Visitors

July was a very busy month. Altough it started with the departure of some very dear new friends from Oxford, it ended with the visits of my sister Seana and her best friend Stephanie, as well as one of my very best friends from Dartmouth, Erin. Although the two visits overlapped, which meant that we had to squeeze 4 people into my dorm room for two nights, it was lovely to see faces from home and be able to show them around Oxford and London. Here are some highlights in words and photos.


Seana and Steph arrived on the evening of Tuesday 18 July. By the time we made it back to Oxford, it was after 10pm. We didn't let the late hour stop us from beginning our adventure, and headed into town for a stop at G&D's (this picture to the right was taken the next day) and then a walk through the New College cloisters, a must see (though a bit scary) in the dark. Seana recognized the tree from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (movie 4) where Mad-Eye Moody transforms Draco into a ferret.

Our first full day together was the hottest one of the entire visit. Though we were tempted to do nothing, we decided to explore Oxford despite the heat. Our morning walk took us around Christ Church (although we could not get into the dining hall because it was lunch time when we arrived), Christ Church Meadow, the Botanical Gardens, Merton, Oriel, and finally the covered market for some smoothies and fruit before we camped out in the University Parks for a few hours reading and resting with Laura. Some highlights from our day of exploring.


The War Memorial Garden at Christ Church with the exterior of the dining hall in the background.


Seana and Steph in front of the visitor's entrance to Christ Church.


Seana and I in "Tom Quad," the biggest quad in Christ Church and in Oxford. It's called "Tom Quad" because of the bell tower behind us, which houses the bell named the "Old Tom." In a typically Oxford way, the bell at Christ Church rings 5 minutes behind the rest of Oxford because Christ Church still operates like it did in the old days when all British time was related to the time in London and was not standardized.


The interior of Christ Church Cathedral, including the gorgeous organ.


Me with some beautiful lillies in the botanical gardens.


A vomitting gargoyle outside Merton College.


First Quad in Oriel College, which is my college.


On our way to the parks for the afternoon off, I caught a picture of Seana and Steph in front of Oxford's Bridge of Sighs, which is a part of Hertford College.

On the second day we headed to London, where we battled the heat yet again (it was worst on the Underground) but still managed to see quite a few London landmarks.


The White Tower at the Tower of London.


Seana and Steph at the site of many famous executions at the Tower of London, including Anne Bolyn, one of Henry the VIII's wives.


One of the famous Tower of London ravens. Legend has it that Charles I was told that if the ravens ever left the Tower of London, the monarchy would fail, and so ravens have been kept at the Tower ever since.


Seana and Steph 'loading' some cannon balls at the Tower of London.


Seana and I with the Tower Bridge in the background.


Oh my God, it's Big Ben!!


Seana and I aboard the London Eye with Parlaiment in the background.


Seana and Steph with Westminster Abbey in the background. Unfortunately we didn't arrive in time to see the inside, but the outside was still worth the trip.

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in Covent Garden before heading to the British Museum, which is open late on Thursday evenings. After exploring the Egyptian and Asian galleries in the museum, we headed for curry in Soho.


Seana with the Rosetta stone, which is what enabled linguists to decipher heiroglyphics.


Me checking out one of the many Buddha statues in the Asian galleries.


Seana and I in the front courtyard of the British Museum.


The new shoes we bought in Covent Garden.

Day 3 was spent in Oxford. With the weather a little cooler, we decided to make the trek through Port Meadow to the Trout Inn, which is quite a walk but worth it for the beautiful views and great food.

We made a couple stops in Oxford city centre before beginning our walk.


The tower of the 5 orders inside the main quad of the Bodleian Library.


The Baroque rear of the Sheldonian Theatre, designed by Sir Christopher Wren.


The Godstow River and Port Meadow.


A peacock at the Trout Inn. It got really close to our table.


Seana and I toast to our trip!


It got so hot on our walk back that we could not resist the cool, inviting waters of the river. Good thing we had all brought our bathing suits and changed into them in the bathrooms of the Trout. Here are Seana and Steph swimming back from the other side of the river.


Our day ended with a punting excursion. We did not get many photos because Steph was busy capturing the whole thing on video while we all tried our hand at punting. I did get one shot of Steph and Seana looking stylish in the punt.

The next day was a Saturday, when I had to work the whole day at Blackwell's. Thankfully Laura was kind enough to take the girls around Oxford while I was working, and Seana took some more great pictures.


The Radcliffe Camera as viewed from the top of St. Mary's tower - definitely the best views in the city.


The shrunken heads in the Pitt Rivers Museum. These very heads make an appearance in the third Harry Potter movie on the Knight Bus.


Laura and Steph stroll through Balliol College, which was Laura's college.

On Sunday we decided to spend the morning at Blenheim Palace, even though the weather wasn't great.


The sign welcoming us to Blenheim.


The entrance to the residence where Winston Churchill was born. The really cool thing about Blenheim is that the Duke of Marlborough and his family still live there. The guides told us that the current Duke, who just turned 80 years old, was actually at the palace on the day that we were visiting!

Blenheim Palace itself is beautiful, but the gardens surrounding the palace are also spectacular. Thankfully the sun decided to come out as the day went on, and we were able to enjoy the gardens with some sunshine.


A butterfly inside the Butterfly House at the Paradise Gardens.


Seana and I in the Secret Gardens.


Seana and Steph taking a quick rest with the back of the palace in the background.

Erin joined us on Sunday afternoon - we met her at the bus station when we returned from Blenheim. On Erin's first full day (and Seana and Steph's last) we headed to London early to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was quite a spectacle, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it because there are so many people and it does take quite a long time. We did have front row standing spaces, though, and caught some great pictures.


Erin and Seana with Buckingham Palace in the background. Unfortunately we were not allowed to keep these great seats we snagged on the Victoria Monument as the police on horseback made everyone move just before the start.


The marching band leaving through the palace gates.

The changing of the guard took up most of the morning. For the afternoon we went to the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.


Seana and Steph from the entrance porch to the National Gallery with Trafalgar Square and Nelson's column in the immediate background and Big Ben in the far distance.

On the morning of the girls' departure we had a chance for one quick look around Oxford before having a full English breakfast on Cowley Road, where I live. We headed back to Christ Church to see the grand staircase and dining hall, which both featured in the first Harry Potter film.


Erin and I at the top of the grand staircase.


Seana and Steph in the Christ Church dining hall.


Seana, Steph, and I in my room minutes before leaving for the airport.

Erin and I spent the afternoon in London after dropping the girls off at the airport. We weren't able to see too many things before they closed, but I did get a nice shot of Erin with Big Ben and the London Eye in the background: