Oxford-Where all the "Posh" kids go to learn

The train left from Paddington station again (same as the train to Bath). They actually leave from other London stations too, but you have to switch to a different train somewhere along the trip, and I'm always a little scared I won't figure out which station, train or platform to get on and will miss the connection. Doing it in Italy was somehow much easier despite the language barrier...

This looks like the same font as the t.v. show to me. Strange... (It's a comedy club, not a singing club)

??? haha

This tower is all that remains of the oldest building in town. I don't know what it's called...

Inside the Covered Market-I like that "cobbler's" still exist. I mean I know they do in the States too, but they call them "Shoe Doctors" or something equally less charming!

There were SO many bikes in Oxford. The last time I saw that many was in Amsterdam!

View of Broad Street

Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires" as this chalk drawing demonstrated!

Carfax Tower situated at the cross section of St. Aldate's Street, Cornmarket Street, High Street, and Queen Street right in the center of town-I climbed the 99 steps to the top to get some nice views of Oxford.

99 steps really isn't a whole lot (despite the fact that the people coming down when I went up seemed extremely out of breathe), but it was the fact that the steps came in the form of 3 of these awkward small spiral staircases.

Oxford!

I wonder why this lamp has a #2 on it?

Radcliffe Camera-Houses the Radcliffe Library (not sure why the building has "camera" in the name)

Spires!

Hertford Bridge (known as the Bridge of Sighs in Oxford like the one in Venice)

Bodleian Library-Tower of Five Orders-The 5 sets of columns on this facade represent the five classical architectural orders:Doric, Tuscan, Ionic, Corinthian, Composite. How sad is it that I don't even recall Tuscan being on the list???

View out the window of the Convocation House in the Bodleian Library-used by British Parliament when they were unable to meet in London

Convocation House

Divinity School in Bodleian Library-where students once took their exams which could last up to 3 days and were not done by writing, but by the professor sitting opposite the student to debate. Sounds like a blast! This is also where the Hogwart's infirmary scene from Harry Potter was filmed (and changed digitally).

Fall time-LOVE IT!

On my way to Alice's Shop. I did not know that Lewis Carroll attended the Christ Church school in Oxford where he met Alice Liddell whom he based his novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass on. I had no idea it was based on someone he knew!

Christ Church

Creepy religious graffiti...

Gloucester Green-I kept seeing signs for this and thought it would be a cool park in full Autumn bloom. Actually it was just a market outside the bus station which was named Gloucester. A bit of a let down...

So, yesterday I took my last trip outside of London before I head back to the States next week. Since I had seen Cambridge, I really wanted to see Oxford to compare. Luckily, although the weather was freezing, it was perfectly sunny! While there, I walked up the Carfax Tower an took a tour of the Bodleian Library among other things. The library dates back to the 14th century when the books were actually chained to the shelf to discourage them from being stolen. Our tour guide pointed out that the library scenes from Harry Potter were filmed in the library on the second floor, and when they recreated the book chains, they did it incorrectly by placing the bracket on the spine of the book rather than the front which would make the books impossible to open.

A little over 200 of the oringial books still remain in the library and they are in a special section on the second floor in what is known as Duke Humphrey's Library (what was known as the "Restricted Section" in Harry Potter), and must be retrieved by a librarian for a good academic reason and with many strict guidelines (such as only opening it at a 45 degree angle so as not to damage the spine). They are also only allowed ot be opened 4 times a year. As it is only a reference library, no books are allowed to leave the library or be checked out. Even when King Charles I came in to check out a book, they wouldn't let him, and instead made him read the book in the library. Harsh!

Also, there is a room in the Convocation House which used to hold the student court. Until the 1900's the students of Oxford were known as "priveleged" and for any crime they committed, they were to be tried by the Oxford University Court, not the Town Court (and the university court was usually more lenient). This room now holds a refrigerator as it acts as a place where caterers prepare food for events held in the Divinity School such as weddings and private parties. Sad!

All in all, Oxford was beautiful. Especially on such a gorgeous Autumn day. However, it was much more spread out than the colleges of Cambridge, and I found it hard to know what was part of the University, and what was not, as all of the architecture of the city was old. It's also ironic that I visited the home of one of the world's most prestigous universities on the day when over 50,000 students held protests in London against university tuition fee increases. I'm sure glad those didn't extend into Oxford as they turned out to be quite violent!