My Kids, the Brits

That's my son walking down the street.
He's a student once again.
Give ya three guesses where he's studying. . . .

and living with along with . . .

. . . his faithful companion, Jill and their daughter Grace . . .

. . . and their other two sweet munchkins, Kenneth & Audrey.

It was definitely a good reason to go there
and a good reason to blog about it RIGHT NOW,
because my two weeks in Oxford constituted a highlight of my time abroad.

Truth is, I went to a basket-full of other countries before I left the ship.
You'll have to hear reports on those places later.

At the moment, MY KIDS come first.

Incidentally, Arian and Jill put ME first while I stayed with them.
They spoiled me rotten.
Oxford is a fabulous place, made all the better when your kids live there.

If you don't recognize the room above, you haven't seen the Harry Potter movies.

Yes. I took this shot, but unfortunately I was NOT invited to stay for dinner.

However, Arian had a V.I.P. pass to soooo many special places in Oxford

. . . and when he didn't have one,

somehow or other, he found a way to get in!

I had royal tours of many EXCLUSIVE places in Oxford, that's for certain.

But I also had an intimate experience of staying with residents.

Arian's family live in the historical part of Oxford and they do indeed live like the natives.

Just about everyone gets around on bikes . . .


. . . including my son who bikes little Sir Kenneth and Madam Audrey to and from school on a regular basis.



Jill also does her share of kid shuttling, while pushing little Grace in the stroller.

The plastic covering is necessary because it DRIZZLES in England. A lot.


Since most people don't have cars, taxis are everywhere. THIS is an British taxi:

THIS is a British Taxi on Steroids:

Arian's neighborhood, 'Jericho', is chock-full of history,

like this ole pub which stands just a block from their home.

Truth is, their home actually WAS a historic pub, before it went through major renovations.

It's three stories high and the two 'big kids' sleep on the top floor with a dazzling view across town.

The famous Oxford Canal runs right through their neighborhood. It's 78 miles long.

People actually LIVE in these narrow canal boats.

(Notice the bike on the roof of the closest boat on the right.)

There's a quaint shopping area just three blocks from their home where Jill does her errands.

Oxford is full of surprises. Things I'd never see in the U.S.A.

For example, one day we were strolling along and there were these fellows sitting on these bike rickshaws.

"A wedding." declared my son, quite casually. And so it was.

Quite novel and full of Oxford class.

You'll be seeing more of Oxford, I promise.

(Don't say I didn't warn you.)


But before signing off today,

you've got to hear my five-year-old grandson with his little British accent:

Is that cute . . . or am I just a typical grandma?