Oxford: The City of Dreaming Spires

Oxford is truly everything that I ever dreamed it would be. The city becomes a little bit more familiar to me everyday, and I walk around comfortably as if I belong here. I know my way down the alley ways and side streets now as I head towards the Bodleian library from the bus stop every morning. I weave through "tourists" taking pictures and wonder if they would guess that I was actually a tourist too! I have loved seeing Oxford students wearing their black and white robes through the public streets and thinking that I could probably pull one of those off if I had the chance to try :). Afternoon tea has also been a steady companion throughout this past week, and it's a habit that I hope to continue when I return home.

Without further ado, here are some pictures from my first few days in Oxford:

The original University Church; you can climb to the top of the tower for a few pounds and that's where I took the pictures posted below

Color coordination at its finest

The Bodleian Library

The famous Bridge of Sighs; however, this is just one of them - the other most famous bridges are in Venice and nearby Cambridge

The Ashmolean Museum of Archaeology

A most precious souvenir

The Divinity School at the Bodleian Library; you might also recognize it as the Infirmary at Hogwarts from the Harry Potter movies

A full, traditional English Breakfast - all of my favorites :)

Pictured above and below is the house that I have been staying in for the two weeks that I'm in Oxford. The couple that lives here rents out their extra rooms to students and we all eat dinner together every evening. It has been an incredible way to make new friends and truly experience England at the same time.

This picture is to make sure that everyone knows that I really am here to do work despite all of the fun that I have been having :)

As you can see, I have been quite busy but I'm loving every moment that I am here in Oxford. I hope that you are all doing well back home and I shall post another update soon!

Olivia

A Day Trip to Stonehenge and Bath

This past Friday I was able to be an unapologetic tourist at Stonehenge and Bath! These two sites were so different, but they were both incredibly memorable. I booked the day trip through a tour website, so I was with an entire bus of people that was led by a tour guide named Nick who had the cheeriest laugh and would chuckle after all of his own jokes! I even got a video of it, near the end of the tour which I have attached below :D.

Unfortunately at Stonehenge I didn't have time to grab an audio guide because we were on a tight schedule, but I look forward to watching documentaries about the site and truly being able to picture the area now that I have been there. It's difficult to imagine how these sorts of ancient sites would have looked like thousands of years ago and how the local people would have interacted with them. Sometimes I just wish that I had a time machine and could walk among the people of the past and see history through their eyes. A TARDIS would also come in handy (any Doctor Who fans out there?!).

After we left Stonehenge, we headed over to Bath which is a city famous for the Romans, Jane Austen and also for its Italian-style architecture. I was especially excited to tour the Roman baths which were much more extensive than I had expected! As you can see by the green water in the pictures below, they are extremely old and have been exposed to all sorts of gross entities. It was actually pretty funny - we had just gotten a talk from the tour guide who told us not to touch the water because it's completely nasty with mold and other things, and just when I turned around to actually see the baths, a few birds flew over and they pooped right into the water! I mean, my goodness! No respect, haha. In one of the pools though, they encouraged people to throw in coins and make a wish, so I happily participated.

We also went on a walking tour through the most famous parts of Bath - most notably the "Royal Crescent" which can be seen in many films such as Jane Austen's Persuasion (set almost completely in Bath). The tour guide even pointed out a house that Austen had lived in for a few years - it's the one with a number 4 by the door below. Overall, it was a great trip and I met some cool people along the way. I had a long conversation in the bus on the way back to London with a woman from Austrailia and a guy from Indiana about my age about the differences between school systems in America and schools in other parts of the world. Truly enlightening. And the countryside was so beautiful. We kept passing the most charming cottages and I couldn't help but imagine myself living in one someday. We shall have to wait and see!

I'm still loving the Oxford life by the way, and I promise that I will put pictures up from here soon. But I will just say that I had true British afternoon tea for the first time today, and I think that it's definitely something that I could get used to! Farewell for now.

Olivia

The London Pass: 2 Days of Accelerated Sightseeing

I decided to purchase a 2 Day London Pass a few weeks ago because I knew that I wanted to make the most of my few days in London. And that's exactly what I did! The pass cost about 75 pounds and I ended up visiting 150 pounds worth of attractions! That's what I call a great deal! Besides, I was able to be incredibly efficient since I was traveling by myself.

Wednesday, June 8th

ABSTRACT:

- Morning: Tower of London - I immensely enjoyed exploring the Tower of London. The tours are led by spirited individuals who served 22 years in the British military and live on the grounds. I learned so much about the Tower's history and had some good laughs along the way! One of the first things he said was "you know, no taxation . . ." and a bunch of us said "without representation!" before really thinking and he immediately said "well, now we know where all of the Americans are!" haha. Of course, the Crown Jewels are also housed at the Tower of London and they're guarded by members of the Scots Guard (soldiers in red uniforms with funny black hats). Additionally the Tower keeps at least six ravens on the grounds at all times, otherwise it is said that a great tragedy would befall the nation! Definitely adds to the atmosphere of the place.

- Afternoon: Westminster Abbey - One of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. I spent lots of time just wandering slowly throughout the grand rooms - aternating between looking up at the awe-inspiring architecture and looking down upon the grave markers of kings, queens, poets, scientists, and men / women of the Lord. For example, this is just a short list of people who are buried there: Queen Elizabeth I, Henry V, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, David Livingston, Charles Dickens, etc. The thing that struck me most though was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It says on the plaque that the man buried there was unidentified in name, age, and country, and had died on the battlefield during WWI, but that he had been placed here in Westminster Abbey to lay forever among kings and queens. So powerful.

- Late Afternoon: Churchill War Rooms - An incredible tribute to Winston Churchill and the unforgettable leader that he was

- Early Evening: Notting Hill - Mom and I always watched the movie Notting Hill while I was growing up, so naturally I had to go and see where it was filmed! And I found the famous blue door! :)

Thursday, June 9th

ABSTRACT:

- Hop On / Hop Off Bus Tour: This was such a wonderful way to see new parts of the city! We passed by St. Paul's Cathedral (even though my heart was crushed when I saw a sign nearby that read "PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS" - RIP Mary Poppins' most beautiful song), the London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe (I did a short tour, but we were not allowed to take pictures), Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, the Ritz Hotel (which I barely managed to get a picture of as we zoomed passed it) and many other locations

- Kensington Palace: Located in Hyde Park and the current residence of William and Kate! Queen Victoria also lived there for most of her life.

- The British Museum: Probably one of the most incredible places that I have ever been to. I'm looking forward to coming and spending more time there during my last two days in London next month! :)

- Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross Station: The most touristy attraction that there ever was. Around the corner there are TWO gift shops and you can purchase prints of yourself in front of platform 9 3/4! Just in case you were wondering, I do not have a picture of myself doing this because I couldn't justify waiting in line for an hour by myself, but I did buy a few postcards and other souvenirs!

In other news, I made it to Oxford on Saturday and have been running around having adventures! But before I write about that, I need to debrief you all on my Friday day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. So stayed tuned for that!

Olivia