mom...in ENGLAND?

yes...as hard as it may be to believe...my mom came to england to see me! isn't that incredible? for those of you who do not know her that well, you must first understand that mom has not left canada and does not enjoy flying one bit. yet, she put that all aside and suffered seven hours of intense sickness to fly across the ocean to see a glimps of my life here in england. both my parents (i know dad would have been here too if he could have and we missed him a lot over here!) are completely amazing people and i love them more than ever! what an experience, not only for mom, but also for me - i was able to share this incredible experience with someone who means the world to me. how exciting! if you are confused about how all of this could happen, i will take some time to explain just how she was able to surprise me. you see, i have one cousin living in london (colleen) and another living in holland (sheryl). this past weekend was sheryl's birthday - so colleen asked me to come down to london where they were going to have a surprise party for her. little did i know, colleen was also in on this little scheme. so when i arrived at the london train station, i was greeted by not only my aunt (who surprised sheryl) but shockingly enough my mom as well. when i first saw her...i completely froze. i mean my heart stopped and my feet would not move - i didnt move an inch until she came to me to give me a hug at which point i began to sob uncontrollably into her shoulder. this whole time my mind is attempting to comprehend exactly what is happening and if by some chance i took a train back to canada somehow or if it really was my mom in england. incredible.
but not only was i breathlessly excited...my mom was too! she was so happy to actually be here with me. it was amazing to have someone from that 'world' back at home to be in this 'world' with me here. mom and i had a blast for the past few days! i really think she loved the english life and culture. and i made sure that i packed our days together with plenty to see and do. although she wasnt here for too long, mom had the chance to see three completely different and unique cities - london, oxford, and charlbury. because we did do so much, this may be a long blog...but its not everyday mom comes to england so i want to include as much information and pictures as i can! so here goes...

the first few days of her journey were spent in the heart of london and also on the outskirts where colleen lived. below is a picture of the church we went to close to colleen's home. although there was a service going on, that did not stop aunt cora and mom from going in after it was finished to snap a few pics (i tell you...those two together...you never know what will happen). this was also a perfect day for mom to experience true england weather - cold and rainy. yeah!

while in london, we also got to see st.paul's cathedral, which as i noted in a previous blog, is utterly breathtaking. so, this is us sitting on the steps of the cathedral enjoying the business of london and the beauty of its history.
here we are in front of tower bridge...although we did check out london bridge we concurred that tower bridge is a much better photo opportunity!
colleen took us to covent garden market which was very busy and also incredibly interesting. despite the disgusting smell of blue cheese, we purchased some amazing bread and goodies. fun!

while in london, we also checked out millenium bridge, the globe theatre, trafalger square (which was filled with people celebrating st. patrick's day) and of course buckingham palace! i think mom was a little disappointed that the queen didn't come out to see her.

we took the train sunday night to charlbury - boy was my mom glad to see fields and trees again! she definately loves the country! although i dont think she liked climbing the hills with her luggage that much. our touring of charbury began the next day with a double decker bus ride through the tiny country roads. i love double decker buses and i think mom really did too! its like a cheap roller coaster ride. that in itself was quite the experience for her!

we took the bus out to blenheim palace and walked the grounds (it cost thirty pounds to go into the castle so we jointly decided not to do that!). so we walked all over the grounds...almost getting lost and ending up in a neighbouring town...saw some deer and pheasants...and overall had a lovely brisk morning stroll.

this tree was super cool and mom loved it...it looks like it had at one point been struck by lightening - the whole inside was singed and it left a huge hole which of course mom had to climb into! :) the rest of the day was spent walking all around charlbury and the country side. for supper, we went to the bell (only because the bull was closed...) and shared a meal of rocket and parmasen salad, toasted goats cheese, and chips (which in canada are fries). mmm...so good!

on tuesday, we went into oxford to check out the sites. mom spent the morning shopping (she was in love with primark!) and then we got together for lunch at regent's park college. so she was able to see the place where i have classes during the week. and we met some ducks. i then attempted to become a tour guide for the afternoon and show mom all i could in only a few hours. we got to see the outside of oxford castle...but didnt make it in time to tour the inside. we also got to check out magdelene college...but didnt make it in time to see deer park and addison's walk. oops. maybe i need to work on the tour guide thing a little more! BUT we did check out the bodleian library which mom was pretty excited to see, simply because that is where i work on my essays.we also went into the natural history museum which was super fun as i had never actually been inside either. we saw lots of stuffed animals, which we could pet...a little creepy. and dinosaurs, whales, rocks, bugs, and birds. lots and lots of cool things! it was definately fun!

we also went up carfax tower, which was originally build in 1032 as part of a church. so we walked all the way to the top (an incredibly long and tiring way up) and the view of oxford was amazing! ive never gotten the chance to see it from that high up and it was neat to be able to point out different buildings. this is the view:

the night drew to a close with a stop at christ church. and to our surpise, we discovered evensong was singing right at that moment. so we were able to go inside the church. listening to the choir of young boys was chilling and amazing. my mom and i both loved it immensely.

to end the long day, we headed over the the eagle and child (the pub where lewis and tolkien met to discuss literature) for a hot meal and a cold beer.
wednesday was going home day. so, we woke up early to a beatiful sun and took a walk along the famous charlbury country walks. i must say, it was a little too early for me - but i figured i could do this for mom! although...she really tired me out and i need to go to bed early tonight...but it really was beautiful.

and so concluded our adventures in england together...it was sad to see her leave so soon! but i know that everyone missed her back at home and are incredibly glad to see her again! i had such an amazing time with her! it was so great to see her and know that my family is supporting me so much through everything and would do everything in there power to let me know that and to show me how much they really do care! before you know it...i will be home again and will be able to see you all! THANKS MOM AND DAD!!