Oxford Comma

So it has been awhile since I last posted a blog entry...oops life sometimes gets a little busy. Since we last spoke about all things Hogwarts I have finished up at Kings College and their multiple graduations and I have moved onto Lumos to help them with a fundraising event they are holding in the near future. 

But enough backstory let's talk about the amazing weekend that Lindsay and I just had in Oxford. We decided not long after Christmas that we would get out of London and go touring for the Easter weekend. After some deliberating, Oxford was the winner!

We left on Saturday by the extremely convenient Oxford Tube, which is a coach bus. I know, rather confusing name. Regardless Lindsay, myself, and of course, Batgirl get on board and we were off.

In less than 2 hours we were there and in search of our accommodation. As I am a big fan of hostels and/or student accommodation, I had booked us into Lincoln College. Student accommodation is never fancy but its clean, centrally located and you usually get breakfast for a  reasonable price. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Lincoln College

Oh yeah, it was amazing! After we had met the porter and were settled in our room, we decided to spend the afternoon exploring. Oxford city centre besides being full of colleges is fairly easy to navigate and we soon found ourselves at a pub. Yes, because we were hungry and also we had deliberately sought out this particular pub

The Eagle and Child is famous for being the pub which served JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis and was the gathering place for the Inklings which was a writing group comprised of those writers and others. The food was lovely, the ambiance even better and we were off to an auspicious start.

Afterwards we wandered around just taking in the sights and admiring the numerous college grounds. There are 45 colleges which are part of Oxford University and each college appears to have a magnificent college building with stunning quads and garden areas, all that green was a bit overwhelming.

The Martyrs Monument

I can't recall what this building was but I was fascinated by this really unique and somewhat disturbing statue positioned on the top edge.

Sheldonian theatre, the Old Bodleian library is behind

Museum of the history of Science

Unfortunately, I couldn't escape having numerous people in my photos. It is unbelievable how many tour buses and tourists are there during the day-and we didn't even have many students around. It was uncanny though that by 6 pm the streets were fairly deserted of both visitors and locals.

Museum of Natural History (one of several panoramic shots I took)

That evening Lindsay and I ended up at the Turf Tavern, one of the oldest pubs in Oxford, though it had a different name. It was somewhat hard to find but well worth it and certainly can claim to being our Oxford local. After that lovely evening we were back to Lincoln and greeted by a new porter,ready to take on a full day in Oxford.

So day 2 began with breakfast. Now we had been so impressed with the college that we thought we would be disappointed with the food they served just because nothing can be 100% amazing. Fortunately, we were wrong. Besides being a lovely full English we ate in the college's medieval dining hall. We also had the pleasure of dining with a gentleman and his grandson who were staying at the college because he was an alumni and was doing research for a book. Interesting company indeed.

Then we were off to see some more sights and hope it wouldn't be quite as crowded since it was Easter Sunday.

The Radcliffe Camera which is now part of the Old Bodleian and has an underground passage which connects the two. 

The side of the University Church of Mary the Virgin.

Interior

Pipe organ

Acknowledgement of those who were executed for their beliefs during the Reformation.

.....cont

Sweet Thames, Flow Softly

Another beautiful day in London, I admit I have been fortunate with only 1.5-2 days which were miserable and rainy, so it was off to meet Lindsay at South bank. Now South bank is exactly where it sounds, on the south bank of the Thames and it is a huge arts area with venues and performers. The London Eye is on this side and you can see across the Thames for a beautiful view of the Parliament buildings and Big Ben.

First off, Lindsay and I did late lunch at a restaurant called Canteen. We hadn't really made a choice but I was distracted by the colourful artwork above the outdoor seating. This may have been one of the best meals I've ever had. The menu is British cuisine and so I had roasted chicken with salad and this amazing herb mayo, truly one of the best meals. I may have been unduly influenced by the fact that it was the first regular dinner I had eaten in 2 weeks, I was on a bit of a hummus and veggies kick. Makes no difference it was phenomenal, if you're ever at the South bank, go to Canteen. In keeping with British cuisine Lindsay had beef and tomato pie and we learned about a little dessert known as Eton Mess. MMMMmmm, next time we will save room for it.

This is what caught my eye as we were looking for a lunch location

After an amazing lunch we walked around the building and ended up on the South bank promenade.

The London Eye, I was directly underneath so it was difficult to get a longview

Batgirl gets her glow on

Walked the South bank and then met up with Lindsay's friend who kindly bought us a pitcher Pimm's at a secret drinking location. We were sworn to secrecy not to reveal this particular watering hole. And then it was a brief walk through the BFI (British Film Institute) centre and home again. I'm hoping to become a bit more familiar with the BFI South bank as I have applied to volunteer for the London Film Festival (fingers crossed).