An American in London: 'This, my friend, is a pint.'

December in England is lovely. Even the horror of final essays could not diminish this wonderful time of year. From blinding lights on Oxford Street to carol services to mulled wine, every day holds something festive. I've been really lucky to be able to spend a lot of this pre-holiday time with friends, which has made everything even more special. I've spent an afternoon in the cafe at Foyles writing with a friend, walked around Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park with some fantastic Americans, and met together with fellow Christians for 'Coffee and Carols' at the coffee-shop on campus.

Winter Wonderland is crazy. Hyde Park is converted into this huge carnival/market/food extravaganza. It's sensory-overload if I've ever experienced it. The lights, the smell of the food, the kids, the music...

Emma and I

This past weekend, the holiday cheer continued with a day-trip with the girls in my bible study to Oxford. I had been dying to go. I went, and I was not disappointed. The city is lovely - lots of beautiful shops, an energetic market, cute pubs, and, of course, the majestic university buildings. Unfortunately, most of the colleges were closed or required you to pay for admission, but at least I got to walk around and see the place's exterior. I did go in the Bodleian library exhibit though, which was very neat. Other highlights included meeting Norma, a friend that my grandmother met on a cruise once. She's an amazing, independent, interesting lady who used to be a professional ballroom dancer. Norma's lived in Oxford almost all her life, so was a great tour guide and fantastic to talk to. My other favorite part of the day was going to the Eagle and Child pub, where the 'Inklings' - the literary circle of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien - used to meet. The pub is quaint and old and rickety and dark - it's perfect. I had myself a nice half-pint of the beer on tap to honor the great English writers who frequented the space. It was truly a wonderful experience and I'm glad the lovely girls from QM were there with me to enjoy it.