This past weekend, we took a two-day trip to see the
University of Oxford, the Roman Baths, and Stonehenge. It was a lovely weekend and I think I enjoyed
Bath the most. One of my favourite
authors, Jane Austen, lived in Bath and there is a Jane Austen Centre dedicated
to her life and writing located in the city of Bath. Unfortunately, I was unable to see this
because we had a scheduled tour of the Roman Baths and then lunch all packed
into just two hours. However, I intend to
go back and see the Jane Austen Centre and also a fashion museum that seemed
interesting.
The Roman Baths are situated in the centre of the
city and a museum surrounds the actual bath itself. After a very informative tour, we walked down
to the site for a few pictures. The
water is greenish blue and apparently is tastes metallic and gross, but a few
people paid for a cup of it to drink – ew!
In the museum, there are remains of an ancient Roman altar which has
been pieced back together and partially reconstructed where other pieces are
missing. Seeing that was pretty crazy,
considering actual blood sacrifices used to take place there. Apparently, the smell of the burning meat of
oxen and sheep was meant to tempt the gods to come and listen to the prayers of
the worshipers. It was all very
fascinating to see in person. A few
videos featured reenactments of Roman daily life in the temples. The temple at Bath was built primarily for
the goddess Minerva, but historians say there were several smaller altars
constructed for other gods and goddesses.
Thanks a lot, random photo bomber girl
The Bath Abbey
The city itself is beautiful and elegant. It is very expensive to own property in
Bath. It has always been a city of high
society and the homes there are very elegant, most are built in a Victorian
style. We passed the hall where Jane
Austen would have attended balls, which were the inspiration for the balls in
her novels (like Pride and Prejudice!).
Gorgeous scenery at Bath
Oxford was extremely crowded because we visited on
graduation day – one of ten graduation days in the academic year. The University itself doesn't really have a
campus. Each of the 38 colleges (I think
there’s 38?) has a unique sort of mini-campus with its own accommodations, library,
lecture halls, dining hall, and lounge areas.
We caught a glimpse of Balliol College (only £1 to get in!) and it was
really beautiful. Very scholarly. The fall leaves added a nice touch of colour
to the old buildings. The dining hall
looks like something from Harry Potter.
It was really cool to peek inside the life of an Oxford student! Speaking of the Oxford students, there are so many attractive and intelligent
looking men at Oxford. I think I was
shopping for more than just souvenirs while I was there! ;)
This is one of the libraries at Oxford! Sorry I don't remember the names of all of these important buildings... oops.
After a quick lunch in Oxford, we stopped for mulled
cider at a pub called The Eagle and Child.
This pub was the regular meeting place of authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R.
Tolkien. How cool is that?! They
would come here on a weekly basis to review each other’s work and discuss their
projects. I cannot believe it! As I sat there, eating a snack, I wondered
where Lewis sat and tried to imagine what drink he would get at the pub. It was a cozy and tiny little place with a
fireplace and a small sitting room at the front. Very comfy.
Just being there in that environment made me want to cozy up with a copy
of The Chronicles of Narnia!
In the evening, we chilled at our hotel (a Holiday
Inn Express – felt like home, sort of…).
A group of us decided to eat lunch at Freddie and Benny’s, an Italian
American style restaurant. The food was
delicious! With black and white photos
on the walls and vintage looking American posters, it looked like someone tried
really hard to make it look like a
TGI Friday’s or maybe an Apple Bee’s. Too
funny! Afterwards, we found an arcade
next door and stopped in to play a few rounds of….. DDR!
Sunday afternoon, we went to Stonehenge. Our guide told us we are among the last few
groups to see the site so close.
Sometime in early 2014, the new visitor centre will open. From this visitor centre, visitors will be bused to Stonehenge in small groups. It
was quite crowded, but the view was incredible.
Personally, I was more interested in the ancient burial mounds that
surround Stonehenge. According to our
guide, these burial grounds were mainly for people with disabilities like spina
bifida. There are so many burial mounds all
around the surrounding countryside and I guess farmers just farm around them. It’s pretty eerie!
In the coming weeks, I am attempting to write as
many of my final essays as possible.
Once I am ahead of schedule, I will be able to relax and enjoy the
Thanksgiving feast and my trip to Rome that weekend.
This morning, a group of us from Vernon had a prayer
meeting in the basement of our building.
It was so good to do that – I feel very strongly that God has strategically
placed each of us together on this trip and in this building to encourage and
support one another. As we were praying,
a repair man walked in and started to install a new piece of equipment. That was kind of funny. But anyway, it was quite an encouraging start
to my day and I hope to do this more often!
I did go to a Wednesday morning prayer group last week, but they are a “Christians
in sport” group and unfortunately I don’t play a sport here or back home. Needless to say I felt a little out of place
being there. But I really miss being
involved in a prayer group so I wanted to visit anyway. It was very heartening, but more sports-focused. I am hoping to
find something more specifically for "unathletic" people like me! Haha :)
That’s all for now, dear reader. Cheers!
-K
