Abbey Hope at The Globe in London: Days 7 & 8- Two days off

Well, I'm not going to lie; it was delightful to have some free time to explore and/or rest at one's own pace. I set some modest goals: laundry, a yoga class, and a couple of healthy meals. I met those goals. The funny thing about being in England is that you expect everything to be the same because it is an English-speaking country, just like the USA. But even the laundry machines and soap powder are different. However, I did manage. I had found an Iyengar yoga class in the neighborhood and emailed the teacher and so was able to walk to a class held in a church which was in a garden. The teacher, Brenda, was sharp, just back from India, and her teachings were clear. It was nice to spend an hour where I knew exactly what was going on. Then on the way back I stopped at a lovely vegan restaurant where you help yourself to the portions you want and are charged by weight. It was delicious, and right across from this funny building:

Southwark (pronounced Sow'ork) is quite the juxtaposition of the old and the new, quite obvious in the scale:

After my walk I visited the Tate for some more free modern art, finished my laundry, blogged, chatted with a few folks via FaceTime, and then went for dinner at Wagamama, sitting at an outside table. Several people I knew from the program ambled by and a couple of them stopped and joined me. So it was just the right blend of quiet and sociability, adventure and homebody time.

Today was the day for adventure, as a few of us had planned a trip to Oxford! After breakfast we took the tube to Paddington Station, and then the rail just one hour to Oxford, and a taxi from the train to the city.

Well, Oxford is just the most beautiful city, and one that has been filmed and written about so much that it seems familiar. I think I first read about it when I read Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Whimsy mysteries.