Oxford - Part 1

9 September 

Upon arriving in London, I was informed that our whole group was getting an extra paid-for trip that coming weekend to visit Oxford and participate in a seminar with our school president, Dr. Westmoreland and his wife. When, we came down Sunday morning to depart, we found that our neighbor Roger, an Oxford alum, had decided to accompany us for the day. One should note before going on a "walk" with Roger that he "walks" with inhuman speed and he waits for no one. So, moments after we set down our bags in Oxford, he had us marching around the entire university. Okay, maybe not the entire university - we visited 9/38 colleges and and fair amount of grounds.
It was the perfect day to visit. We had gorgeous weather, a first-rate guide, and free admission. Yep, we visited on one of the very few "Oxford Open Doors Days,"when admission-which usually costs 4-10 pounds per college-was free. We visited Christ Church, Jesus, New, Balliol, Magdalen, Merton, Worcester, Exeter, and All Souls on that first day. I might be missing one or adding one, but that's my best guess. We were going very quickly. Here are some photo highlights:

Exeter Chapel

Exeter Chapel 

New College - Harry Potter filming grounds

 New College chapel 

New College cloister- think Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Malfoy's tree

The beautiful New college cloister

Roger 

Magdalen - Roger's Alma Mater

Here's Roger reading us a C.S. Lewis poem, which is written on a plaque on the grounds of Magdalen. 

What the Bird Said Early in the Year

On the grounds of Magdalen

Our group in the New college cloister

The Great Hall that inspired Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland

The Harry Potter staircase 

Caitrin and I

All Souls Library 

All Souls College courtyard

Worcester College

Really cool staircase - Roger did some persuading with his Alumni donor card. We saw a lot of Oxford with him that we probably would not have otherwise. 

The plaque which marks the site where three Protestant martyrs were burned, including Thomas Cranmer. 

In the late afternoon we parted with Roger. He went back to London and we went on to our seminar activities. It was a very exhausting day, but so fun. We hadn't been there 6 hours and we had already seen more of Oxford than we would in the next 48.