Day in Oxford

We did a bike tour of Oxford with our guide, a fellow in Archaeology, with emphasis on the Roman period. As you might imagine well informed and erudite. This was a fun way to see more of the surrounding area than we would of had on just a walking tour. The weather has been quite unsettled over here, rainy and blustery, at times, but we were fortunate that for this part of our day we had nice sunshine for our tour. Oxford University is the overall organizer of many different affiliated Universities, some with Protestant roots, and others with Catholic origins. This citadel of learning got it start back in 1200 and reflects England turbulent history. You can tell the difference between the University buildings affiliations by the figures carved in the building Pontiffs or Kings! We went through some of the buildings at Trinity College, in particular a beautiful chapel, where the students attend service to this day, although I did not ask if they were well attended. I’m sure it was mandatory back in the day. We could not go into the famous Bodleian Library, where the Hogwarts library in Harry Potter was filmed but we did get to go into the area of one of the Bodleian Library’s, where there is a museum and lecture hall. There is a thriving industry here in Harry Potter customized tours and souvenirs but I did not buy a magic broomstick. Currently, if you are a Jane Austen fan there is an exhibit of her correspondence and original books. We did decide to take in a lecture, they are open to all, on the origins of Parkinson disease and the doctor back in the 18th century, who originally diagnosed the condition. Not a medical recounting but a historical survey, sadly there were attendees, who obviously had the condition, which also took my dear friend Del many years ago. As they say it may impair their nervous system but not there mind, as Del was sharp to the end. Anyhow on to Bath today but first a stop in the Cotswolds to see our old friend Ratty and Mole from Wind in The Willows. The big round building , amongst the pictures below is one of the Bodleian Libraries, the interiors are of Trinity chapel, the ones on the large grass field with me and Amy on the bikes is the field where the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland came from, the waterway is the Thames. The bridge between the two buildings is Bridge of Sighs, most likely due to hungover students heading to lectures!