Saturday in Oxford

Lori, Matthew, and I caught the bus in front of our apartment and rode to City Centre to be tourists for the day. We disembarked in front of the Said School of Business and crossed the street to the rail station to purchase tickets for the double-decker tour bus. (http://www.citysightseeingoxford.com/).

View from the bus (in front of Blackwell's Book Store)

The bus tour takes about an hour to round the city as we listened to a recorded script which explains the different sights and colleges. We used the first loop to decide where to start our walking exploration. Matthew wanted to start by climbing the Carfax Tower.

We heard the gentleman asking for post codes and not collecting money from the people in front of us. He told us that residents had free access because of Oxford Open days (http://www.oxfordopendoors.org.uk/) and other attractions were also open to the public for the weekend. I gave him our postcode here, OX2 7RF, and we climbed the tower for free. It felt really strange to say that we are local residents.You can see the view here - http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtour/carfaxtower/default.html

Lori and Matthew on top of Carfax Tower overlooking High Street (The High)

We must have walked 900 miles (okay, it just felt like it) and one of the best stops, for me, was the campus of Magdalen College (pronounced Mod-len). It sits alongside the River Cherwell and has a fallow deer park. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalen_College,_Oxford)

The large wooden doors to the quad.

The garden alongside the River Cherwell

The fallow deer on campus. There is a walking trail around the deer and a park on the far side.

Punters on the River Cherwell (we want to try this ourselves soon).

A small interior door to one of the offices and living quarters around the quad.

Lori enjoyed the University Church of Saint Mary the Virgin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Church_of_St_Mary_the_Virgin). We ate lunch in a cafe in a lower vault (http://www.thevaultsandgarden.com/) and climbed the tower. Lori and I had leek, carrot, and potato soap and Matthew ate beet rarebit. It was all "brilliant." (Matthew's description).  After lunch, we climbed the church tower. It is the tallest building in the city and the view is fantastic. The stairway is narrow and steep. The walkway at the top is wide enough for one person but requires people to pass because it is not circular and the single stairway is used to both climb up and down.

On top of the church with All Soul's College in the background.

Look at the ornate decorations. Gargoyles and Grotesques are common on the buildings (that's Matthew in the foreground, not a gargoyle).

The church as viewed from Radcliffe Square. The walkway we were on is directly above the clock. 

Matthew wanted to purchase souvenirs but was patient all day. At the end of our journey, he spent his pounds sterling on two U.K. flags, a small alarm clock with a flag on the face, and a Chelsea Football Club wallet. He needs a new wallet because pound bills are wider than U.S. dollar bills.

Here are some other various sights from around the city...

Inside the covered market.

Radcliffe Camera and Square from the top of the church. All Soul's College is to the right and Lincoln College is on the left.

An old bus in service for the special weekend. Note the vintages of the various red buses.

It's Sunday so we are off to church. Thanks for participating in our adventure so far. Cheers!