I was able to sleep for the most part overnight, which was something new for a plane.
They woke us about midnight our time, 5 am BST (British Summer Time). At 5:20, my husband K, my older daughter J, and I were given "breakfast". It was simply a scrambled egg wrap. We've gotten better food on other overseas flights.
At 6;09, we were getting close to the approach to Gatwick. So, I asked K to take a photo out the window. Clouds. How English.
We landed at London Gatwick at 6:40 am. It took 15 minutes to get to the gate, and we were in the terminal at 7:09. Looking out the window, there wasn't much to see, but I did like the wall murals celebrating the late queen.
They have what they call E-Passport gates, which we could use because American passports have a chip. The gate, rather literally that, had a biometric scanner. We were through at 7:14, which was pretty speedy for border control.
At about 7:25, my bag came off the carousel followed soon by K's. J's, however, was MIA. We checked other carousels near by, but no luck. When we went to do the paperwork, the woman in front of us was flying on to Greece and had nothing. At the desk, they said there are always problems at OIA. Then, why don't they fix them! J said she'll never fly down to go overseas with us again. It really was ridiculous, especially since they'd called her to the desk in Orlando to check her bag number.
We finally got in the main terminal at 8:22 am. We then looked for the train station. Since we are traveling from place to place by rail, we'd bought a rail pass for the three of us back home. Due to time constraints of a trip in May, and since they insisted on shipping it, we had it delivered to J's home. It arrived there quite quick and she'd brought it down to me, when she'd visited us in June. It was my job to safely carry it in my purse for the entire trip.
We had to find some way of getting the pass validated, however. There was no obvious place to do it, because it seemed to be only ticket machines. We found a guard, who directed us to the Information stand. We had to wait a few minutes for someone to come and then they needed help, because they'd not seen one before. Finally, at 8:30, it was stamped and our use of it for 8 days started its countdown.
While we were waiting for the train, we fell into conversation with a South African woman, who had worked in America for three years and had now been here for 21.We talked about schools, mostly.
We were on the train to Reading at 9 am. J had made a Google Sheet planning this trip and had even noted train times, transfers, etc. She also downloaded the British train app to be up-to-date on times.
The train departed at 9:03 and we dozed, knowing we had a ways to go. It was 10:30, when we reached Reading and I realized for some reason, that that was where the town in Pennsylvania had gotten its name. Anyway, it was 67°, mostly cloudy, but some sun.
We got ourselves to platform 8B to await our next train. I noticed a train on a nearby track with GWR and knew from travel prep that that meant Great Western Railway.
Unfortunately, there was no lift and we had to haul the luggage up the stairs and over to the station itself.
Outside, we oriented ourselves and J's portable WiFi came in handy as she used Google to find our way. Soon, we noticed a painted cow and then another. Then, I realized - not a cow, but an ox (Ox-ford). I do love when a town paints a figure in different ways and puts them around town. I hoped to find more.
We crossed a bridge over a pretty waterway, whose sign said it was the Oxford Canal. But, the phone's map seemed to think it was the River Thames, which the canal is connected to. Regardless, it was picturesque.
Soon, we came upon another ox named Filigree. It stood in the area of Balliol College. Of course, there are colleges all over Oxford.
J had chosen our hotels based on proximity to train stations and whether or not they'd hold our bags, which would be very important on other days. Thus, we were soon standing at the entrance to The Buttery at 11-12 Broad Street.The entrance was simple- a door to a foyer.
In the foyer, which was very small for three people, hand luggage, and two suitcases, we discovered that there were stairs to the actual office. J and K took one look at the narrow, winding stairs and said I should stay downstairs and they'd take up the luggage. Here are the stairs from above, because I did climb them in the end with the last bag, because I was hoping for a restroom.
Once I was at the top, I saw that there was one more step up to the desk. The clerk was very nice and gave us discount coupons for Theo's next door. Amazingly, one of the rooms, No. 204, was ready. It was decided that would be our room, but J could put some things from her backpack in there until her room was ready later. We'd been planning to share rooms, but this hotel didn't have one available for three people. We soon saw why.
Of course, there were more stairs to get up to the room, but they weren't as narrow. I let them take up the bags, while I minded the remaining ones in the "lobby". Soon, K got the last bag and I headed up. They'd kindly not opened the room yet, because they know I like to take photos before we put stuff in. K even gave me the old-fashioned key to unlock the room.
The room was small (probably because we didn't go for Deluxe), but neat and clean. We saw a radiator, but there was an unusual floor unit for air conditioning. We'd never seen such a thing. Because it was warm in the room, we turned it on and left it on. The bathroom was incredibly tiny, but modern.
Here's a grand tour, plus our view:
We were out again shortly after 12:20. The lovely building across the street belonged to Balliol College. Wikipedia notes:
Balliol College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world.
That is seriously old.
We made our way up Broad Street looking for food and admiring the scenery.
A couple of blocks up, we saw a curious building behind a wrought iron fence. It had a series of unusual busts and it was a half cylinder attached to a rectangular prism. Once again, Wikipedia was handy:
Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, Warden of All Souls College and later chancellor of the University. Sheldon was the project's main financial backer.
