Oxford United v. Chelsea

Yesterday was Saturday, and even though it was the weekend, we had to wake up really early! We were meeting the realtor at the place we rented just to take some more pictures and see it again. So we went to Fulham (Just a 10 minute tube ride) and did that and had lunch in a Pub. We actually found a place that gets NFL games on Sundays...We decided that's going to be our Sunday hang out most likely! It's called "The Slug @ Fulham"...not a really appetizing name, but the food was really good--and they definitely pull a good pint there! It's an Aussie place, so they serve mainly Fosters, but that's certainly okay with Mike and I, especially, when we can get 2 meals for 6 pounds!

After lunch we headed to the Victoria Coach Station (kind of like Penn Station) where we hopped on a bus to Oxford to visit Uncle Mick, Aunt Jane and the lot. The bus comes every 10 minutes, so there really wasn't much of a wait at all! The ride was really very nice. It was amazing though, how once you leave London, the countryside comes up right away. There's no, Elizabeth, or Newark on the outskirts! Literally straight into cow country!

Uncle Mick picked us up at the station and drove us less than a mile to their house. (We said next time we could walk!) They had a lovely home much like Privet Drive in the Harry Potter movies! When we got there it was just Aunt Jane, but then my cousin Samantha (Sam) came with her partner Paul and their children, Gabrielle (12) and Freddie (10). We had lunch which consisted of quiche, roasted chicken, salad, and the only weird "English" thing was a ham and egg pie. Picture something that looks like spam in a meatloaf type form, with a pot pie type crust on the outside, and it's sliced and there's a hard boiled egg in the middle. Mike and I weren't eating it until we got called out on it. They told us it was veal ham, and to just try it, so we did! It was actually good! I suppose---When in Rome, right?

Later on my cousin Michael came with his wife Allison and their son, Connor (6). Connor was the cutest little thing. I'm sure it was because he reminded me of Christopher....he even looked like him a little, but with blue eyes! When they go their Mick pulled out the Champagne and we had a toast. It was really very nice! Mike even played the English game "Swing ball" which is kind of like tetherball, but with a tennis twist. We have to get one for our garden, he says. He was playing with Freddy but was getting beat every time, so he decided to take on Paul and still no luck. He had to take on me before he could pull a victory! He's convinced if we get it in our garden, and he practices, maybe he'll be able to be Freddy--did I mention Freddy's 10? We were telling my relatives that we are going to live a stone's throw away from the Chelsea football stadium so we were leaning toward routing for them, but they were a little disappointed as their team is Oxford United. My little friend Connor was saying that he wants to route for Chelsea, and I think it might have broken his dad's heart right there! They really take their football seriously here!--you can imagine, Mike fit right in!

Just a sidenote for all the yanks--When I say "Football" or "footy" I mean soccer. American football is called just that here, and Australian football is "Aussie Rules"--it's a cross between rugby, American football and soccer. More rugby from what I can gather.

We wound up not leaving Oxford until the 11:15 PM coach, which got us back to London just before 1AM. As you can tell it reallly was a great visit! Unfortunately, by the time we got back the Tube was already closed (it only runs to about 1AM), so we had to take a taxi. It was so much fun. If you haven' ever seen an English taxi on TV, they are these black old fashioned cars with suicide doors, and they are really spacious inside. There is actually room for 5 people to sit in the back! We were afraid it would be really expensive, but it only cost 2 pounds more than if we took the tube. The taxi drivers here have to get special licenses and get tested on the London roads inside and out, so you never get a cabbie who doesn't know where you're going. Ours was zipping around the streets like crazy!

Wow, this is a pretty long post aleady, so I'm going to stop there.

Talk to you all soon!