I'm back in England for the start of the second semester, and I am really excited for my courses to start on Tuesday. I'm also excited for all the traveling I am planning for this term! But before I get all that started, I need to fill you in on my last trip that I took before returning to the States for the holidays.
The weekend before Christmas, my friends and I decided to go for a visit to Oxford. I took an unnecessary number of photographs on this trip, so I think I shall take you on a photo journey of sorts... :) This first photo is of the lovely Bed and Breakfast that we stayed at. The owners were extremely friendly, our room was amazing (see photo), we got an incredible breakfast in the morning, AND it was the same price as a hostel!
This next photo is of Christchurch College, which is home to the infamous "Great Hall" from the Harry Potter films. On our first day there, the "Great Hall" was closed since they were having an actual banquet in it. But we were promised that it would be open on the following day. So, we decided to wait and see it then. Little did we know what mother nature had in store! But, I'll get to that in a moment.
Even though we didn't get to go inside, we still were allowed to wander around the outside of the building, and right next to Christchurch, was this pasture full of the most excitable cows I had ever seen. The photo below is of the pasture where the cows were roaming around. You can't really tell from the first photo, but they have horns and aren't bulls. There were some workers carrying around bails of hay and throwing them around, and the cows were following them around like a bunch of dogs, it was fascinating.
But then, out of no where, the cows all started running, so I just started snapping photos like mad, and out of all the rubbish photos, I got one of a cow which appears to be in mid flight. I can't believe how lucky I got with this shot! (See below.)
During our first day, we decided to go on a guided tour of the town and University. It was really inexpensive and all in all, very much worth the money. I could hardly believe how much I learned on that trip and how much more I got out of the visit because of being with the guide. One of the interesting little bits that I learned was that Oxford University is made up of a ton of smaller independent colleges. The students in each college all attend courses together as well as live together. The photo below shows a sort of bridge built between two buildings of one of the colleges (one side is the living arrangements and the other side is where lectures take place). This bridge was built so that the students wouldn't have to associate with the "common folk" when traveling between their homes and class. Other colleges had similar passageways, but they were underground.
This next photo is my absolute favorite from while I was in Oxford. The sunlight was just right to make the perfect photo. The architecture in the photo is quintessential Oxford, and you can even see the city centre Christmas tree in the left corner!
The afternoon of our first day, we wandered around town and stumbled across a market that was there. There was really just about everything, and you could purchase just about anything--from jewelry to a quarter of a cow. This next picture is not for the faint of heart! It is a photo that I snapped of one of the butcher's shops that was at the market. In this photo you can see a quarter of a cow on the right side, and then a whole pig right next to it. They had the pig strung up by the back legs and sawdust on the ground beneath its nose for the blood to catch in. I suppose the idea of knowing exactly where your meat comes from is a great idea, but the whole scene made me want to become vegetarian. Along the top left of the photo, above the pig and quarter of a cow, were dozens upon dozens of poultry strung up by their legs and hung from the ceiling. The other butcher at the market was a bit more civilized about the matter and had covered all of the chickens' heads with little white hoods, but this one hadn't and so they were all just staring down at us. It was eerie.
Also on our tour I took the following two photos. The first was during the time that the sunlight was just right for perfect pictures, so I got a fantastic picture of this round library with a domed roof. We didn't get to go inside, because I think there was a class or something at the time, but the outside was really quite beautiful.
This next photo is of a dining hall at Oxford, which is similar to the "Great Hall" but smaller. In the photo you will notice that there is a table at the far end of the hall which is raised on a platform. That is where the professors and other people of importance at the college would sit, and they are raised in order to distinguish them from the student who would sit at the tables in the forefront of the photo. At each meal here, the students and faculty both dress up since it is always a formal occasion. Finally, the painting in the center of the back wall, is a portrait of the King of England (Edward I) who was defeated by Sir William Wallace (Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart).
This next photo, also taken on the tour, is of one of the many chapels present on campus at Oxford. I believe that just about every college at the University has its own chapel. They were instituted by the monarchy, and it was mandatory that all students attended church at least every Sunday. Things have since changed, but it was surprisingly not as long ago as you would imagine.
On our second day in Oxford, we were blindsided with a terrible snow storm. The photo below was taken after it had been snowing for only an hour (there were around 3 inches by then), and in total there was around one foot of accumulation.
The snow was coming down so quickly and so heavily, that it was difficult to walk and see at the same time! The photo below was one my friend took of my eyelashes, which were continuously icing over from all of the snow. I have a new found empathy for my windshield wipers in a snow storm.
To get some relief from all the snow, we ventured into the Museum of Art, and looked around for hours! The museum was giant and even in all that time, I didn't get to see everything. Below is a picture I took of a replica of the Discus that they had there. I saw it from a distance and got really excited, and then got closer and realized it wasn't the real thing! :)
Lastly and unrelated, I wanted to put up this drawing that I did for my friend Lauren for her Christmas present. It is a portrait of her little sister. :)
Until next time,
Sarah