Not finding any food that was quick enough for our time frame, we headed back to Theo's to cash in one of the discount cards. On the way, I noticed this seriously cool door.
Theo's had outdoor seating and indoor, both of which were busy. We found pre-made sandwiches just inside the door. We got a chicken mayo sandwich for Ł4,70 and 2 chicken mayo pesto ones each of which was Ł4.50. K got his black Americano fo Ł3,50. J got Coke for Ł2, but my Coke Zero was Ł2,25. Weird. Having had nothing for hours, of course we got dessert-chocolate twist and pan au chocolate, each of which were Ł3,20 and K got cake of the day for Ł 5,45. It turned out to be carrot cake, which was not what he expected, but he liked it.
It was sunny and a warm 71°. So, we enjoyed our meal outside at a table with an umbrella.
When we finished at 1:02, we stopped in the shop next door so that J could look for an Oxford shirt. (All of her clothes were in that delayed bag.) She didn't find anything she liked.
We were now ready to start our touring. J had made our reservations for our tour of the Bodleian Library. Directions said to meet near the Divinity School. The problem was that the school was not marked on Google maps. She knew where the library was, though, so we headed that way.
We went around the Sheldonian and found a building with wonderful windows. We thought the whole thing gave off a church vibe and it was where we should be. We just had to find the entrance.
In our attempt to find the place to meet the tour, we passed Oxford's Bridge of Sighs. It is actually a skyway linking two parts of Hertford College over New College Lane. It really doesn't replicate the one in Venice and actually looks more like the Rialto Bridge there. It was completed in 1914.
Finally, at 1:25, we were waiting in the courtyard for the tour. There were lots of folks milling about. I was intrigued by the doors to the various scholastic libraries. Many had cool carved heads on either side. I only know Latin from learning the parts that were useful for English vocabulary, but I was able to figure them all out. These are some of my favorites, either for design or what branch of learning they dealt with. These are the School of Old Jurisprudence, School of Moral Philosophy, School of Music (for K), and the combination of School of Languages {Hebraic and Greek, School{ Geometry and Arithmetic (for me).
Absolutely no one was paying attention to this sign:
The ground level focus was the statue of the Earl of Pembroke, who was Chancellor of the University of Oxford in the 1600's. What most don't notice is the inscription above the door of the Old Bodleian Library behind the earl. This has the coats of arms of the university and Sir Thomas Bodley, whence Bodleian. oxfordhistory.org.uk says that the inscription says:
"Thomas Bodley placed this library here
for you, Oxford academics,
and for the commonwealth
of the educated:
may it turn out happily"
Opposite the door of the Old Bodleian was a tower with a gate leading outside. It is the Tower of the Five Orders (Architecture). It was built between 1613-19, it features columns from each of the five orders of Classical Architecture: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and composite. Right there, it is cool, but I bet most people don't take a very good look at the top. That's because it is awfully hard to see up there. In fact, it was only because my regular camera has a fantastic zoom, that I was able to get a good look. It is a statue of King James VI (Scotland) and I (England and Ireland). It's a shame, because the detail behind him is quite impressive.
Just after 1:30, we were let into Duke Humfrey's Library. Who?
There were plenty of information signs, but the most impressive thing was the magnificent ceiling.
This room was actually used as the infirmary in the Harry Potter films. For some reason, they decided to change the windows and made the walls brown in the movie, though. It was also used for the dance lessons for the Yule Ball.
Our guide was there by the 2:00 start and gave an introductory talk. Then, we headed upstairs. Here was the magnificent older part of Bodleian Library, which is Duke Humfrey's Library or Bodleian Old Library. The room ceiling was wonderful as was the bit under the stairs. I wondered how many folks using the library had ever looked up.
We learned that quite insanely, the books were grouped by size rather than topic, title, author, etc. There was a librarian near the beginning, who put numbers on the binding and made himself what was the beginning of the card catalog to find various books as requested.
The books were not allowed to leave the room and were often chained to the shelf. Due to the age of the books, to help them stay in shape, some were turned so that the pages faced out. This helps to keep them from sagging. Only 3 of Duke Humfrey's books are still in the library, mainly due to the damage to the library during the Reformation, when books with Catholic references had to be removed.
The room was a beauty, but stepping up to the desk in the center, one could see the room beyond, where books could be examined. It was a lovely room. The library was used as the Hogwart's library.
The very old- and still followed- Bodleian Oath of the library was displayed on the desk. It is to be recited by anyone wishing to read a book here.
We were taken to the Convocation House, a room on the other side of the room we gathered in in the Divinity School. Here, in the 1600's, the main governing body of the university met. Such a ceiling!
The tour finished around 3. K decided he didn't need the shop. So, he headed off to the Ashmolean Museum to see their musical instrument collection. J and I hit the very nice shop and then stepped out to see the exterior of the Radcliffe Camera. It is in the Baroque style and built in 1737-1749. It was built to house the Radcliffe Science Library. Why it was built in the round, I can't say.
