Thank you so much, Pauline :) I'm really glad I decided to give it a try! I wonder if it snows in the north of Ireland, Joe? Judging on their hardiness zone, we get colder here [?] I bet the sea is gorgeous in winter! BTW, I can't figure out how you speak of the north of that country without sounding like it's Ulster. Definitely not Northern Ireland. On the border [you know I always find the complicated!] I swear I didn't know he was the guy from Ireland for days! He could've been from sleepy Moreton-in-Marsh for all I knew. AnneCec, don't terrify me! OK, do it some more ;> Hey, Pagan, one of the Lecturers kept calling my neck brace 'sexy' in a thick Polish accent, LOL [a female lecturer]. It was the only way to make it through the hours/positions demanded, ya know [and I know ya know]. Worse, I had electrodes on my neck and wires coming out of my shirts... fortunately in a computer science group, there is a fascination with robotics so I was alright! The pictures are still with Dad, unfortunately. Details? Most of the trip was spent in class, of course. Those folks are hilarious! I was fascinated by the different cultures... at one table for dinner all the folks in front of me were from South Africa. They say hippo is tasty, lol. My two best pals there are from England, still 'fighting' the War of the Roses due to their home counties, lol. The lecturers were incredibly friendly and down-to-earth. One is an esteemed physicist, and positively hilarious. The town is wonderful! It felt quaint, which I didn't expect. There were many grand buildings but the feeling is so cozy in person, with the surroundings. The Ashmolean museum was very hot and being renovated, but I still got to visit the Impressionist and Renaissance rooms [my favorites] and the Treasure Room with incredible artifacts from so long ago. I'd never seen a Van Gogh in person! I bent all sorts of ways to see the different strokes catch the light and it occurred to me that people don't do that, apparently. I did and I will again :) We found a wonderful French restaurant just behind the school that we frequented. I did try Black Pudding on one occassion on the trip, and the obligatory Fish and Chips. I was going to try Pims [the national drink, apparently!] one night but a great Rhone red was on the menu that I couldn't resist instead. I only did early-hours of the "pub-crawls" for many reasons, but the majority of the students avoided the late-night pub scene. The ones who didn't were great fun, I have to say :) I can't really share the talks about culture and politics here, but we discussed those things at length. Some of the Continental folks couldn't get over the Arnold Scharzenegger as governor thing, lol. I'll make sure to post again with pictures! The weather was so great it didn't rain once, lol. The flooding was a non-issue by the time we arrived, BTW.

Drat and double drat. My library is closed today and tomorrow to celebrate the New Year. I was there just last night and had a lovely chat with a librarian friend. But I NEED to get my hands on the Will Thomas books that cece and Siobhan mentioned. Now I have to wait all...the...way...until...Friday. In the meantime, I am reading: The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym Hyacinth Bucket's Hectic Social Diary - TOTAL and COMPLETE brain potato chip to use cece's phrase. But what fun. Finished it this morning. The first three books I am reading simultaneously as the mood strikes. First one, then the other, then the third. All are good. I am only on page 26 of the Pym so cannot form a strong opinion yet, but I am expecting to enjoy it. PAM

I agree with Beijing over Shanghai. I would slot Hong Kong in the middle as a different experience. I've been to each city multiple times at least, including for just vacation. The Forbidden City and other imperial sites are what are worth seeing in Beijing. It is possible to get from sight to site with a good map in both written languages and take taxis from place to place by just pointing to a map. But a guide would be a great help as well -- just make sure you control the itinerary.

Readers and AnnieD...posting this before this thread closes down at the end of the month. What would you think of when the January thread is posted (and all subsequent threads each month) of linking the previous month's thread in the new thread? The search function here is so abysmal that sometimes, when I want to look back at a previous month, I cannot find it. If the January thread contains a link to the December thread, that will make it easy to find. Eventually, after several months, we can just link through to previous threads simply by opening the January thread. We can click on the December link (and in the future) could then find the November link in the December thread, then find the October link in the November thread and on and on. Annie, since you usually start the reading threads, it would be another task for you, so don't know how you'd feel about it, but I think it would work best if the previous month was listed in your original post. Anyone else think this would be a good idea and if so, Annie would you mind doing it?