Reading is a very modern town. Its got 2 malls, a big John Lewis & M&S. There are old buildings everywhere but there are also six Starbucks! Yes - six! Why we need that many I will never know, but it's besides the point. The most exciting historical thing, the Abbey, has been closed to visitors since 2009 because the society for historical preservation isn't convinced its worthy enough of a grant (it was build in 1121AD). -_- that's my not impressed face. The city is far more focused on being a big hub for the train to Heathrow airport and an IT center then a quaint British town. Needless to say Oxford is the exact opposite. It's steeped in tradition, has only one Starbucks & lots of gorgeous architecture.
We started off the day with the bus tour - yes they seem lame and annoy the locals but since it provides hop on hop off access for the full day its pretty useful way of getting around. It covers the big sites and tells you stuff you wouldn't have known about.
Alice's Sweet Shop (Alice In Wonderland)
Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to go in, so we are adding it to our next time list.
Downtown Oxford - 99 steps for the best view in the city
Another site we are adding to our next time list!
Covered Market
Oxford University Graduate
It just happened to be graduation weekend so all these happy kids were walking around in their full Oxford dress.
Theater
One of the 38 colleges that make up Oxford University. The entire city looks a little like Hogwarts. Some of the buildings were used for scenes for the movies but they were closed (likely due to graduation)
Bridge & the alley to Turf Tavern
The sign to Turf Tavern (where we had lunch).
I read about it on LonelyPlanet.com - a site I highly recommend. You simply type in the city you are going to and it gives you top attractions, restaurants and a basic overview. Perfect when you don't have time to buy the guidebook.
Down an alley we went
Signs of life?
The famous Turf Tavern!
History of the oldest pub in Oxford
Our "favorite" president used to hang out here
Punting on the River Thames
After lunch we wondered down to the river to see about renting a boat. Unfortunately the line for punt boats was well over an hour (it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon) so Steve and I took the next best thing.
Row row row my boat Steve!
Steve rowed me up and down the Thames for the better part of an hour. I just enjoyed the weather!
The post box for the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. It was put in place just for him as he received so much mail!
The pub J RR Tolklien & C S Lewis used to frequent
If you liked this post check out Across The Ponderings! It's an adorable blog written by Julie about her life living abroad in Oxford for a year. She gave me some great ideas of things to do while we were in Oxford.
Oxford is so pretty! I visited in 2001 when a friend was studying there. She broke us into all the colleges (a no-no!) and we got quite the tour! Wish we had gone to that tavern, looks cool!
ReplyDeleteIt's been about 15 years since I last got to visit Oxford. So pretty! You got great pictures!
ReplyDeleteI love this! So glad that you had fun. Sad that you didn't get to go punting, but as long as you were out there on the water, I'd say you experienced it well :)
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