Once through customs, our first stop was Paddington station, which it seems is the easiest way out to Windsor Castle, the oldest consistently occupied monarchal castle in the world. Well, it was built in 1067-ish.

Happily, they had a baggage check. This was to be a running theme on our trip, the quest to ditch our belongings, since in England, there are no baggage checks at train stations.

Please Look after This Bear _ thank you

Darkest Peru — to London, England - via Paddington STN

Thyris a Monody

Humid the air! leafless, yet soft as spring, / The tender purple spray on copse and briers! / And that sweet city with her dreaming spires, / She needs not June for beauty's heightening,

Mathew Arnold

Back on the train, a couple of transfers, and we were in Oxford for the golden hours just before sunset.

Ate yum, yum, yummy tapas for dinner, then had a pint at a pub that's been here since 1272.

We reached Oxford in time for supper and a walk through its old school streets.

It's odd to think that UC Santa Cruz is modeled on the Oxford system of colleges within the overall university, because seriously…they're nothing alike.

Walking down streets and thinking the last time I was here, I had just graduated from Santa Cruz.