Distance walked: 13km, Alcohol consumed: 1 large glass wine
Woke to clear, blue skies which, heaven be praised, stayed that way all day. After breakfast, we headed to the Botanic Gardens for a stroll as most things here don't open until 10am. However, it turns out that the Gardens don't open until 9am so we went to a nearby coffee shop as the coffee in the college is dire. The first place we tried was the oldest coffee shop in England but it doesn't open until 9am either! What coffee shop doesn't open in the morning to provide coffee to worker bees on their way to work?! We went across the road to another cafe that claimed to be the oldest established coffee shop in all of Europe, which opens at 7:30am. The coffee was drinkable.
After obtaining caffeine, we went back to the Botanic Gardens but it turned out they had a 5 pound entry fee and neither of us are sufficiently keen gardeners. Instead we went for a walk around Christ Church meadow down to the point where the Cherwell river meets the Thames. We then visited Christ Church college. We had pre-purchased tickets to enter as recommended. We queued up in the appropriate queue. They first let in a large tour group of Chinese. The attendant then got into a long conversation with a teacher with a group of students who was behind us in the queue. Meanwhile, the non-pre-booked queue was moving briskly. After standing and waiting patiently for 5 minutes and not even having our existence acknowledged, we just walked right on in. Nobody seemed to notice.
Christ Church college is very grand. The Hall is fabulous. It is where they filmed the Harry Potter dining room scenes and you can see why. Not very friendly though so I wouldn't want to stay here. Magdalen is still my favourite.
After visiting the college, we then went to the Museum of Oxford. This is in one corner of the town hall and is about the town, not the university. I enjoyed it and would have stayed longer, looking at every single thing but Mary was impatient to keep moving. She likes to do things quickly. We next climbed to the top of Carfax Tower to admire the view over Oxford. I do like climbing towers to see the view. You get such a better idea of a town that way.
We then went up to North Oxford to have lunch at the Pierre Victoire again. They didn't recognise us. It was packed this time but the service was still friendly and efficient. This time I had a salmon timbale with couscous for entree and duck leg in a cherry sauce for main. The salmon was tasty, if a little light on salmon. The duck was good too but rather rich. It needed a green salad or something to go with it. I skipped dessert this time.
The next stop was the Ashmolean Museum where we spent all the afternoon. I must confess I got a little bored at times. There are only so many broken pottery bowls and bronze pins from various civilisations I can be bothered looking at. The best parts were the special exhibits in the basement which were specific to a topic rather than a place & time. There was one on money and another on writing and a third on textiles. There was also a picture gallery on the top floor. I wasn't expecting to like it but Mary and I were philistines together and just looked at the portraits and the landscapes, ignoring all the religious art which I find dull. Our favourites were the Renaissance portraits.
We stayed until closing time and then headed back to college for a rest and a wash. When we headed out for dinner at 7pm the weather had changed. It was now windy and drizzling again. We tried three different pubs close to college but they were all packed. There are advantages from eating ridiculously early. We settled on an Italian chain restaurant called ASK Italian. It was bright, spacious and had plenty of free tables so it suited Mary better than a pub. Also Italian food is comfort food for us. I had a pizza with proscuitto and salami while Mary had a baked rigatoni dish with meatballs. We swapped halfway. We both agreed the pasta was best but both were fine. I had a slice of pistachio cake for dessert.
Well, we've "done" Oxford now. Off the the Cotswolds tomorrow - and more drizzly overcast days. Sigh.
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