Saturday - Oxford - day off

Okay so I know I'm on holidays and the notion of having a day off on your holidays might seem odd. But after all the walking in Paris and the arduous travel components, it was so good today to just go to the Bs' place and hang out.

I'm staying at The Remont, which has 25 rooms so it's more like a small hotel and isn't as lovely and personal as La Villa; in fact the staff seem a little odd. My room is fine, though my one gripe is that it has a very narrow single bed, which I think is quite stingy really. After the wonderfully huge bed in Paris I have to keep remembering not to roll over or I'll fall out. But the room is comfortable and warm, the bathroom clean and light, and the breakfast plentiful and hot. And even better, the Bs' place is literally across the road - I walk out of my driveway, cross a small street and walk into their apartment block. So it's perfect, really.

I think I've already made a firm friend in Jonathan (also known as JD), their 4-month old son. He is very placid and interested in the world, and makes some very funny noises. Jen described his incredible eyelashes when he was born, and I've been asked to report on them. Well, the reports are true, and it's not just a mother's adoration - the eyelashes are long and delightful. When I commented on them, Mark rolled his eyes and sighed. "He's just a baby," he insisted. Jen and I just continued to coo and make bird noises.

JD also seemed to like the little ugg boots mum sent over.



Here he is meeting Totoro, and also with the carrot I sent him when he was born:
I particularly love this photo, cos it looks like he's been caught in the act. "Carrot? What carrot?"
Aside from going between my place and theirs, we didn't go outside at all today. It was rainy and a cool 6 degrees, so it's not like we were missing anything! The best part was, we got to catch up on one of our favourite pastimes - playing WoW together. It's very hard to explain to people who aren't gamers, and even then sometimes they don't get the whole WoW thing. But for us it's a way of chilling out, spending time together, laughing heaps and just enjoying one another. Totoro got in on it too.

Emma T caught me online this afternoon and messaged me incredulously, "How is it that you are online?", chastised me for carrying my laptop overseas, and then chastised me again for not having made my move in our latest Scramble game on Facebook. So I duly complied. It's very good to be able to stay in touch with people (and play Scramble), and not to have to trek to an internet cafe to do it.

We had a yummy lunch and dinner. The absolute best bit was the berries - again with the berries. This time, however, not only were the berries absolutely perfect, sweet and delicious, but they had a big dollop of clotted cream on top. To say I enjoyed it is a total understatement, as you can see here:

The Bs introduced me to two series they knew I'd like, Dead Like Me and Last Exile. Both very cool shows, though I was a little out of it by the time we watched Last Exile. Again, as with G and K, it is so wonderful having friends who know just what you'll like.

Such as clotted cream. Mmm. And Jen's making me a chocolate birthday cake with berries for Monday! Bring it on!