Friday July 23- Sunday July 25
Today I only worked till 4 as my train to Oxford was at 6pm. We spent this entire week setting up the GOM Aramis strain analysis system. The system is very complex and requires the precise positioning of the high speed cameras located under the glass plate. The field of view of the cameras to be the perfect size to entirely capture the bottom of the foot as it walks across the glass plate. It captures this image via an angled mirror. In order for this capture to occur, the lighting must also be perfect, as any slight shadow will decrease the ability of the computer program to pick up the dots painted on the bottom of the foot, therefore decreasing the accuracy of the strain calculation.
Anyway, enough of that! This weekend I went to visit my friends studying at Oxford, as georgia Tech has an exchange program with the College of Worcester at Oxford. Being that I had already been there once before, I was very excited to see my friends and just hang out rather than see the city. Casey met me at the train station and the walk to the college was very short..probably only about 10 minutes. A lot of people had gone to London to see a Broadway show and thus were not there. I didn't get in to Oxford until about 8pm, so Casey and I just walked around for awhile and grabbed a bite to eat at an awesome restaurant that was kind of like Johnny Rockets except it wasn't a chain and had a lot more personality to it. The name of the place escapes me, but I believe it was called Atomic Burgers..and boy those burgers sure were good...and the milkshakes..YUM! By the time we had finished eating some of the other students had come back and we just hung out with them for a bit. Although I have not seen a majority of the colleges in Oxfrod, Worcester was absolutely beautiful. Casey's room had a view of a nice little swimming pond and even had its own side door entrance through a tree patio thing. SoooOO pretty! Watched a movie and went to sleep quite early.
Saturday we woke up quite late (lazy!) and we went to the same Atomic burger place for breakfast. Yes, it was just THAT good. Strolled around the covered market for a bit, walked along the river, and went up to the top of the a famous church. Being that I am writing this entry a few weeks after the matter, again the name of the church escapes me. If any of you Oxford kids know the name or those I know who live in Oxford, please give me a holler and I'll insert it here into my blog. Thanks! We also watched a cricket game in the evening!
Finallllyyy everyone returned and we met up with Elizabeth, Hayden, and a couple of my other friends! We all went out to dinner and it was so nice to catch up with everone. Being that in Loughborough I was basically the only American give or take some Canadians and other people, it sure felt weird to talk about life in the States..while in Oxford! It was cool though! After dinner we just hung out by the pond and talked some more. So fun!
Sunday I woke up early to attend mass at Christ's Church. The church is gorgeous and massive, and the choir is supposedly unbeaten. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to hear the choir as they were not performing at the service I went to! Casey and some others opted to go to some air force show a few towns over from Oxford, so I roamed around for a bit on my (which is always a very fun thing to do :) and then met up with Hayden. After a bit of maneuvering and searching, Hayden and I went to the turf tavern for some famous Pimms. The turf tavern is one of the oldest pubs in Oxofrd and serves up the greatest amount of Pimms yearly. It is very tricky to find and very famous people have drank there!! It was SUCH a nice day out, and it was good to enjoy the atmosphere there for a bit. After that we went to this medieval park located a little ways down the canal. So much for thinking the only downfall of Oxford was that there were no good places to run! Man, how wrong was I! It was this massive field that just went on and on and on and then ended with woods in the back. unfortunately I had not brought my running shoes and could not run there arg!
We did not stay at the park long as we were meeting others for a proper English tea at a restaurant nearby. Delicious! I would definitely say that I am hooked on tea now..but only with milk and sugar :P The tea included 4 little finger sandwiches (I opted for crab), 2 scones (favorite) with jam, and a pastry and a cookie. I think that was it. I was SOOOOO full...happy place. Elizabeth has pictures of the tea, and I didn't really take any other pictures other than that. I was too busy catching up with friends! Please excuse this picture-less blog :P
After tea I caught the train back to Loughborough. Unlike my last trip to Oxford, the way back was completely uneventful..thank goodness! What a great second to last weekend in Loughborough, eh? :D
Friday July 16- Sunday July 18th
This weekend I went to Sandbanks (borough of Bournemouth...where I went last time) for yet another beach volleyball tournament! I left work early on Friday and drove down from Loughborough with Felix and Kristen and a girl named Holly who works for Volleyball England. Volleyball England is headquartered across the street from the Sports Tech Institute. It was quite funny because Felix is from Canada, and in Canada they drive on the right side of the road. In England they drive on the left. Very backwards and not right (pun!), I know. Anyway, although Felix has driven before in the UK, and actually pretty recently, he was pretty nervous about driving the stick shift all the way from Loughborough to Bournemouth. Least to say, we only stalled once! Other than that, it was a pretty event-less ride. I even managed to fall asleep for a good bit of the ride (not surprising!). We dropped Holly off at the B&B that the Vball England people were staying at when we got there. The B&B was very chicly decorated and they had two super super cute dogs which reminded me of of my own dog, Maxie.
We went out to dinner to Harvesters (kind of like Applebees but with an awesome salad bar) and can I just say the President of Volleyball England bought me a Coke (yes!). That is my claim to fame for the weekend. Unlike last trip to Bournemouth, we spent the entire time on the beach this weekend :) We woke up REALLY early on Saturday and were at the beach by half 7. Felix had signed up to be part of the set-up crew for the tournament and thus the reason why we had to be there so early. It all worked out for me though, as I had a long 12 miler to put in before it got too hot. I ran along the harbour and the sea and even to a nearby town that had a fun playground (good break point). When I got back the tournament was just getting underway. Like I said it was put on by Volleyball England and was a qualifying tournament kind of like AVP but for England. Felix had entered the tournament with Guy and Rob had entered it with a guy named Rich. Remember that I know Felix and Guy from work and Rob through Felix and Guy. My friend Phil who attends Bath University also entered the tournament with a guy from New Zealand called Russel. We ended up staying at the beach till half 8 on Saturday and caught the last bit of Phil's game.
