Oxford

Twenty years ago, I could navigate Oxford by the back of my hand—from the train station through the campuses and botanical gardens and college backs along the Thames. Smaller than London and oozing with higher learning, Oxford was a magical place for me.

We started our trip in Oxford. This small city is only a 45-minute drive from London Heathrow, which meant that we wouldn’t need to do much jetlagged driving to get to our destination. Also, Oxford is a small city that is manageable by foot so we could park the car at the guesthouse and walk everywhere. And, walk we did. After we checked into the Newton House Guesthouse, located on the Abingdon Road (literally the road to Abingdon), we made the short walk to Christ Church, one of the largest colleges (and most beautiful, in my humble opinion) in the University. From there, we walked to the Eagle and Child, my favorite Oxford pub. I spent a fair amount of time here during my Junior Year Abroad, particularly on the patio, which is now covered. The Eagle and Child was also the favorite pub of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. In some ways, the cramped but cozy front rooms, with their tacky “patina” of age, make me think of a hobbit hole.

After a pub dinner (fish and chips and steak pies with mashed potatoes) and a pint, we walked back to the guesthouse, cutting through the university “campus” along the way. John and I decided to hit the highlights—the Bridge of Sighs, the Sheldonian, the Radcliffe Camera (Bodleian, above right)—then head down the road in the morning rather than do any further touring.

Oxford was busy with an unappealing combination of extra people in town for graduation (one gown was festooned with downy white mariboo feather, pictured above left, with Bridge of Sighs, a fancy skyway), as well as a far number of tourists. Plus, I noticed now what I didn’t notice as a twenty-year-old: Oxford felt a little shabby. Sure the High Street has tony gentlemen’s stores, where you can buy college scarves and ties, as well as an occasional hip women’s clothing store and a smattering of antique map shops. I loved the window display with stylish papier mache globes made from carefully torn maps. Ultimately the throngs and the wrappers in the street obscured my golden memories.

The highest point of the visit was the walk through the Christ Church Meadow (above left and right), which is still one of the loveliest spots I know. Quiet and populated mostly by civilized small groups, picnicking and enjoying a glorious early summer evening.