Today my brother took me along with him to visit a friend of his, Kath, who is currently studying at Oxford. She was lovely enough to give up her day to take us around – and she did a fab job. Thanks Kath! We were a bit worried that the weather wasn’t going to come to the party – but it did, with bells on! Thank you to this Indian summer that pretty much delivered a blue sky (if not a warm sun) all day.

It was soooo easy getting up to Oxford so I’m not sure why, in my nearly 18 months here I haven’t made it up there. Not a minute walk from my place is a stop along the route of the Oxford Tube. This bus service operates ALL day and generally speaking between 9am-10pm comes every 10-15 minutes. Fabulous. A very comfortable ride and if you’re lucky your seat might even come with an electrical socket.

I loved the feel of this University town (city?). It is an entirely different feel from my local, very touristy, area in London and it was very refreshing. It was great also to have an inside tour guide, so to speak, in the form of Kath. She even took us in to her college. I always get excited when I see really green grass (okay – so I’m a bit wierd) so when we commented on particuarly green and gorgeous patch of grass inside the college Kath told us about this funny email sent around by the head of the college stating that the grass “privileges” were that it was not to be used except in the summer, between 11 and 1, and only for sitting and/or playing croquet. Can you imagine, after having heard that story how much more I wanted to just roll around in the grass? 🙂

There is enough around Oxford to fill your day. This site has some great walks to do covering such points as the Carfax Tower (gives good views over the High Street), the cobblestones of Radcliffe Square featuring the Radcliffe Camera (“Chamber” – one of the finest buildings in Oxford), the Bridge of Sighs, the Bodleian Library (new and old) and all the churches and colleges you can poke a stick at. You may also encounter Blackwell’s Book Shop on Broad Street which, from the outside appears to be the size of a smallish book shop, but once you enter and go underground – you’ll be absolutely amazed at its size. Also worth a visit are the Covered Markets – a mish mash of meat/fish/veg stalls and some rather ones such as pets and records.

Finally, if there is two things you must do it is to visit grab a George and Davis intensely and interestly flavoured ice cream (or G&D’s as the locals refer to it) and take it over for a stroll through Christ Church Meadow by the River Thames (or the Isis).

If there is one thing you should remember about Oxford it is to make sure that you look up and you may just be surprised by all the varied gargoyles gazing down at you.