Day 175 – 180: Countdown begins

Day 175 – 180: Countdown begins

Close on the back of our Ireland visit, we squeezed in an unbelievable experience of catching a show, WICKED (which I must say was an amazing experience and highly recommended) as well as a wonderful visit to the amazing Oxford to visit with long last friends and new friends.

Craig and I hopped onto the Oxfordtube (bus) from Victoria Station on a sunny and bright Thursday where we drove through the city of London making our way along the M40 toward Oxfordshire.

We arrived early afternoon to the bustling streets and happy atmosphere. We made our way down the streets, admiring the old and historic buildings of colleges and walking alongside the students in their black robes and backpacks of books.

It’s such a lovely little place and builds an excitement to just walk through the streets and soak in the sunshine, people smiling and music being played by the buskers on the streets. We grabbed a coffee, and a giant Cornish Pastie and continued to venture around the cobblestoned alleys and roads.

After a perfect afternoon strolling through the city, we headed to the well-hidden ‘Turf Tavern’, which is probably the oldest and most renowned little pub in Oxford.

We had arranged to meet with an old friend from high school, Gillian, her dapper husband James and adorable little ones, Bella and Adrian as well as the hunky Dr Lyle Murray for a few drinks and an awesome pub dinner.

Butternut wedges, steak pie, risotto, pork and potatoes was the spread all round and with tummies sufficiently filled, and good conversations had, it was time to go home and get some much needed rest.

We were absolutely blessed by being able to stay with James and Gillian, who have just moved to Oxford from Colorado on a scholarship which James has deservedly earned for 3 years, and welcomed into their quaint house – we were even given the main bedroom and took full advantage of the comfortable bed…. so much so that Craig only arose at 12:03pm the next day.

It was a wonderful morning getting to spend time chatting and catching up with Gillian after so many years and time that I will value greatly.

But unfortunately it was time to catch our bus back to London and to enjoy our final days of this epic adventure.

So now we are a day away from boarding the plane homeward bound. With bittersweet feelings, we are trying to soak up as much of the trip as we can and reflect on countries, people, foods, places and experiences, which we have been so incredibly blessed to have had over the last 6 months.

We will write up a conclusion in the next few days to complete this brilliant chapter of our lives, but stay tuned, as we will soon start the beginning of a brand new and exiting chapter.