Alisha was a dear and did wake me up. We took breakfast in the dining hall, making bold enough to sit at the high table. Food was either a proper English breakfast or cereal. I went with cereal. Beans and mushrooms aren't breakfast food and I wasn't in the mood for adventure that early.
Classes were classes. We thoroughly discussed Pullman's retarded The White Mercedes, the book, of course, was still in my to-be-delivered luggage. Then, in my Arts class, we discussed his subversive Golden Compass, also in my luggage. I have no need for them now!
The scouts popped in to straighten my room, which is positively the coolest thing ever. Nick and I ran out to get lunch before heading out on a walk. I got a panini, a positively luscious thing of tomatoes and cheese and toasted bread glory. We scurried back to college in time.
We, a whole group of us, that is, set out on our walk. We headed through Oxford, down the Thames to Iffley and back home up Cowley Road.
We quickly ducked through Oxford, crossing over Folly Bridge to get to the Thames and the walking path to Iffley. Along the way, we saw many awesome things including...
...the River Thames itself, here called the Isis.
...the path, very nice all of its lonesome.
...Salter's Boats, the company Charles Dodgeson, aka, Lewis Carroll rented boats from:
...boat houses for the colleges. Worcester's is the one with the birds on the crest.
...narrow boats. Tiny boat houses/barges.
...a lock, very picturesque.
...a mathematical bridge that would need no bolts to hold it up, but the government doesn't trust math, so they put pins in anyway.
...the Iffley pub, which was sadly closed.
...and a pretty amazingly old church. St. Mary the Virgin Church is the finest example of Norman architecture in the world, and on top of that, it is mind bogglingly old for a working country church: from the 12th century!
The rose window at one time was replaced by a rectangular window, so the glass therein is not the original. It was switched back again in the 18th, 19th century.
The inside is not expansive, but the carvings are lovely.
The "sanctuary;" I'm not sure what you call it in an Anglican church:
And of course, the stained glass windows are gorgeous.
Little angels at the top of the bell tower!
There is a yew tree that is supposedly as old as the church. It's the dark thing beside the church. I have another, better picture, but it just looks like an unassuming bush.
And the parsonage, from the 16th (or so) century, contains within it the older, original parsonage. But I just love the chimneys.
Luckily, the next pub we sought out was open. A good thing too, for most of us were thirsty. The bar-keep was a very pleasant fellow. I think he was having a slow day; he turned up the fun Irish music.
We meandered home down Cowley Road, which runs through Jericho. It is essentially the home for all the working class. The business district of that area was full of every culture you could think of. Bangladeshi restaurants with silk pillows, Jamaican restaurants where the owner is as high as a kite, Brazilian cloth stores with impractical wares for the climate, Asian fruit stands with veggies you've never seen before, Muslim women in full burqua, a tavern boasting to be a "hive of scum and villainy," and a million other little things I missed due to fatigue. I didn't take pictures as I didn't want my camera snatched.
And the crowning jewel.... We got to pass by J.R.R. Tolkein's house!!!!! Oh. My. Gosh!!!! *fan girl shrieks*
I was hoping by the time we got home, my baggage would've arrived, but no such luck. Since it was nearing six, I figured it wasn't coming that day, a cause of much despair. I found another girl willing to go shopping with me and went out and bought a shirt (under 3 pounds) and some batteries for my alarm. Stores were closing; it was getting hard to find what we needed; she needed paper, too. We turned homeward.
And there was my luggage!!! I didn't think it would be delivered so near to 7pm. I cannot tell you how happy that made me!! I took a shower, put on clean clothes and danced away merrily to dinner.
Dinner was pea soup, which appalled most, but was okay to me, except for the sickly green color. It was followed by curly fries, onion rings, the driest sweet corn ever, and ribs! Go figure. It was very weird. Everyone tried to eat properly, not digging in with their fingers. That dining hall does that to you. Desert was key lime pie. It was a green meal.
I tried to get my phone card to work, but it will not. It completely refuses to. I gave up in annoyance after struggling with it for an hour. Wrote a few quick emails, a paper for class and turned in with what reading I had left for class the following day, a very happy girl.
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