September 24th // Oxford, England
The girls take Oxford! Today myself, Fae, Anna, Sydney, Ash, and Kaylee all set out for a long day of exploring a new city. We took off around nine this morning to the train station where we then had a two-hour journey to Oxford. Once we arrived, we met up with Kaylee’s friend from high school who is studying abroad at Oxford University and was so sweet to show us around the city all day. We first headed to the Turf Tavern for lunch. This tavern is hidden behind walls and in allies so you have to search a little to find it. But it’s so worth it! The food was delicious and this tavern is a favorite of Elizabeth Taylor, Margaret Thatcher, Stephen Hawking, Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy, David Cameron, Emma Watson, Ernest Hemingway, Ben Kingsley, Jack Gleeson, and more! It was also a big hangout spot for the cast of Harry Potter while they were filming in Oxford! (See my post “Turf Tavern” in the Study Abroad –> Foreign Eats section for more details and photos).
Next, we headed to a small bookstore. Here I got these two books covered in brown paper. The concept behind this is to not judge a book by its cover, which I find to be absolutely beautiful.
For our next adventure of the day, we went and toured a part of the Oxford campus where Kaylee’s friend is staying for the semester. There were gardens everywhere and students sitting on the lawn chatting away. We entered their cafeteria that looked like a scene straight out of Harry Potter.
After, Anna was really wanting to get some high tea. We went to a local cafe where we ordered pastries, tea and coffee which we scarfed down (See my post “Vaults and Garden” in the Study Abroad –> Foreign Eats section for more details and photos).
Post tea, we went to a local museum to see a famous piece. The best part was that the museum was FREE! This is a big hit with broke college students. See the photo below to see Einstein’s blackboard in the flesh!!!
We then went to another free museum full of stuffed animals, animal bones, rocks, and crystals. We decided to tour the rest of the city and headed back home, finishing our day in Oxford with smiles and good company.
Exploring the World 