You pull out your hotpants and don't go inside before sunset, cause who knows how long it will last!
Our original plan was to go to Brighton, but we changed that to Oxford a few days beforehand. To get the most out of our day, we met at Paddington Station to catch our 9:35am train that would take us to the famous university city. All of us have been to Oxford before as far as I know, so we were more or less relaxed without the pressure to see everything there is.
Our first stop was Sainsbury's. Yes, we are all human and need food.
The first real destination is one Harry Potter fans might be interested in. The Bodleian Library is one of the oldest lecture halls in Oxford and the place where the hospital wing scenes as well as the hilarious dance lesson in the fourth movie were filmed. It's only 1 pound and is empty except for a few benches and spider webs. You could also book a tour through the library where, you guessed it, the library scenes were filmed, it's a bit more expensive (8 pounds) and you need a guide to access it.
When you step out of the building you see the Radcliffe Camera which is only accessible to students. You may know it from TV, it's a popular screenshot of Oxford. Next to it is a cute little cafe that I've never been in but is supposed to be good.
Since we already had our lunch we went straight to the Botanic Garden that's basically just around the corner. It's 3,5 for students if you are interested, just look out for aggressive ducks that will steal your cookies! Unbelievable...
On a serious note though, just like most Botanic Gardens this one is really nice to look at. It's a good thing it was sunny and we were able to sit down for a while, nobody likes soggy mud. You can even sit down next to Cherwell, a river that leads to the Thames. There is nothing like laughing at tourists who make fools out of themselves while trying to not crash against one another. And once you are sick of looking at flowers, you can leave and cross the street and rent a boat yourself.
First we went to Christ Church College though. This place is yet another place where scenes from Harry Potter were filmed, like the arrival of Harry in his first year, when he meets Draco for the second time. The dining hall was a direct inspiration for the Great Hall. And a few scenes were filmed outside in the garden.
The place has other things to offer, too. A Cathedral with impressive windows and history. The architecture seems typical for Oxford and is definitely worth a second glance. A lot of famous people went to school here, including several British Ministers, philosophers like John Locke, Albert Einstein for a Research Studentship and the author of 'Alice in Wonderland' Lewis Carroll.
And like I already mentioned, a great idea for Oxford as well as Cambridge is a boat tour. Now, if you want to save some money, you can decide to try and operate it yourself. The original plan was for the four of us to change through, but in the end I was basically the only one really doing anything. Guess I'm a bit of a control freak, but it's not like the others were too eager to do it. The only downside is that my back hurt like a bitch the next two days, even worse than my arms for some reason. Worth it though!
The day pretty much ended with ice cream for me and my efforts and a quick snack dinner on the train back home. We were all exhausted, me more so than the others obviously, because of the heat and the walking around, so we went straight home once we got to Paddington. Thanks for the great day!
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