Oxford Day Trip

As spring had sprung in the UK we thought the first May Bank holiday would be a good opportunity to do a day trip to the university town of Oxford.

I had spent a weekend there in 2002 but Grigoria had never been to the rowing mad town and the home of Harry Potter’s Dinning hall (Christchurch College) so it seemed like a perfect choice.

Despite all the good intentions of getting up early in the end we arrived in Oxford just in time for lunch. After a small walk around, mainly trying to find our way, we arrived at the Turf Tavern (http://www.robofdoom.co.uk/turf/). The Turf has been around, in one form or another, since the 14th century and its quirky ambiance together with the large beer garden at the back has made this one of the most popular Oxford establishments.After the Turf our next destination was Christ Church College (www.chch.ox.ac.uk).

Even if you haven’t been before the college looks strangely familiar. Just add a bit of magic and you get most of the Howgart’s locations! What is probably a bit less known is that Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, was a Maths lecturer here when he met Alice (the Dean’s daughter) and Alice in Wonderland was born.
Once in Oxford it is impossible to avoid the rowing. Even today when the weather was not particularly nice the river was littered with boats of all shapes and forms, ranging
from the amateur punter to the experienced university crews.

Grigoria and I could not help but chuckle however when we saw a group of drenched rowers carrying their boat whilst the cox was apologising for not seeing the pole (the scull had a huge dent at the back!).

After a couple of hours of wondering around Oxford Grigoria made sure that our footsteps brought us right in front G&D’s
an ice cream paradise! The choices we had to make were tough but in the end it was a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce for Grigoria and a waffle with Banarama ice cream and chocolate sauce for me!

Our last stop in Oxford was the Carfax tower. The tower was part of St Martin’s church which was demolished at the end of the 19th century. The tower houses a set of bells that ring to commemorate significant occasions and its 360˚ views have made it a popular tourist destination.