Day 34 - Oxford: From Alice in Wonderland to Winnie the Pooh

If you want to walk in the English countryside, you need a proper pair of shoes. Our daughter Becca was eager to do some hiking, but didn't have anything you'd want wear to walk through a field of sheep. So hiking shoes were in order.

The best place to do a bit of shopping nearby is Oxford. And really, how can you resist going into Oxford to shop? A blend of scholarly history mingled with shops of every sort catering to the academic crowd.

It takes about 30 minutes to get from Moreton in Marsh to Oxford, and is a very pleasant trip through very pretty countryside. Phil sat next to an older gentleman, and the two immediately fell into a rather animated, enjoyable conversation that lasted the entire trip. I couldn't hear the conversation, and assumed that the man taught at a college at Oxford -- he had that air about him. I discovered later from Phil that he was the former Archdeacon for the area and, now that he was retired, was taking classes at Oxford. In this case, he was off to a class in opera. How wonderful to meet people with a real zest for life-long learning. And to be taking classes at Oxford! I guess it's never to late to get that Oxford education on my resume. I think I'll go see if they have a class I can sign up for.

First on the list was a quick bite. We grabbed a couple of Cornish pasties and then went to sit on a bench near Christ Church College. Two things to talk about in that sentence: Cornish pasties and Christ Church.

If you've never had a Cornish pasty, you're missing out on what just might be the perfect comfort food. A traditional Cornish pasty is beef, potatoes, turnip, onion and salt and pepper, all wrapped in a thick pastry that is folded over to form a pocket. The edge of the pasty is crimped into a distinct rope-like pattern. The food was popular with coal miners as it was easy to carry, you didn't need cutlery to eat it, and the crimped edge provided a "handle" for coal dust-encrusted hands. The dirty edge could then be tossed away. The only problem I see with that is that the crust is the best part! If I had been a coal miner, I might have ingested a bit more coal dust with my dinner.  ;-)  The Cornish pasty is so revered that only those made in Cornwall can be called a Cornish pasty. Anything else is...well...just a pasty.

The Cornish Pasty Association keeps a firm eye on maintaining the Cornish in the Cornish Pasty. The food even has Protected Geographical Indication from the European Union. Source: http://www.cornishpastyassociation.co.uk

Christ Church Hall.
Source: http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk

And from there, we jump to Christ Church. This College, in the centre of Oxford, was founded in 1546. It has a host of famous alumni -- John Locke (who got toss out for being too controversial -- aside to our son Alex: see, being controversial is a mainstay of history), and William Penn (who founded Pennsylvania, to name just two.


But it is most famous for its relationship to two fictional characters: Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter. Alice was created by Charles Lutwidge Dodson, more commonly known as Lewis Caroll) who was a math tutor at the college. And the hall in Hogwarts is based in part on Christ Church Hall.

Although we didn't tour the College on this visit, I have done so in the past. When I was there, Christ Church Hall was set for lunch for the students. Portraits of former members of the College surround the room, with Henry VIII holding pride of place at the end of the room, as the College's founder. Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VII's chief advisor actually founded the College with the plan to use money from closing down some monasteries. But what the King wants, the King gets, and when Wolsey fell out of favour, the King took over.

So, if you're ever in Oxford, Christ Church is worth a visit... it is a wonder!

We wandered around the town a bit, passing by the Bodleian Library (extremely fascinating, and a must pilgrimage for any book lover), the Bridge of Sighs, and the Radcliffe Camera.

We also stepped into the Oxford Covered Market, a beautiful market of small shops and cafes. I'd take the look of the market over a modern mall any day.

Oxford is a fascinating town, and we just touched the surface on this trip. But, I'm sure we'll bring you more about it over the coming months.

We were successful in our hiking shoe quest (you can always count on Clarks shoes). As we've all been going through movie withdrawal, we went off to the Odeon cinema in Oxford to take in the movie "Goodbye Christopher Robin" about ... you guessed it, the boy...and then the man... who is the namesake in the Winnie the Pooh books.

Really, the perfect English story to end off our day.