A Perfect Day (Well, Almost)

There is something about Europe that has always energized and inspired me, and yesterday was one of those days when I was so aware of why it has that effect on me. Yesterday was an almost perfect day.

I got up at 6:30 to meet Terry for a run. I opened the curtains: sunshine. Brilliant. Threw on my clothes and rushed down to meet her. Step outside: slight drizzle. Not as brilliant, but okay. We enjoy a beautiful run across the Magdalen Bridge and up St. Clement's Street out to the Park and Ride on the edge of Oxford. By this point (yup, you guessed it): POURING. We were 30 minutes out, so there was no other option but to turn around and run straight into the windy, cold rain. We were fighting it for the first few minutes, but then one of those lovely tour buses (what is it with me and buses??) came along and yes, TOTALLY sprayed me with water. I was soaked before, but then I looked like a drowned rat. Terry took one look at me and burst out laughing and then we both started laughing--it was just so typical England! One moment it is beautiful outside and the next it is cold and raining. When you leave to go anywhere, you are foolish not to bring multiple layers and a rain jacket (which I forgot to pack--go me). We ran and laughed at ourselves the whole way home and ended up having a great time. I literally hand to wring out my clothes in the shower before jumping in myself when we got back. It was awesome.

Did a little yoga and read over my paper one more time before printing it out and heading to class from 11-1. Our class had another fantastic discussion on A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of my favorites to teach. We simply asked questions for the first hour (What is the real reason Oberon so upset with Titania? Why is Helena so unappealing at the beginning? Where is reality in this play? With the mechanicals? What is their relationship with each other? With Athens? Who is the Fool here? (Puck, Bottom, Act 5?) Are Lysander and Demetrius indistinguishable from each other? etc) and then we really got into the specific wording of the text for the second hour. Class=fantastic.

Went to lunch and then had an hour to kill, so I wandered my way through Blackwell's Bookstore. Wow, this place is HEAVEN for people who love books. Four stories of shelves and shelves of books, coffee shops, little reading nooks, poetry corners, and random staircases leading you into another magical section made this a true find. I am heading back today to read Taming of the Shrew there. I have a feeling I will be there a lot :-).



Met Jessie, Lizzie, and Terry in the courtyard for our Ben's Cookies treat. Adam Diehl wrote me about this cookie counter in the Covered Market, and his recommendation was heartily appreciated. These are amazing cookies, and they are served hot off the oven. I got an oatmeal raisin one that was to die for--I snacked on it for the rest of the day! Thank you, Adam!


We then headed down to Broad Street at 3:30 to catch our bus for A Midsummer Night's Dream. After an hour and twenty minutes, we pulled up in front of the Swan and met Miriam so she could lead us to her flat 10 minutes away. Now, this would have been a lovely walk if it hadn't started raining again--and if Sara had thought to pack closed-toe shoes. A lot of good five pairs of flip-flops are going to do you on a rainy, cold day. Oh well, rolled my pants up and huddled with Ali under the umbrella as we made our way to her cute home in Stratford. Poached salmon, homemade bread, salad, potato salad, and wine were waiting for us when we got in, and before long Portia (Georgina Rich) showed up to talk with us for about an hour. She was utterly charming and incredibly insightful both about her character and the RSC's production of Merchant. I loved hearing about how much creative license Shakespearean actors are usually given in England--she said they would play a scene 50 different ways before collectively deciding on what worked best in terms of the overall effect. She illuminated the reasoning behind the ice caskets and behind the seemingly random costume choices (the director wanted to resist specific labels in terms of setting and character motivation, which is what we had eventually assumed in class), and she fleshed out the psychology of Portia--what she thought had shaped Portia before and during the moments of the play. She was utterly delightful and eloquent; she definitely made me appreciate the collective thought that goes into staging a work of Shakespeare--as she said, there are just so many ways to interpret a play. Isn't that why we still read his works today? They are endlessly intriguing and enlightening. I never tire of Shakespeare.

We profusely thanked Georgina for her time and kindness before heading to the Courtyard for A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I will save for the next post: it deserves its own. But when I finally turned off the light around 1 am this morning, I couldn't help but smile knowing that I have five more weeks to experience the beauty, intellectual stimulation, and charming spaces and people that Oxford has to offer.

So why was it almost perfect? The people reading this post aren't here with me!!