This is probably one of my favorite moments after moving to the UK - my sister came to visit! And despite endless childhood years of fighting and ignoring each other, there is no better friend and travel buddy than my sister!
Our trip was pretty 'chock-a block' as it was Alison's first time in the UK and we were determined to make the most of every moment!
First on the agenda was a day out in Oxford. Now you will quickly find out that Ali and I didn't plan to much and took most days as they came ( with the help of google and pinterest of cause!), but luckily I had been to Oxford once before so knew a little about the area, but luckily for us we met up with Al's friend Lauren who is a local and so we had the ultimate Oxford day out!
We started out with a stroll up the high street and the covered market,
which is amazing and has one the best cake shop I have seen!
Yes! This is a cake ! ---------------------------------------------->
Continuing up through the town, we stopped off at the famous 'bridge of sigh's' and the Bodleian Library - which is one of the oldest libraries in England (1602) and holds a copy of every book published in the UK! Its absolutely amazingly huge - hints the terrible photo, and as with every old building here leaves me fascinated at the skill and talent it took to build!
There are are just two many colleges in Oxford to see then all ( 38 in total), so we settled to just passing by some - such as the Hertford College, Jesus College and the Sheldonian Theater. Next up on the grand tour was the church of St. Mary the Virgin, which is not only and amazing church but also provides spectacular bird's eye views of Oxford.
Behind us is the famous Radcliff camera - and you get the best view from the church!
We were fortunate enough to have picked a really sunny and festive day to head out to Oxford - it was the weekend of the Summer VIII's. A rowing race down the Thames between the different colleges! It provided great entertainment for a picnic lunch and an awesome festive vibe with a tasting of the English delicacy - PIMMS! We were also able to witness some 'trashing' which is a tradition the students have once they have written their last exam! They all wear very traditional attire for exams, and on their last day their friends celebrate by trashing their uniform and on some occasions they accidentally land in the river!
After lunch, we stopped in to Christ Church ( one of my favorite Oxford Must- see's!) Lauren is the best tour guide! Thanks to her amazing secret knowledge we got the five star tour ! Christ Church is mostly known for been the home of the 'Great Hall' from Harry Potter, its also the home of the traditional stories of Alice and Wonderland. Not only are the buildings just breathtaking, and lets not even mention the cathedral, there are also characters form the tales of Alice hidden in the stain-glass windows of the Grand hall.
Coming in a close second to Christ Church is Magdelen College, which is home to the famous C.S Lewis. It is a amazingly beautiful college with its own private grove/meadow with 'Magdelen Deers' ! I can not imagine a better place to study if I was so fortunate! It is said that the room with the red flowers on the windowsill is the original room used by C.S Lewis.
After a large amount of walking ( A surprise to Al's feet I'm sure) we had one more stop off at the famous Eagle and Child pub - which is known as the place of debate and discussion between J.R Tolkien and C.S Lewis! We then headed off to to a locally recommend pub - the Turf Tavern for some great English Pub food :) It was possibly the best day out in Oxford, and we couldn't have done any planning to make it better - although alot of the greatness is owed to our fabulous tour guide!
For more pictures from my trips to Oxford - https://goo.gl/photos/i7xzUU19Nk6QavLk7