Our fourth day was off to a rocky start when I couldn't seem to get a hold of Lizzy. Unbeknownst to me, Shelia and Ren had woken up very early to take the 4 am train to Paris. Their departure disturbed Lizzy and Rowan, and then they turned off their alarms. Even my knocking and texting didn't rouse them.
They eventually arrived, disheveled, just as we were due to board the bus for Oxford. We had a little over 2 hours' ride to our destination. Claudia quizzed us on our knowledge about the famous college town. I think I did pretty well; I missed 2 out of 10.
Oxford is a beautiful little place. Ancient and graceful, yet hiding a cheeky side as well. After all, this is the town that had Tolkien, when he was a fellow at Oxford, “dress[ing] up as an Anglo-Saxon warrior with an ax and chas[ing] an astonished neighbour”; this was apparently a stunt he pulled multiple times. And once he and C.S. Lewis went to a party dressed as polar bears, in sheepskin and whiteface. Site. Wrote Tolkien, “I have a very simple sense of humour, which even my appreciative critics find tiresome.”
Our first stop was the covered market for lunch. The market has giant lanterns from Alice in Wonderland.
This store was hilarious.
I tried a lovely smoothie and a bit of Oxford Sauce. It was a bit like Worcestershire sauce with a kick. After using the facilities, where I tried my first all-in-one sink (it has the soap, water, and dryer all together), we headed to the most photographed place in Oxford, Radcliff's Camera.
Known for its prestigious university, established in the 12th century. Oxford is actually the residence of 38 colleges. The poet Matthew Arnold nicknamed it the 'City of Dreaming Spires'. It is rather special to be meandering down the same walkways that scholars have traversed in search of knowledge for over 800 years.
Here on the steps of the Bodleian Library, we met our tour guides and separated into 2 groups. Our tour guide was from Hungary, and I could not pronounce her name for the life of me! She was nice, but rather severe. She knew many of the kids were excited about the Harry Potter connections, and she made sure to point them out.
There were many scenes filmed in Oxford, namely: in Christ Church College, their Dining Hall was the inspiration for the Hogwarts Great Hall. The staircase: Where Professor McGonagall greets Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the first film. The Cloisters: Used in various scenes, including the scene where young Tom Riddle speaks with Dumbledore.
In the Bodleian Library Divinity School: The Hogwarts Infirmary and the site of a dance scene in the Triwizard Tournament. At Duke Humfrey's Library: The Hogwarts Library, especially the restricted section where Harry seeks information.
And in New College, the Cloisters and Courtyard, featured in scenes, including where Draco is turned into a ferret by Hermione.
Our first stop is the Divinity School, which has been a library of legal deposit for 400 years, which means that every book published in England has a copy in "the Bod," rather like the Library of Congress.
The Bodleian Library is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library. Together, the Bodleian Libraries hold over 13 million printed items. The first library was built by the University in the 15th century to house books donated by Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester. That library lasted only 60 years; in 1550, the Dean of Christ Church, hoping to purge the English church of all traces of Catholicism, including ‘superstitious books and images’, removed all the library’s books, most of which were of that genre.
The library was rescued by Sir Thomas Bodley (1545–1613), a Fellow of Merton College and a diplomat in Queen Elizabeth I’s court. He decided to "set up my staff at the library door in Oxon; being thoroughly persuaded, that in my solitude, and surcease from the Commonwealth affairs, I could not busy myself to better purpose, than by reducing that place (which then in every part lay ruined and waste) to the public use of students".
It reopened in 1602 with the stipulation that no books were to be lent to readers; even King Charles I was refused permission to borrow a book in 1645. site
Lizzy and I at Hogwarts!
Beyond the Radcliff Camera is the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. You can go up in the tower and get a lovely view. A church has been on this site since 1086, and in the early days of Oxford University, the church was adopted as the first building of the university in 1252.
A short walk past the church leads to a very peculiar doorway. Thought to be the inspiration of Aslan and Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis.
This view from the door back towards Radcliff's Camera holds the possible inspiration for the fabled lamp post where little Lucy first encounters the faun.
All Souls College is where the Fellows reside. They get a salary and a living. The current annual salary of Senior Research Fellows ranges from £105,693 to £115,487 per annum and is linked to a point on the Oxford University professorial salary scale. To be inducted as a fellow is a tremendous honor.
From here, we hobbled down a tight alleyway and ducked into an even tighter walkway to the most secret tavern in Oxford: The Turf Tavern. Known for some notable patrons including: Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Tony Blair, CS Lewis, Stephen Hawking, and Margaret Thatcher. It also served as a hangout for the cast and crew of the Harry Potter movies. The Turf Tavern also claims to be the location where future American president Bill Clinton, while a student at University College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, famously smoked "but did not inhale" marijuana.
From here we took in the view of the Bridge of Sighs, it's actually named the Hertford Bridge, but no one calls it that. It was used for some time as a go-between, but now it is mostly a storage container.
Then we went by the cloisters, but they were closed due to some reconstruction. Instead, we entered the chapel as the organist was practicing. It was lovely to hear. Here's a really grainy video:
We ended the tour in this courtyard with a garden only for students and faculty. It was here that our guide left us. We sat around a bit, I ate an apple, and we waited some more. After a bit, Claudia found us and had us rejoin the other group which was getting a tour of the room used for the great hall.
After this, we were given free time. I went into the Weston Library to use the toilet and refresh a bit. They had a free exhibit called Treasures that had many manuscripts and scrolls. It was nice to stroll through and see some amazing pieces of art and literature.
The one in the middle is from Jane Austen herself! Entitled Volume the First, dated 1786–1793, it is written out in Jane Austen's own hand as a compilation of sixteen of her early short works in a variety of genres (stories, playlets, verses, moral fragments). site
I was so happy to be standing mere inches from her work. There was a copy of the MagnaCarta as well.
The top of this building had statues of the Greek muses, and these faces on the pillars. I stopped and raised my glass to toast the Professor. It's a tradition done by raising a glass at 9pm on his birthday. I've done it on January 3rd for several years now. It was fun to do it in a place he spent most of his life.
On the long bus ride back to London, I listened to my audiobook, Patriot by Alexi Navaldy. This book is his memoir and is well worth the read. It was a stark contrast to see the splendor of the English countryside while listening to the way Navaldy was being treated.
We dined at The White Horse, we had fish and chips, and it was easily my favorite meal. We were in the upper room, which we had to ourselves. We got there a bit early for our reservation, but they were very accommodating. Our server was excellent. Also, they made sure that they put ice in the water for us soft Americans. I ordered a lemonade for Lizzy and myself, forgetting that in England, that means Sprite. Which was lucky since one of the kids wanted a Sprite and didn't know how to ask. I let his dad know to ask for a lemonade.
Dessert was a brownie and ice cream. This was a proper brownie, though. Claudia polled us on which brownie was better, and this one came out on top much to her surprise.
It was the perfect end to a lovely day.
No comments:
Post a Comment