England's Great Outdoors

Where in the world is Jenny? Cotswolds...then Oxford...then Hampstead Heath!

Visiting cities like Paris and Rome is wonderful, but with only a month left (!!!) in my study abroad program, I'm quite happy spending some weekends exploring England. I'm sure I'll have more European adventures someday, but who knows if I'll ever make time to visit obscure locations in England in the future? This past weekend, I visited a few areas outside Central London.

On Saturday, I went on a day trip planned by my study abroad program. We drove about 1.5 hours out of the city, passing by serene country landscapes, in order to reach the Cotswolds.

The Cotswolds was once used entirely for sheep-farming. It is a stereotypical English village practically frozen in time, maintaining the same medieval appearance for over 300 years. I can't help but use the word "cute" to describe the town; known for its honey-colored limestone cottages, quiet rivers, meadows, and sleepy town squares, this village seemed straight out of a fairy tale.

There was not a whole lot to really do there, but my friends and I walked around, explored a maze garden, and drank hot cocoa at The Windrush Cafe. It was surprisingly cold there as well. Apparently we were at a higher elevation than back in South Kensington.

After Cotswold, we got back on the bus and headed over to Oxford, home to the oldest university in the English-speaking world. This college town was bustling with people. Its buildings reminded me a bit of Princeton University ('Sup Matthew?). The majestic buildings + the pubs, stores, and pastry shops + the river-side location + the British accents = My reasons for choosing Oxford for my undergraduate education (in my next life, obviously).

Students and tourists walking around Oxford

The Martyrs' Memorial

Academic Office...look, they study Hebrew!

Radcliffe Camera

Bridge of Sighs, a Venetian bridge which links two sides of Hertford College

For me, the most exciting part of the visit was visiting Christ Church, a famous college and cathedral. The reason for the hoards of people waiting in line to see inside this building? It has inspired several cultural hits. Many of the characters in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland book were inspired by people and objects in Christ Church.

Even MORE exciting, at least in my opinion, is the fact that scenes for the Harry Potter movies were filmed here! The Great Hall, where the fictional pupils are sorted into their different schools and where all the great feasts take place, was modeled after the dining hall in Christ Church. Just a fun fact for all of the HP fans out there.

Christ Church College

Harry Potter dining hall!

We didn't have time to engage in the tradition of "punting on the Thames," but we did make time to walk by the river and see others boating. The famous Oxford-Cambridge boat race actually took place the day of my visit. Unfortunately, it is held back in central London, so I missed it by going on this day trip. For the record, Oxford won.

I couldn't leave Oxford without visiting the historic Covered Market, opened in 1774. Why? Because it houses the very first Ben's Cookies stand! Told you I'm obsessed. Now I can check triple-chocolate-chunk off my list of flavors to try!

Ben's Cookies in the Covered Market

I arrived back at our London dorms around 7 PM, completely exhausted. Going to bed early wasn't such a bad idea though; England's daylight savings change occurs on March 27, so I had to adjust my clocks anyways. Now I'm back to being 5 hours ahead of everyone in the States.

I had not quite gotten my nature fill yet. On Sunday, four of us took a long tube ride out to the biggest park in England: Hampstead Heath. It was HUGE, covering 790 acres of land. We hiked through a mere fraction of the park, enjoying the wildlife, the playful dogs, the somewhat climb-able trees, the still ponds, the springtime blossoms...

When we reached Parliament Hill, I felt like belting, "The Hills are Alive," Sound of Music-style.

View from Parliament Hill

Hiking through Hampstead

My artsy pic of Jess taking a pic

Hampstead Heath also boasts extremely expensive homes. Many famous figures used to live in the surrounding suburbs, including Liz Taylor, George Orwell, Robert Louis Stevenson, Agatha Christie, and Karl Marx. Check out the price tag on this estate: £1,600,000, or $2.5 million!

A friend who studied abroad in London last semester told me I had to visit the creperie stand in Hampstead. After a little searching, a long line outside a tiny food stall indicated that we had found our lunch location! La Creperie de Hampstead makes a wicked good spinach-and-cheese crepe. Yum!

