Oxford

Oxford… brimming with history and heritage… and a very good friend of mine!

Beth lives in Weston on the Green, just outside of Oxford, which is about an hour train ride from London Paddington Station (pictured above). I visited her on Tuesday (a long overdue visit!), and we enjoyed a gorgeous, sunny day on the English country side and in the busy college town with one of the most historic universities in the world. Oxford University has educated greats such as J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Margaret Thatcher, Stephen Hawking, and even Hugh Grant. It consists of 39 colleges and academic halls spread throughout the town, though as one local admitted, “I only know most of them as brick walls.” This is because each college is surrounded by thick, tall brick walls and the small insights you get are by peaking through the entrances… OR by climbing up the tower of St. Mary's church! (Pictured below)

Views from the tower:

The round building to the right is the Radcliffe Camera, which is part of the Bodleian Library (more about that below).

Architecture on the tower...

An aerial sneak peak into one of Oxford’s colleges…

Beth & Becky, enjoying the views and the sun!

The tower was a ton of fun, provides great sights and an overview of the city, but I must admit it was quite the squeeze! First, a very narrow, spiral staircase leads up to the tower (forgive the blurry photo - I was trying not to fall forward!) and then at the top, the viewing space around the tower was so narrow that it was difficult for two people to get past one another... well worth the £2.50 it cost to get up though (thanks, Beth!!).

This is the front of St. Mary's - notice the rare spiral columns! A unique aspect of architecture.

Actually, we had lunch at the Vault and Garden (a part of the church building), which is a quaint café serving organic, yummy food!

As I mentioned, Beth lives outside of Oxford a bit. She lives in a very homey place that was once an old church (old meaning in the 1800's!). It is quite the contrast to the modern development that Micah and I live in... a VERY GOOD contrast! Behind her place is a nice garden area (the Brits call a backyard a "garden") where her landlady was watering some plants. We stepped outside for an introduction and guess who barged in? Teddy and Charlie - two 12-year old golden retreivers.

They were loveable, friendly dogs (don't get jealose Samson - you are still my favorite!), and it felt so great pet a dog again!

Something Beth and I have in common is the multiple employer aspect... she works at a school and at this pub... I got to meet a few of the other employees - such friendly people. In the villages of England everyone knows each other and enjoys taking the time to say hello. Unlike the harsh independence of London, where people hardly speak to one another even if they're sandwiched right next to eachother on the underground, people in Weston on the Green are kind, welcoming, and actually smiled and shook my hand when Beth introduced me.

Before heading back into Oxford, Beth and I spent a bit of time outside at Blenheim Palace – a world heritage sight.

With such beautiful weather, we enjoyed a splendid walk around the tranquil park, catching up on life and appreciating the natural beauty!
We followed a path all around this lake.

Stone walls such as this give this village its naturally historic, "live forever" feel. I love it!

Back to Oxford... a colorful street downtown -

And the Bodleian Library, which houses over 5 MILLION books and acres of underground stacks… a copy of every book printed in the U.K. is sent here! Beth told me that if you ask for a book it can take 3 hours for them to retrieve it for you!

Beautiful architecture... and a filming location for Harry Potter's dining hall (for you H.P. fans out there... actually Oxford has quite a few film sights for those movies).

The Bridge of Sighs...

The Bridge gets its name from its likeness to the real Bridge of Sighs in Venice. The view from this bridge was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice out the window before being taken down to their cells.

This monument was raised in honor of 3 men, the Bishops of Worcestor and London and the Archbishop of Canterbury were burned at the stake for their faith in 1555 and 1556... what is also amazing is that there is a permanent stone with this fact carved in a building and stones inlaid in the paved street a the very spot where this took place. I admire the way history is so respected in this country!

Being a college town (with VERY limited car parking), bikes are a popular form of transportation and can be found chained up droves...

Though this was more of a day to enjoy with a friend, we did a bit of sight-seeing as well (more on my account than hers, as she lives there!). Christ Church College (alma mater to William Penn & Charles Dodgson—better known as Lewis Carroll and is pictured below) and is the largest of Oxford’s colleges. We enjoyed a walk around it and sat in the gardens surrounding it for a long chat in the sun.

A path in the gardens of Christ Church.

More of Christ Church's garden...
All in all - my trip out to Oxford was more than just a fun day out of London - it was a much-needed time of visiting with a friend, talking about life, lessons learned while living here, and aspirations for the future - both near and far. Though the "far" future is so unsure to tell, we have both determined that the "near" future will require another day out together very soon!

Just for fun... here are some more shots of Oxford in black & white... Enjoy!

Bicycles and more bicycles!