly full time for the next two weeks, and she's really excited about it. So on her first day yesterday, she started off alphabetizing and organizing a bunch of old manuscripty stuff. It sounds kind of tedious, but she was so excited to be working in the BL and applying all the things that she's learned, she still had a lot of fun. Then, after lunch, she got an even cooler job. So for her cool job, she got to go on a treasure hunt for valuable reports from Sir Hans Sloane. So for those of you who don't know (all of you, I'm guessing?) Sir Sloane was a pretty important dude. First, he invented hot chocolate. That's right. For most people, that would be enough awesomeness for their entire life. They'd say, "Wow, I just invented that? I'm just gonna go nap for the rest of my life. I have accomplished enough for one human being." But not Sloane. He was also pretty much the most intense pack rat to ever exist. Even more intense than those crazy people on that show Hoarders. He kept everything. Which turns out to be a really good thing and a really bad thing. Good, because his collections became the foundation of the British Museum, which is in turn where the British Library came from. So he founded the British Museum, the British Library, and, oh wait, the Natural History Museum too. So that was pretty awesome.

But, it can also be a bad thing. Because after he died, and left behind stacks and stacks of papers piled to the ceiling, no one wanted to sort through all the grocery lists and receipts and random doodles, none of which would he throw away, and find all the important stuff. So instead, they just took big handfulls of the papers and shoved them together and bound them up into books without even looking at what's inside. So that's where Chelsea comes in. She is now searching through these massive volumes of random pieces of paper preserved from Sloane's life, looking for these special scientific reports. Oh yeah, he was a scientist and physician too. So there are these really valuable documents buried in all this random stuff and Chelsea is going to find it. And she absolutely loves it! Yesterday she found a thrilling report about his smallpox inoculation tests. He got permission to test his smallpox inoculations (like a precursor to the modern vaccine, except you actually get smallpox - like on HBO's John Adams, if you've seen it) on six condemned prisoners. And at least three of the prisoners actually survived! But he suspiciously never finished his report on the other three prisoners, so, well...let's just assume that they survived too, and he was just too busy inventing hot chocolate to tell of his successes.