Oxford – The City of Dreaming Spires

Today our class took a day trip to Oxford. We started by taking a bus to Oxford, England which lasted about an hour and a half long. The route was very scenic with rolling green hills, yellow fields, and farm animals such as sheep and cows filling the pastures.

Rain was pouring down over our heads when we arrived, but we were determined to enjoy our morning in Oxford. Our first stop was Balliol College, which was one of the first established colleges at Oxford University. Oxford University is made up of nearly forty different colleges that are all located around the city. We were able to tour the grounds of Balliol, including the dining hall and the chapel, which both inspired scenes from the Harry Potter films.

After we toured the grounds, we went around a covered market that had a variety of foods to eat. There were cafes, meat markets, coffee shops, and tea shops. After a quick stop at the market, some groups separated and went to different locations. Some groups went to explore the Ashmolean Museum, while others went to explore the Oxford Library and History of Science Museum.

After a couple of hours of exploring Oxford, our whole group met up at Turf Tavern, a little pub founded in 1381. Once we arrived, our class discussed our current reading, Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, which we will be seeing this Thursday.

After our discussion, some of the group went to listen to a lecture by professor Susan Rankin at Weston Library, within Oxford’s Bodleain Library network, about English liturgical books and music notation from about 950 to 1100.

Another group went to a nearby marketplace to find food. Some people went out to try punting (!) on the river. The last group went and explored the Eagle and Child pub, where J.R.R Tolkien discussed his writings with a group called the Inklings. Our day came to an end at 6:30pm as we loaded up our bus and headed back to London.