One of the few items on my "bucket list" for this trip was to walk on a tow path. We'd spotted this one yesterday. On the way to our walking tour we detoured down this quiet tow path and marvelled at the long boats there. (photo courtesy Lindsey)
Oxford Official Walking Tours lives up to its 5 star rating. Our guide, Becca was a fountain of knowledge of everything Oxford, both city and university.
We wandered around looking at the oldest tower and pub, and saw the spot where two Bishops were burned at the stake at the order of queen Bloody Mary. Our guide thought we should get the gorier parts of the tour over first. I am sure the thousands of school kids here today would have history come alive for them when they saw that.
To pivot from city history to university history we spent some time in the Oxford Covered Market. We'd already planned to go back there for lunch.....
.... and why not when there are shops like this one?
Back on the streets and alleyways again, we spent time in some lovely quadrangles...
..... and marvelled at the historic architecture. Oxford University consists of 39 colleges! A college for Catholics, a college for Welsh students, a college founded in 1326, and a more recent college for women.
I have no idea what this one is.
A lot of cobblestone was walked on today. Over 12 km.
Gargoyles were spotted and zoomed in to see closely....
.... and others stared back at us.
Wouldn't it be fun to walk over this bridge on the way to class?
There were lovely views ....
.... and ones you needed to look waaaaay up to see.
After the tour, our heads were full, but our bellies were empty. We went back to the market for lunch. Mmmmmmm.... beef and stilton meat pie with mashed potatoes. And, this guy hanging around to make life interesting.
The market was busy. There were thousands of tourists in the city today.
After lunch Lindsey & I parted ways with our museum-going friends and walked over to the Christ Church Cathedral and college grounds. It felt to me like the city ended there. There was soooo much green space......
... and so many beautiful buildings.
Another tow path and another canal wended their way through the grounds. Hope this guy is not late for class.
I could have spent all day on Christ Church's grounds.
But, snack time was calling to us. This guy's coffee shop is in a re-furnished horse trailer!
His coffee was wonderful. And the raspberry and coconut tarts were split and savoured.
Our snack was purchased inside Oxford's botanical gardens. We found comfortable benches to sit on and admire views like....
.... a fountain.......... and another .......
towpath! Lucky me!
Pasque flowers.
The star of Oxford's botanical garden is its greenhouses. Or glass houses if you want to talk like the locals. There were 4 or 5 greenhouses going off this hallway, each with their own climate.
Lindsey took James on a tour of one with succulents that he loves.
I love the drama of this photo. And, do you see the bubbles in the background?
And, finally: photo courtesy Lindsey: proof that I am here.
So many other sights were seen, but the one that warmed my heart the most was the hundreds of people lined up for a block or two, waiting to get into Come From Away.
We love Oxford and it seems like Oxford loves Canada.
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