And so concludes my weekend adventure! It certainly provided a breath of fresh air, pun intended. I enjoy cities and the London bustle has yet to bore me, but I definitely have a weak spot for the great outdoors.

Game, Set, Match...Wimbledon!

I love having a morning class on Fridays because it gives me a free afternoon to do some exploring. This week's Friday adventure? A trip to Wimbledon!

Since I enjoy playing and watching tennis, I really wanted to take advantage of the fact that the town of Wimbledon is located only 9 tube stops away from where I'm living right now. Unfortunately, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships take place from June 30th to July 3rd, or while I am back in the United States. Luckily tours of the tennis facilities are given year round!

My tour guide was great. I'm pretty used to hearing English accents by now, but I thought it might be fun for you to have a listen. In this clip, the guide is talking about John McEnroe:

We started off by seeing the brackets for all the games. It was neat to trace the names of Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal all the way to the final matches.

The Grounds consists of 19 courts, the two most prominent ones being Centre Court and Court 1. Grass renovation for these courts begin way in advance: during August and September! It seems like an awful lot of work for courts that are only used for 2-3 weeks a year. We visited Court 1 first:

Situated right outside Court 1 is the Aorangi Terrace, where fans can watch the tournaments on a giant television screen. This grassy area was really pretty, decorated with beautiful flowers and a man-made stream. Also, it is situated high enough to give you a great view of the city of London.

Next we visited the court where the longest match in Wimbledon history was played. The Isner-Mahut match in 2010 took place over three days, requiring 11 hours and 5 minutes of play for a total of 183 games. Sheesh.

The guide allowed us to feel the grass of this court (although we were not allowed to walk on it). Very few people play tennis on grass courts, so it's definitely a unique attribute of Wimbledon.

What up grass?

I really enjoyed seeing the press offices. We visited the room where the post-championship interviews take place. Just last year, when the Queen made a rare appearance at the championships, she asked Nadal a question from one of these press seats.

Practicing for my post-win interview

The tennis club is an overall snazzy-looking place. It is a very elite society. Aspiring members must know several people in the club, turn in letters of recommendation, qualify for the candidates' list, and then wait. According to my tour guide, you basically have to wait until another club member passes away to make room for you.

Adding to this prestigious atmosphere, there is a Clubhouse area for the players to drink and eat and shmooze before, in-between, and after the matches.

The Clubhouse overlooks some of the other courts

Finally, we visited Centre Court, where the real magic takes place. Possibly the most famous tennis court in the world, it hosts the semi-finals and finals of the main events. The scoreboard still displays the score from the 2010 Berdych-Nadal match.

Our guide pointed out where the BBC and NBC press personnel sit, as well as where the seats for the players' coaches and family members are situated. Next to that area is the Royal Box, which is reserved for British royalty, visiting royal families, and other prominent figures.

Royal Box at Centre Court

The newest attribute of Centre Court is the expensive retractable roof, installed in 2009. It will prevent rain delays from interrupting championship matches.

The price of the tour included admission to the museum. It was certainly worth the money. It houses trophies, outfits, player memorabilia, and other historical items.

Old school tennis balls

Poster for the Wimbledon Championships

Rackets galore

Outfits worn by female tennis players in the old days

More modern-day tennis outfits

Steffi Graff's tennis shoes; Andre Agassi's racket

The 2010 singles champs

The Singles trophies!!

After exhausting the museum, I wandered around the suburbs of Wimbledon for a little while. The houses and stores were so charming and little, with more impressive mansions sprinkled here and there. Friday's weather was unbelievably nice--sunny and mid-60s--so this little field trip was a great way to spend my afternoon. Now when I watch the tennis tournaments this summer, I can say, "No big, I've been there." ;-)

Side note: Apparently Hugh Grant lives in my neighborhood, and several students on my program have spotted him frequenting a specific Starbucks cafe. I just happen to pass this Starbucks on my walk to work every day, so I always peek inside to see if I can catch this celeb getting his morning caffeine fix. No sighting yet. However, I'm pretty sure the employees are beginning to wonder about the crazy girl who spends two seconds walking into their store every morning without ever buying a drink...