Oxford

First things first: I didn't see Radiohead. But that would have been pretty cool. Gavin had a work conference in Oxford on Tuesday and kindly invited me to join him.  We packed up the TINY smart car (Chewie also) and headed up on Monday night.  It isn't far a drive at all, actually, but can be quite windy.  Especially in a car the size of tin can. Traveling at high rates of speed. On the other side of the road. Not sure when I'll get used to that. Since our hotel was located about 10 miles west of Oxford, we kept to the hotel for the evening and enjoyed dinner there.

The next morning I was left to my own devices ;) Which means sightseeing at my leisure, museum visits and wandering in and out of cute boutiques.  And Oxford didn't disappoint.  I arrived around 11 a.m. via taxi (first attempt at taking the bus into the city: botched) and began with a trip to the top of church tower built in Saxon times.  I believe it is the oldest structure in the city.  The weather was cloudy, windy and slightly rainy (go figure) thus I didn't stay too long at the top, but took a great panorama shot of all the spires rising above the city.

I had printed out a great walking tour of the city and I preceded to walk by a number of interesting and very old universities, historical markers and lots of stone churches.  It was a beautiful city to stroll around and perhaps if I had more time, I would have entered into those universities, churches and historical structures. But I kept on until I reached the Oxford University Botanical Garden.  I had to go in!  Even though autumn has arrived it was really calm and serene and still had a few blooms to admire.  I walked through a few greenhouses. One of which was dedicated to insect-eating plants... yikes! I also walked along a path following the canal through town and saw a few "punts" or gondolas glide by.

After the botanical garden (where my camera officially ran out of batteries) I headed to the Ashmolean Museum.  It turned out to be a great museum much like the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and totally free. Their curators had made a strong connection with Pissaro's daughter and had an impressive room filled with some of his work. I really liked wandering through their many collections, which included antiquities from around the world. And staying out of the wind and rain was nice too.

By the time I left the museum, it was getting close to when I would make my second attempt at riding the bus.  So I meandered down the High Street into a few shops, past ye olde pubs and enjoyed a cup of tea before waiting for a bus that never came.  It was about 6 p.m. and I needed to get back to Chewie so I ended up taking a taxi back to the hotel.

All in all, I thought Oxford was a fantastic touring town.  I chose not to visit Oxford University, proper, as I just didn't have the time.  I only had about an afternoon to hit the main attractions in the city center, but I would happily return (with a camera full of batteries) for another visit.

Please to enjoy a few pictures from the day:

I know.. too many pics of the flowers.  I can't help myself!! But the town didn't translate well digitally because of the gray day.  Here's hoping next time I visit, it's sunny!