I wanted a look at the exterior of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, an Anglican church whose parish is the university. On the way, we took a look through the gate at the quad of All Souls College.
To get to the Ashmolean, we had to pass the really impressive gate to the Bodleian Library.
We passed Balliol College and saw an interesting plaque on the wall. I have to admit that I assumed the martyred bishops were Catholic, because I've never heard of a Protestant religion referring to martyrs. But, no, they were killed for their faith when Mary was Queen of England and tried to return the country to Catholicism- often by force. Interestingly, as we neared the museum, we saw a monument to the martyrs.
The Ashmolean Museum looked like a museum should. wikipedia had this information:
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of Oxford in 1677. It is also the world's second university museum, after the establishment of the Kunstmuseum Basel in 1661 by the University of Basel. The present building was built between 1841 and 1845.
As we entered, we saw a hall of statues. We started looking for a map to guide us, but that cost money and we only had an hour and a quarter. So, it wasn't worth it. We found a wall map and made our way to the nearest elevator.
Upstairs, we discovered an incredible collection of ceramics and dishes by people like Wedgwood. Case after case of plates, dishes, figures, etc. There was an entire table set as a Georgian dessert table. The photos here are just a sample of that gallery.
As we expected, we found K at the musical instrument collection. Interestingly, the string instruments are displayed so that the backs are visible. I was taken with a lovely virginal in the corner.
We headed for the third floor, which, weirdly, is split into a higher and lower level. Here we found some of what one would expect to find in a museum- art. Here we found Pissarro's 1899 The Tuileries Gardens, Rainy Weather, Van Gogh's 1887 The Restaurant de la Sirene, Asnières, Renoir's A Garden in Montmartre, John Singer Sargent's 1907 A Balustrade (my favorite for some reason), and Monet's A Mill near Zaandam, which we all liked because we were near there last summer. Some of these were taken from the side to avoid glare.
We headed down to the lowest floor for restrooms and to visit the gift shop. The latter only had a button that I wanted, no postcards, but, interestingly, they carry paint.
We knew J's suitcase would not arrive today. So, we went shopping for her on Cornmarket Street, when we left the museum at 4:47. It was pretty and warm. 28 Cornmarket was the address of Laird Hatter and an incredibly old looking building. Evidently, it dates to the 15th century and was probably once three shops. The building was altered in the 17th and 19th centuries and the current shop has been heavily restored.
We went to Boots for J to get some basics and then we did some shopping. When we came back down the street at 6:12, we took time to look at the outside of the church St. Michael at the North Gate. It had a very tall, blocky tower, called the Saxon Tower, which was around 1000 years old.
J was anxious to visit Blackwell's Bookshop on Broad Street, which was founded in 1879. They also have a separate music shop and sci-fi, manga and games shop. They had many familiar titles, when we got to the main shop at 6:20.
By now, it was pushing 7:00 and we felt dinner was due. Not far away was The Kings Arms, which calls itself a traditional pub and dates to 1606. It seemed like a good choice.
When we went inside, K and J asked at the bar about a table. We were to find our own and order at the bar. While they were there, K ordered Oxford Dragon Ale for himself, a Cyder for me, and Sprite for J. I'd found a table in the front room and they brought the drinks and menus to me.
We picked three meals that were not long in being brought to the table: Chicken, Ham and Leek Pie for Ł18, Steak & Ale Pie for Ł19, and Cumberland Sausages (which we'd had to google) for Ł14.95. We split all three, of course, and thoroughly enjoyed them.
There were a couple of intriguing desserts and J went off to order them: Sticky Toffee Pudding with Jude's Vanilla Ice Cream for Ł8.50 and Chocolate Tart, also with the ice cream for Ł7.50. They were delicious!
Back home, we'd planned to take ourselves on a proper tour around Oxford. I'd even printed maps. Thanks to British Airways, that wasn't happening. But, when we left the pub at 8:08, we decided to go down Holywell Street along the side of New College. It was cooler now,which was pleasant.
On the one side of the street were charming houses. I really liked the windows in the white one with black trim. The row of houses is so picturesque that it is even on lists of backgrounds for Instagram. It is actually the front of Harris Manchester College.
The architecture of New College looked very much like the architecture of other Oxford colleges we'd passed during the day, albeit a bit more golden in the evening light. The gargoyles and statues up at the roof line go to show you should always remember to look up.
At the end of Holywell, we found Longwall Street where it intersected with St. Cross Road. What I thought was the city wall was actually the wall around the deer park of Magdalen College.
On our way to Sainsbury's for breakfast items, since Theo's opening at 9 was too late for our plans in the morning, we saw a couple of parking areas for a large number of bikes that we thought must be rentals to be parked there at this time of night.
We went to the hotel and got J's key. We got to her room at 8:50. It did not have an air conditioner, but it did have a fan. It was small, like ours.
We got to our room at 9:10 and found that the room really wasn't cooler for having left the air unit on for hours.
My phone said I'd walked 13,901 steps for 4.4 miles. Insanely, it said I've climbed only 1 floor and yet I've climbed all the way up to this room twice.
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