Hello all! You will be happy to hear that I survived Graduation Week. After standing in a car park (parking lot) beginning at 6:00 am for five and a half hours everyday wishing I had some paint to watch drying to fight the mind-numbing boredom (not to mention spending nearly my entire shift on Friday out in the non-stop heavy downpours that caused serious flooding in many areas), I was more than ready for the week to end. I have since had a couple fairly productive weeks working on my dissertation. It's coming a long relatively well and I just have to keep myself focused and motivated. Going to the postgraduate study centre next to the library with my 'Study Buddy' Claire definitely helps!

But all work and no play makes a girl dull, burnt-out and well, just defeats the whole reason for living near London. So, Julie joined me last weekend (28 & 29 July) for a fun London weekend. After both having to alter our travel plans (due to flooding there were no direct trains between Oxford and London/due to a signal failure neither tube line was running out of Uxbridge) we finally met up at Paddington Station Saturday morning. Excited that the sun was (finally) shining, we headed to Buckingham Palace. We arrived a bit later than we anticipated and missed the actual Changing of the Guard but did get to hear the Royal Band playing some fun movie theme songs (not quite what we expected). We then wandered into St. James's park where we relaxed in the grass, ate our packed lunches and chatted. After a quick trip to the loo, it was time to head back to Buckingham Palace for our tour of the State Rooms. Every year the Palace is opened to visitors for about an 8 week time period and we just happened to plan our London weekend for the first day it was open this year. Unfortunately no photography is permitted inside the building. We both really enjoyed the audio guided tour that took us through the State Room, the Grand Staircase, the Throne Room (it was shocking how old and tattered the Queen's throne looked--surely she can afford to have it reupholstered!), the Picture Gallery (Julie's favorite part) and the Ballroom. There was a special exhibit celebrating the upcoming 60th wedding anniversary of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh where we got to see her wedding dress, some of the gifts given to the couple and the jewelery worn by the princess that day. Some random facts about Buckingham Palace:

*Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the Queen.

*The building has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.

*More than 50,000 people visit the Palace each year as guests to banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and the Royal Garden Parties.

*Buckingham Palace serves as both the office and London residence of Her Majesty The Queen, as well as the administrative headquarters of the Royal Household. It is one of the few working royal palaces remaining in the world today.

The audio tour ended with us exiting into the Palace gardens about two hours later. After snapping a few photos and checking out the gift shop, we walked to Hyde Park where we relaxed on a bench and had a little snack. We jumped back on the tube and headed to Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Chinatown. In Chinatown we treated ourselves to some Chinese sweets (we do not recommend the pickled plums!) and then dinner at the Friendly Inn (nice atmosphere and very friendly prices!). We emerged from the restuarant to find that with nightfall had come some rain. Not to be deterred from our original plans, we got back on the tube bound for an afterdark viewing of Big Ben and Parliament. The rain made taking photos a bit difficult and for some reason one corner of the building was completely dark, but we did get a few nice shots. Those buildings are beautiful at night with their reflection in the Thames. By that time it was getting rather late and we were exhausted so we returned to Brunel for a little sleep.

By Sunday morning the rain had ended and the sun was shining again. After a leisurely breakfast, we headed back into the centre of London to meet up with Tim and his friend Chris who were coming from Oxford. Tim joined us to see Othello at the Globe theatre. For only five pounds you can get a standing ticket for plays at the Globe! We all enjoyed the performance overall but were a bit disappointed with Othello's performance. We were surprised to find out that this is the first time Othello has been performed at the Globe. After the play we crossed the Thames on the Millennium Bridge and enjoyed a drink at a cozy pub before it was time for them to head back to Oxford. I'm so glad Julie was able to come. It was a fun, relaxing weekend.

This past Tuesday (31 July) I took another break from my dissertation to host an Apple Pie Night. It's still surprising to me how much excitement an apple pie can cause! As I had several requests for another pie, I thought a little get together was in order. I invited my flatmates and a couple other friends telling them that I would provide the pie ingredients and they were welcome to bring a small dish to share while the pie was baking. It turned out to be a big pot luck type meal with lots of delicious dishes! We had more food than the 11 of us (Dao, Mimi, Chloe, Xia, Vicki, Yiota, FanFan, Claire, Maria, Rosa, and me) could ever eat although we tried. It turned into a really fun, stress-relieving night despite the fire alarm halfway through our meal (that's Kilmorey Hall for you). Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves and finished off their meals with warm apple pie and vanilla ice cream. Make sure you check out that photo album as well as the one from Julie and my London weekend.

And now I think I've taken enough of a break from the dissertation and should probably get focused again. I can't believe I only have about a month left here! Time is flying by!