The Red Lion and Ashmolean

I forgot to tell you about dinner after our visit to Bath.  We drive back to Oxford after spending the day in Bath.  They ask if anyone wants to get off the bus in downtown Oxford instead of the hotel.  Janet and I decide we want to find dinner in Oxford tonight.  So we get off and so does Fearless Leader and her helpers, the twins.  We all go looking for a pub to eat in.  It's Tuesday night in Oxford, why is it so busy?? I am finding that Oxford is a very expensive place to live (or visit).  It is very much a college town. Several places have wait times.  No, we are hungry now.  We find a pub called The Red Lion.  They don't have a table for five but we can eat at the bar.  It is fun to talk and hear stories.  I get fish and chips.

 The fish and chips comes with mushy peas.

 I try them and they aren't bad.  They have a bit of mint in them.  I get the brownie sundae for dessert. Yum.  I'm so full I can't eat it all.

The twins get the lamb.

 We take a taxi back to the hotel.  I sit in one of the little fold down jump seats.

In the morning we check out of the hotel and go to the Ashmolean Museum.  We are a bit early and the Ashmolean isn't open yet so Janet who has been here before wants to show me some of the sights of Oxford.  It is lightly drizzling but we don't care.  We see some of the college buildings in Oxford.  It is a beautiful campus.  We are too early to go in the chapel which was the model (I think) for the dining hall in Harry Potter.  We go to a tiny store in an alley that has some trims and laces.  Sights around Oxford:

We get back to the Ashmolean and it is a very nice museum with lots to see.  More up close and personal behind the scenes viewing of embroideries.  How lucky am I?
Eating at the Ashmolean:

Then at 2 we leave for a visit to Witney Antiques.  I'm envisioning a large high class fancy store.  In reality, the store is in a small town in a very old building with low ceilings.  You can buy 17th century embroideries there along with furniture and other stuff.  It was fascinating to see.

 It isn't that large a place so we divided into two groups.  I was in the first group to go in.  Then when we were done we walked down the block to a pub and had a cup of tea and waited for the other group to finish.  It was fun sitting in an old pub.  It was also the most awkward moment.  Two women that I didn't know sat down at our table because we had the only available seats.  They didn't talk to us, they didn't eat.  They just sat.  Awkward.  Finally I asked them what we were scheduled to do the next day.  They went looking through their itineraries to find out.

So after we were done with Witney Antiques, the bus was off to London.
We arrived at our hotel in London.  What a disaster! A small room. Forty two tired women.  Two frazzled hotel employees taking passport information.  Fearless leader stepped in to help get those who had given their information get their keys and clear out of the way.  ARGH.  I wanted my luggage because I want to go to a laundromat to wash my clothes.  I may be psycho but I want to wear clean clothes.  I am all out of clean clothes.  I saw a laundromat on our drive to the hotel.  It is 9:30 at night but I don't care, I am determined to wash my clothes.  Janet knows I can't find my way out of a paper bag, so she walks me down to the laundromat.  London is a whole other ballgame.  It is busy and feels safe even after dark.  I'm not afraid.  The funniest thing happens in the laundromat.  There is a guy washing stuff there.  I'm talking to the girl working there and she asks where I'm from.  Then the guy asks where in the state I'm from.  He's from about 100 miles from my house!  I'm halfway around the world and run into a guy from my state!  Crazy.
So now I'm happy.  I'm in London and I have clean clothes.  The location of hotel could not be better.  Close to the tube.  Close to restaurants.  Close to the V & A.  Perfect.
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