Trip from Dun Laoghaire to Oxford. Not far - mileage wise. Time-wise: Might as well have been Tasmania. We were told: "Do the Rail&Sail deal - it's so cheap!" so....we did...and....it's not. Nor is it quick. I kid you not, it was easier to get to Dublin from the U.S.
For instance, on the way back to Dublin, we left the Oxford B&B at 7 am.
Taxi to the station-
2 hour train ride-
2nd 2 hour train ride-
3rd 2 hour train ride-
3 1/2 hour ferry back to Dublin -
bus ride from ferry to train terminal -
train through Dublin -
then 1 mile walk home.
Home 6:30 pm
(all while hauling a near 2 year old, a stroller, backpacks, and a very large suitcase)
Next time, we shall fly. I just wanted to share how exorbitantly far Oxford seemed after a day like that. We were really shocked at how complicated it was but... onto the good things!
As we left Dublin - walking onto the StenaLine ferry - we were greeted by a very large Curious George!
The ferry is really more like a low-end cruise ship than a ferry (or at least any ferry I'm used to). There were several restaurants, stores, coffee shops, rooms to watch movies, arcades, and a children's play area. I only say "low-end" because I've never been on a cruise ship and I know the calibur of boat would blow this out of the water. Pun intended?
Norah on the 1st train ride - asleep - just like we like her. =)
The Thames River and the tiny Oxford boats.
Alice & Wonderland was written here and inspired by the children who lived across the street from this shop - in the Christchurch. Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Dodgson) worked there and befriended the children of the Dean: Harry, Alice, Lorina and Edith.
The sweet Oxford Taxis. My favorite part was that we could just wheel the stroller (buggy) right on into the back seat. High society.
I think I recognize that name! We went in and bought Norah some sweet books here. One very sweet one called "Oh Boris!" about a grizzly bear and another about a Hippo and his bird. Published by none other than: Oxford University Press.
Main road through town: High Street.
On a door on a side street.
Little one sleeping again while Mommy has a latte at Patisserie Valerie
We walked Wayne to the conference on the first morning and I, of course, wanted to take his pictures outside (like a mom). =) He's a good sport though, and humors me.
I snapped this because there are signs on the entire length of this fence that say "Absolutely No bicycles" and there's yet another student chaining hers up. If there's an open square inch of iron, a bike is chained to it in Oxford.
Prince William - The Duke of Cambridge
The French Restaurant where we had my birthday dinner. It was phenomenal!! I had a steak dish and then we had fondue for dessert!! Made me ppprrreeettty happy.
Now I'm 29. Woo hooo.
(And this old guy's 30....)
The next day, Wayne had to head out at 8:30 so I researched and found this magical little bookstore, North of Oxford that hosts storytime every single day! So, we figured out the buses and made our way there. It was the sweetest little shop. They had a full cafe and fantastic books and really, really friendly staff.
Norah found the Story-Reading Throne pretty quickly
These "Big Doe-ggs" (Girls) were very nice to Norah and let her play with them.
There's my big girl, gearing up for storytime with all the Oxford children.
Look at her sweet little head there. She was definitely the tiniest but completely attentive throughout the entire session. Storytime is a magical time.
Annnd thennnn....we made Donkey Ears!! Even though its 5 days before Easter, and they look exactly LIKE bunny ears, they were, in fact, Donkey Ears. Another reason this shop was so amazing - they do storytime AND a craft, every single day. And it's all free. I only wish we had something like this in Dublin.
Who's super cute?! THIS donkey is!!
And there's the donkey tail!
This building is called the Radcliffe Camera (or Rad Cam for short) and it is a library. We weren't able to go inside as students were in session and actually using it...as a library. Pretty impressive.
Two students actually having their lunch on one the sills there. Incredible!
Back out to High Street.
Norah posing next to an albatross. She's over 2 feet tall and it was the same height as her. Wait, I think I have one of Wayne next to it too:
Yep, so here you can see it's about up to Wayne's waist. That's one massssive "seagull".
And again Norah, next to a freakishly large, terrifying ancient Stork. About 3 feet tall.
Norah's friend Cheetah. This Natural History Museum was incredible in that they had a ton of animals out in the open that kids could pet. I did not desire to pet these animals but she had a grand ol' time.
As I explained on Facebook: This is Norah outside the room where Wayne was reading his paper. I downloaded a cartoon she had never seen before, and bought her a strawberry lollipop, all in hopes of keeping her completely silent in the hall outside the room. I'm not above this, apparently. =) This is stellar parenting at work. (And then I'm standing next to her trying to peek in the room and snap pictures of him while "shushing" her every few seconds)
The MAN OF THE HOUR!! Wayne Dykstra - Oxford Presenter Extraordinaire!
Applause! (the standing ovation came seconds later)
This is our room at the B&B. Nope, nothing else behind the camera, no secret rooms. That's it. A room. The shower/"bathroom" is the exact same size as one on an airplane, except there's a shower. I would be 1000% fine with this if it was cheap but it was Oxford-priced and that is not normal-priced. THOUGH, to their credit, we did get a full-English breakfast with our room and that was fantastic.
A very Happy Easter to you all tomorrow. Sending lots of love out from Dublin. We'll be missing family a lot tomorrow. I'm making my mom's famous dish that she always made on Easter - (it sounds awful but it's incredibly decadent and good) - Spinach and Egg casserole. (Spinach, egg, cayenne pepper, bread crumbs, lots of cheese and lots of bacon.) You gain one pound per piece eaten. It's that good. Happy Easter to you all. Here's another shot of our "Easter Donkey" to make you happy:
