A Whirlwind Visit to Oxford

The pros of having a husband who must research for his thesis are currently outweighing the cons. The latest pro was having to complete a visit to Oxford so he could research at the Bodleian. (Cue a happy dance) 

Oxford has been on my must visit list, simply because it is Oxford, and home to one of the most famous universities in the world. Visually, it is a stunning town, dotted about with smaller, enclosed campuses. Historically, it is rich from the Medieval up through to the Modern Age, with twenty-seven Prime Ministers and many more Nobel Prize winners. And on the literary front, well, don't even get me started. It was amazing for me to walk in the footsteps of so many literary giants. 

We really only had 48 hours to explore the town, and I do think we made the most of our visit. In the evening of our first day there, we wandered about, getting familiar with where we were and popping into Blackwells ten minutes before closing for a quick drool about. We grabbed some takeaway pizza and the best rosemary salted fries at the Rickety Press and went back to our lovely airbnb to rest.

The next morning we took the bus into Oxford nice and early so Aaron could get his library card situated and start studying. Georgie and I wandered about Blackwells, looking at books and finally made it into the antique book section which is a temporary home to so many beautiful first editions. I was drooling. She was sound asleep. 

I then decided to spend some time in the Covered Market up on the High Street. Best. Decision. EVER. If you're looking for cheap foods, gorgeous flowers, unique shops, and more, check out this beautiful indoor market! I found the small French restaurant inside to be home to some excellent paninis and croissants (we actually ate there twice) and they were very reasonably priced and tasty! Then we walked up to the lovely Illyria Pottery, because my husband owed me a mug. Afterwards, Georgie and I popped into the Ashmolean for a quick look at some Stradivarius violins and some beautiful paintings... I have mastered the art of quick museum visits because if the baby is sleeping, I have to keep walking so as not to wake her, so I can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. 

We then left the hustle and bustle of the city behind us and ventured down to Christ Church Meadow (which was a favourite haunt of Lewis Carroll). We were greeted by some very friendly ducks, and Georgie loved waving at the boaters and punters on the river. 

When we came back around into town, I determined I wanted to do something slightly different so I decided to climb up the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. Wearing a baby. It gave me a GORGEOUS view over the city, although the climb up was definitely frightening as was walking around. We were perfectly safe and I'm so glad I did it, but goodness, I had second thoughts about it once I reached the top. It cost £4 to do the climb and it only took about 30 minutes total. Definitely worth it! 

We snagged a speedy dinner at Jamie's Italian because we were hungry and they had seats. It was an OK (ok, overpriced) meal, but tasty and Georgie LOVED the ravioli. It was definitely child friendly and that was really helpful. Not someplace I'll probably eat at again since it is a chain, but when you're hungry, anything sounds good. ;) Feet sore and weary, we headed back to our lovely place for a well-deserved rest.

The next day, we popped into one of the campuses, but I'll keep that lengthy and photo filled post for next time!