If you ever want to feel smart(er), a trip to Oxford is in order. There is just something in the air, or the water, (or both!) in this history-steeped town that makes you feel that the rush of academia is your calling in life; that ivy-covered colleges, gorgeous libraries, and formal mess halls are where you are meant to be. And you don't even have to be an enrolled student to suddenly feel that your brain cells are frenzied with activity and stimulation. Taking a guided tour of the many colleges will give you the same effect. If I sound crazy, go and see for yourself!
Matthew had to do a research trip to the Bodleian Library this spring and I went with him for the first few days to drink in the wisdom. We were there at exam time, so the town centre was dotted with students in black, carnation be-decked, robes emerging from exam halls nervously discussing their answers with fellow students.
Of course, there are still all the sights to see in between walking amongst the brightest of the bright and our trip began with a very lovely evening walk around the town centre.
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| The Saxon Tower, which we visited later in our tour. |
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| University Church of St. Mary |
Our first full day in Oxford saw us meeting up with friends Tim & Doreen, who were randomly visiting at the same time as us. How fun! We took in the Pitt Rivers Museum, which is choc-a-bloc with cases crammed full of artefacts based on a theme, such as "bagpipes", "bone carvings", "weaving" etcetera, and then were off the the Ashmolean and dining at the White Horse Inn, a cozy little pub where the Inklings apparently retreated to after the beer ran out at the Eagle & Child.
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| Matthew made a friend! |
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| Minerals rock. :) |
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| One of my favourite display cases at the Pitt Rivers Museum. |
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| Can I have a door with a rose trellis over it? |
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| It was kinda rainy the few days I was there. |
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| Tim & Doreen get an Oxford education. |
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| Behold the Ashmolean! |
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| Tim and Athena recreate Davinci's God & Adam. |
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| Look! I am getting an art education. |
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| Doreen shows that she has been there, done that, bought the hoodie! |
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| I quite liked the Ashmolean's collection of pottery. :) |
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| Lunch at the White Horse Inn. |
We capped off our day of walking by climbing up to the top of the Saxon Tower for lovely views of the surrounding area. I need to give up walking up to the top of tall buildings. Well, at least when they are open-air. Since my fear always gets the best of me, these shots were taken by Matthew:
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| Oxford from up top! |
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| My boy holds tight to his girl with a fear of heights. |
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| I love that Britain is full of Steeples. |
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| Dome of the Radcliffe Camera. |
Of course, Oxford has been made famous by its crowning jewel, Oxford University, and no trip to this lovely town would be complete without snooping around its hallowed halls. The four of us took a guided tour and I would highly recommend them as you learn all sorts of interesting historical tidbits (for example, when the university started the town was not such a fan of being overrun with students, hence the birth of the quad: food, prayer and studies all under one roof so that students didn't have to risk venturing out into the wider world) and get to see a lot of places that would not normally be open to the general public (such as dining halls, chapels and gardens).
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| Exeter College Chapel. So colourful! |
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| Quad of Lincoln College |
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| Fact: every college at Oxford has 4 rowing teams: 2 boats for men, 2 for women and the competition is fierce. Victories are celebrated in these elaborate chalk drawings. You can see that these are 2 years old but still proudly on display! |
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| All Souls College. This is an exclusive post-grad college. So exclusive, in fact, that you cannot apply but have to be invited! |
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| Tim is mesmerised by the grandeur of the Bodleian Library. |
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| Heads on the Bodleian. :) |
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| Fun doorway with actual Greek! Above the entrance to the Divinity Library. |
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| Replica Bridge of Sighs. The original one is in Venice. I really wanted to figure out a way into Hereford just to walk over it. Alas! I was unsuccessful. |
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| We found a New College at Oxford Uni as well! (Matthew studies at NC here). |
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All that walking really works up an appetite, so we continued in our academic vein by dining at the Eagle & Child pub, made famous by the Inklings (and associates) such as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Dorothy Sayers. Happy Birthday, Tim!
After two days of fun in the rain, Matthew had to knuckle down and do his research, and I had to take the train home. In typical fashion, the weather was gorgeous for my last partial day (and for the rest of Matthew's research trip - he was picnicking outside everyday while I was being alternately drenched and frozen. No wonder the south of England is so populous!). I took advantage of the good weather by doing a walking tour of the town and saw some really neat sights:
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| A charming little graveyard that captured my fancy. |
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| The Hight Street. |
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| Finally learned why there are charity shops in Britain called "Oxfam". This is the original one which was started during the Second World War to combat Famine in Europe. |
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| Not sure what this building is - just liked the ivy! |
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| "Teddy Hall" or St. Edmund's. The only college to retain its Medieval title of "hall" after it's incorporation into the university. It is wee, and not symmetrical like the other quads. Very charming! |
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| A doorway at Teddy Hall. |
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| All Soul's and the Tom Tower in Christ Church. |
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| I liked this building I found down a back street. :) |
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| Some sort of weird hazing was going on. I think it involved upper year students spraying the first years with silly string as the first years came out of their exams... |
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| I think this is Merton College. |
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| Punting on the River Cherwell. |
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| Apparently punting is what makes Oxford, Oxford. Alas! I did not get to try my hand. Next time. :) |
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| Meadow, Christ Church College, and Merton College. |
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| Christ Church Colleg |
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| Ivy on Christ Church College |
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| Gardens near Christ Church College |
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| Gardens near Christ Church College |
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All in all, my few days in Oxford were very beautiful (even the rainy ones!) and it was a really nice place to walk around in. Not too big, so you feel like you can see everything, and not much chance of getting horribly lost, either! Plus, the Tescos on the High Street carries Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Mmmmmm....
