Oxford
While my program is jam-packed with activities, homework, and other things, we do get a day here and there where we can do whatever we want. So, on one of our free days, my friends and I bought train tickets and ventured our way up to the infamous town of Oxford. It's not a very big place, and the entire town seems to be shops, food places, housing, and then the university. Most of the architecture dates back to around the 11th century (when Oxford was founded) and the streets are small and as the day goes on they become packed with visitors. We happened to visit on the day of the Pride Parade, so there were a lot more people there earlier in the day than we had expected.
We went with no real plan, and it turned out great. I had not read up on the things to do or see in Oxford, I just thought that we'd see the university, see the library, buy a silly hoodie, eat food and go home. That was about the gist of what we did. We followed the street signs from the train station to the city centre, which is the Bodleian library, arguably the centre of the university itself. Due to graduation ceremonies for the different colleges, many of the colleges were actually closed, and a good chunk of the library was too. We had to ask a few people but we were eventually able to purchase tickets for a half hour tour of the oldest part of the library. We also climbed a church steeple and had proper afternoon tea (which is a must for those who want a truly English experience). All in all, it was a pretty great day.
The Bodleian library is one of the oldest in the world. It's also huge with 20+ parts throughout Oxford and over 15 million items in its care. As one of the legal depository libraries in the UK, they get a copy of everything, meaning everything, printed in the UK. They keep running out of the room and are having to expand again and again. apparently, they have a few giant warehouses in the middle of nowhere that are filled with not only books, but pamphlets, newspapers, and take out menus. The original library had a huge impact on the reformation movement of religion in Europe, and the original Oxford University was for religious purposes. The original scholars used the first few books that were a part of the collection to discover what the Greeks and Romans had to say about religion and philosophy. Many rules and much care was taken to protect the books, even a rule of no open flame. The scholars back in the days of candlelight were dependent on the daylight in order to study the precious manuscripts. Visitors can feel a sense of awe while they walk among the study rooms. It truly is a house of knowledge.
The pictures below are of around Oxford. The aerial views are from the church steeple, then you have the round building which is part of a library, and then just a normal street. I highly recommend Oxford as a day trip.
We went with no real plan, and it turned out great. I had not read up on the things to do or see in Oxford, I just thought that we'd see the university, see the library, buy a silly hoodie, eat food and go home. That was about the gist of what we did. We followed the street signs from the train station to the city centre, which is the Bodleian library, arguably the centre of the university itself. Due to graduation ceremonies for the different colleges, many of the colleges were actually closed, and a good chunk of the library was too. We had to ask a few people but we were eventually able to purchase tickets for a half hour tour of the oldest part of the library. We also climbed a church steeple and had proper afternoon tea (which is a must for those who want a truly English experience). All in all, it was a pretty great day.
The Bodleian library is one of the oldest in the world. It's also huge with 20+ parts throughout Oxford and over 15 million items in its care. As one of the legal depository libraries in the UK, they get a copy of everything, meaning everything, printed in the UK. They keep running out of the room and are having to expand again and again. apparently, they have a few giant warehouses in the middle of nowhere that are filled with not only books, but pamphlets, newspapers, and take out menus. The original library had a huge impact on the reformation movement of religion in Europe, and the original Oxford University was for religious purposes. The original scholars used the first few books that were a part of the collection to discover what the Greeks and Romans had to say about religion and philosophy. Many rules and much care was taken to protect the books, even a rule of no open flame. The scholars back in the days of candlelight were dependent on the daylight in order to study the precious manuscripts. Visitors can feel a sense of awe while they walk among the study rooms. It truly is a house of knowledge.
The pictures below are of around Oxford. The aerial views are from the church steeple, then you have the round building which is part of a library, and then just a normal street. I highly recommend Oxford as a day trip.
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