where did the week go?

we have all been having such an amazing time here in england! i find it hard to believe that it is already thursday - this past week has flown by! and so i just realized that i have left everyone wondering what new adventures i might have embarked upon recently. well, the week did not appear to start off well when we had our first drama auditions. poor jodi and i were freaking out about having to perform and it was well justified - lets just leave it at that. today we had intense rain and wind - jodi's poor umbrella did not survive. but with that being the only casualty and the fact that we have had wonderful weather so far, i cant complain.

sunday afternoon, after a riveting sermon at the baptist church from the president of regents park college, i was invited for lunch at laura's hosts house. there are no words to describe the food and arrangements that met my eyes when i walked in the door. the table was set with her finest china and lunch was an amazing beef dish followed by a hungarian apple pie for dessert. absolutely delicious. lee (probably the coolest english lady i have met so far) definately outdid herself. but nothing could surpass the event that occured when lunch was finished....but until i get the pictures from laura i dont think i will fill you in....

last night we went to see henry v in stratford. again, words cannot describe. the performance was spectacular and far exceeded all my expectations. the acting was impecable and i sat on the edge of my seat while laughing most of the night. shakespeare in stratford - it doesnt get better! jane and jefferey (our host) drove jodi and myself to the play and surprised me with a pink feather shakespeare pen which i am also pretty pumped for!

earlier in the week peter took us on a tour of oxford to the places we hadnt seen yet. even though i walk through the city almost every day, i am still amazed at the beauty of the buildings and the history that can be found around every corner. we saw so much but here are only a few of the pictures:

this is the pub where c.s. lewis and j.r.r. tolkein used to meet for lunch and discuss literature - super super cool!! definately going to eat there sometime soon.

this is the original wall that used to surround oxford - it was buit in the fourteenth century (old!!) and this is the portion of it that has been best preserved. very beautiful.

this is new college - one of the oxford colleges. im not too sure the significance but the architecture of the building is stunning, dont you think? i would also like to draw your attention to the colour of the grass - and its january. incredible. hows the snow by the way?

this is an actual COBBLESTONE STREET that cars actually drive on. now thats just cool.

so, in new college, we went into its church. WOW. so incredibly beautiful. absolutely amazing. to make the whole experience that much better, there was an organist playing. the moment was surreal. the statue below is of lazarus and was made by some famous guy.

check out the wall...i dont think i need to say much about it. the effort that went into this wall alone is mind boggling. it is utterly breathtaking. amazing. gorgeous beyond words.

so...thats the week so far in a nut shell. in between it all we have of course been going to classes and doing homework. this weekend is warwick castle and some other things. unfortunately however, tomorrow morning is part two of drama auditions....