When I got to Oxford it was pouring with rain and I thought my hostel was right next to the station, which it wasn't. I haven't carried my backpack yet and to say I struggled was an understatement. I waddled off down the street like a turtle in search of my hostel. Tired, cold, wet and lost I had a little voice in my head reminding me of why I'm doing this, and no it wasn't me, Chris was on the other end of the phone telling me where to go! Thank god I have him. But I still keep thinking to myself; why do I have to try and find myself in winter?!
My spirits started to lift when one of the workers at the hostel took one look at me, felt bad and brought me tea. Exhausted I decided to write that day off, warm up and chill out in my room for the rest of the day. I'd explore Oxford the next day. I met some of the girls in my dorm and we chatted about random things. One girl from Melbourne gave me some really good tips, which I am really grateful for. Also met this cool Italian girl who I've been getting to know. Her name is Mechol.
The next day I decided to just walk around Oxford and deliberately get lost, I love doing that! I can't express how impressive this city is. I always thought Oxford University was just one campus, but it's not, it's several colleges and they're all spread out throughout the city. I don't find it pretentious at all, not like I did in Cambridge. Although, there are more people on bikes and they can get scary if you get in the way.
I went to the Ashmolean museum, which is the biggest in England. I went inside one of the churches, I went to the Bodlian library, parts of Harry Potter were filmed there and they had a good exhibition on Radcliffe. Mostly though I just awed at the buildings and many colleges and made my way through the little alley ways and tiny streets. I also went to the same sweet shop that Alice from Alice and wonderland brought her barley sugars from. That was cute!
Heaps of famous people (especially writers) have lived in Oxford and I'm pretty excited about the fact that some of the Harry Potter movies were filmed here and that Emma Watson lives here. I decided to stay an extra night in Oxford, there's a lot to see although the next day I spent the morning booking my next part of my journey and working out accommodation. I walked around the streets again and then joined a free 2 hour walking tour of Oxford. That was really, really good!
That night I went out to dinner with Mechol who is here in Oxford to study for a couple of months. The poor love has been trying to find a room to rent while she lives here but is struggling. I really hope she finds something soon! We found this French place and had crepes, yum!
I really enjoyed Oxford, rich in history and stories. I am definitely coming back! Unfortunately I have the flu now so the next four days booked in Bath I think I will be taking it easy! As for hostel living, I'll leave that for my next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment