on my day off this week i slept in late, had lunch at a cafe near pembroke, and then walked along the thames river and into the town of iffley. it was a BEAUTIFUL walk - 45 minutes each way on a paved path that runs right next to the river. i passed a lot of people walking and biking, and every 5 minutes or so there was a park bench next to the path, looking out on the river. at the same time, though, the absence of any vehicle traffic made it feel really isolated. (note the ominous sky. i decided it was just pretending to threaten rain and i didn't bring my rain jacket. and it didn't rain - hooray!)
loved this break in the fence that ran next to the path - "step over me HERE," the fence is saying. (i didn't.)
i stopped for a while to watch mama swan and three swan babies swim around (well, the babies seemed to be napping while their mama stood/swam guard). swan triplets! so cute!
on the walk back to oxford i passed the same spot and the whole family was grooming themselves on shore. hi swans! don't attack me while i crouch down and take pictures of you!
to complete my day off i went to a bookstore and bought three books (it was a 3 for 2 special), which felt so luxurious. i had indian food take away for dinner and watched a movie with my friends. it was exactly what i needed in this crazy last week of the program - lots of claire time (if you know me, you know that claire time is crucial to my happiness) plus exactly the right amount of time with friends before we all go our separate ways on monday. sigh. saying goodbye is hard, and i'm about to do a lot of that...
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