The loveliness of Oxford

Oxford. The city where many amazing people went to college, taught, thought, wrote, and just lived. The city that is so old and so full of history that you can feel yourself getting smarter as you walk through the streets and hallways that so many great people before you have gone.

This was the one trip that Donovan was looking forward to the most. Mainly because J.R.R. Tolkien went to school here, taught here and lived here. He also wrote Lord of the Rings here. Pretty much every moment of the two days I would catch Donovan with a huge smile on his face. Oxford is also the home of the Blackwell's bookstore. It is the largest bookstore in the English speaking world. The basement floor has 3 miles of shelving and there is no fiction on that floor. The bookstore itself is 4 floors. But, the basement was the best part. So overwhelming...it seemed like it went on forever! The top floor is the rare books and used books, Donovan found some treasures up there.

We pretty much spent the entire time going into buildings from the 1200's-1500's, going into bookstores (Donovan bought a book of poetry by Tennyson) and of course, we couldn't go to Oxford without going to "The Eagle and Child" The pub where The Inklings (J.R.R.Tolkien, C.S.Lewis and other writers) would sit, smoke their pipes, drink a pint and chat about thier books.

My favourite part of the trip was going for high tea at "The Grand Cafe" The first coffee shop in England. Built in 1650.We had scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, the greatest thing ever, and of course tea!

Everything in Oxford is old and oozing knowledge from every corner. We felt our I.Q.'s go up within seconds. We loved it so much and are planning on going back many times throughout our time here in England.

To experience more of our trip go on over to Facebook and take a look at out pictures.