At about 10 or 10:30, I headed out onto the town. My plan was simple, "Walk towards the prettiest building I could see." The plan may have been simple, but it was certainly not short. I have decided that walking through Oxford is much like walking through a city made up of tiny castles. Now, clearly castles wouldn't be build all side-by-side, but thats where the occasional house or shop appear.
Anyway, in therms of comparison to Kenyon, as I am like to do... I will stand by the fact that a direct comparison is difficult. Foremost, Oxford certainly has more beautiful buildings. But... Oxford also has far more buildings. That said, I had a great time walking through the campus/city. But, to me the fact that the 'campus' is not well defined is a disadvantage. One of my favorite aspects of Kenyon is how obviously the campus was the community. Therefore, one could actually walk the length of campus. So, that is my overview of beauty comparisons.
Anyway, my walk took me up a few streets and down some alleys. Eventually I found myself of High Street. Rumor has it that High Street is at times (if not always) considered one of the most beautiful streets in Europe. It generally runs East-West, so the sun rises and falls with the street itself. Meanwhile, as the road travels east through the city it banks slightly south as it lowers itself to the botanic gardens and the stream. In the center of the street lies the home of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin.
The Church itself was actually among my list of places to see during my visit. Arriving here this morning happened to be coincidence and perfect. Via email I got in touch with Em, and she met me there, where we ascended over 100 steps to the roof/chase of the clock tower. As with the spires of many churches, this required navigating a tiny passageway to emerge with spectacular views. Part of why today was convenient for arriving at the church is it was the best weather I've had since arriving in England. With clear blue skies I got to look over the city of Oxford to the north, south, east and west. In each direction Em pointed out to me the most distinguishable buildings. Most notable was the view to the north, as it looked down over Radcliffe Square and Radcliffe Camera. The Square is... a square in the street, and home to the Camera; a tall and magnificent dome that stands as a research and reading center for history buffs (Em...).
From the church we walked back down High Street towards the stream (river?). There, we rented a punt for the next hour. We found ourselves wondering if we were the first punt rental of the year, as they open May 1st, and the last few days have not been pleasant. That said, the current was quite strong and the water quite cold. I felt a bit lazy, as I relaxed in the front and Em did all of the punting from the back. For anyone not aware, punting is a type of long, flat, fairly stable boat that is navigated on streams by long pulls that are pushed off of the stream-bed. Anyway, the current was quite brisk so we had a pretty leisurely drift downstream for about 15 mind, and then had a longer haul back a different route the rest of the time. We had a nice chat with a group of ducks that seemed expectant of bread and got some good views of Oxford in the distance from a stream's point of view.
The ride was flawless until the last few minutes when we had to force our way directly against the current to get back to the dock. There we had a bit of an adventure as the current spun the boat and I was unable to catch the wall in time to ease the impact. The jolt shook Em from the boat, but to her credit, I never even saw her get back in. In the few seconds it took me to stop the boat with the wall she was already back in... as if nothing had happened at all. That aside, we pushed around the corner and finished our ride. A fun story indeed!
We then headed straight back to Em's place so she could dry and the like. It was a bit of a cold and a brisk walk but we did what we could to make it as pleasant as possible. Anyway, once we arrived I turned back towards Radcliffe Square where I would tour the Bodleian Library. Here I had booked a 4:00, 30 minute tour. The tour focused mostly on two rooms. The first was upstairs, the Duke Humfrey's Library. This room simply felt old. The books looked old, the walls looked old, the wood looked old. Just old, (but well maintained). Turns out, for a book to be stored there it must have been printed prior to 1880 (if memory serves). The room (and library) was much thanks to Thomas Bodley, who donated the money to restore the building. Furthermore, he made an agreement with the only publishing company of England that the University could request 1 free copy of every book published. That agreement to this day stands, so the library is constantly growing. I thought that was really cool.
We then went downstairs to see the main room of the Divinity School. This is a very simple (in terms of shape and furniture) room. A square with a few benches on either end, used by the school as a lecture hall. The hall itself is a thank you to all those who helped fund he building. On the ceiling is engraved the family seal of each person who donated for the cause. The room is commonly recognized as the medical ward of the Harry Potter films and was also home of the ballroom dance instruction scene from The Goblet of Fire specifically.
After the library (Tolkien also studies there... fyi) I headed back to meat up with Em for dinner. We went out to a local Indian Restaurant which was quite easy, and something I have been missing. After dinner we went back to her place and put together a few more specific ideas and scheduling for tomorrow. Afterwards, we rented Death at a Funeral, for a good laugh, and had a quiet night with some tea and snacks. Afterwards, I headed off to call it a night.
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