27-28.08.12 - Botanical Gardens, Tower, and Museum

27.08.12 - Oxford, UK - Around the Town

Today I meet Ramona, 22, a German language student from Essen who also happens to have read Edward Said and is interested in cultural criticism. She's staying at Jane's for about three weeks and in that time hopes to improve her English before she returns home to write a few research papers at university. Though I've been around Oxford a few times now (it's not that big). I decide to show her around and see some of the bits I'd missed.

Close to Christ Church College, in the green, there's an archery tournament going on. Beside it, there is a booth that charges 1 pound so you can shoot three arrows at the target. I'm rubbish, but I manage to hit seven pretty consistently. Ramona and I take turns and snap a few photos.

Christ Church College, Cathedral, and Chapter House (somewhere therein)

This is (supposedly) the oldest pub in Oxford.

After wandering around High Street for about thirty minutes, we head to Carfax Tower. Ramona has everything she wants to see in Oxford planned, and at this point I'm basically going wherever she goes. I hadn't seen Carfax Tower the day before, but it apparently is a thing to see. You can go up the tower for about three quid and look at the city. So, we do just that.

Carfax tower.

"Truth is strong" - motto of Oxford University. The two bell-ringer men are recreated examples of what the originals looked like. The originals are in one of the museums in Oxford (but I since haven't found them).

Carfax Tower, while not the tallest building in Oxford, allows for the best view of Oxford. Just as we get up there, about twenty Japanese people also arrive and basically take over the tower. We get as many photos as we can, while a middle-aged Japanese man balances on the central spire and takes photos of his entire coalition.

Shortly thereafter, we wander through Oxford's covered market. There's not much going on here today, and some of the shops are closed. Despite that, it's still busy in the market.

At the Bodleian Library, again.

The other day I'd made my way to, but not into, Oxford's Botanical Gardens. I wasn't sure that the four dollar entry price (three if you're a student) was worth it, but today Ramona talks me into forking over the cash to have a picnic there while the weather is nice. We grab some baguette sandwiches from a patisserie and walk around, looking for a nice spot to sit. We find one beside the river, talk and eat. After the picnic, we go to the greenhouses and I snap a bunch of photos along the way.

Tree-hugger.

Really huge lily pads.

Feed me Seymour!

On the way back to the S1, I spot a unicorn etched into the pavement.

For Diana.

28.08.12 - Oxford Again.

Ramona. 

I look absolutely ridiculous in this poncho. Didn't really have a choice, though.

Back to the Ashmolean!

Sweet late medieval sword.

Another college. These things quickly blur together. And I've forgotten which one this is.

We head to Oxford Castle, just on...Castle Street. Figures. It's about 8 pounds to get in, but The Mound is just a pound. It's supposed to be a pound per person, but we just paid for one and got the code to the fence and went in.

Oxford Castle. Sure it doesn't seem like much, but look at the location!

The Mound. It's just next to Oxford Castle. Yeah, the location is nice.