THE OXFORD EXPERIENCE - 2010

Welcome to Christ Church College!

When you arrive you will always be greeted by one of these friendly Porters wearing the sharp bowler hat.  

Let's take a tour, shall we?

This is Tom Quad, the heart of Christ Church College.  To get to my room for my week long stay (The Oxford Experience) we will go through that dark archway in the corner, past the Great Hall (pics to follow), and up 4 flights of stairs.  Leslie and I always get the top floor.  Our rooms are in the same building, same floor, practically next door to each other.

Here is my room.  The door to the right leads to my private bathroom and there is another twin bed in the room convenient for piling up the stuff of the day.  Next time, I'm going to bring a few items to decorate that bleak bulletin board.  

Just one of the views from my room.  It was a treat to sleep with that window open and feel the cool breeze cross my face. 

See that tiny little head in the second to the far right window, top floor?  That is Leslie and those are her two windows.  My room is the two windows to the left.  This is the Meadows building since it faces the meadows clear to the River Isis. You can also see a bit of scaffolding to the right.  Is there anyplace in Europe without scaffolding?  I don't think so. Of course England is sprucing up right now in preparation for the Summer Olympics.

Let's go take a look at where class will be held.  We leave my room, cross Tom Quad, and head to Peckwater (building on the left).  That is the school library to the right.

And this picture is too pretty not to post.  

Impressive, isn't it?  That is Peckwater building where my class is held.  First floor which is really second floor but in Europe it is ground floor, then first floor, and so on.  That's to trick you into thinking that you aren't really climbing so many stairs.

This is my classroom for The English Country House. I apologize for this picture of my classroom.  The rooms are dark and not conducive to pretty pictures. That's my tutor, Nicholas Doggett, standing near the door.  He was excellent and quite the expert in English country houses, PhD in medieval architecture (or something close to that). He would usually start class by saying, "Right." 

Here are a few of my classmates.  There were ten total representing Japan, Australia, Sweden, England, and the United States.  Fortunately, we all got along great. On the first day everyone is usually quiet, but by the second day we're all starting to warm-up and relax. 

Oh, good, it's raining.  Now we really feel as if we are in the English countryside.  We head through this arch back to Tom Quad.

The main entrance and exit is where the red truck is parked.  Let's head out and get some lunch.

Sadly, our favorite fish and chips shop closed down a week before our arrival.  So, instead, we had traditional Cornish pastys on the run, but I'm not complaining.  And, yes, lunch is included in our room and board at Oxford, but street food is hard to pass up. 

If you are a fan of the "Inspector Lewis" series you've seen this shot a few times.  This is the Hertford Bridge which links two of the quads at Hertford College.  We are now walking along New College Lane toward Broad Street. 

This is the Sheldonian Theatre on Broad Street, doesn't it look like a wedding cake? It was designed by Christopher Wren (I need to find a good book about him).  I've never been inside but intend to on my next visit (that way I will definitely be back).

Love this little vignette.  

Now let's head back to Christ Church College.  We'll wind along this little street and enter through the back gate.

Wave to Larry, a lovely man who is welcoming us back.

Before we head back to change for dinner, let's take a peak into the Cathedral Garden.  

Gorgeous lavender and don't you love those windows?

On to the Great Hall where we are so graciously served breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  When I am in this room it is as if I am a character in an old English book.  I also feel extra smart when I'm sitting here discussing the day with my dinner mates.

This is darling Ruth, from Scotland.  I must have asked her a million times to say, "Edinburgh" which when she says it sounds like, "Edenburrrrra".  She also said, "Murrrderrrrr" which sounded spot on.

This is High Table where each student will be seated one time during their week-long stay.  Those pictures are on the paintings of former Dean's of Christ Church College.  Can you pick which painting seems a bit out of place?  

The Great Hall is surrounded by stained glass windows.  This grouping of windows is known as the "Alice" windows.  Alice in Wonderland's author, Lewis Carroll, was a student here and 'Alice' was the daughter of the Dean.  If you look at the bottom corners of the windows you will see various characters from the book.  Alice is depicted at the bottom corner of the top left window. 

Please meet three of my excellent classmates: Rosemary (Australia), Reiko (Japan), and Pauline (England), at our closing night dinner.

And Paul, Mary, Reiko, and Nick (Dr. Doggett to you)

This is just a little glimpse of my time at Oxford (sigh).

Next stop: Oxford Excursions

CITIZENS OF LONDON - Book Review

Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest, Hour by Lynne Olson

A few months ago I was having dinner and discussing books with friends in Washington, DC.  One of my friends urged me to read Citizens of London, written by Lynne Olson.  I always admire writers who can take a serious, complicated subject and make it a page-turner.  Olson is one of those writers. This book is so well-researched and well-written that it is a joy to read.

John Gilbert Winant, Edward R. Murrow, and Averell Harriman are three Americans who expedited the entrance of the US into helping Great Britain fight Hitler. This despite President Franklin Roosevelt's reluctance to enter the war at all.  These three men understood that we had to come to the aid of Britain and stop Hitler.

Olson paints a vivid picture of life in London.  The relentless air raids, the shortage of basic foods, the terror of hearing the buzzing of an incoming bomb and not knowing where it would land. But even after night after night of attacks, Londoners would still pick themselves up and start the day with their regular routine whether it would be going to work or school.  Sometimes it would take hours to get to work because of streets blocked by crumbled buildings.  But they wouldn't use the war as an excuse to stop being productive.

