We rode a coach (bus) for two hours to get there, and the anticipation rose as we neared the City of Oxford. Along the way, we got many a glimpse of sheep and cows feeding in the English countryside. As anyone who has known me longer than 10 minutes knows, I have a particular fondness for lambs. Seeing all of these little English sheep grazing made me smile.
Unfortunately, the car was going too fast for me to take any pictures of them. However, upon arriving in Oxford, I got many shots of the library and the town itself. Here are some photographs of the exterior of the Bodleian library:
These pictures were just of the exterior of the library and the courtyard just in front of it. Once we were inside, I was blown away by the ornate detail in the architecture, particularly the ceilings.
Essentially, the room you are looking at was erected in the late 12th century. Oxford was initially created to be a Catholic theology school, producing priests. Most of the historic books there are in Latin because of this. The room has a long and fascinating history, which far surpasses the scope or space of this blog, but the main point is this room was used for "dissertation defenses," if you will. The two rows of seats you see near the altar were where onlookers would sit. There were two podiums on either side, which is where the professors would stand as they quizzed you. The one doing the defending would stand in the middle. Talk about stress!
The pictures actually show two rooms, both of which were designed to resemble chapels as a supplement to the main church on campus.
Our tour guide was the most charming and hilarious person I've met so far! He was on fire with the jokes, but in a reserved, English way. He told us at first that he was not an academic, but just retired. "Oh, I'm ex-navy, ex-working, twice divorced--I'm an ex- of many things." At one point, he explained why 1209 was considered the founding date of Oxford: the seeds of the reformation had been planted, and many of the Oxford students did not want to deal with the religious and power implications. The tour guide said there was a difference of opinion on the extent to which religious doctrine should determine education. Therefore, a group of students broke with Oxford and formed what the guide called "that other place"--i.e., Cambridge. He said the name once, and then made many subsequent jokes about how he had accidentally said the forbidden name. Ha!
Throughout the tour, we had to wear earpieces; the upper floors of the library prohibit any kind of talking, even if it is a tour guide. So, the guide had to talk extremely quietly while we were up there, and the earpieces allowed us to hear him.
We were all sad when the tour ended, but that meant lunch, much to our empty stomachs' relief. For the main meal of the day, two friends and I went to the Eagle and Child, the pub that was a favorite meeting place of Tolkein and C.S. Lewis! Here are a few pics:
After lunch, we walked around town a little, absorbing as much of Oxford life as possible. The streets were so quaint and beautiful; indeed, being enveloped in this much elegance and decadence can become numbing after a while.
After lunch, we went to the Christ Church where we were supposed to have a tour of their library. Unfortunately, one girl fell and hurt her ankle, which prevented us from having the tour. Before the injury, though, we were able to walk around inside the church and take pictures. We entered through their garden, which had the most intoxicating aroma; I have never smelled flowers like that, except for a magnolia tree. The scent was so powerful and delicious. I actually stood there sniffing a cornflower just to savor the smell. Sadly, flowers in America have no smell, and if they do it is that anemic, flavorless scent of chemicals.
Gorgeous, isn't it? As with all the buildings in Oxford, the church was ethereal. The garden led to a large courtyard with a field behind it. I can't imagine anything looking more English!
It cracks me up that they refer to restrooms as simply "toilets" over here. Short and sweet, I guess!
There were several rooms, one of which was full of portraits of the royals. I tried to take pictures of the giant Tudor wall, but all attempts came out fuzzy--the light was difficult to master, and some weird little man kept shouting out, "Keep movin'!," which killed any sense of serenity. Anyway, here are a few from inside the church.
After visiting the church, we were on our own for the next few hours. Naturally, I found a little used bookstore. Miraculously, I bought nothing, but I did get a kick out of this Alice in Wonderland store. Apparently, the real Alice on whom Lewis Caroll based his novel actually used to buy candy in this store. Now it's a, forgive me, tourist trap, with plenty of cutesy merchandise for fans. I looked around for a moment, but was thrown out: just before, I got myself an ice cream cone; when I went in, they told me no one is allowed to have food there. Oops! The cone was worth it, though; it had far less sugar than any ice cream I've had in the states, much like everything else here. Indeed, I have yet to read "high fructose corn syrup" on any labels here. When I ordered McDonald's the other day, the fries were barely salted--quite the opposite of the USA. Yes, even the junk food is healthier here.
I enjoyed the stroll back to the bus--a lovely end to a beautiful day in Oxford. Honestly, the whole time I was there I kept thinking, "Yeah, I could live here." Also, Melven family: there is a town in England called "High Wycombe." He he!
Well, it's time for me to ice my feet and get back to 1984 before I completely shut off for the night. Tomorrow we're going to probably the most thrilling destination of all: Stratford-upon-Avon. Dr. Welsh informed us we will see a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at the end of the day tomorrow, but it is a secret as to which play we'll see. More information tomorrow!
Thanks for reading, folks!
Love,
Laura
No comments:
Post a Comment