Oxford, mate!

Yesterday was my first time heading out of London since arriving.  To be honest, as much as I love London, it was nice to take a day and get away from all the crowds of the big city.  So Andreina and I headed to Oxford with Clair, one of our classmates.  We took a coach (British word for Greyhound Bus) up to Oxford, because it was cheaper than the train and took about the same amount of time.  Of course, knowing my luck, though, we had some issues picking up our tickets....

Never have I ever actually needed to use those confirmation codes that I get in e-mails when I order tickets and things online.  Everything I'm used to has taught me that, as long as I bring the card I used to buy the tickets, I'll get my tickets.  Not so when it comes to National Express Coach services.  Andreina and I arrived at the station to pick up our tickets yesterday, only to find out that we actually needed to have written down the reference numbers we were sent via e-mail.  The internet cafe in the station was closed, so we searched frantically for somewhere to gain internet access.  In an unfortunate way to start off the day, we encountered quite a few exremely rude people, the worst being a very unhelpful gentleman at the Visitor Information desk in the rail station nearby.  All we were trying to ask was if there was an internet cafe or computer we could use nearby, and all he told us was that we needed the reference numbers for the tickets and that we needed to go to the coach station.  Uh, buddy, that's what we're trying to do!  Finally, Andreina called up her boyfriend, and he logged into our e-mails for us and read us off the reference numbers.  Abel, if you ever read this.... THANK YOU!

Clair arrived a few minutes later and picked up her ticket, and then we headed out to the bus.  Bus ride took about an hour and a half, but we slept most of the way....

First stop in Oxford was Christ Church College.  I, being a self-proclaimed Harry Potter nerd, had to see the "Harry Potter Staircase", the staircase that leads up to the Hogwarts Great Hall in the movies.  Unfortunately, we were there during lunchtime, so the dining hall (which inspired the Great Hall in the movies... nothing was ever actually filmed there) was closed.

Me on the Harry Potter Staircase! Off to Hogwarts I go!



Andreina, me, and Clair in front of Christ Church College



Hogwarts Corridor in Christ Church College

After Christ Church, we wandered Oxford some more... what an amazing town!  All the buildings are beautiful, and hidden amongst the busy high streets are small, narrow, cobblestone roads that made me feel like we were walking along back in the old days...

Most of the sites closed early because it was Saturday, so we had lunch at a little pub, wandered some more, and then finally caught a bus back to London around 6:30.

Oxford is definitely somewhere I'll want to visit again, but for now, I'm just looking ahead to next weekend.... PARIS!