My Lovely Life Abroad

I love to go exploring in and around London. And, since I've already been to the town of Oxford, I was very interested in seeing the other half of the famed "Oxbridge", the lovely town of Cambridge.  My friends Kaarina and Diane offered to go to with me, s o we met at King's Cross Station, and a fter a quick 45 min train ride through beautiful countryside, we arrived at Cambridge Station. Kaarina had already advised me that although both are quite charming, there is an easy way to think of the differences between the two:  Oxford is a city with a university in it, and Cambridge is a university with a town surrounding it.  It is clear from the start that Cambridge exists for its students-- of its 123,000 population, 22,000 (20%) are students, and from the looks of it, each of them owns a bicycle! It's a short walk down Station Road, and after passing the Catholic Church of our Lady, we made a right onto Hill Street.  Soon...

Day Trip to Stoke-on-Trent                                      Get up at 5:30 for a 6:30 meeting across town?  Heck, yes! Although it is awfully dark (January sunrise is 8am here in London),  here I am, wiping the sleep from my eyes to meet Thirty-nine American Women's Club members on a bus, for a day of pottery shopping in  Stoke-on-Trent, the historical home of English Pottery.                                                                    Quick History lesson! Stoke is known as "the Potteries", and its residents are "The Potters". There are 6 towns that comprise Stoke-on-Trent, and its residents even have their own dialect. Stoke-on-Trent is known as the British capital for china and pottery...