quintessentially british weekend

Wow.

I was whisked to Oxford on Friday night, where it was organised that we stay in Oxford Castle.
'Are you serious?'

The Castle - built in fucking 1071 - was a prison for years and years, and has now been refurbed into a luxury hotel called Malmaison. So much stuff has been filmed inside - like Porridge, Inspector Morse and Bad Girls. It was completely surreal. I don't usually get to stay in a place that places a set of furry handcuffs with a bottle of wine on the side table.

Then we ate at Jamie's Italian - one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants on George Street. Oxford is gorgeous - mindblowingly old and stately buildings, clever people walking around everywhere thinking about algorithms and Plato simultaneously, and gorgeous little pubs everywhere. A proper traditional English town. Splendid.

We visited the oldest pub in Britain. No seriously - it's called the Turf, and it's wedged down this little side alley, where the ceilings are super super low [medieval people were all dwarfs. It's the only plausible explanation.]

We came back to London and last night went to a club in the O2-Millennium Dome near Greenwich. We took the river boat along the Thames, so I got to see all the Londoney highlights by night, and then experience European clubbing on a precental level.
The club is called Matter - where minimalist techno DJ Timo Maas was playing - incredible.

I haven't had such a weekend in all my memories really. Walking around, completely in love, and experiencing some incredible things, all packed into two days.

We're organising our next time together - because we won't see each other for another 2 months.

Mexico in January.

Oh yes. Vietnam has been put on the backburner for the moment - Mexico is where we'll be headed.

And tonight I fly home. There are going to be lots of tears.