London, Theatre, and Hiking Around Oxford
Since our last update we’ve been to London, where we managed to get tickets to see the musical Oliver!, a wonderful 40-year-old show that has been revived in the West End in London in the past couple of years. It was an outstanding production, with great singers, interesting and innovative sets, and a big group of talented youngsters who played the roles of English street kids of the Charles Dickens era (the show is based on Dickens’s book Oliver Twist).
We also made a visit to Harrod’s, the famous London department store, where we explored the various children’s departments and the food halls, among others. We also enjoyed a Japanese dinner at a restaurant with various kinds of sushi on a conveyor belt—As we’ve done before at similar places, we simply picked the plates we liked off the conveyor, and after the meal the staff simply count the number (and color) of the plates to calculate the bill.
In London we stayed at our favorite little hotel, the Luna & Simone. This is a 4- or 5-story hotel (no lift!) in a long row of beautiful old buildings (1840s), many of which have been converted to small hotels. We like this place not only because it’s near Victoria Station, but also because it’s owned by a friendly, service-oriented family headed by two guys who are middle-aged identical twins. They treat us well, serve a nice breakfast, and are invariably kind and helpful.
Back at home in Oxford, we’ve again been walking and exploring, including three long walks to interesting pubs on the outskirts of the city. We returned to the beautiful Trout Inn, situated on the Thames River 2 or 3 miles north of the city—Ken walked there through the meadows of the Oxford Nature Park, and Connie took the bus, meeting him at the pub. After having lunch and enjoying the view of the river, we walked back to Oxford via the Thames Path.
We also found the Victoria Arms, another pub situated in a beautiful country setting, this one east and a bit north of us, along the River Cherwell. This pub has excellent food, picnic tables in the garden extending down to the river, and horses in the pasture next door. After a pleasant lunch, we followed a walking path south along the Cherwell, eventually walking all the way to the Oxford city centre, from which we took the bus home. This was a walk of perhaps 5 miles or so.
Finally, we found our way to North Hinksey, a village on the southwest edge of Oxford. We walked from a busline going west out of Oxford, finding the village after a walk of a half mile or so. We were in search of The Fishes, a fine pub in a big Victorian building—again with a large lawn, picnic tables, and a stream running nearby. The Fishes is located near 4 or 5 much older thatched houses, making for a very picturesque village atmosphere. After another fine lunch, we followed a public footpath through nearby woods and back to Oxford, where we walked back to the city centre before catching a bus back home to our neighborhood.
We also made a visit to Harrod’s, the famous London department store, where we explored the various children’s departments and the food halls, among others. We also enjoyed a Japanese dinner at a restaurant with various kinds of sushi on a conveyor belt—As we’ve done before at similar places, we simply picked the plates we liked off the conveyor, and after the meal the staff simply count the number (and color) of the plates to calculate the bill.
In London we stayed at our favorite little hotel, the Luna & Simone. This is a 4- or 5-story hotel (no lift!) in a long row of beautiful old buildings (1840s), many of which have been converted to small hotels. We like this place not only because it’s near Victoria Station, but also because it’s owned by a friendly, service-oriented family headed by two guys who are middle-aged identical twins. They treat us well, serve a nice breakfast, and are invariably kind and helpful.
Back at home in Oxford, we’ve again been walking and exploring, including three long walks to interesting pubs on the outskirts of the city. We returned to the beautiful Trout Inn, situated on the Thames River 2 or 3 miles north of the city—Ken walked there through the meadows of the Oxford Nature Park, and Connie took the bus, meeting him at the pub. After having lunch and enjoying the view of the river, we walked back to Oxford via the Thames Path.
We also found the Victoria Arms, another pub situated in a beautiful country setting, this one east and a bit north of us, along the River Cherwell. This pub has excellent food, picnic tables in the garden extending down to the river, and horses in the pasture next door. After a pleasant lunch, we followed a walking path south along the Cherwell, eventually walking all the way to the Oxford city centre, from which we took the bus home. This was a walk of perhaps 5 miles or so.
Finally, we found our way to North Hinksey, a village on the southwest edge of Oxford. We walked from a busline going west out of Oxford, finding the village after a walk of a half mile or so. We were in search of The Fishes, a fine pub in a big Victorian building—again with a large lawn, picnic tables, and a stream running nearby. The Fishes is located near 4 or 5 much older thatched houses, making for a very picturesque village atmosphere. After another fine lunch, we followed a public footpath through nearby woods and back to Oxford, where we walked back to the city centre before catching a bus back home to our neighborhood.
Thatched-roof houses in Hinksey
These adventures are serving at least 2 functions: They’re helping us to know the fascinating off-road nooks and crannies of our area, and they’re hopefully getting Ken in shape for an upcoming 3-day hike (with friends Mike and Jonathan) on Offa’s Dyke, along the England-Wales border. We’re starting to realize that our time here is getting short—Classes at St. Clare’s College end next week, and Heather, Steve, & Jamie will arrive on May 18 to spend 10 days or so with us before we return to the States on May 29. In the meantime, we continue to realize how fortunate we are to have this opportunity, and we’ll write more over the next month.
posted by Connie | 2:24 PM
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