After I finished with London (which is kind of overrated from my experience, or maybe it’s just not my type of city) I headed over to Oxford. I took the bus there which was a really pleasant experience (I was able to just go up to the stop, pay the driver 11 pounds and get on, baggage and all. The bus was super clean and there was free wifi. When we got in, there were quite a few stops and I didn’t know where to get off and the driver was kind enough to help me out). I’ve never taken Greyhound in the US but from what I’ve heard/seen it doesn’t seem like it’s quite as nice, inexpensive and awesome.
My hostel was just a few blocks from the bus station (which was right in town) which made things quite nice. I stayed at the Oxford Backpackers Hostel and if you ever stay in Oxford, I seriously recommend staying there. You walk up the stairs and are immediately greeted by the sounds of people and a cacophony of colors that is just really welcoming. There is a huge common room to the left with a few couches and comfy chairs, a pool table, a few picnic tables, a bar (that I never saw open but I didn’t stay there on the weekend so it might just be then) and a decently sized kitchen that is fully outfitted. The room I stayed in had eighteen beds so it was a little crowded but it was super cheap (less than 10 pounds I think) and was really comfortable (especially after the bed I’d been sleeping on in London, absolutely worst bed ever).
When I went to leave to go out for a walk after I’d gotten settled I realized that I’d left my water bottle on the bus. It’s a really cute metal one that I’ve had for about six months now so I was pretty bummed about it but I went to the bus station and it was there so that kind of made my day. After that I just walked around town, familiarizing myself with the general layout. It’s a rather centralized town that is quite small and the university takes up about half of the area, I’d estimate. I hadn’t eaten lunch because I’d been on the bus so I had a really early dinner (around 4:30) at this nice café (Coco, I think). I don’t remember what I had but at that point anything would have tasted good, I was so hungry. Later I went out for another walk and found this little street that seemed pretty trendy, northwest of the major thoroughfares. It seemed like that’s where a lot of locals were; there were lots of cute little restaurants and cafes but not too many shops.
The second day, I walked all about the campus. It is a thoroughly confusing maze of old buildings. I accidentally found this super old tavern that my dad recommended to me, the Turf Tavern. It’s from the 13th century or something like that and is in the middle of the campus. I ended up going there for an afternoon drink later. For lunch (this was on a Tuesday), I went to the Eagle & Child, which is where the Inklings went ever Tuesday for lunch, and sat in the Rabbit room, possibly in the same place as Tolkien or Lewis! I got the vegetable melt there which was bizarre because they put the cheese on top of the sandwich instead of inside (maybe that’s normal, idk) and this drink called Pimm’s. I have no idea what’s in it but it was quite tasty.
After lunch, I went to the Bodleian Library and drooled over myself for the hour long tour. If I could live there I would; it was absolutely beautiful. They filmed the library scenes and medical wing scenes from Harry Potter there. And the books were absolutely gorgeous, some of them were housed in these special boxes that I know how to make from working at Shields, lol. I think I’d be willing to pay the tuition at Oxford just so I could use the library; I wouldn’t study anything, just go there and marvel.
That night I went to a fabulous restaurant, called Zizza’s or Zizzi’s, something like that. It’s wonderfully decorated, there was a really good crowd there and the food was amazing. I got the spinach ravioli, which was good but the dessert, omyg, the dessert: the chocolate melt with marscapone, to die for.
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