I woke up bright and early to get ready and get to school to catch the bus to Oxford. I was there 15 minutes early, like the sheet said, yet there was no coach in sight. At 8:30, there was still no giant tour bus in sight, but after a while, the six of us going on the trip discovered that the company had sent a taxi to get us and take us to the next pick up point, where more students would be waiting. The cab ride was slightly frightening, given that people drive like crazy people here, and I was very glad to arrive at the pick up point. The college, called Royal Holloway, was absolutely gorgeous, and appeared to be straight out of a movie. We took several pictures before the bus showed up.
We loaded the bus, and had a pleasant ride to our first stop, Blenheim Palace, passing Windsor Castle along the way. The views were breathtaking, with I suppose what could be considered the traditional English countryside and lots of horse and sheep. Our tour guide also pointed out where some of the 2012 Olympic teams will practice rowing.
Eventually, we arrived at a small town, apparently famous for a weekend getaway spot with the rich and famous. From what the guide was telling us, Blenheim Palace was built by Henry II, or at least sometime in that time frame, on the grounds of an old hunting lodge, which unfortunately no longer stands. We took a long walk around the garden and lake area, getting some fantastic pictures, then saw a Victory Statue, which is directly in line with the palace, then walked over a bridge to the palace itself. The bridge actually had rooms build into it so that visitors could stay there. However, they're closed to the public. We didn't get to tour the inside of the palace, but the views were lovely from where we were. Some random facts surrounding Blenheim include the fact that Winston Churchill was born and became engaged there, and is buried nearby, one of the residents altered the water level in the lakes surrounding the palace to make it more aesthetically pleasing, and it supposedly has phenomenal gardens, that sadly, because of the weather and the time of year that we visited, we were unable to see.
From the palace, we walked back to the village the back way, passing seemingly millions of sheep, and these incredible stone walls made without cement - they're just rocks placed together that have solidified over time, designed to keep the sheep in. They're called cotswalds, with "cot" being an old derivative of "sheep" in some language. We walked to a pub called "The White House," apparently one of Winston Churchill's favorites, and had tea & biscuits. It had some wonderful Churchill quotes on the wall.
After tea, we walked up to a little cemetery where Churchill is buried. Today was actually his death anniversary, 45 years. There were flowers on his grave. Our tour guide told us that he was given the privilege of being buried at Westminster Abbey, but didn't think that he'd get along too well with some of the people buried there, so he declined in favor of being buried close to where he was born. She also told us that the King before Elizabeth II had offered to Knight him, but he refused. However, when Queen Elizabeth II offered, he accepted.
We all loaded the coach and headed to Oxford after tea. Everything in Oxford is made from yellow brick, and it's incredibly beautiful. There are bikes everywhere, and even more people. We got off the bus and began our walking tour. We went into kind of the heart of the city. Apparently, Oxford is a university within itself, but there are 39 colleges in it, all of which have rivalries, yet they all come together to make Oxford. You have to pass a rigorous exam, the Oxbridge, or something like that, as Cambridge uses it as well to get in, then pass an interview process. It all sounds very complicated and whatnot, but it's a very good school, lots of famous people have studied and taught here, and it's a neat town.
We began by looking at this rotunda/theater bulling, called The Sheldonian. It's where all the graduations, matriculations, and the like take place. It had these crazy statue head surrounding it that all had expressions of surprise. Bizarre. Apparently they were all redone in the 1960's, so that might explain some of that.
We then went behind it into this beautiful square where we were completely surrounded by incredible architecture. It was too cramped to take a picture to do it justice, but it was almost a magical place to be. We walked next into a courtyard area of a library, and I was intrigued by these little heads, all unique, that ran as a border around the top of the courtyard. They were designed to give the building "character."
When we came out of that, we came into another area with a stunning round building called "The Radcliffe Camera." I'm not sure exactly what the building is designed for, but the same man who designed it designed the church I was in last night, St Martin's In The Field, for the concert. So cool. We saw more churches, most notably the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, and as we were passing that, passed the lamppost that is believed to be the inspiration behind "The Chronicles of Narnia," as C.S. Lewis was both a pupil and teacher in Oxford. We took some more pictures with some of the colleges, then broke for lunch.
We were able to find an adorable store that I got postcards and an Oxford t-shirt at. We ate at an incredible little sandwich shop, and had ham & cheese paninis for 2.95. However, when I asked for tap water, the woman glared at me as if she wanted me to die, so that prevented the rest of the group from asking for drunks as well. We did a little more window shopping after that, then met back up with the group for the rest of our tour.
We journeyed then to Christ Church College, which also houses the Cathedral of Oxford, the smallest Cathedral in England. The college is inspiration for "Alice in Wonderland," as well as "Harry Potter." Before we went into the college, our tour guide told us that there are a few things that every college in Oxford & Cambridge have, which are residences/quad, a guard tower, a chapel, & a great hall. Colleges still use this model today. We took some pictures on the staircase that they used in the movie, as well as in the Great Hall. I wondered where the floating candles and ghosts were, haha. People still eat there today. They were actually setting up for dinner as we were touring. On the wall behind where the head table is were portraits of some of the famous people related to the college, including King Henry VIII, who stole the school from the Catholic Cardinal who founded it, and Queen Elizabeth I. The ceiling was amazing. Kaitlin & I definitely enjoyed our time there.
We walked out into a giant courtyard where apparently a lot of movies are filmed as well, and into the cathedral, which was gorgeous. Beautiful stained glass windows, incredibly ornate carvings, it was just phenomenal. One of the quotes above one of the carved arches read, "Fear God, Love the Brotherhood, Honor the King." I really took a liking to it. Kaitlin & I took some more pictures in the hallways, and in the courtyard that seemed to be a potential filming spot as well, then the four of us grabbed some group shots as well.
We headed back to the bus down a busy shopping lane, & Kaitlin & I quickly ran to "The Eagle & Child" pub to get some pictures. It's famous for writers such as C.S. Lewis, Tolkein, & even J.K. Rowling to have frequented to hang out and write.
We got back on the bus and I basically instantly fell asleep on the ride home. I woke up enough to get in the taxi, and we were delivered back to St Mary's, just in time for dinner. Once I got back to my house, I was able to talk to some people at home, and think back on what a great day it was. Great weather, great sights, overall great day.
And so ends Day 13.
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