Oxford is for Lovers (of books!)

| The splendid streets of Oxford! |

I'm back to blogging about our trip that was now over a year ago! It may now be rather late to be finishing, but I can't just stop in the middle. I'd be missing some of my favorite parts if I stopped now. So, off we go to Oxford!

2015 England Trip Journal
Thursday, April 2

      Oxford's air seems filled with a fragrance of knowledge, study and being scholarly. :) This was the overwhelming impression it left on me as a first-time visitor. It feels like if you stay around long enough and breathe it in you will turn into Tolkien or Lewis or Carroll, and then write a fantasy series.

     We took advantage of the park and ride, and quite conveniently the bus dropped us off a mere few blocks away from the Eagle and Child pub (famous for being the meeting place of JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and the other Inklings). Being hungry, we made a beeline for it and squeezed inside its cramped, woody – albeit atmospheric – interior to the back room, that offers a pleasant contrast with its glass roof that lets the light in. It was so much fun sitting back there because the walls were covered with paintings of Tolkien and The Hobbit! Plus the steak and ale pie that we split was delicious.
    

If you're a fan of English literature it's hard to pass up having lunch at this literary landmark!

It's the cover of 'The Hobbit'!!

Mom with old JRR himself. ;)

Seeing this might have made me laugh gleefully...

     After lunch we returned to an Oxfam book shop and found a new Oxford University Press edition of all Jane Austen's juvenilia! Now I have everything that we know Jane wrote. I just need to read it...

      Used bookshops are some of the most fun and dangerous places to look for souvenirs! Still, I would highly recommend going inside of a few, since you never know what treasures you might find for yourself or as gifts to bring home. I never stop gasping for delight once I begin looking at those shelves stuffed with antique volumes and Oxford University Press editions and books I can never find in the States – and almost always for surprisingly reasonable prices. Most of the books we found were around £3-7.

Looking down the street from the Eagle and Child toward the Oxfam used bookshop.

My treasures from the bookshop. The only downside was that I had to carry them around all day...

We walked through this cemetery across from the Eagle and Child to see some of the Colleges.

     We then found the Weston Wing of the Bodleian, followed by the Old Bodleian library, the Radcliffe Camera, Christ Church College, Merton College, Queen's College, University College – basically every place we wanted to see – within five hours.

Broad Street, where the Weston Wing is located.

Everything is close together, all lined up in eclectic, mis-matched rows, each building in a different style, with a different height, color and age. I loved it! Each row of buildings looks rather like a bookshelf, which is fitting, I suppose, in a city responsible for producing so many of the world's most famous authors.

     We had partly cloudy and sunny weather, a.k.a. open wool coat conditions. :) The Weston Wing has an exhibit room with some true literary treasures (in my opinion). First I found the original cover of The Hobbit, drawn by Tolkien's own hand, and then I saw Volume the Third of Jane Austen's juvenilia. That was unreal. It was turned to the page of her adorable dedication to her sister that precedes 'The Beautifull Cassandra."

"Madam,

     You are a Phoenix. Your taste is refined, your Sentiments are noble, and your Virtues are innumerable. Your Person is lovely, your Figure, elegant, and your Form, magestic. Your Manners are polished, your Conversation is rational and your appearance singular. If therefore the following Tale will afford one moment's amusement to you, every wish will be gratified of

Your most obedient,

humble servant,

The Author"

Jane Austen's Volume the Third of her Juvenilia, opened to her story 'The Beautifull Cassandra"

Tolkien's drawing of 'The Hobbit' cover!

An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope

     Outside of the exhibit was a wall of shelves filled with scores of antique editions, so I sniffed out a few familiar titles.

An old edition of Wives and Daughters  by  Elizabeth Gaskell

Clarissa by Samuel Richardson

Cecilia by Fanny Burney, one of Jane Austen's contemporaries

Camilla by Fanny Burney

     Broad Street is worth a visit in itself, and the outside of The Bodleian is also an impressive sight to see. We were going to wander around inside, but what with the somewhat late hour and the cost of a self-guided tour, we changed our mind and just popped into the gift shop instead.

     (For information about Bodleian tours and opening hours visit bodleian.ox.ac.uk)

From L to R: The Clarendon Building, Bridge of Sighs and The Bodleian Library,
all in the beautiful golden stone so typical of Oxford.

We're inside the courtyard of The Bodleian now. The buildings date from 1488 to 1619!

The Bodleian's most famous facade! Known as The Divinity School and Duke Humphrey's Library, dating from 1488.

Here is perhaps the most recognizable building in Oxford: The Radcliffe Camera
(As Lewis and Endeavour fans, we were quite excited to see it!)

Selfie with The Camera! ;)
("Camera" in this context means 'room,' apparently, FYI.)

     We thought about visiting Christ Church College, but it was too late. (When it comes to getting in to museums and galleries, after 5:00 PM is nearly always too late... But we can't seem to remember that, somehow.)

The entrance to Christ Church College

     Across the street from the college is Cafe Loco, so we grabbed a cup of tea before seeing our next sight. (I don't think the association of 'Loco' with Carroll's Mad Hatter is a coincidence.) It's a Lewis filming location, as well as being the location of the ultimate cookies: thick, crumbly, buttery cookies!

The cookies of Cafe Loco!

     Almost right across the street from the Cafe is an iron gate that we discovered opens into the lovely Christ Church meadow. There are some pleasant gardens, trees and streams that line the walk behind Christ Church College, which leads to another quiet lane between it and Merton College.

     So we followed the stone path around Christ Church, which is Lewis Carroll's college, through the gardens and around the side of Merton College, which is Tolkien's Alma mater, then up to The Queen's College, where John Wycliffe once lived. It is amazing how close together they are!

The walk to Christ Church meadows.

It was one of those unexpected finds that you didn't plan for, and yet ends up being such a pleasant memory!

A selfie with Merton College. :)

A quiet Oxford lane between the colleges.
I could imagine generations of students, particularly Tolkien,
walking here, their heads filled with their studies or
their imaginations roaming everywhere.

John Wycliffe (1320-1384) lived in Queen's College, and later translated the Bible into English

     Our day in Oxford ended with a stroll down High Street, back past The Bodleian and the Radcliffe Camera, to Broad Street, and at last back to where our bus was to pick us up. Some of my favorite memories from a trip are the times when we simply wandered around city streets and soaked up the atmosphere. It's so easy to feel rushed and to worry about seeing all the sights on our list, and sometimes it is unavoidable when a place only has scheduled tours or closes early. But I will always recommend leaving some time in your schedule where you have nothing planned – and then seeing what happens!

© 2016 Anna Morton