It's a special Friday Favorites - as I close out our time in the United Kingdom! Our final stop was in the town (city) of Oxford - home of Oxford University. Happily after our AirBnB debacle on Saturday, we found a great hotel right at the edge of the city limits, got a good night's sleep, a good breakfast and we were ready to check out Oxford!
Our stellar tour guide and chauffer (my sister, ha-ha) parked us in the perfect spot and we set out to explore, walking just a wee bit before we turned a corner and we were in the heart of the college - the Bodleian Library, the Radcliffe Camera and the Bridge of Sighs all spread out in front of us. We wandered and snapped pictures and generally just enjoyed taking in the beautiful architecture!
Of course - we popped into shops along the way too, which were filled with plenty of Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings merchandise, since portions of Harry Potter were filmed at Oxford... and C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were both professors and contemporaries at Oxford University. My sister led us along twisting walkways, alongside extravagant buildings laced with wisteria and history... to a very special destination...
... the oldest coffee house (The Grand Café) in the United Kingdom! It was a cute, quaint little spot and we all ordered coffee (or tea) and a pastry and took a breather from all our walking around. The coffee was delicious (and the saucers all touted the coffee house as the oldest in the UK) and the almond croissant was to die for! I also have to tell you - they had the tiniest bathroom I have ever been into in all my life - and that includes an airplane restroom! Fueled by our mid-morning snack, we headed back out!
My sister took us to see the old castle and prison of Oxford - and to our great surprise, the old prison is now a hotel and we were absolutely wowed by it! The hotel is called Malmaison and you can actually stay in a room that was once a cell on the cell block... but trust me, the rooms are far from being sparse and inhospitable! Unfortunately we didn't have time to tour the castle, but we were glad all the same for the chance to see it all!
Our final stops were the Eagle and the Child Pub - this was where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to meet to critique one another's work. They called themselves the "Inklings" and this pub is such a piece of history! We were saddened to learn that the pub is closed (because of COVD) and while there have been multiple plans for restoration, so far nothing has taken off! I hope someone is able to restore the pub - it would be a shame to lose! We also wandered through the Oxford Covered Market before making our way back to the car to head toward Heathrow!
We arrived with plenty of time to spare, rode the tube to our terminal and said our good-byes and then Ryan and I were able to eat a quick late lunch before it was time to board our flight and head back across the pond to the US.
What a trip - what an experience to be able to have with my wonderful husband, my little sister and my MIL - memories that we will have for a lifetime!
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