The Grove Adventures...: August 2013

We finally made it up to Oxford for a weekend to see our good friends Rose and Eero and their adorable daughter Eliaa! We have known them for a couple years now through medical school in St Maarten. Rose studied at Oxford for the last year while Eero was studying for medical school exams. We finally found one free weekend for all of us at the end of July (after 6+months), just before they returned to America. It was so great to see them after a year apart, we've missed having our close med school friends (aka other married couples) around this year, things are definitely different once you leave the island. It was also amazing to see how much Eliaa has changed and grown in the last year. Last we saw her, she was scooting around the lines on the tennis court ;) and now she's running all around and talking so much. It was really wonderful to stay with them and have so much time to catch up on everything, as well as explore a new city.

Oxford is a large but more peaceful city than London and definitely nicer than Ealing. The canal paths were well used and maintained, the neighborhoods were quaint and clean, and it was definitely an academic town, giving it an all around more prestigious feel. Visiting Oxford while Rose still had her student ID was also a great opportunity to see parts of the University that we would not have been able to otherwise. We toured all around, saw the bridge of sighs, Rose's college within the University (think fraternity but based on academics), even some of the dining halls that were used in Harry Potter, even though we haven't seen the movies we definitely see how Oxford inspired the setting. We also spent a day at Blenheim Palace, were the Churchill families stayed. That was one of the more interesting state homes that we've seen, worth a visit. Overall we enjoyed exploring Oxford, especially with Rose and Eero's perspective.

Thanks Rose, Eero, and Eliaa for having us visit! It was a much needed and relaxing weekend with you all. We loved having so much time with you and look forward to seeing you again! Good luck on the next phase of this journey!