Those Oxford Days

      After a last minute decision not to go back into London today, Alex and I spent a really incredible day in Oxford! You know, I'm sorry to say that during the busy weeks of class I don't have as much time to go out and explore this most amazing city, and so these saturdays are really precious to sight seeing and really soaking in my temporary home!
       Alex and I had really been yearning to go over to Magdalen (pronounced MAUD-LIN) College, where CS Lewis was Don for a number of years, and walk the famous path where he and Tolkien were  when CS Lewis became a Christian. It didn't open until noon, so we stopped into our favorite Cafe, the Queen's Lane, and had some hot chocolate first! It felt like a very important pilgrimage, and Alex and I had the loveliest time retracing those authors' steps and talking together in a similar way :) As much as any cathedral, that walk feels like a foretaste of heaven, and the sun was out shimmering off the narrow strip of the Cherwell, making the leaves glow bright and leaving sun spots on the path beneath our feet. Simply magical! I wouldn't have been in the least surprised to turn a corner and find myself in Narnia!

After 2 hours on the paths of Magdalen, I got to fulfill another great desire of my heart: I bought some Oxford merch! The prices are WAY better than the Rhodes bookstore and I got a really great sweatshirt (Oxford blue, of course) and a Lincoln College t-shirt with our crest! It even has our little Lincoln imp on it...so ya know, that was a must.

       Later Alex and I bonded with the French crepe man on the corner--he was absolutely charming and had a jar of nutella the size of a bucket. He seemed a little confused that we American students were still hanging around, but we assured him we would be remaining at university for 2 more weeks!
       After a crepe, we headed over to the Bodleian Library for their Magical Books exhibit which was FANTASTIC! It was packed and the space was a little small, but it was a wealth of interesting items including some of the original Middle Earth and Narnia maps drawn by the authors themselves, one of Tolkien's watercolors for The Hobbit, and Richard II's actual illuminated astrology manuscript. I wouldn't mind going back and having a little more time there, actually, since it closed at 4:30, and the apologetic librarian had to usher us all out!

       All in all it has been a very laid back and wonderful day in Oxford. A trip to the food truck topped it off with an order of cheese fries!