We caught the bus about a mile from our front door and at £5 each way, it was a great investment in my health and happiness. We spent almost an hour in the University's Botanical Garden and walked up and down old streets lined with churches covered in red ivy. Instead of taking a tour of Christ Church (Oxford's most celebrated property where parts of Harry Potter were filmed) we walked around the grounds and read a brochure about it which was cheaper. On our way back to the bus, we ran into a very important museum called the Ashmolean of Art and Archeology that was full of Egyptian and English artifacts. The highlight of the day was easily the thirty-five minutes we spent in a restaurant called "The Opium Den" where we were never served and practically asked to leave when we finally got the attention of the server. The place was full of important Japanese business men. By the time we decided to grab lunch on the go instead, I was so hungry I had no choice but to eat two pasties and an Orange Fanta for lunch for some random pasty stand.
Oxford also had a great covered market (where I bought Ryan a small birthday cake to celebrate his 21st day of being 21) that reminded me of Pike Place Market except with more blood pudding.
I got some good pictures of the sights in Oxford with my new camera but instead, I'll post this one that I found online.
Christ Church:
I regret not buying a sweatshirt.Wednesday I ate lunch at a place called "Wok in a Box." The food was disgusting so I threw it away and went to McDonald's and bought french fries. I felt very guilty but also very satisfied. After lunch, I met my class at the Sainsburry African Galleries at the British Museum. The galleries had ancient and contemporary art from Kenya, Benin, and Ghana among others and I especially enjoyed some of the sculptures constructed out of decommissioned weapons from Mozambique including the "Tree of Life" and the "Thrown of Guns." The gift shop didn't have the postcards I was hoping for, but I enjoyed spending an hour or so in the museum. That's about all I can handle anymore and the British Museum is the biggest and most overwhelming of them all.
All I did on Thursday was be late for a walking tour with my history class. By the time I caught up to the group, they were just leaving St. Bartholomew's Church where Shakespeare in Love was filmed.
I toured the Tower of London on Friday and all I could think about was how much it reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg. There were tons of tourists and sets of armor in glass cases. I saw the Crown Jewels! Much like the main attractions in Disney Land, before you see the Crown Jewels, you have to travel through three different rooms where film clips of Queen Elizabeth's coronation are set to royal soundtracks as they're projected on massive screens. On either side of the Jewels (which are displayed in glass cases in one long line) are two moving sidewalks to prevent people from gawking too long. Most of the crowns were smaller than I thought they would be and the crowds weren't as intense within the Treasury (where the Jewels are kept) so the sidewalks looked a little rediculous. I will be taking my parents to the Tower. My dad will LOVE IT and FREAK OUT especially over the White Tower where the weapons and suits of armor are housed.
This is the White Tower which is next to the Raven pen:
Friday we had sober game night at Josh, Thomas, Alyssa, Carly, Nora, and Kerry's flat and last night we had non-sober game night and rode the bus around the city at night. If you an get a seat on the top of a double decker in the front, in the dark, it's basically the ride of your life.Tonight we're taking a picnic dinner to the River Thames Festival parade.
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