Oxford

I decided very last minute (2 am last night...) to go to Oxford at 9 am this morning, but the trip was totally worth it. I took the Oxford Tube, a coach bus that was only £13 round trip and an hour and a half journey, to the city. The coach reminded me of the Dartmouth Express, as most people on it were students and using their laptops to surf facebook just like we do going from Boston to school. I only spent 7 hours in the city, but was able to walk through the entire college and town with no problem--aside from the pouring rain!

When I arrived in Oxford I headed to the tourist information center to pick up the £1 walking tour guide that my guidebook recommended and it was great, aside from the pouring rain that lasted all night long. The tour took me past all the major sights, highlighting thirteen colleges and multiple other sights.

My favorite college was Christ Church built in 1546. Here you can see many locations out of Harry Potter films, including the dining hall and multiple staircases! It is one of the most elite of Oxford's Colleges.

Just across the road from Christ Church College is my favorite shop in town, Alice's Book Shop. This shop is where Lewis Carroll's inspiration for Alice of Alice in Wonderland used to shop (she was the Dean of Oxford's daughter).

About half way through my tour I came to England's first ever coffee shop, The Grand Cafe, built in 1650. I stopped for tea and a piece of cake (desserts are the only thing this country can cook!) to get out of the rain for a bit, but it was really cool.

The Harry Potter Dining Hall

Oxford is very beautiful and definitely worth a visit!