Friday, September 19, 2014

We Give a Forty Pound Tip // UK, Part 6



  Now we come to the last day of my UK trip. Technically, we were there for another full day, plus the day of traveling home - but this is the last day where we went sightseeing. The other days were full of getting lost trying to find the Downton Abbey house (it was closed when we did find it) and packing and cleaning the holiday home. Just comparatively boring stuff.

  On the sixth day of our trip we went to Oxford.

  It was the best.


 First, we headed for "The Eagle and Child" for lunch. Do you know what this place is? DO YOU? It's the pub where C.S Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and their friends met for their Inklings club.



Not only was there the cool-factor of it being a favorite spot of two of my favorite authors, it also was just the cutest place ever and the food was delish.

After lunch, we found the place where our walking tour was to start. Our tour guide arrived as well as a bunch of other people who were taking the tour. The tour guide took us to a bunch of different colleges (the "colleges" all being part of Oxford University, obvs), all the while telling us all about the history of the University and about all the bizarre things that go on there.


One of the Bizarre Things I Heard from our Tour Guide:
- The university has pet tortoises that they race yearly, a tradition that has been going on for years. One of the colleges had a tortoise for over 40 years, named Rosa. Their beloved Rosa always won the races. Eventually, the other colleges couldn't stand it any longer. One day Rosa disappeared (supposedly kidnapped by another college) and was never seen again.


| The architecture in this town is cray |
| This beautiful thing is Radcliffe's Camera. It's a library. GOOD GOLLY. |
| Ewwww so ugly am I right. |
| Look! Young chaps dressed in fancy white outfits playing cricket in the well-trimmed green! What is this, Downton Abbey? ||

 We heard about a lot of smart, distinguished people. Hearing about all those geniuses who changed the world really starts to get to you. At first you're like, oh yay, this is cool. Smart people!


But then it hits you how very dumb and insignificant you are and you just feel like:


 It's weird.

| Evidence of another Oxford tradition. Trashing fellow students with confetti, feathers, flour etc. after their last exam. |

 See that random patch of unpaved cobblestone up there? That's really special. I don't know if you guys know this, but one of my favorite things in the whole world is learning about church history. And especially church history involving the Reformation. So seeing that spot up there, where Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were martyred, was pretty amazing.

"Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."

NO I'M NOT ALRIGHT, OKAY? IT'S A BIG DEAL.

***

Anyway, one more cool thing to see. The last cool thing of this post, and the last cool thing of my trip.

And that, of course, was seeing C. S. Lewis' home.


 And at that moment it all became too much for me and I just collapsed from seeing too many cool things.


 When I woke up from my feels-overload-coma I was back at home in Ireland scrolling pinterest and worrying about my rich tea biscuits falling into my tea and wondering if that England thing really did happen. ME? GO TO ENGLAND? NO, THAT CAN'T BE. WHO TOOK THESE PICTURES?

Anywho. That's the end of my trip. Hope you liked reading about it.

Laters.

Hannah

17 comments:

  1. Oh, it's all so charming, I feel as if I might die! Next time you go you must take me along. I think I'll fit in your suitcase! ;)

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    1. Thank you :) And YES that sounds like a good plan!

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  2. I'm so jealous about The Eagle and Child and C.S. Lewis' home! (C.S. Lewis is one of my absolute favorites.) Everything looks so beautiful. :)

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    1. You definitely need to visit it someday. Thanks, Kristin!

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  3. I LIT-RALLY CAN'T EVEN RIGHT NOW JUST STOP IT ALREADY. YOU BASICALLY HAD A DREAM TRIP OKAY? BASICALLY I WANT TO GO TO ENGLAND NOW SO. BAD.

    And that architecture...! Who on earth thought it was a good idea to go from THAT to... what America has today. O_O

    (Also, the gifs made this even better.)

    Now I want to go to England. Then I'll stop by Ireland, because that's on top of my list too. I'll drop by for tea then, and maybe mention the fact that I'm looking for someone to share an adventure and maybe you'd want to come along and we could go see Middle-earth (I mean New Zealand).

    This is a good plan.

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    1. AGH I KNOW, I'M NOT SURE IF IT WAS ALL A DREAM OR NOT.

      Glad you enjoyed the gifs! I was so hyper when I wrote this post. I think it shows. Gif-overload!

      And yes yes yes, go to England! Come to Ireland! Take me to Middle-Earth! That would be crazy amazing.

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  4. whaooooaaaaatttt your life is cool, ok. wow. O.O also I'm loving this new design!!!! And that picture of you is bomb. ;)

    (that's a public high school saying, I'm pretty sure it's a compliment. why don't public schoolers come with dictionaries!!!)

    (speaking of, funny story. remind me to tell you later. :p)

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    1. My life isn't so cool most of the time, trust me! Like I said, I mostly just worry about biscuits dropping into my tea :( But there are definitely moments of coolness!

      Thanks so much, girlie! YOU the bomb.

      (and I need to hear that story)

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  5. THIS LOOKS LIKE THE COOLEST PLACE. <3

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  6. ......*is speechless* .......like..I can't even. The Eagle and Child...C.S. Lewis' house...Downton Abbey...that amazing architecture.... everythingg...*sobs* I'm so jelly!!! x) That looks like the best trip ever! And I think it's awesome that you are into church history, I love the history of the reformation, I am so going to google Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley now. Also, I adore the photograph of that bridge/breezeway thing over the street, the windows and just the whole architecture of that is so crazy beautiful!

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    1. Thank you, Katie! It really was a great trip. And yes you should google them! They were cool guys. (HOW many times am I going to say "cool" in this post and these comments? Gosh)

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  7. OMG!!! When I saw the picture of The Eagle and Child I seriously freaked out! You got to go to _lunch_there? And then C.S. Lewis' house. Wow. I'm speechless. That is so awesome!!!
    Sorry, I'll stop fangirling now. I went to London with my grandmother when I was nine and I _loved_ it so much. And that was before I even know about C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien or half of the marvelous things I know about England now. I might die of happiness and numerous other feelings if I went back now. I still think I need to go back and stay. For, oh, maybe forever?Excuse me while I have an attack of homesickness for a place I spent two weeks in... And did I forget to mention, what awesome photography!
    ~Elizabeth
    btw, do you remember what that super awesome round library was called?

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    1. Elizabeth! Yeah, I was so so excited about being at The Eagle and Child. That is *so* cool that you spent two weeks in England! That must have been amazing. I completely understand about being homesick for a place you visit...I feel the same way.

      The library is called Radcliffe Camera. You should google it to see more pics!

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