Of course, Winston Churchill plays a very big role in this book and that's always a treat for me. And there is a bit of fun gossip about the likes of Pamela Harriman and others.

This book was even more interesting as I was in London for a few days while reading this book.  I would notice names of streets as places Murrow had lived or notice a plaque on a church noting the effects of a bombing attack. Touring the Churchill Museum and reviewing news clips or walking through the Churchill War Rooms noting where staff slept became more meaningful.  Reading this book at the same time of my visit was more than educational.  It personalized history for me.

Now I'm interested in reading another book by Olson, Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England.

LONDON 2010 - Part 3

First, let me say that I had no intention of three separate posts of my five days in London.  But after pouring over photos and reviewing my travel journal notes, I was too bleary-eyed to keep it to two.  So forgive me if you think I've been going on too long about London.  But, boy do I love that city.

Our last day in London started with a visit to the British Library.  That's me above reading on my Kindle.  I liked the comparison of reading my ebook in such a stately, traditional library.

It's been a few years since I stopped by the British Library.  It isn't your typical "let's check-out a book from the library" place as it also houses some incredible rare historic works.  Documents such as the Magna Carta, printed Shakespeare texts called quartos which are the closest prints to his time, a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, original texts written in Jane Austen's own hand, and much more are housed in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery (entrance seen above on the right side).

After perusing the gallery and visiting old favorites, we took off to see a new sight for both of us, Highgate Cemetery.  Why, you may ask, did Leslie and I visit an old cemetery and how did we hear about it? I had read about it in a few books and blogs. And since at one time it was one of London's most fashionable burial places, well then, we just had to take a peak.

The Highgate Cemetery is located appropriately in the little village of Highgate and we traveled there by train and a brief bus ride.  We then walked through pretty Waterlow Park that leads to the cemetery.

A fun little structure near Highgate Cemetery.  You never know when you are going to see an interesting building tucked away somewhere.

This is the gate to exit the park on the way to the cemetary--fitting, isn't it?

Entrance to Highgate Cemetary.  Nothing here is done half-way.  It is full-on-over-the-top memorials.  The cemetery is divided into two sections, the East cemetery (more notables buried here), and the West cemetery (larger architectural structures). We chose the latter to visit (so now we have an excuse to come back to visit the East side).

Here is our very informative tour guide.  You must take a guided tour if you want to visit the West cemetery. This gentleman is one of the original founders of Friends of Highgate Cemetery.  So thanks to him and other like-minded folks, this cemetery was saved and brought back (really can't say "to life", can I?) from almost ruins.

You can see this is a classic Victorian cemetery.  It reached its heyday in the early 1900's and then started to decline right after World War I until there was no money left to maintain the grounds by 1975.  That is when a group of energetic villagers got together to save and restore the place. It is privately funded and does not receive government funding (yea!).

The walkway above was probably the smoothest but most are uneven and steep. You really can't go off the path given the undergrowth and hidden bits of broken memorial pieces.

Leslie seems to be related to all of the important people in England.  Her ancestor is a Talbot (more about that in my Oxford post soon to come) and that name pops-up everywhere.  She may be entitled to be buried here, although I'm doubtful she wants to join her clan in the above catacomb.

There is something about these elaborate monuments and headstones that let people know, "Hey, pay attention because someone important is buried here!", rather than the flat to the ground grave markers we have back home.  Seeing all these customized memorials made me start to think about what I would like to mark my resting place.  Good news:  I've narrowed it down to two (won't my family be thrilled about spending the money on one of these toppers?).

I am torn between these two beauties to grace my future plot.  One the one hand, I love the figure in repose.  Graceful, elegant even while sleeping.

On the other hand, I would love to have this angel fully on guard and looking out for my benefit.  Hmmm, which one to choose.

This one is so pretty for two people lying side by side.  My Mom and Dad would have appreciated this one.  Believe me, I could post twenty more photos but I think we've had enough.

It occurred to me I hadn't posted a photo of the classic red British telephone booth, so here it is.

And, yes, I know this is random, but it made both of us laugh out loud.  I mean really, the hog is only going to be jolly for so long.

You didn't think we would go to London and not visit Fortnum and Mason, did you?

There is something more formal about Fortnum and Mason that precludes me from pulling out my camera and snapping away.  Isn't that blue gorgeous? I think I actually like the Fortnum and Mason blue better than the Tiffany blue, how about you?

Joy of joys, since I talked about Liberty so much Leslie wanted to pop-in, so I got to pay another visit.

Another pretty display.

The London Eye, we didn't ride it this time, but it's worth doing at least once.

Florence Nightingale--a heroine of mine.  Standing patiently in the middle of a quiet intersection.

A new fun piece in Trafalgar Square, "Nelson's Ship in a Bottle", added earlier this year.

So, tired yet? After traipsing around the cemetery, shopping and such, we were in need of Happy Hour back at our room.  Oddly, this combination of English Toffee Peanuts, Sea Salt and Vinegar Crisps, and these two drinks, hit the spot.  Sweet and salty.  All purchased at a favorite little snack shop, Pret a Manger.

We had a relaxing dinner at Sandy's Corsican Pizza, a brand new restaurant around the corner from our hotel.  Not sure how Corsican pizza is different from Italian pizza, but it was good.

So, cheers to London and onward to Oxford!