Felix, Kristen, and I were all staying at Guy's place and since Felix and Guy had gotgten eliminated from the tournament on the first day, we decided to go out to a pub for a short drink (couldn't be entirely lame, right!). Well, we got to the pub and left like 30 minutes later as we were all SO tired from all the fun in the sand and sun. Sleep had never felt so nice.
Sunday morning I woke up and went for a run early in the morning around Bournemouth and then we headed to the beach again in the early afternoon. The weather forecast predicted rain all weekend but it was absolutely lovely! No rain, just sun and a slight breeze that made tanning all the easier :) I went for a quick dip in the sea and watched a lot of volleyball. Rob and Rich ended up coming in third in the entire tournament, and Phil and Russel won the entire thing! Ballers...what what! Then again, Phil doesss represent GB for vball, so fitting, right!? Congrats, none the less. Amazing!
And here are the long awaited pictures ;)
This weekend I went to Sandbanks (borough of Bournemouth...where I went last time) for yet another beach volleyball tournament! I left work early on Friday and drove down from Loughborough with Felix and Kristen and a girl named Holly who works for Volleyball England. Volleyball England is headquartered across the street from the Sports Tech Institute. It was quite funny because Felix is from Canada, and in Canada they drive on the right side of the road. In England they drive on the left. Very backwards and not right (pun!), I know. Anyway, although Felix has driven before in the UK, and actually pretty recently, he was pretty nervous about driving the stick shift all the way from Loughborough to Bournemouth. Least to say, we only stalled once! Other than that, it was a pretty event-less ride. I even managed to fall asleep for a good bit of the ride (not surprising!). We dropped Holly off at the B&B that the Vball England people were staying at when we got there. The B&B was very chicly decorated and they had two super super cute dogs which reminded me of of my own dog, Maxie.
We went out to dinner to Harvesters (kind of like Applebees but with an awesome salad bar) and can I just say the President of Volleyball England bought me a Coke (yes!). That is my claim to fame for the weekend. Unlike last trip to Bournemouth, we spent the entire time on the beach this weekend :) We woke up REALLY early on Saturday and were at the beach by half 7. Felix had signed up to be part of the set-up crew for the tournament and thus the reason why we had to be there so early. It all worked out for me though, as I had a long 12 miler to put in before it got too hot. I ran along the harbour and the sea and even to a nearby town that had a fun playground (good break point). When I got back the tournament was just getting underway. Like I said it was put on by Volleyball England and was a qualifying tournament kind of like AVP but for England. Felix had entered the tournament with Guy and Rob had entered it with a guy named Rich. Remember that I know Felix and Guy from work and Rob through Felix and Guy. My friend Phil who attends Bath University also entered the tournament with a guy from New Zealand called Russel. We ended up staying at the beach till half 8 on Saturday and caught the last bit of Phil's game.
Felix, Kristen, and I were all staying at Guy's place and since Felix and Guy had gotgten eliminated from the tournament on the first day, we decided to go out to a pub for a short drink (couldn't be entirely lame, right!). Well, we got to the pub and left like 30 minutes later as we were all SO tired from all the fun in the sand and sun. Sleep had never felt so nice.
Sunday morning I woke up and went for a run early in the morning around Bournemouth and then we headed to the beach again in the early afternoon. The weather forecast predicted rain all weekend but it was absolutely lovely! No rain, just sun and a slight breeze that made tanning all the easier :) I went for a quick dip in the sea and watched a lot of volleyball. Rob and Rich ended up coming in third in the entire tournament, and Phil and Russel won the entire thing! Ballers...what what! Then again, Phil doesss represent GB for vball, so fitting, right!? Congrats, none the less. Amazing!
And here are the long awaited pictures ;)
Hi everyone-
Sorry I have been wayyy out of touch on my blog recently. I have been awfully busy since July with travelling and what not. However, I will fully update everything to this current week at somepoint this week. You can look forward to hearing adventures about a bedazzling beach volleyball tournament in Bournemouth, a wonderful weekend in Oxford, and profound Peak District hiking and an opera! Also to come are tales of cruisin' in Croatia, bountiful Belgradian food/drink in Serbia, and huge Hungarian adventures. Then there is always time in lovely Loughborough and the plain plane ride back home where I was greeted by the familiar sound of police cars and ambulances.
Expect some epic pictures as well.
Until then.
-Sarah
Sorry I have been wayyy out of touch on my blog recently. I have been awfully busy since July with travelling and what not. However, I will fully update everything to this current week at somepoint this week. You can look forward to hearing adventures about a bedazzling beach volleyball tournament in Bournemouth, a wonderful weekend in Oxford, and profound Peak District hiking and an opera! Also to come are tales of cruisin' in Croatia, bountiful Belgradian food/drink in Serbia, and huge Hungarian adventures. Then there is always time in lovely Loughborough and the plain plane ride back home where I was greeted by the familiar sound of police cars and ambulances.
Expect some epic pictures as well.
Until then.
-Sarah
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