I’m sorry I haven’t written in a while; so much has been going on here at Oxford! To start this past Wednesday I finally got to meet my Shakespeare tutor. Dr. Dutton is really quite nice and remarkably intelligent. I can tell I’m going to learn a lot from her. She typically specializes in medieval literature but teaches Shakespeare as a break from all of that. She’s already published four books and has major research grants and awards. I still cannot believe such talented and borderline famous academics teach us. It really makes me realize how much potential I have now at such a young age. AKA, no more excuses.
Since Thursday was my last day of class for the week, a bunch of us decided to spend the evening out in Oxford. Originally a group of six of us we’re going to meet up at my apartment, play cards, and then go to the famous Turf Tavern. But the next thing you know, I have seventeen people in my dorm playing games and eventually going out together. The pub was incredible! It’s located down a fairly obscure alleyway, but as soon as you round the corner it’s filled with life. There’s a bar area up front in an old cottage, but out back there’s various patio tables and terrace seating. It even has one of the only remaining original city walls of Oxfordshire. Turf Tavern is actually a series of small houses all joined by low doorways and hallways. We only stayed outside to fit all of us—but I eventually returned days later and got to not only sit in new parts, but I even tried the food. It was equally impressive. After the pub we moved on to a club that had themed drinks for all of Oxford’s 38 colleges. My girlfriends and I tried all of those and then moved to the dance floor. We stayed there and danced for two hours and then headed home once we just couldn’t take it anymore. We were all exhausted from the week and realized that Friday was our first day to sleep in past eight! I didn’t do much that day, just caught up on sleep and did reading for my classes.
On Saturday at 6:30 AM a bunch of the girls and I left for London. Leaving so early definitely paid off because we were able to dodge the tourist rush hour and arrive at The London Eye just past ten. The view was spectacular, you could see all of Big Ben and Parliament along the Thames. The city was especially cool because some of the fog was still melting off. From there a few of us traveled across the bridge to Westminster Abbey. Now that was a site to see! Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed in the church but I got a few from the outside. I saw the tombs of Issac Newton, Elizabeth I, and Henry VII. Fun fact, Henry VIII is buried at St. Georgie’s chapel in Windsor, not at Westminster! The biggest thing that impressed me at the church was how tall the ceilings are. I especially loved the stained glass windows that adorned them. The light brilliantly shined through them and made the courtyard pictured below even more stunning.
For lunch we stopped at a festival outside Westminster. Once we were done with our hotdogs, we walked all the way to Buckingham. Unfortunately it is not open to the public until the 27th, so we were only able to take photos through the gate. After a break sitting in the grass of Green Park, all ten of us headed back across the bridge to make it for our river boat tour. This was probably my favorite part of our trip. The sun had just hid between the clouds so the upper deck of the boat was cool and refreshing. The tour took us to Tower Bridge (commonly mistaken as the London Bridge) past St. Paul’s, The Tower of London and The Globe. A group of us decided that we will return on a weekday to visit the remaining three. We may even catch Titus Andronicus. The girls and I concluded the night before our bus ride home with a great meal at a pub off of Baker Street only three shops down for 221B where Sherlock Holmes is based.
On Sunday my dad came to visit! He got in at the train station around 11:00. I gave him the grand tour of Trinity and took him to Oxford’s Covered Market for lunch. We ate at a sandwich shop and grabbed milkshakes afterwards. The day also included a visit to the Ashmolean where we saw one of the largest archaeology exhibits I’ve ever seen. Of course my favorite section was about the Egyptians. My dad and I found a really cool restaurant on top of the museum where we grabbed coffee and overlooked the city. My dad loved the pub I took him to for dinner. It was the same Turf Tavern I went to earlier in the week with the girls. Every Sunday is apparently pot roast night and it’s one of the restaurant’s specialities. Around 7:00 my dad took off and I spent the rest of the night skyping my boyfriend and reading for class.
Tonight like every Monday, we have guest night dinner. We’ll all be getting dressed up again like we did last week, but this time we have a guest speaker who will be giving a lecture on The Napoleonic Wars. I’m excited to go because this time around I’ve made my group of friends and I’m sure a bunch of pictures will be taken. Tomorrow my mass communications class is taking its first excursion by visiting The Financial Times and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Coincidentally my Shakespeare class will also take our first field trip to Stratford where we will see The Two Gentleman of Verona.
Until then, take a look at my favorite three photos from the past few days. You’ll hear from me again at the end of the week. Cheers!
A Broad Abroad 