June 27

Beth blogs

We are here and safe! I am writing from the library in Banbury; we still do not have a land line or computer access at our townhouse. Anna and I do have cell phones, but they can only be used in the UK. Our friend told us the best thing to do to call the U.S. is to get a land line with international calling. He said it would be much cheaper. We've just been shopping at Castle Quay mall. Anna already checked out Claire's Boutique. Yes, they do have Hannah Montana stuff!

Drew made a new friend who also plays guitar. He is from our village; his name is Simon! He took us to the local pub Sunday evening where I had my first pint...boy did I sleep well!

Drew went to Liverpool today for a two day conference. Anna and I took the bus into Banbury, which is 3 miles North of Adderbury. That was pretty easy, however, most things are new and present a challenge. Different than how we take things for granted in the U.S.

Let me tell you, the roundabouts DO EXIST, and we have had several Chevy Chase moments. I am going to look into driving school for sure. Anna's school orientation is Monday; and the parent orientation is this Thursday night.

I believe the word I've used the most is "Wow!" I said it after we arrived safely in our driveway after a hair-raising drive from Heathrow, and I said it when I got a look at our shockingly small townhouse. Even though I did the dimensions of the floor plan and furniture in the computer to scale, to see it in person makes me think we will be storing our entire dining room set in the garage.

I will try to keep emailing from here in the days to come. We haven't had a chance to get things going with phones/internet. By the way, it's weird to see the old "Shakespearesque" buildings as a tourist, but even weirder living here and being part of the every day atmosphere! Those buildings are still used as places of business... incredibIe!


Wednesday:
Today was a bus trip in the other direction...into Oxford! We loved it! Very European feeling and lots of people from all ethnicities. Great architecture, shops and food everywhere. We need to go back and spend more time; we only saw a little part of it. Oxford is more our taste; Banbury is a smaller, sleepier version of Oxford.

Thursday:
Back to Banbury today...this time we walked in and rode the bus back. We keep going to market because we still do not have a phone, t.v., or home computer with Internet. Very quiet living in a village. Our friends are the sheep in the pasture and some horses across the street from the pasture. We attended parent student night at Anna's new school, Blessed George Napier. It was everything we had hoped for complete with gourmet cafeteria food that is the normal food the students will eat during the school day. Anna loved it.

July 6, 2008
Beth and Anna – intentional tourists

Drew is going to France on Tuesday and coming back on Thursday. He is going near Lyon, France. It's the industrial section of France. I want to go, too!!! Anna and I will be going to town and Oxford while he's gone to keep busy. There's a big festival in Adderbury at the park next weekend that includes music, games, and of course, beer. We're looking forward to that.

Drew got to ride a small boat up the Oxford canal to a pub on Friday for lunch with his coworkers.

The photo titled Sydenham Close is our caldesac, called a "close" in England. One of those white garage doors in the back of the photo is ours.

Anna and I love Oxford; I think we are city girls, whereas, Drew loves our quiet village of Adderbury. Anna and I love Oxford for all the excitement and hustle and bustle. There are lots of people from all different nationalities all over the streets. And lots of cool shops, restaurants, and not to mention, the amazing architecture of the different colleges of Oxford University. It feels very European to be in Oxford.

July 25
At home in the village

We like our village; it's an exact image of what you might imagine in your head...like a painting. Old stone cottages with a timber over the doors and windows; some buildings leaning a bit. Lots of flowers in yards and hanging from lampposts. It is very quaint and very quiet. There is a tiny post office, about the size of a closet that is only open two days a week for a half day each. Our village also has a small library and grocery store. We've been to three of the four pubs in our village and have enjoyed them all. I think we like the Bell Inn Pub the best so far. The owners and people there were very welcoming and friendly. On the first and third Monday of the month, they have live music that anyone can join in. We went over last Monday and Drew took his mandolin and played along. They sang and played old English folk tunes. Very interesting and fun to listen to while enjoying a pint of "Hooky Bitter." We've been told about Hook Norton Brewery which is just 6 miles from our village. They make some of the most popular beer in our region. The alcohol content is much higher than American beer, so I can only handle one pint per visit! We like to order "cheesy chips" along with our pint, which are cheese covered french fries.

We went to our village music festival one Saturday and it was a lot of fun. Lots of folk music and a lot of talent. It's funny because they all play American songs!!! They even had a burger and hot dog barbecue going. Anna got some cotton candy which they call "candy floss" over here.

Without a car and Drew at work during the day, Anna and I just take walks everyday, or take the bus to either Banbury just 3 miles north of us, or down south to Oxford, which is about 20 miles from us. Thank goodness we are on a main bus route. Yesterday, I found myself overlooking the Thames River from a bridge. That was so cool! So much history has happened on the Thames or surrounding that river. We will be going to London the first weekend in August by train. I am so excited to go back there. We were there 14 years ago on our honeymoon. I can't wait to show Anna some of the places we had visited. She wants to go on the London Eye, which is an extremely tall ferris wheel on the south bank of the Thames in London. The view is supposed to be incredible, but I'm afraid of heights!

We will be looking at cars this weekend. Buying or leasing a car here is one of the things we have found to be difficult. Our good credit score in American doesn't mean anything over here. Therefore, we are starting all over with establishing credit, which has an effect on how much they will give us in financing for a car. I might have to learn how to drive a standard, which is what is mostly driven in England. Automatic cars are more expensive and rare. And then there's learning how to drive.....they have a lot of driver education vehicles riding around our area. I may spend the money and take some lessons just because driving is so different here.

We were happy with Anna's school. It is names Blessed George Napier and is Roman Catholic. She attended a four-day orientation program, which she adapted to very well and made new friends on the first day. I am so grateful. I was worried about her the most with the move. The food they serve in the cafeteria at her school is fabulous. We tasted samples on parent-teacher night. They had everything from quiche, to curried pork, to pasta, to chicken, to pizza. Anna will have to learn French as part of her lessons next year.