We arrived in London on Tuesday, miraculously having gotten about a night's worth of sleep on the plane. (The transatlantic flight is so much less trying if you don't have to be conscious for most of it!) We had enough gumption to take quick spins through the Victorian sections of the National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery, as well as the nearest Waterstones, where I was able to buy Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus (on sale!). I'm about 90 pages in and absolutely loving it so far. It reminds me a bit of The Prestige (the film, haven't read the book yet), as it is fin-de-siecle, transatlantic, and features duelling magicians. It's wonderfully written and has a really palpable, magical sense of atmosphere. If I have my wits about me, perhaps I'll write a review when I'm finished with it.
We arrived in Oxford yesterday, and perhaps would not have gotten into our flat in Summertown if the caretaker hadn't decided to come in on his day off. Thank goodness he did! We are slowly getting to know the neighbourhood and central Oxford and picking up necessities as we are able. Today we bought a microwave, which makes me so, so happy. Yesterday, the only thing I had to cook with was a single, solitary pot.
Tomorrow, my goal is to start thinking about getting bikes and to finally get a set of dishes. We'll see how that works out.
Today, we went up to my college (Mansfield), which really is a very short walk from the Bodleian (and Blackwell's...), and took a look around. The porter signed me out a key to the library, so I finally got to see inside. It's beautiful. It has two storeys and a high, painted ceiling and dark wood. Lovely, lovely, lovely. We also went up the tower to the MCR (Middle Common Room, or grad student common room). Much nicer than the one at the U of S (I think), with red walls and comfortable-looking chairs.
Here is our bookshelf. Just as when we first moved in together, Tim and I unpacked and arranged our books first thing. Also, we've added some new ones to our collection, as we stopped in at Blackwell's today and took advantage of their 3 for 2 deal. :)
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