The Three Musketeers Visit Three Cities: Oxford, Bath, Dublin

This trip has been such a whirlwind so far! I’m sorry I haven’t had time to write much. We’ve been moving around a lot and have had lots to see and do. Just a quick update, for anyone who wants to follow along. 

Elliott, Anthony, and I departed DFW on May 31 and arrived in London on June 1 very early in the morning, exhausted, jet lagged, and very excited. We then got on a train to Oxford where we arrived well ahead of our three o’clock check-in time. Since our host would not allow us into the apartment early, we then spent almost three hours in a small café across the street from our accommodations in New Marston. Usurpingly, none of us much enjoyed this experience. When all you want to do is sleep and/or go for a long walk to explore, the presence of three suitcases and three backpacks becomes quite cumbersome. However, we were final able to check in to the apartment. 

What a disappointment. The apartment, while it had as many beds, rooms, and stoves as promised, was quite smaller than I expected (which is to say, shorter). Poor Elliott could not stand up straight in either of the rooms or in the shower because of the gabled ceilings. Neither of the boys were that excited about this situation. However, we made the best of it, and since I refused to let anyone go to sleep before eight o’clock (you’ve gotta nip that jet lag in the bud!) we went grocery shopping, I made some spaghetti, and we started watching one of my favorite TV shows of all time (and one that Anthony, poor boy, has never experienced) the one, the only, PSYCH!!

 

After a good night’s sleep, we were all feeling much better and set out to explore Oxford. Unfortunately, we were quite a bit farther outside the city center than the last time I visited (when I stayed at a college), but we decided to walk through the hedgerows into town – that was the only day we walked to the city center, but it was quite pleasant. After I got a new Bodleian library card, it was off to the races. I introduced the boys to Pret á Manger – one of my favorite grab-and-go places in the UK – and we revisited some of my favorite haunts from last year, including Magdalen College, Byron’s Burgers, and Oxfam stores (small “charity shops” that are basically the UK equivalent of a Goodwill, but with better books). I bought C. S. Lewis’ The Problem of Pain, for my personal edification, and then we headed back to the apartment for some more Psych and much-needed rest. 

 

The next day was Saturday. The boys went to visit the C. S. Lewis House and I went to work at the Weston library. 

On Sunday, we took a day trip to Bath. Bath is one of my favorite cities in England. It is beautiful, the food is tasty, and the people are friendly. We walked so much this day – and enjoyed some of Bath’s finest offerings including Sally Lunn’s Bath Buns, the Royal Crescent, and the Gravel Walk. We also visited a local pub called The Raven that I had been wanting to try ever since my last visit in 2022 where we met a quite charming (and perhaps foxed) Irishman who had a rousing conversation on the relative cultural influence of key 21^st-century film directors. 

 

On Monday, we I went to work at the Weston, and the boys did a bit more exploring. We also went to check out The Lamb & the Flag, a pub that The Inklings used to meet at to discuss their works in progress. The boys taught me how to play a game called Hive (quite fun – I recommend it!) and we watched Shaun of the Dead(this was worse than I remembered it being) since I had decided that it would be fun to revisit the Cornetto trilogy while we were all in England. In prime American fashion, we decided to order pizza for dinner to go with our movie, and we ended up eating Papa John’s (we would also eat Papa John’s the following night….it was just…so convenient. We could literally step out of our apartment, turn left, and there was the takeaway place. Thank heavens I don’t live fulltime in that apartment or I would be as big as a house!

 

On Tuesday, I worked at the Weston again, and the boys once again wandered. Unfortunately, we forgot Hive at home, so the boys bought another game called Sushi Go, and we revisited The Lamb & the Flag after work where they taught me to play. We also met an investor in the pub who talked to us about the work being done by the C. S. Lewis Foundation to try to save The Eagle and the Child, which is currently closed with no promised re-opening date.

Wednesday was our last full day in Oxford. I went back to the Weston to attempt to tie up all my research-y lose ends, while the boys visited an outdoor market (Elliott purchased a ring; Anthony tried some street food) and we had some truly excellent Thai food for lunch. After an exhausting day, we headed home to pack and get ready for our grand trip to London early the following day. 

  

 

Thursday was basically just a traveling day. Trains, buses, and a safe arrival at our London place. Here are some pictures of our truly lovely accommodations.

 

On Friday, I went to the British Library to renew my library card, did some writing at home, and then went with the boys to explore our neighborhood, and we did something they had been wanting to do for a long time -- we went to a UK Taco Bell.

Saturday was our grand adventure to Dublin. Now, some advice for anyone who brilliantly (like me) thinks that a day trip to Dublin will be just peachy keen and super fun – it’s not. You should AT LEAST spend one night. Otherwise, you are basically in trains, planes, or automobiles for six hours and can only spend about five hours in the city-proper. That being said, this was my favorite day of the trip so far. We arrived around noon in the city center after our bus was cancelled, our flight delayed, and our hopes of an easy trip from the Dublin Airport to the city center were dashed along with a substantial percentage of our pounds-changed-into-euros. Suffice it to say, the buses only take euro coins (of which we have, exactly, none). So I tried to change twenty pounds for twenty euro coins – there are three of us, and it was 2 euros/bus ride per person. The lady told me she could only give me FIVE euro coins. So I lost a lot of my money in the transfer (since we changed money in the airport) and did not even get enough to take the bus. We ended up having to take an express service, which was fast, but much more expensive, and I was left with euro notes I had no use for – I was not a happy camper. 

 

We arrived in Dublin starving, exhausted, and thirsty – not an auspicious beginning. But if there is one thing you can say about Ireland, it’s that if you come hungry, thirsty, and lonely, you will certainly not leave that way. The Irish people are some of the kindest, friendliest, most welcoming people I have ever encountered (and yes, I am taking into account people from Southern Louisiana and East Texas). After some excellent Irish food (some of the best lamb I’ve ever eaten – not to mention scrumptious potatoes) and a Guinness, we were all fixed up and ready to enjoy our few remaining hours in the city. We ended up going on a walking tour with Sandeman’s. I highly recommend their “free” walking tours. They are really free, though you should plan to tip generously since the guides are not paid by the company. I learned so much about the city and had a great time talking with other members of the tour, including a sweet girl from Brittany named Chloe. After the tour, we went to a pub for dinner and then raced back to the airport to catch our flight back to London (see – whirlwind). I had an amazing conversation with a lady from Dublin on the flight back named Susan – we found we had a scary amount of stuff in common, and the time passed quickly. After a few more transportation-al disappointments (some delayed trains, etc) we made it home and slept like the dead.

 

The next day was Sunday – and Anthony’s birthday! We went to the church I attended last year, the Free Church of Scotland in London called London City Church, and I was able to catch up with some friends from the church. It was a lovely time of worship, and both of the boys enjoyed it. We were still quite worn down from our time in Dublin, so we spent most of the afternoon just chilling at home and then went out for Vietnamese food to celebrate Anthony’s birthday. I also made him a blackberry cobbler – happy birthday!

 

That brings up pretty much up to date. I’ll continue updating the blog as I have time. Let me know if you have questions or want me to pass on any messages to the boys.