Oxford II: Christ Church & the City

I had to stop typing last night; no one bothered to turn the heat on in my building while I was gone this weekend, and I am absolutely convinced that keeping my hands on the key board for another 30 seconds would have resulted in irreversible frostbite damage. Or, at the very least, severe cyanosis. We did, indeed, explore more of Oxford than the concert hall. And, to answer your question Élise, I might go back to Oxford in December for an Apocalyptica concert if Time and Money don't bail on me to go hang out with their other cool friends. Aside from cello quartets, only hell, high water, and a full tuition scholarship could pull me back into that city. Not that it wasn't lovely, because - as you're going to see very soon - it was. The problem is, our bus never arrived and we were stranded for several hours before finally sorting our travel arrangements. I spent a full £30 more than I planned to. This has made me a very unhappy person.

I dragged Elizabeth and Chad down to Christ Church, but we didn't get to go inside the halls. A combination of things contributed to this: one was the mystery of the vanishing admission booth. The grounds and buildings were gorgeous, though. I would normally not take the time to explain something like this, but I think it might be pertinent given the structure of the university system in the UK. Oxford is a university, and there are 38 individual colleges that make up that university. Christ Church is one of the more famous, elaborate ones. Oddly enough, it is also a cathedral. This panorama shows what it's like inside the main gates:


Various Sights in Oxford


1. The cemetery at St. Giles' in town center.


2. A lovely old building along the High Street.




3. Christ Church at a distance


4. A very crowded High Street.




5. Carfax tower - the remains of a 13th century church, I think.



6. The memorial at St. Giles' where we looked for a bus that would never come....