halloween

carving pumpkins!
end results! mine is the witch.
blenheim palace
the butterfly house
warwick castle, my favorite view.
friends at the castle.
owl costume.

let's start by stating the obvious: i have not been holding up to my end of the deal.

i'm really sorry about that...but you guys have the easier end of the deal....that's my only excuse. oh and i've been reading so much i'm sure i'll need a new glasses prescription when i get home. well not last weekend, but the weekend before (oh gosh i really am far behind) it was halloween, and was probably my favorite weekend of oxford so far. the friday night before halloween my friends and i carved pumpkins, watched harry potter and drank homemade cider. it was so nice to involve ourselves in an activity that didn't involve books, or writing an essay or anything intellectual...and i have to say it was the best pumpkin i have ever carved. maybe it was the oxford influence. i named it maple (before i turned it into a witch) after the pumpkin carving, a few of us got in our first round of costumes and headed over to a halloween party at St. Catherine's. The theme was to go as something you are afraid of. Hats off to the Brits and their costumes because my favorite part of going to the party was seeing the hilarious costumes everyone was wearing. It was a bit concerning, though, that half the girls that were walking around were dressed as brides, and half the boys walking around were dressed as girls.

The next day, Halloween day, the group that we are studying with went on a free trip that was planned for us to Blenheim Palace and Warwick Castle. The palace was unreal, and absolutely the most gorgeous place I have been to in England, so far. It was a perfect fall day and we enjoyed walking through the houses, on the huge grass fields and through the butterfly house. Warwick castle was completely decked out in Halloween decorations and almost every person there was in a costume. It was the perfect atmosphere to be in for Halloween. And provided the best view of England I have seen. That night we got in our real costumes and I threw together a not so impressive owl costume, but had a great time in it anyway.