Day trip to Oxford.
Oxford had been on my list for a long time now before we decided to visit it on a cold Saturday morning. It was the day I decided that living in Britain, you should never arrange anything counting on if and when the weather will be sunny. The weather is what it is. It’s unpredictable but -eventually- you live with it. It shouldn’t affect any decision whatsoever.
So, when we visited Oxford the temperature was 6 degrees and although it’s spring, it felt winter. So, yes it was cold and windy and I was wearing just a jacket. Not a coat, no gloves and at times I was feeling uncomfortable, but no matter the weather and the clothes, I didn’t let the weather ruin my mood and my time there. So it was FUN and I loved it!
Oxford is a very beautiful city! The city centre, the architecture, the significant buildings, the University, the history of this place… everything that makes a city GREAT! Among the many attractions this city has, we tried to visit the main ones as we had only some hours to spend.
We visited Christ Church, one of the larger and also wealthiest colleges of the University of Oxford. Its buildings are architecturally significant and have also inspired famous movies such as Harry Potter, making this college the most popular amongst tourists.
We also visited two historic pubs in the city. The first one is called the Eagle and Child. A historic pub, best known as the meeting place for nearly two decades, of the Inklings -an informal literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford-. Two of its most famous members were J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. It was so touching being in a pub that among the novels first read, was Lord of the Rings. The pub was full of people so we stayed only for a beer, but we will revisit soon and I will try to be in the corner were the Inklings were seating.
The second place we visited was a bit further away, frequented mostly by University students, called Turf Tavern and dates back to the 13th century as a drinking tavern. In 1963, former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke set a Guinness World Record for consuming a yard glass of ale in 11 seconds. Other famous visitors, were Bill Clinton, Steven Hawking, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair etc. Even though it was -again- full of people we waited a bit more so that we could eat. The tavern is big, divided into many levels, with a random mix of indoor and outdoor seating. It is well hidden, but worth visiting!
We also wanted to visit Oxford University Museum and try punting but the time had passed and we had to go back since everything was closing at 5 pm.
I have to say, for a person who is not keen on pubs (at all!) I visited two historic ones on this trip! If it wasn’t for their history, I wouldn’t even bother, but when it comes to historic places, it’s really moving thinking of the past and how it was.
Until next time ♥
